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הנני ממטיר כעת מחר ברד כבד מאד... ועתה שלח העז את מקנך ואת כל אשר לך בשדה ...הירא את דבר ד'... הנים את עבדו ואת מקנהו אל הבתים

Behold, at this time tomorrow I shall rain a very heavy hail… And now send, gather in your livestock and everything that you have in the field…. Whoever among the servants of Pharaoh feared the word of Hashem chased his servants and livestock into the house. (9:18,19,20)

Egypt is a country where rain is rare and hail is virtually a climate phenomenon that does not occur. Thus, the plague of barad, hail, was unusual in that it would be a first for Egypt. Moshe’s warning was unique, in that he told Pharaoh the exact time at which the plague would commence and warned him to inform his slaves to take cover in order to protect themselves and their property. The Torah commends those Egyptians who listened, referring to them as G-d-fearing. The plague of barad and the entire format of its descent onto the land of Egypt…

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ויאמר ד' אל משה אמר אל אהרן נטה את מטך והך את עפר הארץ והיה לכנם

Hashem said to Moshe, “Say to Aharon, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, it shall become lice.’” (8:12)

Rashi explains that, like the plague of blood and frogs, Moshe could not catalyze this plague. Just as the water had protected him as an infant, the dust of the land protected him when he used it to conceal the Egyptian that he had killed. To smite the earth would have been an act of ingratitude on his part. This begs elucidation. The water saved Moshe – end of story. His basket was placed in the water and remained there until Bisyah, Pharaoh’s daughter, discovered it. The dust of the earth’s protection was short-lived, since it did not successfully hide…

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ויקח עמרם את יוכבד דדתו לו לאשה

And Amram took his aunt Yocheved as a wife. (6:20)

As a rule, the Torah does not mention the names of women unless they play an integral role in the narrative. It is, therefore, out of context that the Torah mentions Yocheved – despite the fact that she was the progenitress of the three great leaders of Klal Yisrael: Moshe Rabbeinu, Aharon HaKohen and Miriam HaNeviah. Horav Aryeh Leib Heyman, zl, delves into Yocheved’s background, her name, her personal achievements and her distinction vis-à-vis Klal Yisrael’s destiny. He suggests that her father, Levi, gave her the name Yocheved because he felt greater personal guilt for selling Yosef than the other…

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והוצאתי אתכם מתחת סבלת מצרים והצלתי אתכם מעבדתם

And I shall take you out from under the burdens of Egypt; I shall rescue you from their service. (6:6)

V’hitzalti eschem mei’avodosam, “And I will rescue you from their service” means that the Jewish people will no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. No longer slaves? Throughout our tumultuous history, we have been subjugated to the most demeaning and brutal forms of slavery – and then murdered. Horav Chaim Keller, zl, wonders how our people, who were treated worse than animals by the Nazi murderers, were able to recite, She’lo asani eved, “That He did not make me a slave.” If that was not slavery – what is? In a shmuess, ethical discourse (Peninei Daas), Horav Eliyahu Meir Bloch,…

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ויהי ברד בכל ארץ מצרים על האדם ועל הבהמה ועל כל עשב השדה

And there will be hail in the entire land of Egypt, on man and beast, and on all the grass in the land of Egypt. (9:22)

The Torah could have simply stated that hail would rain down throughout the land of Egypt. Recording the detail – man, beast, grass – begs elucidation. The Brisker Rav, zl, derives from the excess verbiage of the pasuk that the barad, hail, descended only on those places wherein man or animal were to be found. In those areas uninhabited by man or animal and where grass did not grow, no hail came down. Furthermore, earlier, when Pharaoh was warned to quickly gather the animals to safety, it was not meant specifically to bring the animals inside, so that they be…

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ולא יכלו החרטמים לעמד לפני משה מפני השחין ... ויחזק ד' את לב פרעה

The necromancers could not stand before Moshe because of the boils … Hashem strengthened the heart of Pharaoh. (9:11,12)

Concerning the previous plagues, the Torah writes that Pharaoh personally strengthened/hardened his heart. Regarding makkas shechin, boils, the Torah attests, Va’yichazek Hashem es lev Pharaoh, “Hashem strengthened Pharaoh’s heart.” What had transpired to catalyze this change? Ramban explains that as long as he was surrounded by his magicians, Pharaoh was ashamed to concede the truth: he had lost control. Hashem was stronger. The Jewish people should be permitted to leave. Pharaoh the rasha, wicked, would never allow anyone to observe him in a moment of weakness. It might denigrate their perception of him as a deity. When Egypt was stricken…

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אמר אל אהרן נטה את מטך והך את עפר הארץ והיה לכנים

Say to Aharon, “Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land; it shall become lice. (8:12)

Rashi explains that Moshe Rabbeinu could not bring the plague of lice on Egypt, because it meant striking the ground, something Moshe could not bring himself to do. The dust of the earth protected him from being discovered when he used it to conceal the corpse of the Egyptian whom he had killed. For Moshe to have struck the land would have been a blemish on his attribute of hakoras hatov, gratitude. Chazal teach that whoever denies the favor he benefitted from his fellowman will not stop there. He will also one day deny Hashem’s favor as well. One whose…

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קח את מטך והשלך לפני פרעה

Take your staff and cast it down before Pharaoh. (7:9)

What “merit” did the mateh, staff, have that it was used as the medium for carrying out some of the plagues against Pharaoh and the Egyptian people? Rabbi Go’el Alkarif suggests a powerful mussar, ethical lesson, to be derived from here. Prior to Horav Yisrael Salanter’s public emergence as the preeminent founder of the mussar movement, he lived quietly in Memel, Germany, with an idea, an idea that would transform the Jewish world. His innovation was to focus on mussar also. In addition to studying Gemorah, Jews should also work on their middos, character traits, refining and honing them, so…

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הם המדברים אל פרעה... להוציא את בני ישראל ממצרים הוא משה ואהרן

They are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh… to take Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt; this was Moshe and Aharon. (6:27)

The Torah introduces the partnership of Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen as Klal Yisrael’s designated leaders who were Divinely charged to lead the Jewish People from Egypt. It was through them that Pharaoh and his people were meted out the Ten Plagues. The Torah introduces them here with a genealogical backdrop, beginning with their great-grandfather, Levi, his children and grandchildren, culminating with Moshe and Aharon. This would have been sufficient. The Torah, however, adds, “This was Moshe and Aharon,” which, on the surface, appears to be a superfluous statement. Of course, they are Moshe and Aharon. Who else? Rashi explains…

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ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם

I shall take you to Me for a people. (6:7)

Hashem chose the Jews as His People when He gave them the Torah. This was the watershed event that began with the Jews’ liberation from Egypt where they had been subjugated to the most cruel and debasing enslavement. When Klal Yisrael left Egypt, it was hardly evident that they would, in the space of a few months, be privy to the greatest Revelation of all time and receive the Torah, which would establish them as a nation under Hashem – His Nation. Veritably, the raison d’etre of the Jews’ liberation from Egypt was their receiving the Torah. This might be…

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