B"H

Tuesday, Tevet 24, 5776 / January 5, 2016 – HAKHEL YEAR

In this week’s Parsha, Va'eira, the Torah tells us about the first seven plagues which G-d brought upon the Egyptians for enslaving the Jewish people. They are: Blood; Frogs; Lice; Wild beasts; Plague; Boils and Hail

The Torah states the following about the hail: "And the hail struck throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field." Then the Torah says, “Butthe wheat and the rye were not smitten for they were not grown up yetand they were soft.” Thus, they were able to withstand the hail without breaking.

Q. What was the lesson to Pharaoh in that the wheat and rye were spared because they were soft?

A.The Talmud tells the following story:  Rabbi Elazar was once riding on his mule, coming from the house of his teacher. He was feeling very happy because he had studied diligently and acquired great Torah knowledge from his master. On the way, he met a person who was extremely ugly.  The man greeted Rabbi Elazar, to which he replied, "Are all the people of your town as ugly as you are?"

The man said, "I do not know, but go tell the Craftsman who made me, 'How ugly is the vessel which you made!'" Rabbi Elazar realized that he had done wrong. He dismounted and begged the man, "I have sinned. Please forgive me!"

"I will not forgive you until you go to the Craftsman who made me and say, 'How ugly is the vessel you have made!'" he replied. Rabbi Elazar continued walking behind the man begging his forgiveness.

Finally, they came to the city where Rabbi Elazar lived.  When the people heard that Rabbi Elazar had returned, they came out to greet him, "Shalom unto you, our great rabbi and master!" The man who was walking in front of Rabbi Elazar said to the crowd, "If this man is a teacher, may there not be more like him in Israel!"

Everyone was shocked at this unexpected remark. "Why do you say so?" they asked. The man told them what happened. "Please forgive him," they pleaded, "for he is a great scholar".

The man replied, "I forgive him for your sake, but on the condition that he not act like this again!"

After this incident, Rabbi Elazar entered the Beth Hamidrash (study hall) and preached, "A person should always be bending as a reed and never unyielding as a cedar. For this reason, the reed merited to make from it a pen to write a Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzuot."

This was the lesson of the plague of hail. G-d showed Pharaoh that the hard trees were broken while the "wheat and the rye" which were soft and giving, survived. G-d’s message to Pharaoh was that his punishments were a result of his hardeninghis heart and not letting the people free.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

B"H

Monday, Tevet 23, 5776 / January 4, 2016 – HAKHEL YEAR

In this week's Parsha, Va’eira, G-d commands Moshe to bring encouragement to the Jewish people who were enslaved in Egypt.  G-d tells Moshe to tell the children of Israel, "I am the L-rd and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgment; and I will take you to me for a people and I will be to you a G-d and you shall know that I am the L-rd your G-d who brought you out from the burdens of the Egyptians..."

The Torah tells us that Moshe spoke to the people of Israel but they didn't heed to Moshe, “due to their crushed spirit and their cruel bondage."  G-d then tells Moshe, "Go speak to Pharaoh, King of Egypt, that he shall send away the children of Israel from his land."

Pharaoh refused and was punished with the ten plagues.  At each plague, Pharaoh promised to free the people, but as soon as G-d removed the plague, "his heart was hardened" and he refused to let them go.  Seven of the ten plagues are mentioned in this Parsha.

Q.  How old was Moshe, Aaron and their sister, Miriam, when they led the Jewish people out of Egypt?

A.  Moshe was 80; Aaron 83 and Miriam 86.

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

A.  Yocheved was 130 years old!

Q.  How do we know this?

A.  Yocheved was born when Yaakov and his family moved to Egypt, 210 years earlier. Moshe was 80 years at the time of the Exodus, Thus, Yocheved was 130 when she gave birth to Moshe.

Q.  How many of the 210 years, in which they lived in Egypt, were the Jewish people enslaved by the Egyptians?

A.  116 years.  The enslavement began only after the last of Yaakov's children died.  Yaakov's third son, Levi, lived the longest.  He died at the age of 137.  He was 43 when he first came to Egypt and lived there 94 years.  If we deduct 94 from 210, we are left with 116. This is the total amount of years that they were enslaved by the Egyptians. 

However, the harsh and “bitter” enslavement was 86 years.  Miriam, who was born 86 years before the Exodus, was called “Miriam,” which comes from the word “bitter,” because at that time began the “bitter” and most difficult hardship for the Jewish people.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

B"H

Wednesday, Tevet 18, 5776 / December 30, 2015 – HAKHEL YEAR

This Shabbat we read the first Parsha of the second book of the Torah, Sehmot (Genesis 1:1-6:1).  In this week's Parsha we read how the Egyptians enslave the Jewish people.

Yocheved gives birth to Moshe and after hiding him for three months, places him in a basket and sets it along the banks of the Nile River.  Pharaoh's daughter, Batiya, retrieves him and raises him in the palace of Pharaoh.  When Moshe kills an Egyptian for striking an Israelite, Pharaoh sentences him to death.  But Moshe escapes to Midyan where he meets his future wife, Tziporah. Moshe marries her and becomes a shepherd for his father-in-law, Yitro.

While tending his father-in-law's sheep, Moshe notices a bush that is burning without being consumed.  He approaches and G-d reveals Himself to Moshe, commanding him, "Go to Pharaoh and 'bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt'".  Moshe asks G-d, "What if the children of Israel will not believe me, for they will say the L-rd did not appear to you?" 

G-d then gives Moshe three signs. First, he tells Moshe to throw his staff to the ground.  It immediately turns into a snake. When Moshe recoils in fear, G-d tells him to grab its tail, and it turns back into a staff.  For a second sign, G-d tells Moshe to put his hand into his bosom.  When he takes it out, it is "leprous like snow." Again, G-d tells him to return his hand back in his bosom. This time, when he takes it out, the flesh is back to normal.

G-d tells Moshe, "If they will not believe these two signs, then you shall take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land and the water will become blood upon the dry land".

But Moshe still protests that he will not be able to convince Pharaoh. "My L-rd, I am not eloquent.. I am slow of speech..."  G-d reminded Moshe, "Who gave man a mouth? Who makes a person dumb or deaf? Who gives a person sight or makes him blind? Is it not I - G-d? Now go and I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say." 

Q.  The Torah begins describing G-d's revelation to Moshe with the words, "And Moshe was attending to the flock of his father-in-law, Yitro."  What is the connection between Moshe's attending to the flock and G-d's choosing him as the leader of the people of Israel?

A.The Midrash explains that both Moshe and King David showed extra devotion and care to the individual needs of the sheep in their flocks.  G-d said, "If they are so devoted to the sheep in their flocks, they will certainly care for the individual needs of My people!" This is why G-d chose them to lead the Jewish people.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY

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In loving memory of Bessie Miller - Chaya Basya Sima bat Tzvi Hirsh & Miriam - z"l.

Yartzeit is today, Tevet 18.  May her Neshama rest in peace in Gan Eden.  May her memory be a blessing.

From Frances & Gerald Kessner and Family