Moshe Rabeinu Shares An Eternal Chinuch Message
Moshe Rabeinu’s experience on Har Sinai of learning from HaShem and receiving the luchot changed him, as you would expect. It also changed his relationship with the B’nai Yisrael. A demonstrative manifestation of the new reality was the radiating light that emanated from Moshe Rabeinu‘s face. The sight of his face frightened the people and caused them to keep their distance. We are taught that the great sin committed by the people with the golden calf spiritually reduced the nation from being able to stand in front of a mountain occupied by HaShem to not even being able to stand in front of a single human being whose countenance reflected a tiny expression of the Al-Mighty.
In response to Moshe Rabeinu’s radiance and the reaction of the people, he donned a mask that he presumably wore the remainder of his life. In part, he wore it to enable the people to remain in his presence. Rebbe Akiva Eiger and the Kli Yakar both put forth an additional reason from different perspectives, that Moshe Rabeinu wore the mask because of his great humility. The Kli Yakar explained Moshe Rabeinu was not comfortable to be stared upon by all who saw him. The radiant face was an unbelievable sight and miracle and although they were afraid and kept their distance, the people could not stop looking at him.
Rebbe Akiva Eiger suggested that he covered his face because of humility from a different perspective. Chazal tell us at this point Moshe Rabeinu was considered the King of Israel. In that capacity he had to comport himself with great dignity and stature. Because of his great humility Moshe Rabeinu preferred that he would not be showered with such great honor. However, Chazal pass down that a King of Israel was not allowed to forgo his honor. As a result, in order to cover up his humble countenance even with the radiant face he donned the mask.
In this light, we need to understand why Moshe Rabeinu removed his mask whenever he communicated with HaShem and when he taught the people Torah. The Kli Yakar suggested that when he communicated with HaShem, as a student with his Rebbe, he removed the “mask of embarrassment” and he overcame his discomfort because embarrassment stifles learning. According to HaRav Moshe Feinstein Z”L, Moshe Rabeinu removed his mask when teaching the people Torah because a Rebbe needs to look at his students and be seen by them. Seeing and being seen helps to greatly enhance the process of Chinuch. Therefore, despite his great humility and discomfort from being stared at, Moshe Rabeinu removed the mask during Talmud Torah.
Regarding this last point, HaRav Moshe gleaned from the Torah that there is an eternal truth being hinted at by Moshe Rabeinu removing the mask whenever he taught Torah to the the nation, his students. He explained the Rebbe's need to observe his students and understand their actions. When gifting his students knowledge the Rebbe needs to look keenly upon the facial expressions and body language of his students to get a good sense if he is connecting with them and are they succeeding in meeting his learning expectations. In turn, his students need to look intently at the Rebbe’s face for his reaction to them. Are they meeting his approval? Does he really care about their success? This idea is captured in the Hebrew words for face, Panim and inside, p’nim, both derive from the same root word. It comes to teach that the face is a reflection of what a person truly feels in his heart. Shlomo HaMelech also expressed this idea in Mishlei, “like the water, the face to the face…” When people look at each other they are reflecting their true selves on one another.
The importance of “face to face” between Rebbe and student is also hinted at in Shlomo HaMelech’s guiding words for Chinuch, Educate a child according to his way… The eternal imperative is to educate according to each child’s unique ways. Therefore, as educators we must come to really know the “ways” of each student. The face is the window to the inside and by gazing in you will come to understand your students better.