Hamaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Va'era Volume VII/Number 14 (301) 1 Shevat 5753/January 23, 1993 The four cups of wine which we drink at the Pesach Seder parallel the four "Lishonot Ge'ulah" - "expressions of redemption" - which appear in this week's Parasha. These are, "I will take you out from under the suffering of Egypt, and I will save you from their service, and I will redeem you with an outstretched hand... And I will take you as a nation...." (Sh'mot 6:6-7). But there is actually a fifth expression, the verse immediately following the above: "And I will bring you to the land...." Many commentators wonder why this verse, the promise of Eretz Yisrael, is not also represented by a cup of wine. R' Shlomo Goren, shlita (former Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Isael) explains that there is a fundamental difference between the fulfillment of the first four expressions and that of the fifth. The former were openly miraculous - G-d overturned the laws of nature, brought the ten plagues, and redeemed His people from Egypt. Not so, the latter. Although Yehoshua's conquest of Eretz Yisrael was guided by Hashem, it was, for the most part, not overtly miraculous. Because of this difference, we do not commemorate being brought to Eretz Yisrael as we do the other miracles. Chazal teach that Eretz Yisrael can be acquired only through suffering. Similarly, says R' Goren, it can be acquired only through sacrifice. Hashem took Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt by a route where they would not encounter war; although they did, in fact, have to go into battle, Hashem did not want their first taste of war to be on the border of Eretz Yisrael. Why? Because one is permitted to fear battle, but only when it is not a "Milchemet Mitzvah" - a war which is a Mitzvah (as conquering Eretz Yisrael is). That, one is not allowed to fear. (Torat haShabbat v'haMo'ed p.147) ************************************ "And I will take you to Me as a nation and I will be your G-d, and you will know that I am Hashem, your G-d, who is taking you out from under the suffering of Egypt." (6:7) Without a Torah perspective -- "Torah eyeglasses," R' Yechezkel Abramsky, zatzal (1886-1976; best known as the author of Chazon Yechezkel, a commentary on the Tosefta) used to call it -- one cannot recognize even one of Hashem's miracles. The most obvious miracle will make no impression on a person who does not have Torah eyeglasses. This is stated in the above Pasuk. Hashem says, "I will take you to Me as a nation" -- this occurred when the Torah was given -- and only then will you "know that I am Hashem, your G-d, who is taking you out from under the suffering of Egypt." Looking back at history, we find generations which appear to have been more faithful to G-d than the generation which witnessed the Exodus. This is for the reason explained above: Those later generations had the Torah to guide them; The miracles of the Exodus, on the other hand, occurred before the Torah was given, and were thus of limited educational value. The Gemara (Eruvin 100b) states: If the Torah had not been given, we would learn modesty and discretion from cats, not to steal -- from ants, marital fidelity -- from doves, etc." Where then, asked R' Chaim Brisker, are the millions of people who should have learned these traits from those animals? The answer is that we could have learned from the animals if the Torah had not been given. Now, however, the only source of faith, morals and proper behavior, is the Torah itself. (P'ninei Rabbenu Yechezkel II p.54) ************************************ Why does the Torah tell us (7:7) Moshe's and Aharon's ages at the time that they stood before Pharaoh? Says R' Shimon Schwab, shlita: Aharon was born just after the decree that the midwives should kill all male babies. Moshe was born at the time that baby boys were being thrown in the Nile. Moshe's and Aharon's advanced ages (80 and 83, respectively) were thus proof that no king can kill those whom Hashem protects. (Selected Writings p.39) ************************************ Although in this week's Parasha we read extensively of Moshe's family background, when Moshe was first introduced (in last week's Parasha), it was quite anonymously. We are not told his parents names, or even what they called him; the name by which we know him was given to him by an Egyptian princess. What is the purpose of such anonymity? R' Moshe Eisemann, shlita (Mashgiach of Ner Israel Yeshiva) explains that it drives home to us that Hashem alone, not Moshe and Aharon, took Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt. True, Moshe and Aharon were His messengers, but they made no independent contribution. As Moshe later asked rhetorically (Sh'mot 16:7), "What are we?" The implied answer -- we are nothing, for Hashem is everything. This point is made very clearly in the Pesach Haggadah, where Moshe's name does not appear even once! To so much as mention him, despite the faithful service which he performed, would detract from our appreciation of Hashem's power. Yehoshua, Moshe's successor, taught Bnei Yisrael the same lesson. We read in the Book of Yehoshua (3:9-10) that that leader took all of the Jewish people and stood them between the poles of the Holy Ark, an area of about ten square feet. What was the purpose of this miracle? R' Eisemann explains that, once Moshe died, Bnei Yisrael were fearful of the future. Yehoshua therefore sought to impress upon them that nothing had changed; Moshe had no existence independent of Hashem, and He was still with them. How could Yehoshua demonstrate this? By making the approximately three million Jews all stand together, miraculously, in the tiny area between they poles. This miracle demonstrated that they, too, like Moshe, were outside of nature's laws, embraced, so-to-speak, by G-d, and acting according to His will alone. (Lailah kaYom Yair p.112) ************************************ We read in this week's Parasha that Aharon, not Moshe, initiated those plagues which involved water to sand. Chazal explain that because Moshe's life had, at different times, been saved by those two creations, his "Hakarat haTov" - recognition of the good that was done for him - prevented him from participating in those plagues. One sign of a truly great person is the extent of his Hakarat haTov, especially in cases where others would not be so moved. The following story is one example: R' Chaim Shmuelevitz, zatzal (1901-1979); the Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva) was one of several "Mussar personalities," i.e. exponents of the Toarh's ethical teachings, who spoke regularly at the "Chaya Sarah Shul" in the Meah She'arim section of Yerushalayim. Following every such lecture (known as a "Shmuess"), the lecture's organizer, a Jew by the name of R' Meir, would lead the assembled in an emotional recitation of Tehilim. In the last year of R' Shmuelevitz's life, R' Meir's daughter had a son. R' Meir therefore made his way to R' Shmuelevitz's house, in order to inform the Rosh Yeshiva of the upcoming "Bris." The Rosh Yeshiva's wife met R' Meir at the door. "Please do not tell my husband," she said. "He will feel obligated to go, even though he is too sick." "I understand," said R' Meir, and wishing a speedy recovery for the Rosh Yeshiva, he left. Imagine R' Meir's surprise when he arrived at the site of the Bris, and found that R' Shmuelevitz was already there. How did this happen? R' Shmuelevitz explained that he had, in fact, overheard his wife's conversation with R' Meir. "I must attend the Bris," the Rosh yeshiva had told his wife. "I feel such a sense of Hakarat haTov because he says Tehilim so beautifully that I am moved by it. It is only proper that I attend." (Based on In the Maggid's Footsteps p.32) ************************************ The learning schedule for this Shabbat is: Niddah 10:5-6 O.C. 546 3-4 Ketubot 88 Yerushalmi - Berachot 52 ************************************ The hard copy distribution of this weeks Hamaayan is sponsored by: Dr. and Mrs. Martin Swartz in memory of his grandmother, Elise Hofmann Correction of a previous dedication Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Edeson and family in memory of father and grandfather, Nathan Salsbury A"H and Aunt Ethel Moran A"H