As we are aware, there is something interesting about Parashat Tisaveh: Moshe’s name is not found at all in this parasha. From his birth until his death, he is mentioned in every Parasha except this one. He’s our star, after Abraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov. Moshe is one of the greatest people that ever lived. In fact, one of the 13 Principles of Faith is that we must recognize that
לא קם בישראל כמשה .
There never arose another like Moshe.
And yet he’s not here in this parasha. The popular reason, we learn, is that Moshe asked to be erased from the Torah as a selfless act to save the Jewish People, and so, because of his stature, his words had to be fulfilled on some level, even if he said them conditionally. But why this parasha specifically?
One of the commentaries explain that it’s because this parasha always comes out the week of Moshe’s birthday and yarzheit, אדר ז and Hashem uses this as reminder to us that just like any man, Moshe was born and he died. We shouldn’t make a religion out of Moshe Rabeinu that would be heresy. We must realize that he was just a man. Of course, Moshe was the greatest prophet, but Rambam says we have to believe we can all become as great, not necessarily at prophecy, but at fulfilling our own mission.
Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky says that is why when Moshe is first introduced to us, when he was born, the pasuk doesn’t mention Amram or Yocheved, his parents, by name initially (that comes later on). It says simply, a man from the house of Levy took a woman...and had a child. The lesson for us is that Moshe was born from a mother and father just like you and me. He didn’t have some mysterious origin, as other religions claim their leaders had. And he became great. We can all become great. We just need Hashem.
When Moshe was asked to lead the Jewish people, he hesitated. But Hashem encouraged him. “I’ll be in your mouth”, Hashem told him. It’s the Jewish way to grow and strive. We can do anything because Hashem is with us.
There are some wonderful concepts out in the secular world that we can gain from; they just need some tweaking.
For example, there’s a very popular book, that has sold millions of copies, called Mindsets by Dr. Carol Dweck Ph.d of California.
This national best seller has great ideas. In it, Dr. Dweck describes two types of mindsets that people have.
The first, what she describes as the “Growth Mindset”, depicts the frame of mind where one is not locked in by talent or weakness. The person realizes that effort produces accomplishment or growth.
The second, a “Fixed Mindset”, describes a person that feels stuck on a certain path due to a talent, strength or weakness. “I’m just not good in math, I can’t do it “or “I can’t play basketball. I am not athletic” etc. The fixed mindset limits potential.
Dweck proved, through multiple studies, that people with a growth mindset succeed more. These mindsets are not ”all or nothing” though, they can fluctuate depending on the situation or the topic. But overall, the people with a growth mindset, who realize they have control over their accomplishments, do better in life. The one thing the theory is missing is that you need Hashem to get you there.
This concept is found in Rambam.
As Rambam teaches, step one to everything is to be aware that we are in charge.
We shouldn’t blame anyone for our shortcomings. We can reach greatness in any area. Rambam even says we can choose to be smart or stupid. This seems somewhat hard to believe but the science of Neuroplasticity explains it. You can change your brain.
Everything in this Mindset theory is true, but we have to add one word: Bitachon.