Rabbi Knopf's Blog

The Talmud teaches that 30 days before Passover, we should start learning about the festival and its meaning. In that spirit, I offer a brief message each day leading up to Passover, drawn from the wisdom of the holiday and the Exodus story. Feel free to share/forward.  -Rabbi Knopf

Day 20: The Thin Red Line
Why is Moses’ standing up to the world’s most powerful king ‘confidence,’ his refusal to back down ‘conviction,’ while Pharaoh’s refusal to listen is ‘arrogance,’ his inability to change ‘stubbornness’? Because Pharaoh was always convinced of his own rightness, and was fighting for his own power. Meanwhile, Moses constantly questioned himself and his mission. And he was fighting for others, even if it meant self-sacrifice. Doubt, humility, and selflessness represent the fine line between confidence and arrogance, conviction and stubbornness.