“Be guileless with God your Lord.” (Deut. 18:13)
Rashi (ibid.) explains: “Walk before Him without guile; wait upon Him without projecting into the future. Simply accept whatever happens to you, and then you will be with God—to be His portion.”
On the simplest level, “without projecting into the future” can be understood to mean that almost everyone is prepared to commit to worshipping God sometime in the future, saying, “tomorrow or the day after will be the right time.” However, the evil inclination will seduce anyone who makes the decision to worship God immediately. This is what is hinted at by “Be guileless with God your Lord,” to which Rashi added: “Without projecting into the future.” Be guileless with Him right now, in the present.
There is another explanation. Moses our teacher said to God (Exodus 6:12), “If the children of Israel did not listen to me, how then will Pharaoh hear me, and I of uncircumcised lips?” In his holy writings, (Divrei Elimelech, p. 145) my father, of blessed memory, asks, “What logic is there in Moses’ argument? The Israelites had a perfectly good reason for not listening, as the Torah tells us (Exodus 6:9): ‘They listened not to Moses, for they were dispirited.’ On the contrary, Pharaoh, who was not enslaved, might well listen to him?”
One might also ask: Why did Moses initially say of himself (Exodus 4:10), “I am clumsy of speech, and lumpish of tongue”—Onkelos, in the Aramaic Targum, translates this as “Speaking with difficulty”—while in the later text Moses says, “I am of uncircumcised lips,” which Onkelos translates as “stopped lips,” indicating that he could not speak at all.
My father, of blessed memory, in his holy writings asks another question: Why do we learn that the reason they did not listen to Moses was “because they were dispirited, and because of the hard work,” when the opposite would make more sense? If they were suffering so much, they should have listened and been overjoyed to hear the good tidings. Besides my holy father’s response, there may also be another explanation.
A person who is in distress yet still has some spirit left in him may respond to good news with joy and credulity. But if he has been so beaten and tortured that he is utterly broken and effaced by pain and poverty, then even if he is cognizant and believes that everything will turn out well, there is no longer a person capable of rejoicing. There is no one left to be convinced or encouraged. I have actually seen something like this happen. Therefore, the Torah informs us, “They did not listen to Moses,” even though they believed in him. “Because they were dispirited and because of their hard work,” there was no one left to be encouraged or to pay attention to the good tidings.
This is what our teacher Moses was saying to God: “If the children of Israel did not listen to me, even though I was bringing them good tidings, because they and their spirits were already so broken, then I am of uncircumcised lips. If the Jewish spirit is so broken, then my mouth is stopped shut, because any greatness that You gave me, God, was only ever for the sake of the Jewish people.” The Talmud (Berachoth 32a) says the following about the verse (Exodus 32:7), “And God said to Moses, ‘Go down.’ ” “What did God mean when He told Moses, ‘Go down?’ R. Elazar explained, ‘The Holy Blessed One said to Moses, “Moses, stand down from your heights of greatness. I only ever granted you greatness for the sake of Israel. Now that Israel has sinned, why do I need you?” Immediately, Moses became weak and lost all power of speech.’ ”
“How will Pharaoh listen to me,” Moses asked, “now that I am no longer that same Moses who could speak to him?”
It is clear, amidst all this suffering, that if only everyone knew that they would be rescued tomorrow, then a great majority—even of those who have already despaired—would be able to find courage. The problem is that they cannot see any end to the darkness. Many find nothing with which to bolster their spirits, and so, God forbid, they despair and become dispirited. This is how Rashi explains the meaning of “Be guileless with God your Lord.” Even if you are broken and oppressed, nevertheless be artless and whole. Take strength in God your Lord because you know that God your Lord is with you in your suffering. Do not attempt to project into the future, saying, “I cannot see an end to the darkness,” but simply accept whatever happens to you, and then you will be with God—to be His portion. Then, naturally, your salvation will draw close, for, as Moses said (Deut. 9:29), “They are Your people and Your inheritance.”