Exodus 6:2–9:35
Parshat Va'era
G-d answers Moses' complaint with the four expressions of redemption — “I will take you out, I will save you, I will redeem you, I will take you” — the source of the four cups at the Seder. Aaron's staff becomes a serpent and swallows the staffs of Pharaoh's magicians, and the first seven of the Ten Plagues strike Egypt, from blood to hail, while Pharaoh's heart remains hard.
Essays
Parsha Voeira – A Line on the Wall In the days of old, there were those people whose lives were devoted to one area of Jewish expression. Today, as we prepare for the dynamic period of the future Messianic Age, we must all become eclectic. While we must resist dilettantism, we must learn to combine the best of all the worlds of goodn Parsha Voeira – A Tale of Two Cities The introduction of the counter intuitive perception of G-d’s role in everything—began with Abraham and culminated with Sinai. At Sinai the world was temporarily given a flash of lightning view of the reality of G-d’s presence. But even after that flash dissipated, it left us with the potential to r Parsha Voeira – Acknowledgment First Step to Freedom The instrument we need for Moshiach is acknowledging what goes on in our lives. Acknowledging leads to appreciation. This is what preparing for Moshiach entails. Opening our eyes to see the cataclysmic events that have occurred, as well as the more subtle changes that are happening. To become sensit Parsha Voeira – Divine Micromanagement The entire future of the world, the ultimate age of Redemption, is not necessarily dependent on some earth shattering gesture on our part. One minor act of kindness and goodness, one more Mezuzah on our door posts, one more dollar to tzedakah, can be the one act that will transform the entire world. Parsha Voeira – Four Redemptions Plus One One can be freed from torture, but can still be plagued by inner turmoil and anguish. One can be freed as a slave, but still have others who act like one’s masters. One can be free from a given country, but still have no country to call their own. One can have Torah which provides us with inner free Parsha Voeira – Four to the Fourth Power The number four, in conjunction with the Seder (which is full of fours, such as the Four Questions, the Four Sons, etc.), has been associated with the four letters of the Divine name, known as the Tetragrammaton. This name of G-d contains the force responsible for creation in general and the human c Parsha Voeira – Hot and Cold There is a time when indifference can be a virtue: When we remain cool and collected in the presence of people whose passions are misplaced. Parsha Voeira – Miracles: Escaping the Galus Fumes! Jewish law never included imprisonment as a standard punishment. If the sanction doesn’t bring the criminal to atonement then it is simply punishment for the sake of punishment. Punishment that actually causes one to degenerate further and fall deeper into the moral abyss and denies the prisoner the Parsha Voeira – Seventh Generation Sensitivity We are living in the most refined generation of history! Thousands of years of collective observance of the Mitzvos, and Torah study practiced with incredible self-sacrifice, have rendered the spiritual air far more pure and holy. By this reckoning, we are the most suitable generation in history to Parsha Voeira – Synthesis, Not Sin-Thesis Moses, who is known to us as the Giver of the Torah, represented the ultimate intellect. His role was to think, probe and understand. If Moses would have dismissed G-d’s mysterious actions as being above the capacity of the human mind to grasp, he would have been remiss. G-d expected of him to quest Parsha Voeira – Staff Eats Staff For education to be worthy of its name the teacher, mentor, parent et al. must employ tough love on occasion. However, the way we administer this love can make the difference between success and failure. It can determine whether the student will have a future or will his or her potential forever rem Parsha Voeira – Ten, Forty or Fifty Plagues R. Eliezer’s “four level” approach to getting rid of evil means that we must work on all conscious levels of our soul, making sure they are not paralyzed. This means that we must get our actions, attitudes, intellect and will-power, to not be contaminated with negative influences and to not stagnate Parsha Voeira – Ten Plague Therapy One of the greatest obstacles to growth is the desire to make great strides, so that one can realize their goal quickly. If one cannot rise to the top one is disappointed and frustrated. In Judaism, however, the belief is that every little, incremental, action has cosmic value. Once one has eliminat Parsha Voeira – The Eighth Step: Arbeh-Locust – Covering the Eye of the Land Locust was the most devastating plague to date because it destroyed all of Egypt’s food supply, portending a famine of historic… Parsha Voeira – The Bird of Knowledge Galus is punctuated with pain, suffering, discord, strife and concealment of G-d’s presence. On the other hand, Galus has provided us with the greatest opportunity to accomplish what we could not when we lived in the Land of Israel beside our Beis Hamikdash. The suffering in Galus has exposed and re Parsha Voeira – The Fifth Step: Dever-Pestilence – The Holy Animal The plague of dever-pestilence was the first to actually do more than just serve as a nuisance or a source of fright, but it… Parsha Voeira – The First Step: Blood – Destroying Icons The first impediment to emotional and spiritual health is our belief in false icons. The first plague that turned the Nile River… Parsha Voeira – The Five Expressions of Redemption By not changing their names, the Jewish people in Egypt never lost their identity as Jews. Corresponding to this virtue, the Torah states that G-d took them out of the burden of Egypt. The greatest burden is when you lose your identity because it is subsumed within the identity of your tormentor. Th Parsha Voeira – The Fourth Step: Arov-Mixture of Wild Animals – Don’t Undersell Yourself The fourth plague known as arov involved a mixture of wild animals coming together to terrorize the Egyptian populace. It was more… Parsha Voeira – The Frog If we would trace everything in this world to its source, we would realize that there is but one, absolutely one, source to everything. Any appearance of plurality in our source of life is but an illusion created by our doing. Parsha Voeira – The Nameless, Ubiquitous Pharaoh The face expresses one’s inner feelings. When a person shows you their face they are inviting you into their inner space. In Hebrew the word for face-panim is synonymous with the word pnimiyus-which denotes inwardness. When we show someone our face, we are communicating with them. Parsha Voeira – The Ninth Step: Choshech-Darkness – The Last Prerequisite The plague of darkness is by far the most enigmatic plague. It appears not be in order, for it did not cause more harm than the… Parsha Voeira – The Seven Plagues In our attempt to get out of the current exile, we must apply the following lessons that emerge from the first seven plagues: We have to abandon all the false idols that society has given us (plagues one and two); preplace it with truth (plague three); recognize that we are loved by G-d (plagues fou Parsha Voeira – The Seventh Step: Barad-Hail – Bringing It All Inside The plagues are getting more destructive. This seventh plague of hail put an even greater dent in the economy of Egypt as it… Parsha Voeira – The Tenth Step: Makkat Bechorot-The Death of – The Firstborn Preserving Our Elite Faculties The death of the firstborn was obviously the most devastating plague, because it actually killed at least one family member in… Parsha Voeira – The Third Step: Lice – Small Is Big After the first two plagues they were treated to a plague— the plague of lice—that proved impossible for them to replicate unlike… Parsha Voeira – The Sixth Step: Shechin-Boils Tough Love The plague of Boils was the first of the second half of plagues, and it was the first plague to actually afflict their bodies. One… Parsha Voeira – The Three Guarantees How could a loving G-d allow Galus to continue? This question is really a statement. This “question” does not demand a philosophical answer. It wants nothing less than G-d taking us, His children, into His warm embrace. We feel it in our gut that our loving Father will not tolerate any more sufferin Parsha Voeira – Uncircumcised Lips When Moses saw how he was not getting through to the Children of Israel, he attributed this to his own spiritual deficiency. Moses was convinced that it was his fault—due to his “uncircumcised lips;” or a lack of sincerity. G-d, however, assured Moses that he would succeed. Parsha Voeira – The Tomorrow Syndrome “Tomorrow” is the lexicon of exile. The word “tomorrow” should not appear in our vocabulary when it comes to the end of pain and suffering or the end of exile. When we hear someone saying “things will get better, but I don’t want, care, or expect it to happen today” they’ve been infected with Pharao Parsha Voeira – Who Will Be the Aaron’s of Our Generation? As long as the Jewish people believed that Moses was sent by G-d to liberate them, there was no need to perform miracles for Pharaoh. Their faith was so powerful that it could “infect” everybody. The key to Moses’ success in touching Pharaoh’s cruel heart was the faith of the people. When G-d told h