B"H

Thursday, Tevet 21, 5777 / January 19, 2017

The birth of the greatest leader of the Jewish people, Moshe, is told in this week’s Parsha, Shmot. From this Parsha on until the end of the Torah, Moshe’s name will appear in almost every Parsha.

Moshe’s mother’s name was Yocheved and his father was Amram. Yocheved was her husband’s aunt.After the giving of the Torah, a relationship as this is prohibited, however, this was beforethe Torah was given.

G-d chose Moshe at the burning bush, to go warn Pharaoh to let the Jewish people go. When Pharaoh refused, he brought upon the Egyptians the ten plagues. Moshe led the Jewish people out of Egypt. He split the sea and brought them to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. Moshe led his people for forty years, until they came to the Jordan River, ready to cross into the Promised Land.

Moshe achieved what no other Jewish leader did. The Torah testifies about him, “And there was no prophet as great as Moshe, to whom G-d made Himself known, face to face.”

Q.How old was Moshe’s mother, Yocheved, when she gave birth to Moshe?

A.Moshe’s birth was a miracle in itself. Yocheved, was 130when she gave birth to Moshe in Egypt.

Q. Where was Yocheved born?

A.  She is counted in the seventy people who came with Yaakov (Jacob) to Egypt. She was born as they entered the gates of Egypt. This is why her name is not mentioned when the Torah names all of Yaakov’s descendents who left Canaan to go to Egypt, as she was not yet born when they left Canaan. She completed number seventy.

Q.How did Moshe get his name, Moshe?

A. The Torah tells that due to Pharaoh’s decree that every Jewish boy be drowned in the Nile River, Yocheved tried to protect her newborn son and hid him for three months after birth. When she realized that the Egyptians are about to discover her son, she placed him in a basket and put it by the river, hoping that someone will find him and save him. Indeed it was Pharaoh’s daughter, Batya, who found him and saved him. Moshe eventually was raised by Batya in the house of Pharaoh.

Q.Why was she able to hide him for only three months?

A.Pharaoh’s agents kept track of every pregnant Jewish woman. However, Yocheved gave birth to Moshe in the beginning of her seventh month. Pharaoh’s agents didn’t check on her only at the end of the ninth month. Thus she was able to hide him three months, before they became suspicious.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

B"H

Tuesday, Tevet 19, 5777 / January 17, 2017

In this week's Parsha, Shmot, we read about G-d’s first revelation to Moshe. "And Moshe was feeding the flock of Yitro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midyan; and he led the flock to the farthest end of the wilderness and he came to the mountain of G-d, to Horeb. And G-d’s angel appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a thorn bush; and Moshe looked and saw the bush was on fire, but the bush was not consumed.” 

“And Moshe said: I will go closer now and I will see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.  G-d saw that Moshe turned to see, and G-d called to him out of the midst of the bush and He said, 'Moshe, Moshe, and he [Moshe] said, 'Here I am.'  And G-d said, 'remove your shoes from your feet for the place upon which you are standing is holy ground.'" 

G-d then tells Moshe, that He has heard the cry of the Jewish people due to the Egyptians' oppression.  "Therefore, now I will send you to Pharaoh so that you may bring forth My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."

Q. Why was G-d’s first revelation to Moshe from a thorn bush?

A.The Midrash tells that a gentile once asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Karcha, "Why did your G-d speak to Moshe from the midst of a bush and not from a different tree?"

Rabbi Yehoshua answered, "Had G-d revealed himself from a carob tree, you would have asked the same question: Why that tree and not another one.  However, now that you asked, I will answer you:  G-d wanted to show Moshe that there was no place where He cannot be found and that He rests not only in the tall trees but also in a low bush.

The famous Torah commentator, Rashi, explains that by revealing Himself through a thorn bush, G-d was saying to Moshe that, just as the Jewish people were suffering,He too, is in pain, which is symbolized by the prickly thorn bush.

Q.   Why from a “burning” bush?

A.   To show Moshe that just as the fire didn't destroy the bush, so too, the Egyptians, or for that matter any other nation,willnot be able to destroy the Jewish nation.

For thousands of years the Pharaohs of every generation (their names may have changed, but their goals were the same), tried to destroy us. In G-d’s first revelation to Moshe, G-d made it clear that, just as the bush was not consumed by the fire, because G-d was there, so too, the Jewish people will not be consumed, for G-d is always with us.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

B"H

Thursday, Tevet 14, 5777 / January 12, 2017

This week's Parsha, Vayechi, begins with, "And Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years." 

As mentioned previously, the name "Vayechi" - and Yaakov "lived" indicates that the final seventeen years of Yaakov's life were good years. Yaakov himself expresses this best.  When his son, Joseph, brought his two sons, Menashe and Ephraim to Yaakov for his blessing, Yaakov kissed and embraced them and said to Joseph, "I didn't think I would see your face and now, G-d let me see also your children."

Yaakov's fondness for these two grandchildren is clearly seen in the Parsha. In addition to giving Menashe and Ephraim his special blessings, Yaakov appoints each of them as the head of a tribe in Israel. They were his only grandchildren that merited being heads of two of the twelve tribes.

In addition, Yaakov proclaims, "By you shall the people of Israel bless their children, saying, 'May G-d make you as Ephraim and as Menashe'." Jewish parents have used this phrase to bless their sons each Friday night for thousands of years.

Q.What was so special about Ephraim and Menashe over Yaakov’s other grandchildren?

A.Our sages explain that Ephraim and Menashe were Yaakov's only grandchildren who were born and raised away from their grandfather. Yaakov's other grandchildren were all raised under his guidance in the land of Canaan. This naturally instilled in them their spiritual heritage and love of G-d. But, Ephraim and Menashe were born and raised in Egypt, during the years that Joseph ruled Egypt.

Yet, Ephraim and Menashe were not swayed by the Egyptian culture. Instead, they conducted their lives as befitting grandchildren of Yaakov, thus bringing the greatest pleasure and Nachas to their grandfather.  Menashe and Ephraim proved to Yaakov that the education their father, Yosef, received during his youth remained with him and enabled him to transmit the same values to his children even in such an alien environment as Egypt of those days.

This is what Yaakov means, "By you shall Israel bless saying, 'May G-d make you as Ephraim and as Menashe.’”  This is a blessing to Jewish children throughout the generations to withstand all tests and pressures of their surroundings and stay loyal to their Jewish heritage.

In the Parsha we read that Yaakov makes Joseph swear to take his remains out of Egypt and bury him in the Me'arat Hamachpeilah, the family burial plot, in Hebron. The Me'arat Hamachpeila in Hebron is the resting place of Adam & Eve, Abraham & Sarah, Yitzchak & Rivkah, Yaakov and Leah.

The Parsha concludes with the passing of Joseph.  Joseph too made his brothers promise to take his remains out of Egypt at the time of the Exodus.  Joseph passed away at the age of 110.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY