Shemos – Page 6 – Peninim on the Torah

ויגדל משה ויצא אל אחיו וירא בסבלתם וירא איש מצרי מכה איש עברי מאחיו

And Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren and observed their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man, of his brethren. (2:11)

Rashi’s famous comment tells it all: Nassan einav v’libo liheyos meitzar aleihem, “He applied his eyes and heart (to see their suffering and) grieve with them.” The Melitzer Rebbe, Shlita, observes that Hashem has given us a mitzvah to protect our eyes from gazing at anything that will cause us spiritual harm. V’lo sassuru acharei levavchem v’acharei eineichem, “And (do) not explore after your heart and after your eyes” (Bamidbar 15:39). To explore with our eyes can be quite dangerous to our spiritual health. This is why we are admonished concerning shemiras ha’einayim, guarding/ protecting our eyes from those areas…

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ויאמר משה אל ד'... לא איש דברים אנכי גם מתמול גם משלשם גם מאז דברך אל עבדך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Shemos

Moshe replied to Hashem… I am not a man of words, not since yesterday, not since the day before yesterday, nor since You first spoke to your servant. (4:10)

Rashi notes that this was the seventh day of Moshe Rabbeinu’s dialogue with Hashem. Moshe’s reluctance to assume the leadership of Klal Yisrael was because he did not want to arrogate himself over his older brother, Aharon, who was a Navi, Prophet, and the present leader of the people. The Yalkut Shimoni quotes Moshe, “Until I stood here, my brother, Aharon, had been prophesizing for the last eighty years. Now I should come into his perimeter? I should be his adversary and cause him pain?” Hashem replied, “You will neither be his adversary, nor will you cause him pain. Indeed,…

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וילך איש מבית לוי ויקח את בת לוי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Shemos

A man went from the House of Levi and took a daughter of Levi. (2:1)

The Torah presents the lineage of Moshe Rabbeinu in a very clandestine manner, almost as if it is attempting to hide the names of his parents. It is only later, in Parashas Vaeira, that we are finally introduced to his parents. Clearly, the Torah must have a reason for concealing their identities. Horav Moshe Feinstein, zl, explains this, providing us with a practical application for parents. Nachas, satisfaction, is something we all seek from our children. Because parents are naturally biased, we take pride in our children’s achievements, especially when they demonstrate talent and outstanding character traits. Undoubtedly, Amram and…

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ויואל משה לשבת את האיש ויתן את צפורה בתו למשה. ותלד בן ויקרא את שמו גרשום

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Shemos

Moshe desired to dwell with the man; and he gave his daughter Tziporah to Moshe. She gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom. (2:21,22)

In the Talmud Nedarim 65a, Chazal teach that Yisro made Moshe Rabbeinu swear to him that he would never leave without permission. The Yalkut has a different perspective on Yisro’s requirements for Moshe to fulfill before he would agree to give him his daughter in marriage. Moshe asked for Tziporah. Yisro agreed, on the condition that Moshe promise to carry out the one request that Yisro had of him. Moshe agreed. Yisro presented what is considered to be atypical of him. On the other hand, it is also frightening that Moshe would accede to the request. He said, “The first…

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ומשה היה רעה את צאן יתרו... וינהג את הצאן אחר המדבר... וירא מלאך ד' אליו בלבת אש מתוך הסנה... והסנה איננו אוכל... וירא ד' כי סר לראות. ויקרא אליו אלקים... ויאמר אל תקרב הלום של נעליך מעל רגליך כי המקום אשר אתה עומד עליו אדמת קודש הוא

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Shemos

Moshe was shepherding the sheep of Yisro… he guided the sheep far into the wilderness… an angel of Hashem appeared to him in a blaze of fire from amid the bush… but the bush was not consumed… Hashem saw that he turned aside to see. And G-d called to him… He said, “Do not come closer to here, remove your shoes from your feet, for the place upon which you stand is holy ground.” (3:1-5)

Hashem appeared to Moshe Rabbeinu in the wilderness, from amidst a burning bush. It was at this point that the Almighty appointed him to be Klal Yisrael’s leader. Moshe resisted until Hashem ultimately “convinced” him to accept. The place where the encounter with the bush took place was Har Sinai, which would later become known as Har Hashem, the Mountain of G-d. Moshe was overwhelmed with the vision of a bush that continued to burn without being consumed by the fire. The scene was an allegory to Klal Yisrael, with the burning bush representing the Jews in the Egyptian exile….

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ויקח משה את אשתו ואת בניו... וישב ארצה מצרים... ויהי בדרך במלון ויפגשהו ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Shemos

Moshe took his wife and his sons… and returned to the land of Egypt… it was on the way, in the lodging, that Hashem encountered him. (4:20,24)

Seven days elapsed while Hashem maintained His dialogue with Moshe Rabbeinu, attempting to convince him to go to Egypt to serve as the first leader of Klal Yisrael. Moshe demurred for various reasons; his unparalleled humility and consummate respect for his brother, Aharon HaKohen, were his primary reasons. Ultimately, Hashem said, “Either you lead them out, or they will remain forever slaves to Pharaoh.” Moshe relented and agreed to go. The Torah relates that Moshe fetched his wife and sons and set out for Egypt. Along the way, they stopped to rest at an inn. It was at this inn…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5772, Shemos

“They embittered their lives with hard work…all their labors that they performed with them were with crushing harshness.” (1:14)

In the Talmud Sotah 11b, Chazal give us an insight into the avodas perach, crushing/harsh labor, to which the Egyptians subjected Klal Yisrael. They inverted their tasks, giving the men work that was usually performed by women and vice versa. This seems enigmatic. If a man is forced to perform a woman’s work, is that to be considered crushing and harsh? It may not be his style, but it certainly is not heartless. The Ozrover Rebbe, z.l., derives from here that any form of labor that is not habitual for an individual is, in effect, considered avodas perach. The difficulty…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5772, Shemos

“Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren and observed their burdens.” (2:11)

Although raised in the splendor of Pharaoh’s palace, exposed constantly to the anti-Semitic vitriol that was undoubtedly a part of the daily conversation, Moshe Rabbeinu remained the son of Amram and Yocheved. He did not become an Egyptian prince; he remained a Jew, proud of his heritage, empathetic to his brethren, compassionate for the downtrodden, broken slaves. He did not merely identify with his People through lip service; he went out to them. He wanted to observe their suffering and grieve with them. He was a true “noseh b’ol im chaveiro,” one who carries the yoke with his friend….

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5772, Shemos

“And say to him (Pharaoh), “Hashem, G-d of the Ivriyim, (Hebrews), happened upon us.” (3:18)

Hashem instructed Moshe Rabbeinu to approach Pharaoh on behalf of the Jewish People. This is the first time that an address is to be made to a gentile king in the name of the Jewish People. We find the plural derivative of the word Ivri in a form, Ivriyim, with two ‘yudin,” which never occurs again. Elsewhere, it is always written as Ivrim. Horav S.R. Hirsch, z.l., posits that the character which is defined by the word Ivri is herein underscored. The word, “Ivriyim,” emphasizes not only the character that marks the people as a whole, but one which characterizes…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5772, Shemos

“I am not a man of words… for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of speech.” (4:10)

Moshe Rabbeinu implored Hashem to send someone else to Pharaoh. He claimed that his speech impediment would make it very difficult for him to express himself effectively and to articulate his demands. It is interesting to note that Moshe felt that his impediment would only be problematic in his dialogue with Pharaoh. What about Klal Yisrael? How would they react to a leader who could not communicate in a clear and effective manner? Apparently, Moshe Rabbeinu was not concerned about the Jews. They were not so vacuous and shallow to judge a person only according to his external qualities. They…

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ויגדל משה ויצא אל אחיו וירא בסבלתם וירא איש מצרי מכה איש עברי מאחיו

And Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren and observed their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man, of his brethren. (2:11)

ויאמר משה אל ד'... לא איש דברים אנכי גם מתמול גם משלשם גם מאז דברך אל עבדך

Moshe replied to Hashem… I am not a man of words, not since yesterday, not since the day before yesterday, nor since You first spoke to your servant. (4:10)

וילך איש מבית לוי ויקח את בת לוי

A man went from the House of Levi and took a daughter of Levi. (2:1)

ויואל משה לשבת את האיש ויתן את צפורה בתו למשה. ותלד בן ויקרא את שמו גרשום

Moshe desired to dwell with the man; and he gave his daughter Tziporah to Moshe. She gave birth to a son, and he named him Gershom. (2:21,22)

ויקח משה את אשתו ואת בניו... וישב ארצה מצרים... ויהי בדרך במלון ויפגשהו ד'

Moshe took his wife and his sons… and returned to the land of Egypt… it was on the way, in the lodging, that Hashem encountered him. (4:20,24)

“They embittered their lives with hard work…all their labors that they performed with them were with crushing harshness.” (1:14)

“Moshe grew up and went out to his brethren and observed their burdens.” (2:11)

“And say to him (Pharaoh), “Hashem, G-d of the Ivriyim, (Hebrews), happened upon us.” (3:18)

“I am not a man of words… for I am heavy of mouth and heavy of speech.” (4:10)

YEARS

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