“Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three, when
they made their demand on Pharaoh” (Exodus 7:7).
Surprised? You would
be if you’d seen the current movie Exodus:
Gods and Kings. When he
returns to Egypt to plead for the Hebrew’s release, Christian Bale’s Moses is
haggard, but barely scraping his forties.
The film is flawed in many ways, and we understand that the star system
denies us Sean Connery (84), Clint Eastwood (84), or Donald Southerland (79) as
the lead in an action flick. Still, what
a different perspective the Torah provides on the encounter between Moses and
Pharaoh: two grizzled elders rather than
strong-men. Having lived long, they are
more concerned with the fate of nations than their own.
No wonder, then, that the octogenarian leaders were so set
in their ways. Not for them the vagaries
and vacillations of youth.
Each of us harbors within a 100 year old self, an aspect of
our personhood who has lived well and fully, seen it all, and knows what’s
best. When faced with a challenge or
struggle, consider consulting your own inner sage. Breathe deeply, get centered, and picture yourself
learned and astute. Ask that senior self
a question, then wait to see what wisdom he or she would share with you.
When confronted by the Sturm und Drang of contemporary life, he
or she would probably tell us to relax, that the stakes aren’t as high as we
think – unless the fate of a nation rests in the outcome.
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