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B"H

Thursday, Tevet 26 5783 (Hakhel Year) / January 19, 2023

 

This Shabbat we read the second Parsha in the Book of Exodus, Parshat Va’eira. In the Parsha we read about the lineage of Moshe and Aaron and that, "Aaron took Elisheva, the daughter of Aminadav, the sister of Nachshon, for a wife." 

 

Q.  Why does the Torah, when telling us that Aaron married the daughter of Aminadav, also tell us that she was the sister of Nachshon?  

 

A.  According to the Talmudic sage Rava, this teaches us that, "Before one takes a wife, he should check her brothers; for most children take after the mother's brothers." After the Exodus when Jews came to the sea and were told to cross through the sea, it was Nachshon who jumped into the water first. As a result, the sea split and everyone was able to go through on dry land. Nachshon was also the head of the tribe of Yehuda (Judah).

 

Parsha: We read, “G-d said to Moshe, say to Aaron, take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt over the rivers, over their streams and over their pools and over all their ponds of water so that they will become blood."

 

  Q.  Whywere the waters smitten through Aaron, not through Moshe? 

 

A.  The water of the Nile protected Moshe when his mother placed him by the river, thus, he could not be the one to punish it. For this reason, the plague of blood and frogs (which came from the water), were brought about by Aaron.

 

Q.G-d told Moshe, “Say to Aaron stretch out your rod and smite the dust of the earth and it shall become lice." Why was the plague of lice, which had nothing to do with water, also brought by Aaron? 

 

A.  Years before when Moshe killed the Egyptian, he hid his body in the sand. The plague of lice came from the sand. G-d said to Moshe, "You should not be the one to punish the sand for it protected you when you killed the Egyptian. This plague should also be brought on by Aaron."

 

Q.   How long was it from the first plague until the tenth plague, when Pharaoh finally let the people go?

 

A.   Less than one year. 

 

Q.  Before each plague, Moshe warned Pharaoh about the upcoming plague. How long was the warning time and how long did the actual plague last.

 

A.  The warning time for each plague was three weeks. Each plague lasted one week. Except for the last plague, the death of the first born, which began at midnight and Jews were chased out the next day.

 

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

 

This Torah Fax is dedicated in memory of Lynn Cohen – Malka bat Yaakov. Yartzeit is today.

May her Neshama rest in peace in Gan Eden. Blessings to her family.