What the Donkey Taught Moses about Freedom
When Moses set out on the mission to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt, The Torah relates that he employed a donkey to carry his family:
So Moses took his wife and his sons, mounted them upon the donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the staff of G-d in his hand. (Exodus 4:20)
Why does the Torah find it necessary to draw our attention to the donkey? Rashi, quoting the Midrash, explains the uniqueness of the donkey:
Mounted them upon the donkey: The designated donkey. That is the donkey that Abraham saddled for the binding of Isaac, and that is the one upon whom the King Moshiach is destined to appear, as it is said: "humble, and riding a donkey" (Zechariah. 9:9).
The deeper interpretation of the Midrash is that the donkey was the response to Moses's hesitation to accept the leadership role. At the burning bush, Moses resisted the task of going to Egypt. After much back and forth, Moses told G-d:
"I beseech You, O Lord, send now [Your message] with whom You would send." (Exodus 3:13)
Rashi offers two interpretations as to who Moses was referring to when he requested that G-d send "whom you would send"; either he was referring to his older brother Aaron or to the Moshiach who will usher in the final redemption:
With whom You would send: With whom You are accustomed to sending, and this is Aaron. Another explanation: With someone else, with whom You wish to send, for I am not destined to bring them into the land [of Israel] and to be their redeemer in the future. You have many messengers.
After G-d addressed all of his other concerns, there were two final reasons Moses hesitated to accept the position of leadership. Firstly, Moses did not want to offend his older brother Aaron. Secondly, Moses sensed that he would not be the final redeemer. Moses hoped that the person who G-d would appoint to lead the people out of Egypt would usher in the final redemption. Moses sensed that he would not do so; he therefore requested that the final redeemer be appointed.
While G-d did not directly address those two concerns, Moses did accept the leadership because the donkey that would lead his family to Egypt represented the resolution to his concerns. The donkey reminded Moses of the donkey that Abraham took to the binding of Isaac, expressing the incredible commitment and devotion which Abraham displayed toward G-d, next to which the sacrifice required of Moses paled in comparison. The "donkey upon which Moshiach would ride" signaled to Moses that the final redemption would be the continuation and culmination of the Exodus from Egypt. The final redemption through Moshiach, who will ride on a donkey, can only happen if Moses would first initiate the redemption by riding his donkey to Egypt.
Chassidic philosophy explains that Egypt, whose Hebrew name Mitzraim indicates, represents the constraints and limitations we each face in our own life. G-d calls upon us to break free of the restrictions of our negative habits and obstacles. Like Moses, we hesitate. We fear that the task of breaking free is far too difficult. We fear that even if we achieve some level of freedom, the freedom will not be complete as we will revert to our old selves. The message of the donkey, alluding to Abraham, Moses and Moshiach, teaches us the steps to achieve our spiritual freedom. We must cultivate Abraham's devotion to the task, commit to the journey, and begin with a specific expression of freedom. We must understand that the ultimate freedom may take time, but the first step on the journey to freedom, the first victory over our inner exile, will ultimately lead to our final and complete spiritual liberation.
Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Lekutei Sichos 31 Shmos sicha 2