Fathers Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's!
In honor of this special day, I think it's appropriate to spend some time evaluating our roles as fathers. In the Torah, G-d plays the role of a father to his people - at times strict and at times exceedingly merciful. In practical terms, G-d bestows himself upon his people as both, the father and the mother. The feminine characteristics of a mother are manifested via the alias known as "The Shchinah" or "The Divine Presence". All the protective miracles that happened in the desert are atributed to the Shchinah. The clouds of glory, miriams well, the pillar of fire, the protection given by the ark of the covenant, etc. are some other examples of G-ds motherly protection.
So what is the Fathers role? He tried to educate us - to prepare us for life's great challenges and the future we were destined towards. He instilled in us foundations to build upon, to flourish, and grow from. For example, in this last weeks parsha, Hashem tells Moshe to send spies into the land. Why? Why didn't he just do like he did in Egypt? He could have conquered the Caananites on His own and sent us in afterwards. We could have entered Israel surrounded by the clouds of glory. Yet G-d tells Moshe to evaluate the defenses of the inhabitants!?
The message was, "Me and your Mother aren't going to be holding your hand forever, I've given you the tools to succeed (in this case, faith and unity as a people) - now you have to learn to use them." This message came to life with the war against Amalek: it was a baby step as G-d told Moshe that whenever his hands where raised to heaven they would triumph - G-d was still holding their hand. The message of the spies was a step up.
Other times G-d seems almost abusive. Several times he tells Moshe that he's had enough of our insolence and is ready to wipe us out, start over. At these times there seems to be a dual message. A lesson for Moshe, who's playing the role of Mom when dealing with G-d, and a lesson for "the kids". He's waiting for Moshe to protect the people. He wants him to understand that we don't choose our families and we have to stick with them no matter what. Moshe answers G-d in a true motherly fashion: "these are our children, no matter what. If you don't want them then you can forget about me too."
To the nation, G-d has another message: "You can never go back to Egypt. This is your life now. This is your family. I am your father, and there is no other option".
It's written in the Zohar that the community of Israel is called "mother", and G-d is called "father". It goes on to bring a lists of similar relationships where the shchinah manifests as the "mother" and G-d as the"father", the tzadik (rightous leader of the generation) as the "mother" and G-d as the "father", the jewish people as the "mother", and the tzadik -"father".
Each case is relative to their particular relationship. Thus we see Moshe defending the Jewish people in front of G-d and consequentially turning around and scolding them. The relationship had changed.
My teacher and mentor, Rabbi Eliezer Kenig (Hashem should bless him with a long life) once said on this topic: A mothers job is to make her children feel safe at home, to give them the feeling that there is no better family for them in the world, to provide encouragement and support - all while overlooking their shortcomings. Only then can the father fulfill his role as a teacher - to provide them with tools necessary to overcome the challenges of life. Otherwise, at the first sign of admonishment by the father, the children will begin to distance themselves from the home.
So while a father plants seeds in the child in order to prepare them for life on their own, the mother waters those seeds and protects them from the elements while they take root.

Happy Father's Day!