“For All the Children of Israel There Was Light”

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Jan 222010

Bo 5770

During the plague of darkness, the Torah tells us that the Egyptians “did not see each other, and no one rose from his place for three days, but for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings” (Shemos 10:23). What is the significance of the children of Israel having light? Is it simply to define the parameters of the plague? The Targum Yerushalmi translates that the light referred to was for the “righteous, to be occupied with mitzvos in their dwellings.” We find a vital message about light – one that can be applied to all the provisions of physical well-being. The purpose of the light is to aid in the performance of mitzvos and the service of Hashem, as is the purpose of the entire physical world. However, should a person fail to properly utilize his transitory stay in this world, then for that person the light he was given was worthless; he might as well have been in darkness. I believe that this can be the meaning of the verse, “[t]he way of the wicked is like pitch darkness” (Mishlei 4:19) – their way of failing to utilize the light, resembles the way of one in darkness.
May we strengthen ourselves and merit to be amongst those of whom it is said, “[t]he way of the righteous is like the light of dawn; it shines ever brighter until the day is perfect” (ibid. 18).
Good Shabbos!

Posted by Aaron Abramson at ז' בשבט ה'תש"ע Tagged with: , , , , ,

Don’t be a donkey

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Jan 222010

This week’s Parsha is filled with many events such as the last three plagues, the Mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, and Tefillin and much more. But today we are going to skip over most of the Parsha and dive into what it means to “Harden Parohs heart”.

So what is the Torah telling us when it says: “Hechbaditi es Libo” that Hashem hardened Paroh’s heart? What happened to free will? The midrash tells us the following:

There was a boat with many wild beasts: the shu’al (a fox), a tiger, Ari (a lion) the king of all the beasts and the chamor (a donkey), who’s not as fierce as the other animals. So the Chamor decided to tax (meches) all the animals on the boat. He went to the Shu’al  and the Shu’al  gave him the meches and as he was leaving he told the Shual that he was going to the Ari next. The Shu’al  was surprised and retorted “What chutzpah you have to go to the king of all the beasts!” Not listening, the Chamor then went to the Ari to collect the meches. Ari was not too happy with the Chamor so the he stopped the boat and told him that he would have to take this outside. They did and Ari killed the hin. After killing him he told the Shu’al  to chop him up and return the parts to him when he was finished and that would be the king’s supper that night. Shu’al  did what he was told and gave the parts to Ari. But Ari noticed that there was something missing, there was no lev (heart). Naturally Ari asked Shu’al  where the heart was; surely he must have misplaced it. But “no” the Shu’al  answered. “There is no heart. Any donkey that would go up to the king, with such chutzpah as he, has no heart.”

Now you must be wondering what a fox, a donkey, and a lion have to do with this week’s parsha, what a crazy midrash! Think… the donkey is Paroh. We see that throughout the plagues Moshe gives Paroh great warning in advance about what is soon to come and Paroh does nothing. He watches how his people suffer. It is not until his very life is threatened that he becomes afraid. This was at the last plague; death of the first born for he was a first born. Paroh truly had no heart. Rambam, (Mamondeis) says that because Paroh was so truly evil, and heartless Hashem took away his free will so that he could not repent. He had crossed the line. His logic is based on the midrash the says: “Pharaoh will not be allowed to repent.” The concept of free will does not apply to those who were so bad that Hashem took mercy and had to take away their free will in order to spare Paroh of even greater punishment.

Some Rabbis, among them Rav Soloveitchik say that he gave away his free will the day he gave away his heart. (We see earlier that he Paroh was stubborn, even before Hashem hardened it.) With Hashem’s mercy He spares even the wicked by taking away his free will and further punishment.

Now we can’t always look at the Torah so literally. Sometimes the Torah is teaching us life lessons- Musser. As I learned from Rabbi Yitzchok Cohen from Yeshiva University, one doesn’t have to look at Paroh as stam, just the King of Egypt; he is in every one of us. Paroh represents our Yeitzer Harah our (evil inclination). He’s that voice inside of us that tells us “No, don’t help that old lady across the street with her heavy groceries.” And “Yes, do cheat on the test, no one will notice.” Or perhaps “Why should I help those in Haiti, how will that help me?” As we see later on in next week’s Parsha even our Yetzer Harah does teshuva, repentance. We learn from a midrash that at Paroh’s last moments he realizes what he has done and recites the Shema.  From here we see another important concept, Hashem’s mercy. Hashem allows even the wickedest of people to repent. This shows us that even our Yetzer Harah wants to repent and yes in the end of days in 120 years when we go to Shamayim we are taught that when we are being judged in front of HaKadosh BaruchHo, The King of Kings, who is there to defend us. Not our Rebbe, not our Mommy, not even our all of our Mitzvahs but our Yetzer Harah. The Yetzer Harah will get up to the podium or however they do it up there and tell Hashem “You know what I had to do to make Shmuely eat that BigMac! Oh boy you should have seen him! I had to put a Mcdonalds right by his house so that every morning he would smell that yummy treif meat. Then when that wouldn’t do it I had to bring in the dollar menu and I think that is what threw him off. He went in there and just ate everything insight, it was like that movie… Super Size Me.”

We are constantly reminded of the exodus from Egypt and how with Hashems’ oustreched hand we were saved from the evil Paroh. We see this in the Pesach seder, in Kidush, and even when we put on Tefillin. After hearing this over and over every year this story could get a bit distant and we could easily detach ourselves. Well here is a different perspective: Every day we are reliving the Exodus from Egypt, internally. We are faced with adds and T.V. shows that tell us what to wear, what to say, and how to act, constantly trying to control our lives in such a discrete obvious way that passes by our heads. Most of the time we don’t even know why we are doing these things. We just sometimes need to stop and ask ourselves “Who is this for, for me or society?” Now I’m not saying that we need to think before we do every single thing to do, but we need to be aware to the why and who we are doing this for. Don’t put yourself in your own Exodus and cut yourself off to who you are. Leave some time for yourself and you won’t be that donkey who gets killed by the lion.

Posted by Jonah Keyak at ז' בשבט ה'תש"ע Tagged with: , , , ,

Yom Hashem

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Jan 172010

(I got this Dvar Torah from HaRav Menachem Leibtag Shlita)
400 years before the Exodus of Egypt, the city of Sdom was celebrating Pesach. According to Rashi, Lot served his guests matzot on Pesach.
Flash forward a couple of parshiot and we are in Sefer Shmot. Moshe speaks to the sneh (burning bush). During that encounter, Hashem gives Moshe two missions.
1.Get Pharaoh to allow the Jewish people to worship Hashem in the desert.
2.To have the Jewish people to recognize that Hashem has come to fulfill his covenant.

The first nine plagues don’t mention any instruction to the Jews. The focus is on the confrontation between Moshe and Pharaoh – or really Hashem and Egypt. The purpose of the first nine plagues is: “v’yadu MITZRAIM ki Ani Hashem” – “And EGYPT will recognize that I am Hashem, when I stretch my hand over Egypt…” (7:5) The first nine plagues are all part of mission 1.

A covenant by nature is two sided. Hashem must follow His promise and take the Jewish people out of Egypt and into Israel, and in turn the Jewish people must show loyalty and servitude to Hashem. During the first nine plagues, Hashem has no problem differentiating the Jews from the Egyptians, but when it come to makkat bechorot, the Jewish people are instructed to smear the blood of the Korban Pesach on their door posts. Hashem in His ultimate perfection doesn’t need the Jewish people to put blood on their door posts so He’ll know which homes are not Egyptian. So why make us do it?

A change of lifestyle, especially that of a nation, cannot be done overnight. If the Jews began their teshuva process prior to the first plague, as Hashem had demanded, they could have been ready for the ideal redemption process. Had we been worthy, the blood on the door posts may not have been necessary. Now that Hashem was about to reveal Himself b’shem Havaya they deserve to be punished with the Egyptians, but Hashem has mercy. (Yechezkel 20:7-9) The fact that Hashem PASSED OVER their homes emphasizes this point- they deserved to be punished with the Egyptians, but Hashem saved them in the last minute.
The Korban Pesach has a dual purpose:
1.The Jewish people recognize that they do not deserve to be saved
2.Offering the Korban Pesach in thanksgiving of Brit Ben Habetarim reminds them that if they are saved, it is in order that they can fulfill the next stage of the covenant → to become His special nation in the Promised Land.

According to pshat, Lot baked matzot instead of bread because his guests came suddenly. Rashi’s drash, that Lot baked matzot because of Pesach thematically links the events leading to the destruction of Sdom to Yetziat Mitzraim. In both events Hashem reveals Himself b’shem Havaya – in Judgement.

Rashi’s commentary point to a deeper biblical theme, that of ‘Yom Hashem’. Yom Hashem is known throughout Tana”ch as the day when Hashem reveals Himself, causing the wicked to be punished , and the righteous to be saved. Yom Hashem is Hashem’s day of judgement.
We see that it is necessary to do teshuva before redemption, otherwise Hashem’s revelation will lead to destruction.
KOS SHEL ELIYAU- The redemption process began with the Jewish people not deserving salvation, but it continued with receiving the Torah and inheriting Israel – which require spiritual readiness. The Korban Pesach was the “first step” in the right direction.

Every year on Pesach, we thank Hashem for the fulfillment of Brit ben Habetarim (Magid) and pray for redemption (Hallel/ Nirtza). Before that prayer, we invite Eliyahu HaNavi to our seder table. This is the same Eliyahu promised to us by Malachi- to remind us that we must do proper teshuva prior to redemption, and warn us of the consequences if we don’t.

Shabbat Shalom u’mevorach!!

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