Shemos – Page 12 – Peninim on the Torah

Moshe was shepherding the sheep of Yisro…he guided the sheep into the wilderness. (3:1)

The proof that Moshe had the ability to become Klal Yisrael’s leader was his ability to shepherd his father-in-law’s sheep. Chazal relate the remarkable compassion he exhibited towards the tired and thirsty sheep. Hashem said to him, “You have such empathy towards the sheep belonging to human beings. By your life, you will shepherd My sheep, Yisrael.” While this Midrash is well-known, it is important to take a moment and note the stories recounted by the Torah that demonstrate Moshe Rabbeinu’s sense of compassion. Indeed, as Horav Yitzchak Goldwasser, Shlita, points out, there is a specific sequence to the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5759, Shemos

Hashem told Moshe…”to return to Egypt, as all the men who are seeking to kill you have died. (4:19)

Perhaps the people who disparaged Moshe, who went out of their way to inform on him to Pharaoh, were no longer a problem, but Pharaoh himself was still alive. He surely was not likely to embrace Moshe with love and friendship. Horav Yonasan Eibeshitz, zl, who suffered greatly from slanderers, asked this question. His response was one to which he could relate only too well. It appears, said Rav Yonasan, that the disparaging comments and slander of Jews such as Dasan and Aviram, were even more dangerous than Pharaoh’s sword. What a truism! Anyone who has been the hapless victim…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5759, Shemos

Hashem said to Aharon, “Go to meet Moshe”…and he went and encountered him at the mountain of G-d, and kissed him. (4:27)

Regarding Aharon’s encounter with Moshe Rabbeinu, the Midrash cites the pasuk in Tehillim 85, “Chesed v’emes nifgashu, tzedek v’shalom nashuku,” “Kindness and truth have met; righteousness and peace have kissed.” Aharon is the symbol of chesed; Moshe represents emes. In the second part of the pasuk, tzedek is the virtue which characterizes Moshe, while Aharon is defined by the virtue of shalom. Horav Elimelech Moller, Shlita, infers from this pasuk that an individual creates his name by his actions and deeds. Thus, when Aharon and Moshe met, it was an encounter of emes and chesed – tzedek and shalom. Moshe…

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Moshe Marcovich In 5758, Shemos

Let us deal wisely with them. (1:10)

The mentality required to enslave an entire nation of people constitutes a unique form of “wisdom.” As descendants of the original tribes who came to Egypt, Bnei Yisrael enjoyed respect, admiration, and prominence. Their ancestor, Yosef, was Pharaoh’s viceroy. How did their stature suddenly plummet to such a low degree that they were conscripted as menial slaves, performing harsh labor for the Egyptians? Are we to believe that Pharaoh’s “wisdom” was responsible for this feat? The Sforno presents a new perspective in understanding the meaning of the term, “dealing wisely” with the Jews. He claims that the Egyptians did…

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Moshe Marcovich In 5758, Shemos

And I have heard its outcry because of its taskmasters. (3:7)

The Zohar Hakadosh points out that among the various expressions used to describe an impassioned plea to Hashem, the most intense and most meaningful is “tzaakah”. This form of crying out is a supplication which emanates from the innermost recesses of one’s heart. It is the essence of truth and reaches up to the source of truth–Hashem. The Ozrover Rebbe, zl, makes an analogy to lend deeper meaning to this idea. In the Mishnah, Meseches Keilim 17:13, Chazal assert that if one makes skins from the hides of creatures that live in the sea, they are tahor, ritually clean, and…

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Moshe Marcovich In 5758, Shemos

And it was in those days, when Moshe grew up and went out amongst his brethren and saw their burdensome labor. (2:11)

Empathizing with another person’s plight is clearly a laudable trait. It shows sensitivity for others. What really constitutes empathy? Does empathy mean visiting someone in the hospital and feeling bad for them–then going home and forgetting about their anguish? Is empathy showing concern for someone who is starving while we eat our own meal? Feeling for the downtrodden, even helping them–while life goes on as usual–is that empathy? Most people would consider the aforementioned to be genuine manifestations of empathy. Horav Yerucham Levovitz, zl, asserts that the Torah does not accept the current standard of care and empathy. He…

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Moshe Marcovich In 5758, Shemos

Take this staff in your hand, that you may perform the miraculous signs with it. (4:17)

Moshe carried the mateh Elokim, staff of Hashem. It was the instrument that initiated the various plagues which assailed Egypt. One might think that this staff was “dedicated” to effecting punishment and exacting retribution. We see in the Torah that when the Jews arrived in Marah and were confronted with the challenge of having nothing to drink, this staff served a different function. The Torah tells us in Shemos 17:5, “And your staff, with which you struck the river, take in your hand.” Rashi cites the Mechilta which takes note of the Torah’s emphasis on the staff “with which you…

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Moshe Marcovich In 5758, Shemos

And Hashem said to Moshe,…’Go, return to Egypt, for all the people who seek your life have died’.(4:19)

Rashi explains that Moshe’s enemies were not really dead; they had been reduced to poverty and had no power whatsoever; it was as if they were dead. Dasan and Aviram, Moshe’s nemeses, had lost their possessions and, consequently, their positions of power. Moshe could now return to Egypt with nothing to fear. It is interesting how what one thinks is a terrible curse could in truth be a wonderful blessing in disguise. They tell a story about a certain chasid whose whole fortune overturned, and he went bankrupt. Penniless, he traveled to his Rebbe, the Chidushei Ha’rim, zl. He asked…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5757, Shemos

Come let us outsmart it lest it become numerous….and it too, may join our enemies. (1:10)

Chazal tell us that Pharaoh had a council composed of three advisors, Bilaam, Iyov, and Yisro. Bilaam was the one who suggested the diabolical scheme to enslave the Jews. Iyov remained silent; he was later punished for his silence with ordeals of terrible pain and anguish. Yisro fled Egypt, rather than acquiesce to the evil advice. He was rewarded with the promise that his descendants would one day sit in the Sanhedrin. This well-known Midrash assumes a new meaning when one considers the nature of each of the three advisors and the inconsistency of their advice with his own personal…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5757, Shemos

And they appointed taskmasters over it in order to afflict it with their burdens. (1:11)

By inflicting hard labor upon the Jews, the Egyptians’ goal was simply to destroy their dignity, to hurt them emotionally as well as physically. Horav Shimon Schwab, z”l, comments that the purpose of placing taskmasters over the Jews was to degrade and humiliate them, to convey to them that they could not be trusted to perform their job adequately without supervision. They were telling the Jews that they were crude and undignified; their integrity was lacking and their work ethic unsuitable. Is there anything worse than such a loathsome form of emotional abuse? Indeed, the intention of the Egyptians was…

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Moshe was shepherding the sheep of Yisro…he guided the sheep into the wilderness. (3:1)

Hashem told Moshe…”to return to Egypt, as all the men who are seeking to kill you have died. (4:19)

Hashem said to Aharon, “Go to meet Moshe”…and he went and encountered him at the mountain of G-d, and kissed him. (4:27)

Let us deal wisely with them. (1:10)

And I have heard its outcry because of its taskmasters. (3:7)

And it was in those days, when Moshe grew up and went out amongst his brethren and saw their burdensome labor. (2:11)

Take this staff in your hand, that you may perform the miraculous signs with it. (4:17)

And Hashem said to Moshe,…’Go, return to Egypt, for all the people who seek your life have died’.(4:19)

Come let us outsmart it lest it become numerous….and it too, may join our enemies. (1:10)

And they appointed taskmasters over it in order to afflict it with their burdens. (1:11)

YEARS

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