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Surf A Little Torah
PARASHAT VAERA
God promises Benei Yisrael that He will give them the Land of Israel as a "morasha," generally translated as "inheritance." However, wherein lies the distinction between this term and the more common expression for inheritance, "yerusha"? The Netziv explains that "morasha" connotes a permanence unique to Benei Yisrael's relationship with Eretz Yisrael. Generally, when an owner abandons his property for an extended period of time, he effectively relinquishes not only his legal claim to the estate, but also any emotional attachment thereto. Not so with regard to Benei Yisrael's inextricable bond to their land. Despite centuries of exile, Benei Yisrael forever retained their existential connection to Eretz Yisrael. The word "morasha" appears in another context as well, a verse familiar to most of us from childhood: "Torah tziva lanu Moshe, morasha..." Torah, too, is considered our "morasha," our eternal possession. Only this berakha given to us by Moshe Rabbenu could explain the phenomenon of Jews finding themselves attached to ancient, sacred texts despite decades of complete dissociation. Just as we can return to the land even after years of exile, so can the Jew recapture the flame of Torah even should he have fallen out of touch, for whatever reason. True, Chazal are quick to comment that "morasha" in the context of Torah must be understood as "m'orasa," betrothed, implying that one must always feel that his relationship to Torah must be furthered in order to consummated, just as an engaged couple have yet another stage in their relationship to undergo. In this sense, one's relationship with Torah can never be considered complete. Yet, the term "morasha" also indicates the unconditional nature of the Jew's connection to Torah. Even should, Heaven forbid, our study or observance fall into neglect, the link remains nonetheless, and we can always return and reclaim the Torah as our eternal possession. [Prepared by David Silverberg]
HEART MURMUR What is the nature of Paro's defiance? Beginning with this week's parasha and stretching through the opening of Parashat Beshalach, the Torah spends a great amount of time discussing Paro's heart: sometimes it is "strong;" sometimes it is "hard" (literally, "heavy"); sometimes Paro makes it so himself, and sometimes God does it for him. The inevitable question is: what is the significance of these different expressions, and how does each relate to its context? What does it tell us about Paro and his pertinacity? It seems that there are three levels here. The first is that of "Paro's heart was strong." At this level, Paro strengthens his own heart; in other words, he opposed God's word independently and forcefully. This level implies that the sign has not, quite literally, touched his heart, and he must remain steadfast in his arrogant declaration (5:2): "'Who is Lord, that I should listen to Him to send out Benei Yisrael? I have not known Lord; as well I will not send out Benei Yisrael!'" This is what happens in 7:13, at the time of the sign of the serpents; in 7:22, in response to the first plague, blood, which attacks the heart of Egypt, the Nile; and in 8:15, in response to lice, the third plague, which forces even Paro's court magicians, who had until that point been able to duplicate every miracle, to admit "'It is God's finger!'" In all of these case, Paro strengthens himself—these plagues are not important in their own right, as they have no lasting effects, but rather in their symbolism, and Paro will not consent to any retreat. The expression of hard-heartedness, on the other hand, shows a different level: Paro either no longer wants to or is no longer capable of powerful opposition. He still has the power to choose to defy God's will alone, but not to the same degree of presumption as at the previous level. Thus, in the plague of frogs, which like its fellows blood and lice is a mere annoyance, but unlike them, lacks powerful symbolism—yet again Aharon lifts his staff and smites the Nile, yet again the court magicians duplicate the miracle—"Paro saw that there was relief, and he hardened his heart" (8:11). Similarly, when the plagues of wild beasts and animal pestilence, we find this expression (8:28, 9:7) but for a different reason: these plagues do indeed cause serious damage, and as a result Paro is unable to work up the strength to oppose God forcefully. On the third level, Paro cannot even reach hard-heartedness of his own accord; he requires, ironically, divine help in order to deaden himself to his growing feeling of panic and to defy God. We see this already in the plague of boils (9:11), in which the magicians are paralyzed. This damage is not only serious, but terrifying, for the implications reach beyond the economic and social realms. Yet Paro gains strength from his servants for the next plague, hail, as Moshe notes, "'And you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear before Lord God'" (9:30). In this plague, Paro returns to his old strength, in degrees, "Paro saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, and he continued to sin, and he hardened his heart, he and his servants." (v. 34). With his servants firmly behind him, he decides that Egypt has finally seen the worst of the power of Moshe's God—the damage is extensive, but Egypt still has crops and livestock—and he now returns to the defiance that we have not seen since the third plague: "Paro's heart was strong, and he did not send out B'nei Yisrael, as Lord had spoken through Moshe" (v. 35). With this, Parashat Vaera ends. However, from this point on, Paro cannot stand of his own accord; with the threat of the locusts, who will finish off Egypt economically, his servants desert him, and Paro begins to negotiate desperately. Now it is only God's emotional anesthetization of Paro that allows him to continue along his chosen path to destruction. The message is clear: Paro is no tragic hero, courageous and valiant but unfortunately born to be the representative of an unjust system. As the Torah emphasizes, Paro is a coward, one who can maintain a strong heart only when the display of God's power is not accompanied by real damage. When "the going gets tough," he can barely maintain a hard heart; finally, in the face of utter destruction, he can only be propped up, first by his servants and then by God. True bravery is the ability to realize one's errors, to be resolute but not obstinate. We pray for God's help to know the difference. [Prepared by Yoseif Bloch]
Throughout his deliberations with Paro, Moshe makes his goal perfectly clear: to lead the nation on a three-day journey into the wilderness to serve God. At one point - after the plague of "arov" (wild beasts), Paro decides to allow the people a "religious vacation" to worship God, only within the borders of Egypt: "Then Paro summoned Moshe and Aharon and said, 'Go and sacrifice to your God within the land'" (8:21). Obviously, Moshe refused the offer. But what was Paro thinking? Why did it make a difference to him whether they worshipped God in the desert or in Egypt? Rav Avraham of Sokhochov (the "Avnei Nezer") suggests that a basic, fundamental character flaw motivated Paro's offer. Moshe had requested a thee-day trek into the wilderness in order that Benei Yisrael could prepare themselves spiritually for the worship of God. A brief one-day observance would not give the slaves the opportunity to put themselves in the proper mindset of reverence and love for the Almighty that must accompany their worship. Paro, however, as evidenced by his dizzying mood-swings and fluctuating decisions throughout this saga, knew only of spiritual spontaneity. The concept of gradual development and the view of religious service as a process requiring patience, diligence and incremental growth, were foreign to his mindset. Time and time again, he turned to God as a sudden rush of fear overtook him. He neexperienced a prolonged "build-up" of religious consciousness and resolve. For him, service of God was something that resulted exclusively from brief moments of spiritual awareness. Therefore, he could not understand - nor grant - Benei Yisrael's request for an extended period of preparation prior to their sacrifice to the Almighty. In the technological age, we have become accustomed to getting results on demand, instantly, without having to invest time and exertion. A certain impatience has resulted, by which anything unattainable immediately is not worth waiting for. The danger of such an attitude to a religious mentality is obvious. Spirituality must develop gradually. Sudden spurts of religious fervor and excitement usually fade rather quickly and seldom feature any form of stability. When it comes to Torah study or mitzva-observance, there simply is no substitute for time, patience and hard work. One cannot learn how to pray properly any easier that he can become proficient in the entire Talmud. In all areas of religious growth, one must devote himself to grow steadily, gradually, one step at a time. [Prepared by David Silverberg.] There is a phrase in this week's Parasha that is hard to ignore: "Shalach et ami vaya-avduni." These were the words that God used to tell Moshe what to say to Paro, "Let my people go so that they can serve me." (Living Torah) The reason why it is hard to get through Parashat Vaera without noticing this phrase is because it appears so often - five times in this week's Parasha alone: 7:17, 7:26, 8:16, 9:1, 9:13. If we look beyond our Parasha, we find the phrase appearing in several other places in the Torah (see Shemot 4:23, 5:1, 10:3) - admittedly sometimes with slight variation. On the simplest level "shalach et ami vaya-avduni" is Moshe's request for permission from Paro to travel with Bnei Yisrael in the desert for a few days to offer sacrifices. Paro repeatedly denied Moshe's request, thus is not entirely surprising that we find the words "shalach et ami vaya-avduni" repeated each time Moshe reiterated his petition to Paro. Given the many appearances of "shalach et ami vaya-avduni," I would like to suggest the possibility that the phrase serves more than a narrative purpose. While it may be true that there is a certain intrinsic value to freedom, Moshe never argued for Israel's right to self-determination before Paro, nor did he demand freedom for freedom's sake. His request, which was actually formulated by God, was for freedom so that we may serve God - "vaya'avduni." It seems then that the true significance of Israel's freedom from Egypt is not escape from slavery and oppression alone, but the opportunity to serve God exclusively, unhampered by foreign authorities. How much more meaningful our Exodus becomes when we view the freedom attained therein as serving the end of Avodat Hashem. [Prepared by Elan Penn.]
We are all familiar with the famous mofeit (miracle) that Aharon performs before Paro before the first of the makkot. He casts his mateh (staff) onto the ground and it metamorphosed into a serpent. When Paro’s magicians do the same, Aharon’s staff/serpent swallows those of the magicians, and then returns to its original state as a staff. What is the meaning of this odd episode, and why was this mofeit, in particular, chosen to be the first revelation, to Paro, of God’s power? Chizkuni suggests that this mofeit was a parable directed towards Paro, foreseeing his demise. Aharon’s staff turned into serpent and even succeeded in swallowing other staffs, but it soon returned to its ordinary existence as a dry, dead piece of wood. Similarly, Paro, who is compared to a serpent (see Yechezkel 29:3), enjoyed a brief stint of power, during which he succeeded in “consuming” the twelve mattot (tribes – see Shemot 31:2 and elsewhere) of Bnei Yisra’el. However, Paro too will soon become nothing more significant than a dried up, dead piece of wood, as Hashem unleashes his overwhelming power upon the Egyptian people. [Prepared by Reuven Weiser.]
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