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Home -> 5776 -> Vaeira

והוצאתי אתכם מתחת סבלת מצרים והצלתי אתכם... וגאלתי אתכם... ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם, והייתי לכם לאלקים וידעתם כי אני ד' אלקיכם המוציא אתכם מתחת סבלות מצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5776

“I shall take you out from under the burdens of Egypt. I shall rescue you… I shall redeem you… I shall take you to Me for a people and I shall be a G-d to you; and you shall know that I am Hashem, your G-d, Who takes you out from under the burdens of Egypt.” (6:6,7)

Horav Yechezkel Abramsky, zl, observes that it is only after V’lakachti eschem li l’am, “I shall take you to Me for a people,” which is a reference to Kabbolas HaTorah, Accepting the Torah, that the Torah follows up with V’yidaatem ki Ani Hashem, “And you will know that I am your G-d Hashem, Who takes you out.” Until we received the Torah, we viewed life’s occurrences, even the spectacular miracles that overwhelmed Egypt, as supernatural events – but, we did not equate them with Hashem, nor did they bring us any closer to Him. It was after we donned the…

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Home -> 5776 -> Vaeira

הוא אהרן ומשה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5776

This was the [same] Aharon and Moshe. (6:26)

Rashi explains that there are places in the Torah where Moshe Rabbeinu’s name precedes that of Aharon HaKohen. Likewise, there are instances where Aharon’s name precedes that of Moshe. The Chasam Sofer wonders why specifically it is in the above pasuk that we find Aharon’s name written first. (Obviously, Moshe Rabbeinu, being the Rabban Shel Kol Yisrael, quintessential leader of our People, should have his name written first. When Aharon’s name precedes Moshe’s there must be a reason, a lesson to be derived therein.) Indeed, as Hashem’s primary agent for leading Klal Yisrael out of Egypt, Moshe’s name should be…

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Home -> 5776 -> Vaeira

ויחזק לב פרעה ולא שמע אליהם כאשר דבר ד'

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5776

But Pharaoh’s heart was strong and he did not heed them, as Hashem had spoken. (8:15)

The Torah informs us that Hashem hardened Pharaoh’s heart and then continues to relate concerning the next plague, arov, mixture of animals. What happened to the kinnim, lice? Did they leave? Nothing is mentioned of their disappearance. Horav Sholom Schwadron, zl, suggests that quite possibly the lice became permanent residents of Egypt. Why? Because Pharaoh did not beg for them to be removed – as he did earlier with the frogs. Indeed, as support for this, Rav Sholom cites the pasuk in Tehillim 105:31: Amar va’yavo arov, kinnim b’chol gevulam, “He spoke and hordes of beasts arrived, and lice throughout…

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Home -> 5775 -> Vaeira

והוצאתי אתכם מתחת סבלת מצרים והצלתי אתכם מעבדתם וגאלתי אתכם בזרוע נטויה ובשפטים גדלים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5775

And I shall take you out from under the burdens of Egypt; I shall rescue you from their service; I shall redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. (6:6)

The above pasuk contains therein the four different expressions of redemption, which represent four progressive stages of the redemption with which Hashem liberated Klal Yisrael from Egypt. These three are followed by V’lakachti eschem Li l’am, “I shall take you to Me for a people,” referring to the Giving of the Torah, our acceptance of which made us Hashem’s nation. The Chidushei HaRim wonders about the sequence of the expressions, of placing V’hotzeisi, “And I shall take you out” before V’hitzalti, “And I shall rescue you from their service.” One would assume that, in the sequence of redemption, cessation of…

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Home -> 5775 -> Vaeira

ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם והייתי לכם לאלקים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5775

I shall take you to Me for a people, and I will be a G-d to you. (6:7)

The election of Klal Yisrael as the nation upon whom Hashem confers His Name is a concept about which every ben Torah, every observant Jew and Jewess, is acutely aware. Sadly, the term “observant” in this case is more than a mere adjective. It defines those who believe in Klal Yisrael as the am ha’nivchar, “chosen people.” We choose to be chosen, and only we are willing to aspire to be worthy of the mission of “choseness.” Of the millions who carry the name Jewish to define race, only those who are knowledgeable and committed to this mission understand its…

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Home -> 5775 -> Vaeira

ונתתי את ידי במצרים והוצאתי את צבאתי את עמי בני ישראל מארץ מצרים בשפטים גדלים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5775

And I shall put My hand upon Egypt; and I shall take out My legions – My People Bnei Yisrael – from the Land of Egypt. (7:4)

Hashem promised to take the Jewish People out of Egypt, dealing with the Egyptians and punishing them for mistreating the Jews. There is no question that the Egyptians deserved a very strong punishment – one which they would remember for all time. They persecuted and murdered an innocent people who had done nothing to them. Now, they would pay not only with their material bounty, but with their own blood. They would suffer as we suffered. While this is all understandable and unquestionably deserved by the Egyptians, did it have to occur before the Jews could be redeemed from Egypt?…

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Home -> 5775 -> Vaeira

הירא את דבר ד' מעבדי פרעה הניס את עבדיו ואת מקנהו אל הבתים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5775

Whoever among the servants of Pharaoh feared the word of Hashem chased his servants and his livestock to the houses. (9:20)

What is the meaning of avdei Pharaoh, the servants of Pharaoh? What about the citizens of Egypt? What did they do? The Meshech Chochmah explains that, when word went out from Moshe Rabbeinu that all Egyptians should take their animals inside, the immediate reaction was to comply. After all, Moshe seemed to have a powerful track record. It would be suicide to defy his warning. Pharaoh, however, would not allow his people to cave in to Moshe. He dispatched his servants throughout the land with an order to actively disregard Moshe’s warning. The Egyptian citizen was now in a quandary:…

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Home -> 5774 -> Vaeira

המוציא אתכם מתחת סבלות מצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5774

Who takes you out from under the burdens of Egypt. (6:7)

The word sivlos, which is translated as “burdens,” is used by the commentators (Kotzker Rebbe, zl) to connote a sense of complacency in adapting to slavery. Thus, sivlos is connected to savlanus, patience, reticence. The Jews had become content, accepting their situation in life, obsequiously willing to submit to being Egyptian slaves. Furthermore, they had become part of Egyptian culture to the point that it had become their culture, their mindset. The Egyptian way of life was not foreign to them; it was not an anathema. It was the way they were willing to live. This bespeaks the galus, exile,…

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Home -> 5774 -> Vaeira

ולא שמעו אל משה מקצר רוח ומעבודה קשה... הן בני ישראל לא שמעו אלי ואיך ישמעני פרעה. ואני ערל שפתים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5774

But they did not listen to Moshe, because of shortness of breath and hard work… “Behold Bnei Yisrael have not listened to me, so how will Pharaoh listen to me? And I have sealed lips!” (6:9,12)

Rashi observes that Moshe Rabbeinu’s response to Hashem is considered one of the ten kal v’chomer arguments to be found in the Torah. Kal v’chomer translated literally means, “light and weighty.” This refers to the extrapolation from a minor premise to a major one. Thus, Moshe argues, “Behold the Jews (who would want any opportunity to leave) did not listen to me, so how can You expect Pharaoh to listen?” The commentators question this kal v’chomer, since the Torah had already given a reason for the refusal of the people to listen. They had already given up. The persecution had…

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Home -> 5774 -> Vaeira

ויקח עמרם את יוכבד דודתו לו לאשה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Vaeira, 5774

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

As a general rule, we do not find many women’s names mentioned in the Torah. Mentioning Yocheved’s name is, therefore, unanticipated and gives us food for thought. Yocheved gave birth to three pillars of Judaism, leaders who nurtured our nation during its forty-year sojourn in the wilderness, but is this the primary source of her distinction? Horav Arye Leib Heyman, zl, posits that Levi ben Yaakov Avinu named his daughter – as well as his sons – with names that correlated to the mechiras Yosef, the sale of Yosef. He felt a greater sense of guilt and responsibility, since his…

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