A Quick Thought -- Parashas Va'eira

At the beginning of this week’s Parashah, Hashem commands Moshe to return go before Pharaoh and demand that the Jews be freed to leave Egypt. “וַיְדַבֵּר ד' אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר אֲנִי ד' דַּבֵּר אֶל פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי דֹּבֵר אֵלֶיךָ:, And Hashem spoke to Moshe saying: I am Hashem. Tell Pharaoh King of Egypt all that I am telling you” (6:29).


The opening phrase, Ani Hashem, seems somewhat out of place here. Hashem isn’t telling Moshe to say that to Pharaoh; He seems to be making that statement to Moshe. Rashi explains that Hashem is telling Moshe “I am Hashem, who is capable of sending you and carrying out My word.”

There is a vital lesson to be leraned about succeeding in avodas Hashem and in inspiring others: Ani Hashem is a prerequisite for the task. Recognize that that you are on a mission and believe in what you are doing.

Hashem’s statement was also telling Moshe the heart of Pharaoh’s problem, and what the underlying message was.

In Parashas Mikeitz, when Pharaoh (the same Pharaoh or his ancestor) had dreamt, he stood “al haye’or, on the Nile.” Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 69:3) tell us that the Egyptians worshipped the Nile, but Pharaoh placed himself al, above, his own god.

Yosef then interprets the dreams to mean that there would be 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine. He sets out an ambitious plan preparing for those trying times ahead. Pharaoh recognizes Yosef’s capabilities and appoints him Viceroy. He gives Yosef his signet ring and Yosef rides through the streets on the royal chariot., with the people lauding him. Pharaoh recognizes that the fate of his people is not his own hands. Despite this recognition, he declares to Yosef: Ani Pharaoh! I am the ruler. I am the demi-god. I am in control.


[This may be what Yehdah was telling Yosef at the start of Vayigash when he said “Ki kamocha k’Pharaoh, you are just like Pharaoh.” You know that you don’t control this world, after all there’s a famine in the land. Yet you are treating us unjustly, without fear of Heavenly retribution, because you – like your king – blindly insist that you are in control.]


Hashem was telling Moshe that this was the issue here. I am Hashem, Who is truly the Director of all events. This is the point of your going to Pharaoh. If he doesn’t listen when you speak, meet him at the Nile – where he goes to try to fool others into believing that he is god (Rashi 7:14) – and call his bluff. If it works, if he and the Egyptians recognize this, fine. If not, the miracles and the makkos will continue until they do.


Indeed, at every turn – even when his sorcerers and servants acknowledged Hashem – Pharaoh refused to give in.


Human nature is such that people delude themselves into self-assuredness. When that happens, Hashem often seeks to shake them out of that complacency.


The more we truly recognize Ani Hashem¸ the more we avoid the need for unwanted challenges, and the more we open ourselves to berachah.

Gut Shabbos.

A Quick Thought -- Shemos

At the end of Parashas Shemos, Moshe and Aharon leave Pharaoh’s palace after conveying Hashem’s demand that the Jewish Nation be allowed to leave Egypt for three days to serve Him.

In response, Pharaoh announced that the Jews were to be subjugated even more severely.

Jewish guards – those who bore the brunt of the terrible new decree  -- appealed to Paharoh, but he was insistent about his new decree. As they left the palace, they met Moshe and Aharon and assailed them for having gone to Pharaoh and inciting him to make life even more difficult.

Moshe then turns to Hashem with a complaint, which is discussed by Chazal and many meforshim. This is what the Torah says:

Vayashav Moshe el Hashem, vayomar: Ado- noi, lamah harei’osa la’am hazeh, lamah zeh shelachtani? U’meiaz baasi el Pharaoh l’dabeir bishmecha heira la’am hazeh, v’hatzeil lo hitzalta es amecha.
Vayomer Hashem: Attah sir’eh es asher e’eseh l’Pharaoh; ki v’yad chazakah yishalcheim….

Moshe returned to Hashem and said: My Master, why did you treat this nation badly; why did you send me? And since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your Name, he treated this nation even worse, yet You have not saved Your Nation.

And Hashem said: Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a strong arm he will send them forth… (Shemos 5:22-6:1).

Let us understand: Moshe was not now asking Hashem about the treatment of the Jews until now. He discovered the reason for that earlier (see Rashi to 2:15), and his prophecy from Hashem showed that there was a plan in place to redeem them.

His current plaint was apparently based on the new decrees. Why then doe he reiterate “lamah hareiosah, why did you treat this nation badly…” and then “Umei’az baasi…heira la’am hazeh, And since I came…he treated this nation even worse?”

Additionally, Moshe’s second sentence seemingly explains the first. Why then does he say “Umei’az, And since…” rather than simply “Me’iaz, Since”?

Thirdly, why in the second sentence does Moshe mention the nation twice, a differently yet: first he says “ha’am hazeh, this nation,” and then he says “amecha, Your nation”?

One way to understand Moshe’s statement, and Hashem’s response, is that Moshe was saying two distinct things here, each in an attempt to invoke Hashem’s commitment to quickly redeem the nation:

First: Why did you treat the nation badly? Why did you send me?

He invokes the pain of Klal Yisrael – and explains that he is speaking up because he had a role here (see Rashi). Hashem does not respond.

So Moshe goes on to his second sentence:

And, besides for that, since I came to Pharaoh speaking in Your Name, he has treated this nation more badly – i.e., there is one Chillul Hashem in that the Jews see that after their G-d sent a message to Pharaoh they are being persecuted more severely – and, additionally, You have not saved Your Nation – i.e., there is a second Chillul Hashem as the Egyptians feel that you sent a messenger but are unable to save Your Nation.

That is an argument that achieved the result Moshe desired: Hashem assures him: Attah sireh, Now you will see how I will redeem them, the process will begin forthwith.

Similarly, we find that when the Jews sinned with the eigel and the meraglim, Moshe effectively invoked the likelihood of Chillul Hashem to save the Jews from decimation (Devarim 9:28, Bamidbar 14:17).

In the same way, Dovid Hamelech begins Tehillim 115 with Lo lanu, Hashem, lo lanu, ki lishimcha tein kavod…Not for our sake Hashem, not for our sake, but give honor to Your Name. We implore Hashem to help Klal Yisrael not because of our own merits, but for the sake of Kevod Shamayim.

If we live our lives in a way that brings honor to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, we show that His Honor is important to us. We can then ask Him to answer our supplications for His Nation for His sake. That is how Moshe and Dovid lived, and that is why their tefillos  effected results.

May we all be zocheh to live such lives and to atah sireh, to imminently see berachos and yeshuos for all of Klal Yisrael, and the geulah sheleimah – the ultimate manifestation of kevod Shamayim – bimheirah b’yameinu.

Gut Shabbos.

A Quick Thought -- Vayechi

Before beginning this insight, it bears noting the obvious: The “failings” of the shevatim were the minutest of character flaws, emphasized and magnified because of their spiritual greatness and lofty level. We may address them only inasmuch as the Torah recounts them so that we may learn from them.

In this week’s parashah, Yaakov gives his sons the berachos that lay the groundwork for the place of each shevet in Klal Yisroel.

Yaakov begins by telling his firstborn, Reuven, that his impetuousness caused him to forfeit both kehunah, Divine service in the Temple, and malchus, royalty, both of which should have been his birthright (49:3-4, and Rashi).

He then goes on to speak to Shimon and Levi, describing them as achim, full partners in attitude and approach. But his depiction seems somewhat uncharitable:

He characterizes them as “klei chamas mecheiroseihem, armed with stolen weaponry,” which, Rashi explains, means that they used violence, the tools assigned to Esav, to achieve their goals.

He implores: “Besodam al tavo nafshi; b’kahalam al teichad kevodi, In their secret council, may my soul not enter; with their assembly, may my honor not be associated.” Rashi explains: Yaakov asked that his name not be mentioned when the children of Shimon rallied around their prince, Zimri, as he sinned (Bamidbar 25), and Korach, who was from Levi, rebelled against Moshe (Bamidbar 16).

Then he inveighs, “Arur apam ki az, v’evrasam ki kashasha, cursed is their anger, for it is strong, and their rage, for it is powerful.”

What is their punishment for this? What role would be assigned to these people who Yaakov described as killers?

“Achalkeim b’Yaakov v’afitzeim b’Yisrael, I will divide them among Jacob and disperse them throughout Israel.”

Just what does this mean? Our Sages, cited by Rashi, tell us that, among other things, the children of Shimon became Torah teachers to children. And in Moshe’s blessings (Devarim 33:10), he assigns Levi the role of Torah teacher to the nation.

But why would someone – indeed, how could someone – use people like this to become teachers? Are these to be our role models?

To answer this, we must examine the actions of Shimon and Levi, the specific sins from which Yaakov disassociates himself, and the blessing/curse he gave these brothers.

Earlier (Bereishis 34), Dinah, the daughter of Yaakov, was kidnapped and tormented. Shimon and Levi used a ruse to weaken the city that held her captive, and proceeded to decimate the city. When they return, Yaakov admonishes them for their act, and they respond: “hachezonah ya’aseh es achoseinu, shall our sister be treated as a harlot?” Yaakov did not respond to their question.

Later, when the brothers had a disagreement with Yosef, where they took him to have the status of a rodef who they had the right to kill, these two took the lead in planning to kill him (Rashi, verse 5).

When someone decides for himself what’s right, he sometimes errs. Even sincere people are sometimes blinded, if inadvertently, by their own parochial interests or limited understanding. A person must consult with a rebbi to offer him accurate guidance. Zimri and Korach launched rebellions against Moshe, the Rebbi and leader of Klal Yisroel,  the very person to whom they should have been turning for direction. Yaakov could have nothing to do with those campaigns.

But, to their credit, Shimon and Levi were clearly men of passion, zeal, and responsibility. And unlike Reuven who Yaakov described as impetuous, Shimon and Levi were methodical; they analyzed each situation, decided what was right, and sought to carry it out.

The Vilna Gaon explains that ideally a rebbi-talmid relationship should be like a large, overflowing wine goblet surrounded by smaller cups. The smaller cups are filled not by removing any wine from the large cup, but are filled by what is overflowing the cup's rim.

Shimon and Levi were overflowing with emotion. Yes, Yaakov cursed the unchecked power of their feelings, reigning them in, but they brimmed with goodness, rectitude, and justice.

 

T

hese were people who would set the perfect examples. Their sheer energy could inspire. Their actions would uplift. Their disciples – young and old – would be transformed through the personality and dynamism of such Rabbeim.

 

Indeed, t

here could be no better 

choice of rabbeim for Klal Yisroel. 

 

May we all have the bren to do what it truly right, and may we inspire others through how we live and how we behave.

 

Gut Shabbos

A Quick Thought -- Vayigash

After Yosef reveals his identity to his brothers, he instructs them “maharu vaalu el avi v’amartem eilav ko amar binchah Yosef, samani Elokim l’adon al kol Mitzrayim..., hasten up to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Yosef said, “Hashem has placed me as a lord over all Egypt”’” (45:9).

Four pesukim later he tells them: “V’higadtem l’avi es kol kevodi b’Mitzrayim v’es kol asher r’isem, u’mihatem v’horadtem es avi heina, and you will tell my father all the honor I have in Egypt, and all that you have seen, and hasten and bring my father down here.”
Why does he seem to repeat the command to bring Yaakov? And what does he mean when he tells the brothers to recount to Yaakov “all that you have seen”?

Simply, in his first instruction, Yosef was telling the brothers to tell Yaakov that he acknowledges that Hashem put him in this position of power and he asks that his father come down. The second time he is telling the brothers to describe his power so Yaakov can be assured that Yosef can provide from them, and to encourage him to go.

He may also have meant for them to tell Yaakov all they saw in how he, Yosef, had behaved: that he had let Shimon out of prison as soon as they left (Rashi, 42:24), that he ate his meals separate from the Egyptians (43:32), and that he sent everyone out of the room so that he would not cause his brothers unnecessary embarrassment.

An additional way to understand this may lie in the phrase “kol asher re’isem, all that you have seen.” In last week’s parashah, when the brothers first returned from Egypt, “vayagidu lo es kol hakoros osam, they recounted to Yaakov all that had occurred to them” (42:29). They described how Yosef had spoken to them harshly, how he demanded that they bring Binyamin, how he had held Shimon as surety. But although they had, in Egypt, seemingly acknowledged that this was a result of their having sold Yosef, (42:21) they presented everything to Yaakov as mikreh, happenstance; a series of inexplicable events and challenges.

But now that Yosef had disclosed his true identity, everything made sense. The puzzle was complete. They saw how it all came together.

They now had to tell Yaakov that this whole episode was not mikreh, it was all part of a plan.
Indeed, the same brothers who sought to kill Yosef derisively saying [at least according to the simple meaning of the passuk] “v’nireh mah y’hiyeh chlomosav, let us now see what will come of his dreams” (37:20) now saw the first of those dreams come true.

Yosef told them to tell their father what they had now seen ... and that all that remained for the second dream to be fulfilled was for Yaakov and his family to come down and be subject to Yosef’s rule (see Rashi 37:10).

In this light, Yosef’s first instruction is a straightforward request for his father to come down to Egypt. His second instruction is saying far more: Tell my father the position I have here, and that you bowed to me and saw how my first dream came true. Now quickly bring my father here so that the second dream will be fulfilled as well.

In fact, when the brothers returned to Yaakov and told him that Yosef is alive and is the ruler in Egypt, Yaakov doubted their words. He was only convinced, and he only decided to go down, after "vayedbru lo es kol divrei Yosef asher dibeir aleihem, they told him all the words Yosef told them" and he saw the wagons Yosef sent (45:26-27). Rashi tells us the basic peshat. But perhaps "all the words Yosef told them" refers to the entire story, starting with the dreams Yosef had told them, and ending with how everything they had undergone in Egypt connected to those dreams.

Even in the most unusual circumstances, it behooves us to remember that it is all part of a master plan. May we be zocheh that those circumstances always be wonderful ones in ways that we can see and understand, and that all our dreams and aspirations be fulfilled in the best way possible.

Gut Shabbos!