Video Study for Parsha Vaeira : LET MY PEOPLE GO!

[muman613]

Shalom JTF Readers,

It is Wednesday and time for my weekly Torah study thread. This week we read the second portion of the Book of Shemot, called Vaeira. The Exodus story has begun and Moses and Aaron go the Pharoah to demand the release of the Hebrew slaves.

As Pharoah was a master of Idolatry, believing himself to be the deity of the Nile, he would not stand for any discussion about the G-d of Israel. He would not budge an inch from his cruelty causing Hashem to send the plagues to show the world, and the Jewish people, that Hashem is the supreme power above all powers. The first plague, that of the Blood, is brought, then the frogs, as the plagues increased in damage...

Eventually Pharoah showed signs of weakening his resolve in this battle, his own ego as the deity of the Nile against the One G-d of the Children of Israel, so Hashem hardened his heart. This was because at the point Pharoah was going to break it would not be clear to the world that it was Hashem who was the one responsible for the redemption of the Hebrews, rather it could be explained as natural occurrences.
 

From Chabad.org's 'Parsha in a Nutshell':

http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3242/jewish/Vaeira-in-a-Nutshell.htm

G‑d reveals Himself to Moses. Employing the “four expressions of redemption,” He promises to take out the Children of Israel from Egypt, deliver them from their enslavement, redeem them, and acquire them as His own chosen people at Mount Sinai; He will then bring them to the land He promised to the Patriarchs as their eternal heritage.

Moses and Aaron repeatedly come before Pharaoh to demand in the name of G‑d, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness.” Pharaoh repeatedly refuses. Aaron’s staff turns into a snake and swallows the magic sticks of the Egyptian sorcerers. G‑d then sends a series of plagues upon the Egyptians.

The waters of the Nile turn to blood; swarms of frogs overrun the land; lice infest all men and beasts. Hordes of wild animals invade the cities; a pestilence kills the domestic animals; painful boils afflict the Egyptians. For the seventh plague, fire and ice combine to descend from the skies as a devastating hail. Still, “the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and he would not let the children of Israel go, as G‑d had said to Moses.”

Let us first learn from Rabbi Richman's latest post on the portion:

[muman613]

From the Holy City of Jerusalem, Rabbi Svirsky...

[muman613]

Rabbi Trugman of BeThereIsrael...

[muman613]

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14297#.Ur-ztJCJDAQ

Judaism: Plagues that Heal the Soul
Published: Thursday, December 26, 2013 11:38 AM
This week's Dvar Torah is by Rav Meir Katz - Yeshivat Nachalat Yisrael, Migdal Haemek, Former shaliach - Torah MiTzion Melbourne 5760.

Usually, when we think of plagues and afflictions, and certainly when we talk about severe afflictions such as the ten plagues of Egypt, we become filled with feelings of fear and awe.  In any case it is important to realize that the Torah, especially the inner spirit of the Torah, includes another facet of suffering apart from the fear-awakening and awe-inspiring effect.

 Within human agony is hidden the Creator's love and concern for His creations. Upon occasion, in order to take man to task on his follies and heal him from spiritual maladies, there is no alternative rather than suffering in order to rehabilitate him as the IDF saying goes: "what isn't learned with the head will be learned by the legs." (ie. the punishment for inappropriate conduct is  running laps).

However also when messages are internalized the hard way, it is upon us to contemplate and understand the internal message that Hashem is communicating, both so that the suffering is not in vain and in order that we should not have to experience it again.

"I am the Lord your healer":

In the Exodus from Egypt we witness the grace of Hashem in that even though the "Yalkut Shimoni" states: "these worshiped idols and these worshiped idols" (meaning - Israelites were as guilty as the Egyptians in this regard), the plagues were brought on the Egyptians only. Even so, it is incumbent upon us to realize that with every blow that Hashem brought upon the Egyptians, he healed a spiritual malady related to that very plague so by way of the plagues "Egypt was hurt while Israel was (simultaneously) healed" - an idea appearing in the Zohar. 

According to this view, the plagues of Egypt are not just a story, or simply the story of God's grace to Israel, instead they are a lesson for future generations as how to heal our souls, and to leave "Mitzrayim" (Egypt) – namely the spiritual obstacles ('straits' from the word 'meitzar') that prevent us from being "A kingdom of priests and a holy nation".

In this article we will not attempt to explain the significance of each of the ten plagues, however by focusing on two of them we may become enlightened about all of the plagues.

The plague of blood:

The first blow of the ten plagues, blood, is the most powerful as the shock value is the greatest from the outset and also because the first serves as the basis for all plagues that followed. In the plague of blood Hashem struck the waters of the Nile, which is the source of all life in Egypt - a land of desert, dryness and very little precipitation. Water, from the standpoint of 'tumah' (impurity), symbolizes all the vices included in the human condition, for all life emanates from water.

Because Egypt is called "the nakedness of the land" - the lowest moral and spiritual level, the Nile became a deity to the people, not just from a material standpoint, but as a focal point of a lustful Hedonistic lifestyle. The entire meaning of life in Egypt was related to the waters suggesting a life focused on fulfillment of desires.  Bnai Yisrael too assimilated and became defiled by Egyptian culture, suffering from the same 'illness'.

Through the plague of blood Hashem revealed that this water is sullied and nothing but blood –  representing physical lust that heats the blood and causes a person to pursue his desire. Bnai Yisrael are to be nurtured by pure water - 'mayim chayim' (waters of life), symbolizing the Holy Torah.  The result is that the first plague afflicted the most basic element, the very source of all human life - water.

The plague of the hail :

The final plague mentioned in our "Parasha" is the plague of hail.  We can learn a general principle about all of the plagues from the hail as Hashem states: "because this time I'm sending all plagues." What's so special about the plague of the hail? We can elaborate about a few points:

1. In the Plague of hail, fire and water were used together as the hail that fell was accompanied by fire.

2. Loud noises accompanied the falling of the hail.

Chazal say that thunder and lightning were created only to straighten the curvature of the heart. What is the curvature or perversion of the heart? The most basic perversion of the human heart is pride - the foundation of the original sin of Adam. Thunder and lightning cause the human heart to fear and thus experience humility in the presence of the Creator. This is likely the reason for the use of fire and water together, since the ability to combine two contradicting forces can be achieved only by a measure of humility.

This point illustrates the importance of this plague, specifically directed against Pharaoh whose sin of excessive pride is glaring.  Indeed it was in response to plague of hail that Pharoah says: "G-d is righteous and I and my people are wicked." There is no doubt that we too need to cure ourselves from the disease of pride, today just as in ancient times.

May it be His will that "As in the days when we left the land of Egypt I will show them wonders" (Micah 7:15) and we should learn and internalize the remedy contained within the plagues and thereby merit that "any of the diseases that I placed in Egypt, I will not bring upon you, for I am the Lord, your Healer." (Exodus 15:26)

The Torah MiTzion movement strives to inter-connect and inspire world Jewry through Torah-centered Religious-Zionism by offering various models designed to reach and impact the Jewish people at both the communal and personal levels, including the setting up of Zionist Kollels in many communities abroad. There are groups in Sydney, Melbourne, St. Louis, Memphis, Moscow, Montreal, Munich, Capetown, Montivideo, Lima and more.

[muman613]

Short thoughts from Rabbi Herschel Finman...

[muman613]

Rabbi Chaim Miller with the Chassidic and Kabbalistic ideas in our portion..

[muman613]

The hospitable and knowledgeable scholar Rabbi Machlis talks about our portion.

[muman613]

The latest Parsha thought from Rabbi Mansour of Daily Halacha dot com...

http://www.dailyhalacha.com/WeeklyParasha.asp?ParashaClipID=478

Parashat VaEra: Making Exile Intolerable

In the beginning of Parashat Vaera, G-d speaks to Moshe and commands him to convey to Beneh Yisrael His promises of redemption. The first promise is “Ve’hoseti Etchem Mi’tahat Siblot Misrayim,” which is commonly translated as, “I shall take you from under the suffering of Egypt.”

The word “Siblot,” which is generally understood here to mean “suffering,” also has another meaning – “tolerance.” One Rabbi thus explained that G-d here promises to remove Beneh Yisrael from their “tolerance,” from their acceptance of their situation. It is natural after many years of suffering adverse conditions to accept the situation and no longer feel a need to change it. That this occurred to Beneh Yisrael is evidenced by the fact that later, during the nation’s travels in the desert, there were times when they cried to Moshe and nostalgically recalled their experiences in Egypt. As miserable as their conditions were, with time they resigned themselves to the situation and accepted it the way it was, without seeking to change it. This is a very common and natural tendency, but it needed to be reversed before Beneh Yisrael could be freed from Egypt. In order for Beneh Yisrael to be worthy of redemption, they needed to find their situation intolerable. And thus the first step in the process of Yesi’at Misrayim was the people’s release from “Siblot Misrayim” – from their ability to tolerate their conditions of bondage. The process of redemption could not begin unless the people wanted it. G-d therefore had to help extricate them from their acceptance of slavery as a tolerable condition before the Exodus could unfold.

If this was true under conditions of slavery and persecution, when Beneh Yisrael were denied civil rights and forced to endure hardship and humiliation, it is certainly relevant to us, and all the more so. We are blessed with the privilege of living in what is likely the most comfortable exile our nation has known in its 2000 years of dispersion. Our civil rights, including the right to freely practice our religion, are guaranteed and protected by law. We are able to pursue a comfortable livelihood and build religious institutions. We can observe Shabbat without losing our jobs, and kosher food is readily available. Somebody who did not know what the concept of “exile” means to a Jew would probably never imagine that we are in exile.

This is indeed a blessing, but also poses a difficult challenge. It is all too easy for us – much more so than for our ancestors in Egypt – to fall into the trap of “Siblot Misrayim,” to tolerate and accept our situation without wanting it to change. We have, Baruch Hashem, our homes, our businesses, our cars, our yeshivot and our synagogues. It is only natural for people to begin thinking, “Who needs redemption? Who needs Mashiah? Who needs the Bet Ha’mikdash? We have everything we need here in New York!”

The first stage of the process of redemption is removing ourselves from this “tolerance,” to understand that for a Jew, life in exile is intolerable and a condition we can never accept, no matter how many comforts and freedoms we enjoy on these shores.

When we look around at the Jewish community here in America, it is impossible to not notice that so many families are beset by crisis and hardship. It seems that everywhere we turn, there are, Heaven forbid, families dealing with a serious illness, terrible accidents, financial hardships, broken homes, youths engaged in dangerous activities, and so many other crises. Perhaps this Hashem’s way of removing us from “Siblot Misrayim,” of ensuring that we do not grow complacent and comfortable with our situation. Maybe we need to be inflicted with these crises so that we remember how desperately we need G-d’s redemption, and that despite the comforts and freedoms with which we have been blessed, we are still in exile and exposed to all types of dangers.

And so as we pray to Hashem to heal all ill patients and bless all of us with peace, health and happiness, we must also remember to pray for our imminent redemption, for the time when we will live peacefully and securely in our land, under G-d’s direct protection, and enjoy unbridled blessing and prosperity, speedily and in our days, Amen.