Sruly Schnair

בא אל פרעה כי אני הכבדתי את לבו ואת לב עבדיו

Sruly Schnair In Bo, 5779

Come to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart and the heart of his servants stubborn. (10:1)

Rashi explains that Hashem sent Moshe to warn Pharaoh of the upcoming plague. Why warn Pharaoh if his reaction would be negative as a result of Hashem hardening his heart? A warning should serve a purpose. Apparently, this warning did not. Horav Yosef Dov Soloveitzchik, zl, Rosh Yeshivas Brisk, Yerushalayim, explains this based upon a principle quoted from Horav Yeruchem Levovitz, zl, Mashgiach Yeshivas Mir. When Sarah Imeinu gave birth to Yitzchak Avinu at the age of 90 years old, the Torah makes a big “to do” about the overt miracle that she had experienced. In contrast, when Yocheved gave…

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ויט משה את ידו על השמים ויהי חשך אפלה בכל ארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair In Bo, 5779

Moshe stretched forth his hand towards the heavens, and there was a thick darkness throughout the Land of Egypt. (10:22)

Chazal (Midrash Rabbah/Shemos 14:2) ask from whence came this choshech, darkness. Rabbi Yehudah says it came from on High. It was a Heavenly/otherworldly darkness, as it says in Tehillim 18:12, “He made darkness His concealment, around Him His shelter.” (This means: even when Hashem intervenes in a swift and stunning manner in human affairs, He remains concealed [Ibn Ezra], or alternatively, man quickly forgets Hashem’s role in all that happens to him [Horav S.R. Hirsch]. The question is obvious: If the darkness that plagued Egypt was from Heaven – where in Heaven was it to be found? Is there darkness…

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וישאל איש מאת רעהו ואשה מאת רעותה כלי כסף וכלי זהב

Sruly Schnair In Bo, 5779

Let each man request of his fellow and each woman from her fellow silver vessels and gold vessels. (11:2)

Hashem asked Moshe Rabbeinu to make a special effort to impress upon the Jews the significance of requesting silver and gold vessels from the Egyptians, because, if they did not leave Egypt with a sizable financial portfolio, Avraham Avinu’s neshamah, soul, would have a “complaint” against Hashem. She’lo yomar oso tzaddik V’avadum v’inu osam – kayeim ba’hem – v’acharei chein yeitzu b’r’chush gadol – lo kayeim ba’hem; “So that the righteous person (Avraham) should not say, ‘G-d carried out in full measure the prophecy that his offspring will be oppressed, but not the companion promise that they will leave their…

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והיה לך לאות על ידך ולזכרון בין עיניך

Sruly Schnair In Bo, 5779

And it shall be for you a sign, your arm and a reminder between your eyes. (13:9)

The mitzvah of Tefillin – two boxes which each contain four short parshiyos from the Torah inscribed on parchment, and worn on the arm and the forehead – is one of the most important mitzvos of the Torah. One of the boxes is worn on the arm, opposite the heart, which is the seat of one’s emotions; the other is placed above the forehead, resting opposite the cerebrum. Thus, our attention is directed to the head, the heart and to the hand, thereby implying that our actions must be dedicated to Hashem in such a manner that we conjoin our…

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אלה ראשי בית אבתם בני ראובן בכר ישראל... ובני שמעון... ואלה שמות בני לוי לתלדתם גרשון וקהת ומררי

Sruly Schnair In Vaeira, 5779

These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: the sons of Reuven… the sons of Shimon… These are the names of the sons of Levi in order of their birth: Gershon, Kehas and Merari. (6:14,15,16)

The Shlah HaKadosh wonders why, concerning Reuven and Shimon, the Torah states simply: Bnei Reuven u’Bnei Shimon, the sons of Reuven and the sons of Shimon, while with regard to Levi it says, V’eileh shemos Bnei Levi, “And these are the names of Bnei Levi.” Why does it not simply say Bnei Levi – why the extra word – shemos – names of? The Shlah explains that Levi knew that his shevet, tribe, would not be subjected to the Egyptian slavery. He was quite aware that while the rest of the nation would be suffering under the cruel subjugation of…

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לך אל פרעה בבקר הנה יצאה המימה

Sruly Schnair In Vaeira, 5779

Go to Pharaoh in the morning – behold! He goes out to the water. (7:15)

Rashi explains the purpose of Pharaoh’s daily jaunt to the Nile as going to the place in which he regularly relieved himself. Pharaoh pretended to be a god, and he would say that he has no need to relieve himself – as humans do. He would, therefore, arise early in the morning, go out to the Nile River and secretly tend to his body’s needs. We derive from here, comments Horav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Shlita, the strength of the power of the yetzer hora, evil inclination. Pharaoh lied to his entire country. He sold the lie that he was a god…

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אמר אל אהרן קח מטך ונטה ידך על מימי מצרים

Sruly Schnair In Vaeira, 5779

Say to Aharon, “Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt.” (7:19)

So begins the Ten Plagues that shook up the underpinnings of Egyptian arrogance and obstinacy. Hashem instructed Aharon to strike the waters; later, he struck the water from which emerged the frogs and then the earth which produced the lice. Why Aharon, and not Moshe? Chazal explain that the Nile River had protected Moshe Rabbeinu when he was an infant. It would have been wrong for him to serve as the instrument to inflict a plague on it. Likewise, the earth concealed the Egyptian that Moshe had slain. The Torah considers it wrong to show ingratitude even to an inanimate…

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וימתו הצפרדעים מן הבתים מן החצרת ומן השדת... ויסר הערב מפרעה מעבדיו ומעמו לא נשאר אחד

Sruly Schnair In Vaeira, 5779

The frogs died from the houses, from the courtyards, and from the field… He removed the swarm of wild beasts from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people – not one remained. (8:9,27)

The frogs (most of them) died. The arov, wild beasts, and arbeh, locust, did not. Kli Yakar explains that Hashem sought to teach that one who gives himself up for Kiddush Hashem, to sanctify Hashem’s Name, will be saved. Thus, those frogs that climbed into the burning hot ovens belonging to the Egyptians – lived. The other frogs, who did not enter the ovens, but rather “chose” to invade the country, the fields, the homes – died. The ones that risked death for the glory of Hashem were spared; the others were not. It was this lesson that Chananyah, Mishael…

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ויקם מלך חדש אשר לא ידע את יוסף

Sruly Schnair In 5779, Shemos

And there arose a new king who did not know Yosef. (1:8)

Galus, exile, is interpreted to mean displacement. A person in exile is a displaced person. A person in exile is no longer himself; as he is an expatriate from his home, his self-image is distorted. A Jew in galus is a galus Jew who is devoid of the treasures and qualities that had been a part of his life prior to his forced emigration from Yerushalayim – or, at least, he should feel that way. The fact that we no longer feel (or ever really felt) that we are missing our “home” is, in and of itself, another and –…

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ויהי כי יראו המילדות את האלקים ויעש להם בתים

Sruly Schnair In 5779, Shemos

Because the midwives feared G-d, He gave them houses. (1:21)

Rashi explains that these houses were the houses of Kehunah, Leviyah and Malchus. Horav Yisrael Belsky, zl, expounds on Rashi, demonstrating that what appears to be a homiletic interpretation (bayis/house is a structure of wood and stone – not a family. Thus, one must apply an interpretive approach in order to translate bayis to be a family) is actually the definitive meaning of the word. The Torah here defines bayis as the continuation/extension of the family unit: Bais Aharon barchu es Hashem, “House of Aharon, bless Hashem.” When we say this, we are expressing the fundamental nature of the descendants…

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בא אל פרעה כי אני הכבדתי את לבו ואת לב עבדיו

Come to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart and the heart of his servants stubborn. (10:1)

ויט משה את ידו על השמים ויהי חשך אפלה בכל ארץ מצרים

Moshe stretched forth his hand towards the heavens, and there was a thick darkness throughout the Land of Egypt. (10:22)

וישאל איש מאת רעהו ואשה מאת רעותה כלי כסף וכלי זהב

Let each man request of his fellow and each woman from her fellow silver vessels and gold vessels. (11:2)

והיה לך לאות על ידך ולזכרון בין עיניך

And it shall be for you a sign, your arm and a reminder between your eyes. (13:9)

אלה ראשי בית אבתם בני ראובן בכר ישראל... ובני שמעון... ואלה שמות בני לוי לתלדתם גרשון וקהת ומררי

These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: the sons of Reuven… the sons of Shimon… These are the names of the sons of Levi in order of their birth: Gershon, Kehas and Merari. (6:14,15,16)

לך אל פרעה בבקר הנה יצאה המימה

Go to Pharaoh in the morning – behold! He goes out to the water. (7:15)

אמר אל אהרן קח מטך ונטה ידך על מימי מצרים

Say to Aharon, “Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt.” (7:19)

וימתו הצפרדעים מן הבתים מן החצרת ומן השדת... ויסר הערב מפרעה מעבדיו ומעמו לא נשאר אחד

The frogs died from the houses, from the courtyards, and from the field… He removed the swarm of wild beasts from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people – not one remained. (8:9,27)

ויקם מלך חדש אשר לא ידע את יוסף

And there arose a new king who did not know Yosef. (1:8)

ויהי כי יראו המילדות את האלקים ויעש להם בתים

Because the midwives feared G-d, He gave them houses. (1:21)

YEARS

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