Transcript
Good morning and בוקר טוב Boker Tov. Welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today, our weekly analysis of the פרשה parsha and our effort to extract the lessons that can inspire us in our daily lives. I want to thank our generous sponsors for the פרשה parsha series for the year, dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family, loving memory of Becky's father, David Grossman, דוד בן מנחם מנוש Dovid ben Menachem Manush. Thank you so much for your generosity throughout this year, for the entire series, not just for today. And this particular פרשה שיעור Parsha shiur this morning is sponsored by Jerry Hirschberg in memory of his father, Bernie, דוד סוסמן בן יוסף יעקב Dovid Susman ben Yosef Yaakov. His יארצייט yahrzeit is Monday, 12 שבט Shvat. The נשמה neshama should have an עליה aliyah. Thank you so much for your generosity.We have the privilege this morning of studying together פרשת בא Parshas Bo, a continuation of the unfolding of this amazing narrative, the story of the birth of the Jewish people, not the first family, but the birth of our nation. And it appears in the Artscroll on page 340. ויאמר ה' אל משה בא אל פרעה כי אני הכבדתי את לבו ואת לב עבדיו למען שיתי אתתי אלה בקרבו Vayomer Hashem el Moshe bo el Paro ki ani ichbadeti et libo v'et lev avadav, l'maan shisi ososai eilah b'kirbo. השם Hashem says to משה Moshe, בא Bo, not לך lech, not go, but בא bo, come with me. We'll come back to that in one moment to analyze. What did he mean by בא bo, come with me, and not go, לך אל פרעה lech el Paro. But before we even get to that, I want to take a step back. Our פרשה parsha is continuing with the story that we're all so familiar with. We know the story. We read about the rest of the plagues and that פרעה's Paro's hardened heart, his stubbornness, his obstinacy, his unwillingness to listen or heed the messages that are being broadcast directly to him. We'll come back to that as well. And finally, our פרשה parsha culminates in the harshness, the severity of the 10th plague, מכת בכורות Makas Bechoros, which is the catalyst not only for the liberation of the Jewish people, not only does it launch the release of the Jewish people, their emancipation, but invites them to be a partner in liberating themselves. And again, we'll talk about that as well when הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the Almighty, invites the Jewish people to use the blood on the doorpost and to make a sign, so he knows which home to skip over, something unique to the 10th and final plague, מכת בכורות Makas Bechoros, something that we did not see earlier, really questionable why that is. Why didn't השם Hashem need help for the first nine, but he so to say almost as if needs help for the 10th plague that he asks us to get involved. So we see that this is the story, the culmination of the story of the exodus of our freedom.And as we reach the point of the narrative, the people are set free, you can't help but ask, why? Why does השם Hashem have to bring about the liberation of the emancipation of the Jewish people with such pomp and circumstance? Does השם Hashem need such attention? Does God need us in perpetuity to read these פרשיות parshios and go, wow, we're blown away, we're so impressed? Why 10 plagues and not just one? Why interfere with nature and not just allow nature to take its course and let the Jewish people, let them be liberated and escape, let them go on to a newfound freedom in a way which seems natural? Why are the 10 מכות makos this one big flex? You know, the young people say flex when a person's showing off and they say something they don't need to. It's a flex. You read פרשת בא Parshas Bo, it's as if השם Hashem is one big flex. Why can't he just let them out in a much more subtle way? Why does it have to be with such pomp and circumstance in such an impressive fashion? And there are many, many answers that are given to this question. And as I said, you can't help but learn פרשת וירא Parshas Vayera and בא Bo and not be bothered or not ask or investigate this question. But at the end of our פרשה parsha, the רמב\"ן Ramban has a comment, one of his most famous on the entire תורה Torah, fundamental, so fundamental that רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe says one should commit this insight, this comment of the רמב\"ן Ramban to memory. The רמב\"ן Ramban writes towards the end of our פרשה parsha, ומן הנסים הגדולים המפורסמים אדם מודה בנסים הנסתרים שהם יסוד התורה כולה uminanisim gedolim hamforsamim adam modeh b'nisim hanistarim shehem yesod haTorah kulah. From these great public miracles, from השם Hashem revealing his hand so publicly, a person can also concede to hidden miracles, which constitute the foundation of the entire תורה Torah. You see, the fact that השם Hashem revealed himself in such an obvious and undeniable way, and it's part of our history, it's part of our story, we carry it as part of our ongoing memory, makes us or encourages us or gives us license or obligates us to look around at the rest of our lives and to see his guiding hand. The רמב\"ן Ramban continues, שאין לאדם חלק בתורת משה רבינו עד שנאמין בכל דברינו ומקרינו שכלם נסים אין בם טבע ומנהגו של עולם she'ein l'adam chelek b'Toras Moshe Rabbeinu ad she'na'amin b'chol dvareinu u'mikreinu she'kulam nisim ein bam teva u'minhago shel olam. Wow, what a comment of the רמב\"ן Ramban. A person does not have a share in the תורה Torah of משה Moshe until we believe that all the things and events that we encounter are all miracles. There's no such thing for the רמב\"ן Ramban as טבע teva. There's no such thing as nature. There's no such thing as מנהגו של עולם minhago shel olam. There's nothing that is the custom or the ordinary or routine way of the world, but rather a person, if they want a חלק chelek in the תורת משה Toras Moshe, if you want to be part of the covenant of the Jewish people, you want to be part of the מסורה mesorah of the transmission of our תורה Torah, of our tradition, then you need to look at the world and say there's no such thing as nature. Nothing is simply natural, but everything is the guiding hand of השם Hashem. So השם Hashem revealed himself for this one time in history so it would become part of the public record and we would forever look back and say, wow, just like he did then, so too he does now. Just like he did when it was obvious, so too he does when it's more subtle. For the רמב\"ן Ramban, no such thing as nature. Everything that happens is from השם Hashem, it's from above, it's all the will of the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam. And sometimes, in fact, more than sometimes, unfortunately, often, particularly this last year, it's hard for us to see or know or be confident or even appreciate that it's השם Hashem. When things go wrong, certainly we struggle to try to justify or comprehend how it could be and why he would, but even when they go right, even when they go right and even when all is well and even while we're celebrating, most of us fail to pause and to say and to acknowledge and to see his hand. Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, these big, open one-time miracles were by design, and they become a statement and a precedent that we will always turn to every year, we'll read וירא Vayera and בא Bo. Every year, we'll sit at the סדר Seder table and celebrate פסח Pesach. And every year, we will commemorate these miracles. And then that will cause us to look at our own lives and say, you know, yesterday when I got the parking spot, do you know yesterday when the test came back and it was negative? Do you know yesterday when everything worked out, even though I was so nervous it wouldn't? That too is a miracle. Nothing is natural, nothing is ordinary.מורי ורבי רב אשר וייס Moreh Verabi Rav Asher Weiss, the מנחת אשר Minchas Asher says, in fact that word נס neis, based on this רמב\"ן Ramban in our פרשת בא parshas Bo, that that word נס neis does not in fact mean miracle. It means a נס neis is a sign, it's a banner, it's a mark. What do we say in our דאווענען davening in the עמידה Amida? ושא נס לקבץ גליותינו v'sa neis l'kabetz galuyoseinu. השם Hashem, raise the banner, raise the flag, wave the flag to gather in our exiles. A נס neis is a symbol, it's השם's Hashem's way of saying, I was here. I was here. Some people carve in their initials, some people sign their name, some people leave graffiti. People have all kinds of ways of leaving their mark to say I was here. The 10 plagues, says רב אשר Rav Asher, are השם's Hashem's way of signing his name in this world and saying, these enormous נסים nisim, these unmistakable, undeniable banners that השם Hashem waved couldn't be missed. It's his signature: I was here. I'm not only aware of your lives, I'm intimately involved in your lives. Nothing is natural, nothing is random, nothing's chance, nothing is part of the ordinary course of events of the universe. It's השם's Hashem's signature, I was here. And when we read that signature, and when we see those initials carved into history, then we look at our own lives and we see it carved as well into our destiny.גמרא שבת דף קיט Gemara Shabbos daf kuf yud tes tells us that all the gates of גן עדן Gan Eden are open for a person who answers אמן בכל כחו amen b'chol kocho. The individual who says אמן amen, the person who answers with all their might and all their concentration and all their focus, not while they're texting or looking down or scrolling, not while they're doing 10 other things, but the person who answers אמן בכל כחו amen b'chol kocho, the person who acknowledges and who who affirms their belief in השם Hashem with all every ounce of their being, אמן בכל כחו amen b'chol kocho, then the gates of גן עדן Gan Eden are open. What is אמן amen? What is אמן amen? Not a woman, but אמן amen. אמן Amen is an acronym for קל מלך נאמן Kel Melech Ne'eman. Normally, the promise for doing something virtuous is עולם הבא Olam Haba, the world to come. And yet here the גמרא Gemara in שבת Shabbos is telling us that if you answer אמן amen with all your energy, that's why it's important to make ברכות brachos out loud. If you don't, you deprive someone, you deny them, you rob them of an אמן amen opportunity. You make a ברכה bracha out loud, everyone can answer אמן amen, and they can say קל מלך נאמן Kel Melech Ne'eman, I affirm, I believe, ditto, yes. And what are you promised if you do that בכל כחו b'chol kocho? says the גמרא Gemara, you're promised the gates of גן עדן Gan Eden are open. And רב וואלבע's Rav Wolbe's bothered, the gates of גן עדן Gan Eden are open? Normally when the תלמוד Talmud wants to tell us about something that earns a great merit, it means that you get access to the world to come. You get a חלק chelek in עולם הבא Olam Haba, a portion of the world to come. So why isn't the promise of answering אמן amen a portion of the world to come? Why is the promise the gates of גן עדן Gan Eden will open? So listen to what רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe says. He says, what was life like in גן עדן Gan Eden? אדם הראשון Adam HaRishon, first man, before man was expelled from the garden, God was undeniable. God was obvious and clear. There was no nature or natural order in the garden of Eden, it was God all the time and everywhere. But after the expulsion, אדם Adam is cast outside the garden, and he lives in a place where God is veiled, he's hidden by nature. And now man has to peel back the layers of nature to search for and to look for and to reveal God. How do we get back to גן עדן Gan Eden? How do we get back to a lifestyle and an awareness, a mindfulness, a consciousness, not that I have to peel back layers and look and reveal, but I see him everywhere? He is as obvious and clear to me as day. The answer is אמן amen, קל מלך נאמן Kel Melech Ne'eman, when you live with אמונה emunah. When you answer אמן amen, which is essentially that statement, that affirmation that I'm living with אמונה emunah, that I see him everywhere, that he's not only in charge, but he's intimately involved in my life, then wherever I am, I can open the gate to גן עדן Gan Eden. I can give a peek, I can give a kick, I can look inside, I can go back to where we were expelled from. That's what it means when you answer אמן בכל כחו amen b'chol kocho. I can get back to where I was. There are small miracles in our lives each and every day. And פרשת בא Parshas Bo, the רמב\"ן Ramban at the end of our פרשה parsha is telling us if you want a חלק chelek in תורת משה Toras Moshe, if you want to be part of the story called the Jewish people, then don't walk around in denial or with blinders. Don't walk around filled with doubt or uncertainty. Don't walk around giving nature credit or dismissing things to randomness or chance. If you want to be part of תורת משה Toras Moshe, says the רמב\"ן Ramban at the end of פרשת בא Parshas Bo, then you need to know that these are not nature, they're called small miracles. The big miracles gives us the confidence and the knowledge to know and to believe in the small miracles and to see them unfolding in our life and to recognize them each and every day. מן הנסים הגדולים המפורסמים אדם מודה בנסים הנסתרים שהם יסוד התורה כולה minanisim gedolim hamforsamim adam modeh b'nisim hanistarim shehem yesod haTorah kulah. Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, this is the core of all of תורה Torah. This is a fundamental principle. We got to teach children in kindergarten and first grade and every year of education. We got to teach them in פרשת בא Parshas Bo and got to teach them at the פסח סדר Pesach Seder. The גמרא ברכות דף ד Gemara Brachos daf daled tells us, כל הסומך גאולה לתפילה מובטח לו שהוא בן עולם הבא kol hasomech geulah l'tfila muvtach lo she'hu ben Olam Haba. If you recite שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esrei right after you made the ברכה bracha of גאל ישראל Ga'al Yisrael, so you finish שמע Shma and its ברכות brachos, you make the blessing גאל ישראל Ga'al Yisrael, פונקט punkt, boom, right into שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esrei, then what happens? מובטח שהוא בן עולם הבא muvtach she'hu ben Olam Haba. Not גן עדן Gan Eden, here is the promise we're more familiar with, the promise that you'll get a portion of the world to come. That seems like a pretty low bar. That seems like a pretty easy thing. Pay attention in שול shul, pay attention in דאווענען davening, and when you get up to גאל ישראל Ga'al Yisrael, don't get distracted and don't waste time, boom, go right from גאל ישראל Ga'al Yisrael into the עמידה Amida, be סומך somech, boom, one from one to the other, and then you're good to go. The reward seems a little disproportionate for the act. It doesn't seem like such a big deal to do to be earning such a big reward. So listen to what רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah writes. רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah in the back of the גמרא ברכות Gemara Brachos, so on that גמרא Gemara says the following. Says, you know, we stand up to דאווענען daven, and we turn to השם Hashem, and we say, I have all these needs and I'm turning, I'm relying, I'm leaning on you. I need פרנסה parnasah, and I need knowledge, and I need health, and I need justice, and I want redemption. Please, you, you, you, you, give me, give me, give me, give me, give me all these things. Why would I believe דאווענען davening works? Why would I think he hears me? I stand up, I take three steps forward and I say, you, you, you, please, I could use this, that, and the other. Why should I think that he hears me, that he's listening or that he will answer? Says רבינו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah, that's why we're right before our עמידה Amida, what do we do? סומך גאולה לתפילה Somech geulah l'tfila. Before the תפילה tfila where we say please, please, please, we say thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm more likely to believe that you'll you're in charge, you're in control, you're the address I need to turn to when I quickly review history and remember you're the address who was responsible for all that happened to me in the past. So I'm סומך גאולה לתפילה somech geulah l'tfila. First I take a moment, גאולה geulah. Oh yeah, 10 plagues, splitting of a sea, there's no such thing as nature. Oh yeah, now I'm ready. אתה חונן Atah chonein, רפאנו refaeinu, ברך עלינו bareich aleinu, השיבה שופטינו hashiva shofteinu, now I'm ready. Says רב וואלבע Rav Wolbe, you got to know this רמב\"ן Ramban by heart. Every Jew has to commit it to memory. All of תורה Torah and מצוות Mitzvos, this is the יסוד yesod. This is the foundation. This is what it's all about. To take time every day and pull back that veil and reveal השם Hashem and then get a peek, get a window into גן עדן Gan Eden, to the life that we once led and the life that we're looking to lead once again. That is the יסוד yesod, that is the core of פרשת בא Parshas Bo. You cannot learn פרשת בא Parshas Bo without reviewing this רמב\"ן Ramban and without reminding ourselves that that is the essence and that is the goal of life.Okay, let's get back. ויאמר השם אל משה Vayomer Hashem el Moshe, so השם Hashem says to משה Moshe, בא אל פרעה bo el Paro. נו Nu, come, we're going to פרעה Paro. And we always hear, every year we say why is it בא bo, not לך lech? And the answer is because normally on שליחות shlichus, when a person has an agency or a mission, then the answer is, could you go do that for me? We went through a tough period in the Goldberg home. Our three drivers are all graduated from the house, and we had a few months where we had no driver. My next daughter did not yet have her license, but ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, she passed on the first try, she has her license. So now, it works out well. It's a win-win. When you first get your license, all you want to do is drive, and parents are very grateful for you to drive to be able to pick up and drop off kids and do errands and the like. So I don't say בא bo, נו nu, let's go to Publics, נו nu, let's go to carpool. I say לך lech, would you possibly, I don't say, my wife says, could you represent and go do. So why does השם Hashem say בא bo? The answer is, השם Hashem is not sending משה Moshe and אהרון Aharon on their own. He's right by their side. He's with them and he's going to accompany them, and that's why it's בא bo, come, not לך lech. The קאצקער רבי Kotsker Rebbe, the קאצקער רבי Kotsker Rebbe says why is it בא bo, not לך lech? Says the רבי Rebbe, העולם אין ללכת מהקדוש ברוך הוא ha'olam ein l'leches me'HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Because there's no such thing, הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu can't say לך lech. לך Lech means go, and what does go mean? Take leave of me, go accomplish, go achieve, go do something. The word לך lech means go, and the word go means go forth from me, take leave of me. Says the קאצקער רבי Kotsker Rebbe, it's not an anomaly or a question, the reason it doesn't say לך lech but it has to say בא bo is why? Because he's מלא כל הארץ כבודו melo kol ha'aretz kvodo. Because הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu is מלא כל הארץ כבודו melo kol ha'aretz kvodo. השם Hashem fills the whole world. He's here, there, and everywhere. He's wherever you let him in, as the קאצקער Kotsker famously said. And therefore, for השם Hashem, there's no such thing as לך lech. There's no such thing as go because you could never take leave. Wherever and whenever and whatever you do, השם Hashem is there, and that's why by definition, it's always בא bo. There is nothing short of בא bo, number one.Number two, the פסוק pasuk says, כי אני הכבדתי את לבו ואת לב עבדיו ki ani ichbadeti es libo v'es lev avadav. Why does השם Hashem say, נו nu, come, בא bo, let's go, we're heading out. We got to go back to פרעה Paro, it's time to confront him again. And why must he be confronted? Because his heart is hardened, and his heart is hardened, both he and his servants, למען שיתי אתתי אלה בקרבו l'maan shisi ososai eilah b'kirbo, so I can put these signs in his midst. השם Hashem is giving us the reason. Why isn't פרעה Paro more flexible? Why isn't he more feeling? Why doesn't פרעה Paro see the writing on the wall and let them go? And the answer is because השם Hashem says I want to, I want to make this present. The answer is the רמב\"ן Ramban at the end of the פרשה parsha. The answer is השם Hashem never, ever wants us to mistake nature for miracles. He says, I want to do these miracles, and therefore I need him to have a hardened, I need him to have a hardened heart. But I saw this beautiful insight of רב יחיאל מיכל מזלאטשוב Rav Yechiel Michel of Zlotshov, who says the following: You know why הכבדתי את לבו ichbadeti es libo? You know when our heart becomes hardened? כי אני Ki ani. When our life is about אני ani, is about me. Ego. When ego gets in the way, הכבדתי את לבו hichbadeti es libo. Then we have a hardened heart. Then we become stubborn and obstinate. Then we're not listening. Then we're not listening. We need a soft heart and a feeling heart. We need a heart that's receptive and open. We need a heart that wants to listen and learn. We want a heart that's going to be inspired. But you know, too often our heart is hardened. Our heart is כבד kaved, it's heavy and it's hardened. And no matter how many messages are broadcast our way, no matter much inspiration is put in our face, we reject it. It can't penetrate, we don't absorb it, we don't listen. Why? When does it result in a כבידות הלב kveidus halev? When do we have a hardened heart? כי אני Ki ani. Because of אני ani. The word אני ani is I. When there's ego, when there's id, when there's I in the way, you הכבדתי את לבו hichbadeti es libo, you have the result of a hardened heart. I saw another פשט pshat that was, it's as if השם Hashem is answering משה Moshe. Why is it that the Jewish people and everyone else is so flexible, it's hard to get them to be stubborn to do the right thing? It's hard to get them to stubbornly always rise to the occasion and do the right thing, and yet פרעה Paro seems to be so stubborn. The answer is, השם Hashem is saying כי אני ki ani, I have hardened his heart. You want to know why he's so stubborn? Because I have, I have brought about that reality and that is the source of his stubbornness.Now there's a very interesting word that's used in the next פסוק pasuk. פסוק ב Pasuk beis. ולמען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך את אשר התעללתי במצרים ואת אתתי אשר שמתי בם U'lmaan t'saper b'oznei vincha u'ven vincha es asher his'alalti b'Mitzrayim v'es ososai asher samti bam. השם Hashem says, why have I, why is it to my benefit? Why am I exploiting his hardened heart? Because I want to do these miracles. I want the world to always be able to point back and see. I want you to have a חלק chelek in תורת משה Toras Moshe, and I want you to teach your children. תספר T'saper, סיפור sipor. It's not just הגדה hagada, it's not telling, but rather it is giving a story. תספר T'saper, the root is סיפור sipor. Is תספר t'saper is to count. You know when it counts, when you tell it as a story, when it's real, when it comes alive, when it's an experience of you. באזני b'oznei, tell it in the ears of your children and your grandchildren. And what are you going to tell them? About how I made a mockery of Egypt. את אתתי אשר שמתי בם Es ososai asher samti bam, the signs, the symbols, the miracles, that the נס neis, the banner, the flag that I waved, I signed my name, God was here. I don't know what he writes, השם Hashem, God, רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam, קל Kel, אלוקים Elokim, I don't know what he writes, but he signs his name, I was here. How does he sign his name? In the miracles. And the signs I placed before them, and then you will know, וידעתם כי אני השם v'yidatem ki ani Hashem. וידעתם V'yidatem. זאגט רש\"י Zogt Rashi, למען תספר l'maan t'saper, I'm doing all this, the pomp, the circumstance, I'm doing it with the fanfare, I'm flexing, which goes against everything. God is a קל מסתתר Kel Mistater. God is a humble and a modest and a hidden God. God likes to operate behind the curtain. He's violating everything he believes in, the whole way in which he set up the world, but he's willing to do it because he wants us to tell our children. Open up פרשת בא Parshas Bo, read the story. And how do we know it's true? Not because it appears in a book. I know it's true because I heard it from my parents, who heard it from their parents, who heard it from their parents, who heard it from their parents. And I'm telling you these miracles, I'm telling you directly in the chain, as well as we can know anything to be true, I'm telling you it's true. And that's why you need to believe. So what does it say at the end? So it says רש\"י Rashi, למען תספר l'maan t'saper so that you'll tell. בתורה b'Torah, לדור לדורות l'dor l'doros, it's in the Torah so you'll tell for generations. And says רב דרוק Rav Druk, our first איש תמיד Ish Tomid, our first רב דרוק Rav Druk of the day, the פרשה parsha class this year, we've been going through insights of רב ישראל מאיר דרוק Rav Yisrael Meir Druk of ירושלים Yerushalayim. הנה לשון הפסוק איני מובן Hinei lashon ha'pasuk eini muvan, I don't understand the פסוק pasuk. שהפסוק למען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך She'pasuk l'maan t'saper b'oznei vincha u'ven bincha, the whole reason God says I'm doing the pomp and circumstances so that you will whisper, so that you will tell in the ear of your children and your grandchildren, אם כן im kein, if so, היה צריך לסיים את הפסוק hayah tzarich l'sayem es ha'pasuk, how should the פסוק pasuk have ended? וידעו כי אני השם V'yedu ki ani Hashem. And they will know. Who? Who's the they will know? וידעו V'yedu, meaning your children and grandchildren. כי אחר שיספרו לבניהם, ידעו בניהם כי אני השם Ki achar she'y'sapru l'vneihem, yedu vneihem ki ani Hashem. Once you tell your children and your grandchildren, when you learn פרשת בא Parshas Bo and the רמב\"ן Ramban with it, they'll know. Who are the children the פסוק pasuk is talking about? Not the ones who experienced it firsthand. If you were there, you don't need to be told it as a story. It's part of your active memory. You were there. So who are the children we're talking about when it says you will whisper it in their ear, you'll tell it in their ear? Future generations. That's what רש\"י Rashi is saying. בתורה b'Torah, me and you, us, our children, our kindelekh and eineklakh, when they read the פרשה parsha and they read רש\"י Rashi, when they read the story and the רמב\"ן Ramban, then we tell them, we gather around, פסח Pesach is coming, so sorry to tell you. We gather around the table and we're going to tell the story and we are fulfilling this פסוק pasuk that God did these miracles so that we'll tell our children. So therefore, why does it end וידעתם v'yidatem, and you, you the generation who lived it, you the generation who were there, you the generation that משה Moshe is talking to right now, you will know. They already know. They were there. Why do they need to be told they will know? They were present, they were there. ונראה V'nireh, says רב דרוק Rav Druk, it's a good question, no? Says רב דרוק Rav Druk, ונראה v'nireh, שכתוב כאן יסוד גדול she'kasuv kan yesod gadol. Oh, what a יסוד yesod. What an important principle. שבמת אף על פי שבני ישראל בעצמם וחוו בבשרם את כל גאולת מצרים והנסים הגדולים שנעשו להם She'b'emes af al pi she'bnei Yisrael ba'atzmam v'chavu b'saram es kol geulas Mitzrayim v'nisim gedolim she'naasu lahem. You know what, it's true. They were there. It's true they experienced it firsthand. Nevertheless, מכל מקום mi kol makom, אחר שהם יספרו לבניהם ואחריהם את כל מה שעבר עליהם, גם הם בעצמם ידעו את כל הדברים יותר משקדמו לכן achar she'hem y'sapru l'vneihem v'achareihem es kol ma she'avar aleihem, gam hem b'atzmam yedu es kol hadvarim yoser mi'she'kadmu l'chein. When you tell something over, you come to know it more intimately. You know it better. You reflect upon it. It penetrates and it integrates into you, it inspires you more deeply. It's possible to have been present, it's possible to have lived through something and yet be oblivious to it, be callous to it. When do you come to realize how significant and meaningful it is? When does it come to move you? When you tell it over and share with someone else. And that's why, says רב דרוק Rav Druk, the פסוק's pasuk's telling us, למען תספר l'maan t'saper, tell it in the ears of your children, in future generations, but he's talking to those who were there. Even you who experienced these 10 plagues, even you who will experience or have experienced the splitting of the sea, tell your children, because when you tell, it makes it come alive. על ידי שהאדם מספר את הדברים שעברו עליו, הוא חווה אותם מחדש ומרגיש ויודע אותם יותר טוב Aidey she'ha'adam m'saper es ha'dvarim she'avru alav, hu chaveh osam m'chadash u'margish v'yodea osam yoser tov. You know them better, and they move you, they move you more deeply, they awaken and arouse you more meaningfully. As the פסוק pasuk says, וידעת היום והשבת אל לבבך v'yadata hayom v'hasheivosa el l'vavecha. Know it today and put it in your heart. על ידי שאתה יודע, אתה משיב את הדבר אל הלב Aidey she'atah yodea, atah meishiv es hadavar el halev. By knowing it, you put it in your heart. And that's what the פסוק pasuk says, למען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך l'maan t'saper b'oznei vincha u'ven vincha, תכלית הסיפור אינו רק כדי שגם הבנים ידעו את הדברים tachlis ha'sipor einu rak k'dei she'gam ha'banim yedu es d'varim. The goal of telling it over is not just so your children will know the story, it's that it's that וידעתם v'yidatem, you will be inspired. The exercise, the experience of telling it over leaves you yourself more inspired. זו הסיבה שאפילו כל החכמים וכל הנבונים וכל הזקנים וכל יודעי את התורה, מצוה עליהם לספר Zeh ha'siba she'afilu kol hachachamim v'kol hanevonim v'kol hazkeinim v'kol yodei es haTorah, mitzvah aleihem l'saper. And that's why we say at the סדר Seder in the הגדה Haggadah, even if you're a super genius, even if you know everything, you know the whole תורה Torah, מצוה עליהם לספר mitzvah aleihem l'saper, you got to tell the story. Why do you have to tell the story? The רמב\"ם Rambam goes even to the extreme, to the point of absurdity, and says, even if you are, and until this year, we didn't really appreciate or never felt it would apply to any of us, but it applied to too many this past year, even if you're having the סדר Seder all alone, you have the סדר Seder in a question and answer format. You tell the story to yourself. That's the point of absurdity. If the story you already know, there's no one there to listen, so you tell the story to yourself. How does that make sense? The answer is, the experience or the exercise of repeating the story makes you know it more personally, more intimately, to feel more connected to it, and therefore to achieve the goal of וידעתם v'yidatem, you will know it even more, you'll be inspired by it even more and even greater. What an important יסוד yesod, but it's predicated by having the sensitivity to ask the question. If it's למען תספר באזני בנך l'maan t'saper b'oznei vincha, if the purpose is to tell it over in the ear of your child, it should say וידעו v'yedu. Why does it say וידעתם v'yidatem? And the answer is because the one who will come to know God better, to be closer and feel more connected with him, is not just the children to whom it's told, but it is the teller, it is the one who is giving the story, who will feel elevated as well. I've shared with everyone ad nauseam, and we'll continue to, the importance of of telling stories to our children, of having a family journal or WhatsApp group to share השגחה פרטית hashgacha pratis stories. We used to, before WhatsApp, we used to try to, not always, but we'd sit at the dinner table and we'd say, everyone share where you saw השם's Hashem's hand in your life today. And maybe a kid would say, I didn't really study as hard as I should have, but the teacher asked only the questions that I knew the answers to. And another one will say, you know, this should have happened, but it came out this way. And another parent will say, this happened to me today, and I really felt השם Hashem was watching over me and it's amazing. And everybody telling that story is not just so that the listener who hears the story is moved, it's by everybody even repeating their own story, they go, you know, wow, השם Hashem was in my life today. I feel closer to him. I should look to him. There is no such thing as nature. It's all the יד השם Yad Hashem. So the goal of this of this pedagogic experience is וידעתם v'yidatem, not וידעו v'yedu. It's not just the listener, but it's the one telling who will grow stronger in that relationship as well.Next, also on these same סוקים sukim. רש\"י Rashi, sorry רבינו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya. רבינו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya says, וידעתם כי אני השם v'yidatem ki ani Hashem, לשעה ולדורות l'sha'ah u'l'doros. כי מתוך המוסר הזה שנתן הקדוש ברוך הוא במצרים, יכירו ישראל לדורות וידעו שמו הגדול Ki mitoch hamusar hazeh she'nasan HaKadosh Baruch Hu b'Mitzrayim, yakiru Yisrael l'doros v'yedu shmo gadol. Not only will it move them, those who went through it, to reflect upon it, it'll move them and elevate and enrich them. And, says רבינו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya, לדורות l'doros, all generations to come will reflect back and think about the story of יציאת מצרים yetzias Mitzrayim and will also be moved in perpetuity and going forward. And wonders רב דרוק Rav Druk, יש להבין yesh l'havin, מדוע דוקא אחר מכת ארבה נאמר למשה ma'duah davka achar makas arbeh nemar l'Moshe. When is this פסוק pasuk? The פסוק pasuk is before the eighth plague. The eighth plague is ארבה arbeh, locust. The ninth plague is חושך choshech, darkness. And the 10th plague, מכת בכורות makas bechoros. So now is when משה Moshe gives this little speech about you're going to tell the story later and you'll whisper in your children's ear and they're going to be moved by it and enriched by it and elevated by it, and so will you. Why now? Why not with מכות makos one through seven? Why do we wait for מכה maka number eight? What is it about ארבה arbeh that it's appropriate to introduce וידעתם כי אני השם v'yidatem ki ani Hashem specifically here and it didn't come earlier. Says רב דרוק Rav Druk, וידעתם כי אני השם יותר מכל שאר המכות. הרי בכל שאר המכות, מצרים גם הם היו ישראל יודעים את שמו הגדול, למען חודש v'yidatem ki ani Hashem, yoser mi'kol shaar hamakos. Harei b'chol shaar hamakos, Mitzrayim gam hem hayu Yisrael yodim es shmo hagadol, l'ma'an s'chadash. The first seven were also suspension of nature. The first seven were also extraordinarily impressive. So why does it take until now to say וידעתם v'yidatem and you will know, why is it specifically here? So listen to what רב דרוק Rav Druk says. ונראה לומר V'nireh lomar, שאחר מכת ארבה יש מכת חושך she'achar makas arbeh yesh makas choshech, because then came nine, the penultimate plague, which is darkness. והרי במכת חושך מצינו שמתו ארבע חמישיות בני ישראל V'harei b'makas choshech matzinu she'meisu arba chamishios Bnei Yisrael. Who's going to die, who's going to perish in the ninth plague? Four-fifths of the Jewish people. We don't think about this enough. We think about the story of the exodus and the miracle of of millions of Jews being saved, being liberated. But the truth is that four-fifths, that's a huge percentage. Four-fifths, 80% died in Egypt, in Egypt. And we know this from רש\"י Rashi in פרשת בשלח parshas Beshalach, next week's פרשה parsha. וחמושים עלו בני ישראל מארץ מצרים va'chamushim alu Bnei Yisrael m'eretz Mitzrayim, אחד מחמישה יצאו וארבעה חלקים מתו בשלושת ימי אפילה echad mei'chamisha yatzu v'arba chalakim meisu b'shloshes yemei afeila. We know that 80% died in the ninth plague of darkness, and only 20% later left. ולכן אמר להם הקדוש ברוך הוא דוקא עתה, קודם מכת ארבה, וידעתם כי אני השם, שיכירו בשמו הגדול, שלרבינו ישראל, זו המכה האחרונה שהם רואים V'lachen amar lam HaKadosh Baruch Hu davka ata, kodem makas arbeh, v'yidatem ki ani Hashem, she'yakiru b'shmo hagadol, she'l'rabeinu Yisrael, zeh hamakah ha'achrona she'hem ro'im. This would be the last plague that they would see. This was the last ditch effort. וידעתם V'yidatem. Wake up! Know there's a God. Trust, confide, submit, surrender. Stop struggling and thinking you're in charge, you're in control, you know better. Stop trying to decide whether you should stay in Egypt or go with God. Always go with God. וידעתם V'yidatem, know there's a God and go with God and stick with God. Stop struggling and stop fighting it and let go and let God. And that's why, says רב דרוק Rav Druk, specifically here, the eighth plague before the ninth when they would disappear, it's the last ditch effort, וידעתם כי אני השם v'yidatem ki ani Hashem. שמעת שמאכה שלא אחרי המת הוא רוב עם בני ישראל. ויוסיף לדבר שהקדוש ברוך הוא רצה לנסות מידותם, אמר וידעתם כי אני השם, כדי שישראל ישובו ויאמינו. Wake up, know there's a God, he's in charge, he's in control, surrender to him. Put your lot with him, place your destiny with him, let go and let God. וידעתם כי אני השם V'yidatem ki ani Hashem, and that's why it was unnecessary in the first seven. The eighth potentially is the last one before these 80% are going to perish. It's the last ditch effort וידעתם כי אני השם v'yidatem ki ani Hashem.Okay, continuing right along. Let's keep going. The מכה makkah of locust comes, פסוק כח pasuk khaf khes. פרק י, פסוק כח Perek yud, pasuk khaf khes. We are on page 344 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash. What happens? The ninth plague. The ninth plague is darkness. We've discussed this in Parsha classes in the past. We're not going to get into it again right now. We've discussed it previously. But the question that bothers me every year, should bother you is, is it really such a terrible מכה makkah? Have no one here ever lived through a blackout? Dark. Okay, darkness, not pleasant. You don't enjoy it. You're groping around in the dark, you're trying to figure things out, but people have lived through a blackout before. So this collective blackout is the penultimate plague. We know we have a tradition that the plagues, the מכות makkos, intensified in order. As they got further into the line, they got more intense and more punitive. So what's so punitive about about חושך choshech? Why is darkness so terrible? We've discussed it in the past, you can listen to one of the previous פרשה שיעורים parsha shiurim to get an answer to that.The plague lasts for three days. Pharaoh gives an offering. פרק י, פסוק כח Perek yud, pasuk khaf khes. What happens? Pharaoh says, לכו עבדו את השם L'chu ivdu et Hashem. Okay, go, get lost, רק צאנכם ובקרכם יצג גם טפכם ילך עמכם rak tzonchem u'vkarchem yutzag gam tapchem yelech imachem. So Pharaoh says fine, you can go, only your flock and cattle stay behind. The children can go, no animals, no sacrifices, no worship. ויאמר משה Vayomer Moshe, Moshe says, even if you will place in our hands feast offerings and elevation offerings, we shall offer them to Hashem our God. And our livestock, they're coming with us. גם מקננו ילך עמנו gam mikneinu yelech imanu. Nothing staying behind. ויחזק השם את לב פרעה Vayechazek Hashem et lev Pharaoh, Pharaoh had the moment of weakness. He entertained letting them go. His heart becomes hardened again. ולא אבה לשלחם v'lo avah l'shalcham, and he doesn't agree to let them go. ויאמר לו פרעה Vayomer lo Pharaoh, and Pharaoh now has lost his cool. This is the end of the ninth plague. It took nine patches, nine smacks across the face, nine pandemics for his whole country and empire, and Pharaoh has lost his cool. ויאמר לו פרעה Vayomer lo Pharaoh, and Pharaoh turns to Moshe and he says, לך מעלי lech me'alai, get out of here, get lost. By the way, here's the contrast of the קאצקער Kotsker to בא Bo. Hashem there's no לך lech. Pharaoh's לך lech is מעלי me'alai, go, get lost from me. לך Lech, good riddance, get lost, לך lech means, go far away from me. Whereas Hashem can't say לך lech because מלא כל הארץ כבודו m'lo chol ha'aretz k'vodo, he's everywhere. That's why by definition the קאצקער Kotsker said it had to be בא Bo. But Pharaoh says I've had enough. גענוג Genug. It's enough. לך מעלי lech me'alai, get lost, good riddance. השמר לך אל תוסף ראות פני hishamer l'cha al tosef r'ot panai, says Pharaoh, beware, don't see my face anymore, כי ביום ראותך פני תמות ki v'yom r'otcha panai tamut. On the day you see my face, you're going to die. ויאמר משה Vayomer Moshe, כן דברת ken dibarta. Moshe says, good, we're on the same page, you spoke correctly. לא אוסיף עוד ראות פניך lo osif od r'ot panecha. Moshe says, I shall never see your face again. We are done. We're done.What does רש\"י Rashi say here? What does רש\"י Rashi say on this? Says רש\"י Rashi. Says רש\"י Rashi, פסוק כח pasuk khaf khes. I lost my place. פסוק כח pasuk khaf khes, כן דברת ken dibarta, יפה דברת yafeh dibarta. ובזמנו דברת u'vizmano dibarta, you spoke well and at the right time. אמת לא אוסיף עוד ראות פניך emet lo osif od r'ot panecha. True, I'm not going to see your face anymore. We're good to go. I'm done seeing your face. I agree. I agree. I agree.Now what happens? Keep skip to to פרק יא perek yud alef, פסוק ח pasuk khes. Next page. 346 the ArtScroll חומש Chumash. What happens? The warning of the plague of the firstborn. וירדו כל עבדיך אלה אלי וישתחוו לי לאמר צא אתה וכל העם אשר ברגליך ואחרי כן אצא ויצא מעם פרעה בחרי אף v'yardu kol avadecha eileh elai v'hishtachavu li leimor tzei ata v'chol ha'am asher b'raglecha v'acharei chen etzei vayetze me'im Pharaoh b'chori af. Moshe leaves Pharaoh and how does he leave Pharaoh? Pharaoh's had it with him and he's had it with Pharaoh. He leaves Pharaoh with anger, בחרי אף b'chori af. Moshe takes leave with great anger. The first time we encounter Moshe's anger. What's he angry about? רש\"י Rashi says, על שאמר לו אל תוסף ראות פני al she'amar lo al tosef r'ot panai. Why is Moshe angry at Pharaoh? Because Pharaoh said I don't want to see your face again. Why is that a reason to be angry? Pharaoh was a lowlife dictator. Pharaoh was an evil, wicked enemy and adversary. He's an oppressor and persecutor of the Jewish people. Who would ever want to see him again? What do we say about Hitler? ימח שמו וזכרו yemach shmo v'zichro. Pharaoh, ימח שמו yemach shmo, may his name be erased. You'd think Moshe would say, good. You're done with me, I'm done with you. You don't want to see me, I don't ever want to see you. Instead רש\"י Rashi says, Moshe takes leave of Pharaoh and he's frustrated. Moshe is angry, he's disappointed. And what is he frustrated, angry, and disappointed about? He's frustrated and angry that Pharaoh doesn't want to see him anymore. Why is that a source of frustration? Why is that a source of anger? So Rav Schwab זצ\"ל zatzal, Rav Schwab the leader of German Jewry in Washington Heights, Baltimore, Washington Heights, first in Europe. Rav Schwab in his wonderful ספר sefer on חומש Chumash says, do you know why Moshe is frustrated? Because the whole point here, the whole goal of all these plagues, and the goal of the revelation, and the goal of the pomp and circumstance, and the goal of God violating his own rules and interfering with the rules of nature, the purpose and the goal of it all was to get Pharaoh to become a בעל תשובה baal teshuva. The whole goal was to get Pharaoh to admit, you know what, at first when Moshe comes and he says, nice to meet you Moshe, here's my card, I represent God. What does Pharaoh say? לא ידעתי את השם lo yadati et Hashem. I never met this God. I don't know what you're talking about. And the whole goal of this is to get to a point where Pharaoh says, I know God. Now I've come to know him. I don't just know him academically, conceptually, I don't know him in the abstract, I've come to know God in the real, in the here and now, in my life.So Pharaoh throwing Moshe out before he gets Pharaoh to that point, he's got Pharaoh on the stand. He's pushing him and pushing him and pushing him. He just wants Pharaoh to say in front of the judge, the jury, the cameras and the world, יודע את השם yodea et Hashem. I've come to know God. Pharaoh expelling him before he's come to the point of admitting that, is a source of great frustration for Moshe, because that's all Moshe wants. That's Moshe's goal. That's where Moshe wants to get. Has Moshe achieved that with everybody else? Yes. Listen to the רמב\"ן Ramban. Go to פרק יא, פסוק ג perek yud alef, pasuk gimmel. In פרק יא, פסוק ג perek yud alef, pasuk gimmel, Moshe's warning about the tenth plague, about מכת בכורות makkas bechoros, the killing of the firstborn. And the פסוק pasuk says ויתן השם את חן העם בעיני מצרים vayiten Hashem et chen ha'am b'einei Mitzrayim, that Hashem granted the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, גם האיש משה גדול מאד בארץ מצרים בעיני עבדי פרעה ובעיני העם gam ha'ish Moshe gadol me'od b'eretz Mitzrayim b'einei avdei Pharaoh u'v'einei ha'am. The man Moshe was very great in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of the servants of Pharaoh and in the eyes of the people. What do you see from here? That Moshe is great in whose eyes? Even in the eyes of the people. You know what the רמב\"ן Ramban writes on this? This is אומר הרמב\"ן נחמני דס, פרק יא, פסוק ג, ויתן השם את חן העם בעיני מצרים, says the רמב\"ן, שלא היו אנשי מצרים שונאים אותם על המכות shelo hayu anshei Mitzrayim son'im otam al ha'makkos. If you're the Egyptians, you've lived not through one pandemic, not through one isolation and quarantine, not through one depression and economic collapse, you've lived through nine of them by this point. Nine plagues upon the people. Are you going to love the one who warns and then brings those plagues? Are you going to fall in love with them? And yet the people love Moshe. They carry no bitterness, no resentment, no animosity. They don't hold them responsible. There's no שנאה sin'ah, there's no hate. אלא מוסיפין בהם אהבה ונותנין חן בעיניהם ela mosifin bahem ahavah v'notnin chen b'eineihem. They love him. They find him charming. לאמר אנחנו הרשעים גם עושים חמס וראו שהכוני אתכם האלקים leimor anachnu ha'r'shaim gam osim chamas u'r'u shehichuni etchem ha'Elokim. We're the wicked, we're the evil, we oppressed you, we persecuted you. We're the guilty party. Moshe is so successful in this educational journey that he turns the Egyptian people around. They've become a people who are complicit with Pharaoh in persecuting the Jews, and these nine plagues are nine lessons in the lesson plan to teach them, I'd like to introduce you to God. Is it successful? Absolutely. ויתן השם את חן העם בעיני מצרים Vayiten Hashem et chen ha'am b'einei Mitzrayim. The מצרים Mitzrayim, the מצרים Mitzrim, the Egyptians say wow, there's a God. We've come to know him. We believe and we believe he's intimately involved in our lives. And not only do they come to know God, they come to know and love Moshe. גם האיש משה מביא עליהם המכות, גדול מאוד בארץ מצרים בעיני עבדי פרעה ובעיני שאר עמו Gam ha'ish Moshe meivi aleihem ha'makkos, gadol me'od b'eretz Mitzrayim b'einei avdei Pharaoh u'v'einei sh'ar amo. Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, they even come to love Moshe as God's spokesperson here on earth. ובעיני עם ישראל, אחר שאמר לו וראו השם עליכם u'v'einei am Yisrael, achar she'amar lo u'r'u Hashem aleichem. In other words, ויתן השם את חן העם בעיני מצרים vayiten Hashem et chen ha'am b'einei Mitzrayim. In whose eyes? Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, it's in the eyes of the Egyptians. It's in the eyes of the Egyptians. ויש אומרים כי בעיני העם אם מצרים. ולא אמר בעיני פרעה ובעיני עבדיו V'yesh omrim ki b'einei ha'am im Mitzrayim. V'lo amar b'einei Pharaoh u'v'einei avadav. and so on the רמב\"ן Ramban says more. So the whole goal of these מכות makkos were to be an educational journey, and the people of מצרים Mitzrayim, the Egyptians got it. Pharaoh expels Moshe before he admits it and acknowledges it and that's a source of great frustration for Moshe.Except who wins in the end? Who actually gets Pharaoh to admit it on the stand in front of the cameras in the end? So look at פרק יב, פסוק לב Perek yud beis, pasuk lamed beis. It's all in our פרשה parsha, all in בא Bo. פרק יב, פסוק לב Perek yud beis, pasuk lamed beis, in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash, page 358. And this is now when the Jewish people after the tenth plague are going to be on their way. And who suffers, who's one of the victims of the tenth plague? His family? None other than Pharaoh. And what does Pharaoh say? He says, גם צאנכם גם בקרכם קחו כאשר דברתם ולכו gam tzonchem gam b'karchem k'chu ka'asher dibartem va'l'chu. Pharaoh throws in the towel. He waves the white flag. I'm done, I've had it. I can't do it anymore. His heart is no longer hardened and he says, take whoever and whatever you want and ולכו va'l'chu, go. Good riddance, get going. But Pharaoh doesn't leave it there. What does he say? Look at the last three words of פסוק לב pasuk lamed beis. It's amazing. Maybe you've never noticed this before. What are the last three words of פסוק לב pasuk lamed beis? Pharaoh says I've had it, the tenth plague, we've been decimated, we've been destroyed, I've been humbled. Go! But one thing first before you go, וברכתם גם אותי u'verachtem gam oti. Give me a ברכה brachah. Can you imagine how the tide has turned? From the Pharaoh who raised Moshe in his palace, to the Pharaoh who stubbornly rejects Moshe, to the Pharaoh who brings about the downfall of his people, the tragic figure, and how does he go down in history? וברכתם גם אותי U'verachtem gam oti. He says, do me a favor, give me a ברכה brachah.Says the רמב\"ן Ramban on these words, do me a favor, give me a ברכה brachah. Says the רמב\"ן Ramban, וברכתם גם אותי u'verachtem gam oti. רש\"י Rashi says התפללו עלי שלא אמות שאני בכור hitpal'lu alai shelo amut she'ani b'chor. This tenth plague is coming. Guess who's a firstborn says Pharaoh, me. So do me a favor, give me a ברכה brachah, I not die in this tenth plague because I'm also a בכור bechor. But says the רמב\"ן Ramban, כאשר תזבחו להשם אלקיכם כאשר דברתם ka'asher tizb'chu l'Hashem Elokeichem ka'asher dibartem, when you go, I just told you you can go and take who and what you want with you and you're going to go worship, keep me in mind. תתפללו על נפשותיכם שלא יפגע אתכם בדבר אחרים, תזכירו גם אותי עמכם Titpal'lu al nafshteichem shelo yifga etchem b'dever acherim, tazkiru gam oti imachem. Remember me, think about me while you go. Now why does Pharaoh want him to דאווען daven for him? What is implicit when you ask someone to דאווען daven for you? What are you essentially saying that you believe is? You believe in God. This is the admission. This is the surrender. Moshe got out of Pharaoh what he wanted all along. וברכתם גם אותי U'verachtem gam oti, this last exchange, these final words of Pharaoh to Moshe are an admission, I know God. But you know him even better. Give me a ברכה brachah, דאווען daven for me, דאווען daven for me.So it's an amazing thing going on, and Rav Usher Brander points this out in his book, called Teachings, in-depth reflections on the פרשה parsha. He traces all this very, very beautifully. It's an amazing thing going on in the פרשה parsha that gets lost on so many people who read the פרשה parsha. This back and forth of what Moshe wants, why he gets frustrated when he is expelled from Pharaoh's presence. But Moshe has the last laugh, so to say, not that he's laughing, because Pharaoh comes back ultimately and recognizes there's a God, recognizes there's a God so much to an extent that he says please דאווען daven for me. Now when he recognizes or when the when the Torah testifies that the Egyptians embrace Moshe, how does it do so? What what are the words it uses? It's not a coincidence says Rav Soloveitchik, the words that are used. גם האיש משה Gam ha'ish Moshe פרק יא פסוק ג Perek yud alef, pasuk gimmel. And what are these words? Sorry just finding the place. Got a lot of books open over here. Listen to Rav Soloveitchik. והאיש משה גדול מאד V'ha'ish Moshe gadol me'od. It's remarkable to know how many times Moshe and Aaron were given an audience with Pharaoh, supreme ruler of Egypt, despite the fact that they repeatedly reproached him. Pharaoh had the power to execute anyone at will. Yet Moshe and Aaron suffered no personal consequence. The tolerance of Pharaoh is perhaps one of the greatest miracles of the Exodus. Again, another miracle which is subtle and which is lost on so many of us. There are 10 plagues, those are open revealed miracles, but is it any less miraculous that Pharaoh continues to entertain an audience with Moshe and Aaron? Why would he keep welcoming them back? That in itself is a miracle. Moshe was a great charismatic leader. It bears witness to Moshe's greatness that he made such an impression on Pharaoh that Pharaoh would do no harm. Torah refers to Moshe with the honorific, האיש ha'ish, in two other places in the Torah. Can you think of any? When Moshe delayed in returning to הר סיני Har Sinai from הר סיני Har Sinai after 40 days absence, the people explained משה האיש Moshe ha'ish, we don't know what's become of משה האיש Moshe ha'ish. This man, this unique man, we don't know what's become of him. And again we find it in במדבר Bamidbar when? והאיש משה ענו מאד V'ha'ish Moshe anav me'od. This man Moshe was exceedingly humble. After Miriam spoke לשון הרע lashon hara gossip about him and she incurred God's wrath, the Torah itself testifies to Moshe's uniqueness and greatness by using the word האיש ha'ish. The word האיש ha'ish suggests a charismatic personality, that his personality was captivating. And that is testified to by God, האיש משה ענו מאד ha'ish Moshe anav me'od, he's humble, by the people, this man, this unique man, he hasn't come back, we miss him, we need him, he's unique. And even here by the Torah telling us how the Egyptians felt about him. Unique to Egypt was the fact that they respected Moshe as a human being, not as a super being. The Egyptians being pagans could have deified him as they did Pharaoh, but instead they looked upon Moshe not as a god, as an איש ish. The first time in pagan history that a man was considered great. Previously in pagan history, if someone was great, they went from being a man to being a deity. It's the first time, again, introducing this, educating the world as to the Torah's values, as to God's values of what he wants the world to know and what he wants the world to believe.Our first אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim of the day, the וויזניצער רבי Vizhnitzer Rebbe. Also on these words. Says the וויזניצער רבי Vizhnitzer Rebbe. וברכתם גם אותי U'verachtem gam oti Pharaoh says in those words which should be immortal. The words of Pharaoh. I mean, this would be like Hitler getting caught by the Allies and is turning to the Jews and saying as the Allies are going to take him away, he turns to the Jews and says, could you give me a ברכה brachah? That's what this is tantamount to. It's again, you gloss over the פסוק pasuk, you don't even notice it. But when Pharaoh says go, you're free, I can't do it anymore. Just take it all and go. He ends it with וברכתם גם אותי u'verachtem gam oti. Says the וויזניצער רבי Vizhnitzer Rebbe, the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, יכולים אתם בתשובה מאהבה לעשות מזדונות גופא זכיות. וזהו וברכתם גם אותי. גם ממני פרעה הרומז ליצר הרע לעשות ברכה שהם זכיות y'cholim atem b'teshuvah me'ahavah la'asot mi'z'donos gufa z'chuyos. v'zehu u'verachtem gam oti. Gam mimeni Pharaoh ha'romez l'yetzer hara la'asot brachah shehem z'chuyos. Can homiletically interpret these words to mean, גם אותי gam oti, even from me, Pharaoh, וברכתם u'verachtem, you can find a ברכה brachah. We don't only have a ברכה brachah from the יצר הטוב yetzer hatov, there's a ברכה brachah from the יצר הרע yetzer hara. Pharaoh is פה רע peh ra. Pharaoh is the epitome of evil and wickedness. So we sometimes think that the only way we can grow is by feeling the influence of our positive, our יצר טוב yetzer tov. But the truth is you learn a lot from the יצר הרע yetzer hara too. If you understand the יצר הרע yetzer hara and you transform the יצר הרע yetzer hara, then the יצר הרע yetzer hara goes from being a liability to an asset. If you understand the יצר הרע yetzer hara drives you and how the יצר הרע yetzer hara distracts you and how the יצר הרע yetzer hara gives you the strength to do things even if it's for the wrong, you can bottle and capture all of that and channel it for the good, then the יצר הרע yetzer hara can be transformed into the source of good. That's what the גמרא Gemara says. זדונות z'donos, something that you do במזיד b'mezid, the intentional things that you do in error, נעשין כזכיות na'asin ki'zchuyos, they can become merits. So גם אותי gam oti, even the Pharaoh within our own lives, וברכתם u'verachtem, can become a source of a ברכה brachah if we embrace them, transform them, channel them, and use them in the right way. It's again, very homiletical, not the פשט pshat, not the פשט pshat in any level of the פסוק pasuk, but a beautiful homiletical interpretation. וברכתם גם אותי U'verachtem gam oti. מארח תן גם אותי Me'orach tan gam oti. you know the פסוק pasuk says ומאויבי תחכמני u'me'oyvai t'chakmeni. מאויבי Me'oyvai, I've become wise from my enemies. And that's comes to understand, what do you mean how have I become wiser than my enemies? If I understand the drive and the strategy of my enemies, תחכמני t'chakmeni I can become wise. I can learn how to have greater drive and strategy myself. I can look at my shortcomings, and if I look at my liability, and if I look at my distractions and temptations, I can draw from them lessons which can inspire and motivate me in the positive. ומאויבי תחכמני U'me'oyvai t'chakmeni, וברכתם גם אותי u'verachtem gam oti, I can learn as well.Okay, Torah tells us פרק יב, פסוק יב Perek yud beis, pasuk yud beis. Tenth plague, Hashem sets up the tenth plague in an unusual way. Back to page 352 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash. Pasuk says, ועברתי בארץ מצרים בלילה הזה v'avarti b'eretz Mitzrayim ba'lailah hazeh. God says I'm going to pass in the Egypt on this night. והכיתי כל בכור בארץ מצרים מאדם ועד בהמה v'hikeiti kol b'chor b'eretz Mitzrayim me'adam v'ad b'hemah. I'm going to wipe out all the firstborn from man to animal. ובכל אלהי מצרים אעשה שפטים אני השם u'v'chol elohei Mitzrayim e'eseh sh'fatim ani Hashem. and against all the gods of Egypt, I will meet out punishment, and how and why will I do this all? כי אני השם ki ani Hashem, because I am God, I can and I will. ופסחתי u'fasachti. Wonders, H. Tavid, Rav Druk. Back to the next piece in Rav Druk. Wonders of Rav Druk. if I can find the place. פרק יב, פסוק יב Perek yud beis, pasuk yud beis. Why is Hashem specifically skipping over houses here? There it is. Sorry. יש לעיין הרבי מדוע דוקא במכת בכורות היה צריך לעשות לבתים Yesh l'ayen harbeh madu'a davka b'makas b'choros hayah tzarich la'asot la'batim? Hashem has done nine plagues, and he was able to distinguish between the Egyptians and the Jews. Nine times God had no problem. Nine times the Jews were fine while the Egyptians were struck. Tenth time all of a sudden God loses that power? All of a sudden God loses that ability? How could it be? ומה נשתנה מכת בכורות משאר המכות שלא היו זקוקים לשום אות כדי שינצלו מהם? מדוע דוקא במכה זו היה צריך לעשות לבתים U'mah nishtanah makas b'choros mi'sh'ar ha'makkos shelo hayu z'kukim l'shum os k'dei she'yinatzlu mehem? Madu'a davka b'makah zu hayah tzarich la'asot la'batim? What is it about this tenth plague, about מכת בכורות makkas bechoros that needs the Jewish participation? The needs God needs help, כביכול k'vyachol, all of a sudden to distinguish the Jewish from the non-Jewish homes. וביותר תמוה עוד, and furthermore says Rav Yisrael Meir Druk, שכל המכות נעשו על ידי שליח. All the other plagues were done through an agent. בהם היה יותר שייך לומר שיצטרכו לאות. I would have thought the opposite. When God sends a messenger, an agent to carry it out, that's when he needs your human participation and initiative. That's when the agent needs help. But when God does it himself, אני ולא שליח, אני ולא מלאך ani v'lo shliach, ani v'lo malach, so why does God need help? If anything, the Jews should have had to mark their homes for the first nine, not for the tenth, which is done by God himself. What is going on here? Good questions. As all of his questions are, it's a phenomenal set of ספרים sforim, אש תמיד Eish Tamid. I don't get royalties. I get no royalties, but we're learning it all year, because I really have fallen in love with it. ונראה לבאר בהקדם מה שאמרו כי ביום הכותי בארץ מצרים הקדשתי אותם לי V'nir'eh l'va'er b'hekdem mah she'amru ki v'yom hakoti b'eretz Mitzrayim hikdashti otam li. So he says, perhaps we can answer it by understanding the פסוק pasuk. Pasuk says, on the day that I strike the Egyptians, is the day that I sanctify. מבואר בזה שבהכאות מצרים במכת בכורות, היה בו ב' מטרות שונות M'vo'ar b'zeh she'b'haka'os Mitzrayim b'makas b'choros, hayah bo bet mataros shonos. On the day that the Egyptians were struck with the tenth plague, there were two simultaneous goals. There was a dual goal. And what were the two goals? Number one, שיצאו עם ישראל ממצרים she'yetz'u am Yisrael mi'Mitzrayim, the Jewish people will leave, the Exodus, set them free. And ב beis, number two, להקדיש את עם ישראל להשם l'hakdish et am Yisrael l'Hashem. To sanctify the Jewish people. להפוך אותם להיות עבדי פרעה להיות עבדי השם L'hafuch otam lihiyot avdei Pharaoh lihiyot avdei Hashem. To transform them from being slaves and servants of Pharaoh to slaves and servants of God. So there was a dual goal, a dual purpose. One to set them free physically, but two spiritually and emotionally to transform their status from being enslaved to Pharaoh to being slaves to God. And that's what the פסוק pasuk says ויהי מקץ שלשים שנה וארבע מאות שנה, ויהי בעצם היום הזה יצאו כל צבאות השם מארץ מצרים vay'hi miketz shloshim shanah v'arba me'ot shanah, vay'hi b'etzem hayom hazeh yatz'u kol tziv'os Hashem me'eretz Mitzrayim. Later in the same פרק perek, after the tenth plague it describes, on that day after all this time, who went free? צבאות השם Tziv'os Hashem. The ראשונים על זכאי ישראל, כארץ צבאות השם. תורת הניתנה להם בצאת יציאה, כי הם כשם נעשו קדושים להשם. It's the first time the Jewish people are being described as being members of צבאות השם Tziv'os Hashem. Who created the modern-day צבאות השם Tziv'os Hashem? the Lubavitcher Rebbe, זצ\"ל zatzal. Lubavitcher Rebbe, זצ\"ל zatzal, later this week is the 70th anniversary of when he ascended to become Rebbe. We're going to mark it with a Benny Friedman concert at BRS. You got to register online, and then you're welcome to come for free, socially distance with masks. We're going to celebrate it. So צבאות השם Tziv'os Hashem. I was recently promoted from private which I carried from my youth, and on Behind the Bima a few weeks ago, I was promoted to a general in צבאות השם Tziv'os Hashem, very proud of it. But what does it mean to be צבאות השם Tziv'os Hashem? It means that not just that you're some secular free political entity, country, nation. God doesn't just liberate us and let us go. We spoke about this with ולקחתי V'lakachti last week. He took us out specifically to bring us to הר סיני Har Sinai, to make us a covenantal community, to give us a mission and a purpose and a mandate to repair and improve his world, to bring greater light in this world. That's why we got the title צבאות השם Tziv'os Hashem. צבאות השם Tziv'os Hashem means you're in the army of Hashem. What's your rank? What's your role? What unit do you belong to? What are you doing to fight the battle and win the war of trying to improve and repair the world in God's image? This is the first time that this description is used, says Rav Druk, because this is a fulfillment of that second goal of why God's taken them out. Not just to be a free people, but to be a free people who have a purpose, a purpose-driven people, a covenantal people. That's why he took us out. הנה עם ישראל היו במ\"ט שערי טומאה Hinei am Yisrael hayu b'mem-tet sha'arei tum'ah, we were on the lowest level of the 49 levels of impurity, of contamination, of corruption. How did he turn us around? We needed to do something. So you're right. All 10 plagues, God did not need our help. He's God. Whether he did it through an agent, or whether he did it directly on his own, he did not need our help. He's the infinite, omnipotent God, he did not need our help. So why in the tenth plague did he ask us to mark the door and he'd skip over it? Not because he needed it, we needed it. We could become free without doing it, but you know what we wouldn't have become? A holy people, a mission-driven people, a purpose-driven people. To do that, we needed some skin in the game. And the way we had skin in the game was to take that blood of the god of our enemy and to put it in the doorpost. The way we had skin in the game was not to be a passive spectator, but to be a fully active participant and to get in the game. And says Rav Druk, that's why this is the first plague that God did not do on his own with us being passive, but he invited and asked us to be participants, not because he needed our help. If that were the case, it'd be the opposite. The first nine we should have done it when it was through an agent, and this one God would do on his own. But rather it's because this was the plague that would transform us into צבאות השם Tziv'os Hashem. This is the plague that would turn us into that holy, consecrated, mission-driven people.Rav Soloveitchik also has a comment here. Rav Soloveitchik says: וראיתי את הדם ופסחתי u'ra'iti et hadam u'fasachti. The Midrash says about this, this is the blood of the קרבן פסח korban pesach and the blood of circumcision. The two go together, קרבן פסח korban pesach and ברית מילה bris milah. The slave hates physical pain. He suffers enough from the baton of the taskmaster and is not prepared to endure pain because of a commandment which will not increase his portion of meat from the flesh pot. The slave is a coward. He quakes before his owner and his brutal taskmaster. After all, a slave does not understand the idea of self-sacrifice, of fighting for a principle or an idea. Therefore, the sages said that a slave does not make a worthy witness. Cowardly as he is, he will often not tell the truth. Moshe came and told the people, undergo physical pain. Circumcise yourselves because no uncircumcised male can partake of the קרבן פסח korban pesach. That feel me today. And offer that lamb which is deified by the Egyptians. When the Egyptians notice, they will certainly blame the Jews for profaning their religion. Nevertheless, the slaves took upon themselves both the suffering and the commandment of the paschal lamb with love and were not frightened. They were ready to pay with the blood of suffering and fear for the privilege of performing Hashem's command. And thus the response, I say unto you, בדמיך חיי בדמיך חיי b'damayich chayi b'damayich chayi, the פסוק pasuk in יחזקאל Yechezkel that we say at a ברית מילה bris milah. גבורה g'vurah, says the Rav, courage, heroism is a foundation of Judaism. קידוש השם kiddush Hashem, the sanctification of the divine name manifests itself in courage. This courage was shown by the Jews on the night of Pesach, that we took this hyssop, we dipped it in the blood, and we marked our doorposts. Hashem wanted to see your sacrifice, your transformation, your wondrous courage, your willingness to conquer your fear and suffering. You've learned to distinguish between the sacred and profane. You've displayed גבורה g'vurah in conquering your fear and your will. Therefore Hashem will distinguish between you and the Egyptians and will reveal his trait of גבורה g'vurah or restraint. Says the Rav it's מידה כנגד מידה midah k'neged midah. You know how do you get out of a slave mentality? You need to show courage. So Hashem didn't need anybody's help and it could have and would have happened without us, but nevertheless, the Jewish people, מידה כנגד מידה midah k'neged midah. You want Hashem to show גבורה g'vurah? Then you've got to display some גבורה g'vurah. And what how did we display גבורה g'vurah? With courage. And what was the courage? The courage to endure pain, the pain of ברית מילה bris milah and the courage to to defy the deity of our enemy by placing that blood on the on the doorposts. By placing the blood on the doorposts.One more I think we have time for, the Rav on לא תצאו איש מפתח ביתו lo tetz'u ish mi'petach beito. We said a person is not allowed to go out on that night. The פסוק pasuk said the night of of the tenth plague, a person couldn't go out. On the night of freedom, the slaves perform the movement of withdrawal, of recoil, of self-defense, of self-limitation. Freedom does not rid a man of his morals, but on the contrary adds to his morals. This the transition from slavery to freedom is very critical. The masters who exploited, tortured, humiliated, find themselves suddenly at the mercy of slaves for whom they showed no mercy, no concern, displayed no human emotion. The natural reaction of the slave who was suddenly freed is to avenge himself on the tyrant who murdered his baby, who assaulted and disgraced his daughter, who mercilessly beat him for any minor infraction. It is usually a blood, a bloody, ruthless, and vengeful transition. Fear of a slave upheaval haunted all the tyrants of antiquity. Rebellion by slaves meant total destruction. History records many bloody and ruthless insurrections of slaves against their masters. Ancient Rome experienced twice or thrice a grim confrontation with slaves who had set themselves free. European history knows of the peasants' rebellion in medieval Germany and of the bloody Cossack revolt in the Ukraine. The stories about the cruelty of the rebels are blood-chilling. They were eager to settle a long account of cruelty. Horrific massacres were typical. The brutish drive for vengeance for gratification of the satanic in man was irresistible. Did anything of that happen on the night of יציאת מצרים yetziat Mitzrayim? 600,000 slaves were liberated. Pharaoh came to Goshen to plead with Moshe. The Egyptians were hysterical, moaning and crying. The Jews were now the masters, the Egyptians the subordinates. The oppressors were at the mercy of their former slaves. Were Egyptian babies taken out of the embrace of their mothers and thrown in the Nile? Did the Hebrews beat up their taskmaster? Did the liberated slaves set fire to the exclusive neighborhood of their former overlords? Did the teenagers let smash the window panes of the offices where their taskmasters were assembled to plan restrictive and sadistic edicts? Nothing of the sort. Not one person was hurt. Not one house was destroyed. The liberated slave had the courage to withdraw, to defy the natural call of the blood. What did the Jew do in the hour of freedom? Instead of swarming the streets of Goshen, they were locked up in their houses, eating the קרבן פסח korban pesach and reciting הלל hallel. It is unique in the history of revolutions. What an insight. What an insight. The greatest testament to the Jewish people is that when we got that freedom, and it wasn't just then, there are stories after the Holocaust of those who were liberated from camps, of those who escaped, of those who had the opportunity to murder the Nazis who oppressed or murdered their loved ones and they didn't, because they wouldn't lower themselves to be just like the enemy. The Jews celebrate freedom not by becoming the taskmaster, the Jews celebrate freedom by eating the קרבן פסח korban pesach and by singing the הלל Hallel and by reflecting on what. what freedom means, freedom from and freedom to. And if you didn't just write this down for your פסח סדר Pesach Seder, you've missed an enormous opportunity. because what a conversation for the פסח סדר Pesach Seder and for the הגדה Hagaddah night. A conversation about what freedom means. And do we use it to become the oppressor ourselves? Do we use it to rally and riot? Or does freedom mean self-restraint, self-control, freedom from, freedom to, and the freedom of responsibility. Everybody stay happy, stay healthy, stay holy, have a wonderful day. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel to know when we go live. Next week, we are going to have פרשה Parsha class, we're not taking off, but it will not be on Zoom. I know I said that for this week, but I really mean it. So you, those who are listening on Zoom, there are still several dozen listening on Zoom, there's no Zoom next week. If you want to hear the פרשה Parsha class, you got to come on YouTube. It'll be live next Tuesday morning at usual time 9:30 on YouTube. If you subscribe to the YouTube channel, you'll get notified when we go live. Have a phenomenal day, everyone. Thank you again to our sponsors.
