Never Give Up (Parashat Shemot)

In this week's parasha, Yocheved - being unable to hide Moshe any longer - places him in a basket and sends him off in the river.  Miriam then watched the basket from a distance to see what happened...

Something here doesn't make sense!

In the parsha, Miriam abandons Moshe in a river and yet she is proclaimed a hero in Torah for doing so.  However, when Hagar left Yishmael to die in the desert, she did not receive the same honor.  Why??

     Rav Yisrael Spira was in Lemberg during the Holocaust.  He managed to get a passport for him, his wife and a young child.  Sadly, by the time he received the passports his wife and grandson had both died.  Word soon got out that he had a "vacancy" in his passport and slews of children were brought to him for savior.  Ultimately, Mr. Perlberger from Auschwitz came with his son.  As he parted, he kissed his son and said "Shraga, from this moment on - the Jew next to you is your father."
     Throughout the war, Mr. Perlberger never lost trach of his child.  At the end, he had survived but was very sick.  Immediately, he began searching for his son.  He heard the boy was in Belgium and went there.  When he arrived, he was told the boy had moved to Israel.  Despite the British blockade, this sick man snuck into Israel.  When he arrived, he saw his son only once and then died.
     It is said that he died with a "tranquil smile" on his lips...

The difference between Hagar and Miriam is that Hagar sat herself a distance away from Yishmael and didn't look back - she couldn't bare to watch the boy die.  Miriam, on the other hand, never stopped watching Moshe.  She knew that Hashem would keep him alive.

Too often in life we get dirstraught over the way things are going and we fear they may night work out - we get tempted to "distance" ourselves the way Hagar did.  We must have the emunah of Miriam and believe that things will work out for the best!

I remember when my father, a"h was first diagnosed with cancer.  Despite everything, he never seemed to show the slightest bit of concern or worry - he knew that Hashem would protect and watch over him - just as He did.  Though, ultimately, my father did not survive - he never lost his faith in Hashem through it all....

Monday marks the 22nd anniversary of the petira of my grandfather - Avraham Tuvia ben Naftali.  Tuesday marks 11 months since my father's petira.

May the learning from this D'var Torah be an Aliyah to both of their neshamot!!