Join our weekly Peninim on the Torah list!

Category

5771

YEARS

5751
5752
5753
5754
5755
5756
5757
5758
5759
5760
5761
5762
5763
5764
5765
5766
5767
5768
5769
5770
5771
5772
5773
5774
5775
5776
5777
5778

“This time I have sinned: Hashem is the Righteous One, and I and my people are the wicked ones.” (9:27)

The plague of hail brought Pharaoh to his knees – at least momentarily. He openly conceded   his  iniquity  and  lauded   Hashem’s   righteousness.   This  seems   like a formidable confession coming from the archetypical man of evil, the Pharaoh of Egypt, a spiritually bankrupt country steeped in licentiousness and evil. This vidduy, confession, does not seem to coincide with Chazal’s maxim in the Talmud Eiruvin 19a: Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says, “The wicked, even when standing at the gates of Gehinom, Purgatory, refuse to repent.” How are we to reconcile Pharaoh’s statement with Chazal’s acknowledgment of the weakness of a rasha, wicked person?…

Continue Reading

“The frogs will depart… only in the river shall they remain.” (8:7)

Moshe Rabbeinu’s prayer to Hashem requesting that the frogs be removed and the plague come to a halt was effective. The frogs returned to the river where they belonged. In Parashas Chukas (Bamidbar 21:4), Moshe also prayed to Hashem that He remove the fiery snakes that were wreaking havoc in the Jewish camp. His prayer was not effective. It only worked after Hashem advised Moshe to make a fiery snake out of copper and place it on a pole. Anyone who had been bitten by the fiery snake and looked at Moshe’s snake was spared. Chazal ask, “Does a serpent cause…

Continue Reading

“And I shall harden Pharaoh’s heart.” (7:3)

Anyone who peruses the text might think that Pharaoh was some kind of lunatic. He constantly changed his mind. One moment,  he was entreating Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen to rid Egypt of its frogs. The next moment, he had reverted to his usual arrogance. The same scenario played itself out once again concerning makkas arov, pestilence. Every time that he was down, he begged forgiveness and appeared to be sincere. As soon as the plague disappeared, he reverted to his old self. This is the likely behavior of an animal – not a rational human being. An animal cannot change…

Continue Reading

These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuven… the sons of Shimon… These are the names of the sons of Levi. (6:14-16)

Is there some distinction to the names of Levi’s sons? Apparently there must be, since concerning  Reuven  and  Shimon,  the  Torah  merely  says:  “the  sons  of,”  without mentioning the word shaimos, names. Why does the Torah not emphasize the “names” of Reuven and Shimon’s sons? The Shlah HaKadosh, zl, explains that Shevet Levi was unique among the brothers in that they were not enslaved together with the others. This troubled them, since they wanted to share in their brothers’ pain and empathize with their plight. What did they do? They gave their sons names which brought the bitter exile to…

Continue Reading

“Behold, Bnei Yisrael have not listened to me, so how will Pharaoh listen to me? And I have sealed lips!” (6:12)

Moshe Rabbeinu raises the issue of his speech impediment. He feels that, as a result of his inability to speak eloquently, he is not qualified to serve as Hashem’s spokesman to Pharaoh. Furthermore, if the Jewish People had not listened to him, how could Pharaoh be expected to listen? Rashi cites the Midrash which notes that this is one of the ten kal v’chomer, a fortiori logical arguments, in the Torah. A kal v’chomer reasons: If a rule or fact applies in a situation in which we have limited reason for it to apply, certainly it applies in a situation…

Continue Reading

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our weekly Peninim on the Torah list!

You have Successfully Subscribed!