Remember 6 - Leaving Egypt

This week I gave the first of a series of four shiruim at Midreshet Rachel on the Six things we must always remember. The first remembrance is to remember that G-d brought us out of Egypt. Here is a recording of the shiur which also connects to parshat shavua (and to the next couple of week's parshiot as well).
Click here to hear the shiur in streaming audio.
Alternatively, to download the shiur to your c omputer click here.
I am also just writing up a shiur that I will give on Shabbat at Shapell's. It is entitled 'Hail, Chesed and the Foundation of Scientific Enquiry ' and I will try to send it out with my weekly e-mailing. To sign up for the weekly parsha shiur e-mailing please go to www.parshatshavua.blogspot.com and fill out the form with your e-mail address. I try to send out one e-mail each week with some news and musings and a d'var Torah. If you don't like it you can also unsubscribe very easily, and I won't give out your e-mail address to anyone else.
Have a great Shabbat
Rabbi Sedley

Parshat Vaera

Here is my d'var Torah for parshat vaera. I will be the in-Shabbos Rabbi at Darche Noam this week, so if you will be there I had better think of something else to say as well.

Here is the link to the pdf version

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Hard Heart or Free Choice?

"G-d said to Moshe: 'Speak to Pharaoh, that he should send the Children of Israel from his land. But I shall harden Pharaoh's heart..." (Exodus 7; 2-3). These verses raise two obvious questions - what does it mean when G-d hardens a persons heart? How does that accord with our understanding of free choice? Furthermore, if G-d has stated that He will harden Pharaoh's heart, what point is there in sending Moshe and Aharon to speak to him? This seems like mockery, asking Pharaoh to do something which has become impossible for him to do.
The Rambam writes (Hilchot Teshuva 5; 1 ff.):
Each person has the opportunity to turn themselves towards the good path and be righteous, or to choose to follow the path of evil, and become wicked. This the meaning of the verse "Behold mankind is like one of us to know good and evil" (Genesis 3; 22). This means that human beings are unique in the world in that through their own intellect they know the difference between good and evil, and do whichever they desire, without anyone (or anything) preventing them. This principle is a foundation of the Torah and commandments for if G-d would decree that a person would be righteous or wicked, or if there were something forcing a person to a certain path, how could G-d command us to act in a certain way, or how could the prophets chastise us and instruct us to improve our actions?
However, it is possible that a person could sin so grievously, or so often, that strict justice dictates that they must be punished for this, and therefore have their free choice removed so that they are prevented from repentance. Therefore the Torah writes "I will harden Pharaoh's heart" (Exodus 7; 3). Since he sinned initially of his own choice, and acted evilly against Israel who were living in his land, justice therefore dictates that he eventually lose the option of repentance. Why then did G-d send Moshe to him to tell him to send the Jews from his land and repent, if that option was already removed from him? If a person should do something of their own free will, G-d may remove from them the ability to repent and they must die in their wickedness.
We have a principle that G-d helps a person to follow the path that they chose. Pharaoh chose to be stubborn and obstinate, therefore G-d caused him to take his path to its conclusion. His decisions to oppress and kill the Jews, and then refuse to listen to Moshe and Aaron, caused G-d to take him to a point where the gates of repentance were sealed before him.
Pharaoh was not the only one to exhibit this trait of stubbornness. G-d accuses the Jewish nation of being 'a stiff-necked people' at the time of the Golden Calf (ibid. 32; 9), and cites this as the reason that His presence will not remain within the midst of the nation (ibid. 33; 3). Yet despite their stubbornness, when confronted with the enormity of their sin they readily repent, as evidenced by their removal of the crowns that they gained at Sinai (ibid. 5).
Rambam writes (Hilchot Gerushin 1; 1) that a bill of divorce (get) may only be written with the voluntary consent of the husband. Yet later (2; 20) he writes that in a case where the law mandates that a husband should give his wife a get and he refuses, the beis din (Jewish court of law) should whip him until he says 'I want to give my wife a get'. The Rambam is telling us that sometimes a person's stubbornness gets in the way of their true intentions. Therefore whipping them removes the stubbornness, and enables them to give the divorce willingly.
In a sense this is what G-d was doing to Pharaoh. He smote him and all of Egypt with plagues to see whether he would repent and let the Jews go voluntarily. Only after the sixth plague, when it was clear that Pharaoh's inner desire was not to repent did G-d actually intervene to harden his heart. By this time if Pharaoh were to repent it would not be in order to bring him closer to G-d, but only to avoid the plagues. He had reached the point where he needed to follow through and see the consequences of his actions, and receive his due punishment.

Shabbat Shalom

Make sure to check www.parshatshavua.blogspot.com for other divrei Torah and a summar of the parsha (you can also sign up for my weekly e-mailing from there if you are interested).
Shabbat Shalom

For a pdf version of this d'var Torah please click here

Today we begin the book of Exodus, which describes the Israelites' passage from the bondage of Egypt to the religious freedom of the Sinai desert that enabled them to receive the Torah, and construct the tabernacle. Every year at Pesach we give thanks to G-d for bringing us out of slavery. Why should we give thanks to G-d for saving us when it was He who brought exile upon us in the first place?
The Egyptian exile is the answer to Avraham's question.
G-d said to Avraham, "I am G-d Who brought you out of Ur Kasdim to give you this land to inherit it." Avraham replied, "My L-rd, How shall I know that I am to inherit it?" And G-d said to Avraham, "Know with certainty that your offspring shall be aliens in a land not their own..." (Genesis 15; 7 - 14).
We see from here that the promise that the Jews would inherit the Land of Israel is dependent on their having been slaves in a foreign land first.
The harsh bondage was intended to kill off the Jews. The irony of the slavery was that it achieved the exact opposite of what Pharaoh planned, "But as much as they would afflict them, so they would increase and spread out" (Exodus 1; 11). The slavery made the Jews so populous, leading to the exponential growth of the nation from 70 souls to millions in only three generations. The only tribe to remain comparatively small in number was the tribe of Levi, who we know from tradition were the only tribe not subject to slavery.
In the same way that the Egyptian exile created the nation numerically, it also led to a national consciousness and identity. Only through slavery were the Israelites able to appreciate the freedom that the Torah offered them, only through having first been slaves to Pharaoh were they able to subsequently subjugate themselves to become servants of G-d.
It also created the nation spiritually. The Talmud tells is that there are three things which were only acquired through suffering, Torah, the Land of Israel and the World to Come (Berachot 5a). Elsewhere (ibid. 8a) the Talmud tells us that affliction cleans away sin. The simple explanation of this is that as long as a person is involved in seeking physical comforts it is very difficult for them to elevate themselves to a point where they can appreciate the spiritual dimensions of life. However, when the Jews were in slavery they had all material comforts removed from them, leading to their search for G-d. This is the meaning of the verses, "The Children of Israel groaned because of the work, and they cried out. Their outcry because of the work went up to G-d and G-d remembered His covenant with Avraham..." (ibid. 2; 23 - 4). Only through this were the Jews able to appreciate and recognise the ultimate redemption from Egypt, and the revelation of G-d's presence then, and at Mount Sinai. The suffering which breaks the body allows the soul to be set free, and search for G-d.
However, afflicting the body to allow the inner spark of spirituality to shine through only works when there is an inner spark of goodness bound and confined within that body. Avraham's total faith created an inner quest for spirituality amongst his descendants. Without that, suffering and exile would be meaningless. This was G-d's answer to "How will I know?" - the exile is proof of an inner spark of sanctity which will guarantee the inheritance of the Land of Israel.
We can contrast this with Esav and his descendants, who were never persecuted or exiled. Rashi (to ibid. 36; 7) explains that Esav left the Land of Israel in order to avoid the obligation of slavery in a foreign land. By renouncing his rights to Israel, he also avoided suffering for his children. Ya'akov understood that the promise of the Land of Israel, and the eternal closeness to G-d which that brings, outweighed the temporary suffering of the Egyptian slavery. Esav, who was concerned only with material possessions saw no point in immediate suffering for what could only be a long term gain.
Only through the crucible of Egypt could they emerge as a nation able to receive G-d's promised rewards.

I gave a shiur yesterday on the Halacha and Hashkafa of Tzedaka (charity) and specifically the concept of ma'aser kesafim (giving 10% to charity).

Click here to listen to the shiur.



Here are the sources (in Hebrew) for the shiur.

Enjoy.

Rabbi S

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This d'var Torah plus a summary of the parsha can be found on my other blog www.parshatshavua.blogspot.com

Please e-mail me any questions you have on this d'var Torah, or on the parsha in general. rabbisedley@gmail.com

for a pdf version of this d'var Torah please click here

Parsha - Vayechi

Right or Left?

In our Torah portion Yosef brings his two sons to his father for a blessing. “Yosef took the two boys. He placed Efraim to his right, (to Yisrael’s left), and Menashe to his left, (Yisrael’s right). … Yisrael reached out with his right hand and placed it on Efraim’s head, though he was the younger. He placed his left hand on Menashe’s head. He deliberately crossed his hands, even though Menashe was the firstborn. … and said ‘He too will attain greatness. But his younger brother will become even greater’....” (Genesis 48; 13-14).
There are several questions to be asked on this section. Why does the Torah explain in such detail the position of the two boys. Is there not a simpler way that we could have been informed that Ya’akov gave Efraim the greater blessing? Secondly, why did Ya’akov change the order to bless the younger son over the elder? Surely he knew from his own experiences with his brother Esav the dangers in reversing the order of blessings. And finally, when Yosef questions his father about the order Ya’akov doesn’t seem to answer him, but simply restate what he had done.
Rashi explains that though Menashe and Efraim were brothers, they were involved in very different endeavours. Menashe spent his time in the court of Pharaoh, acting as Yosef’s interpreter (Rashi on 42; 23), whereas Efraim was involved in full-time Torah learning (48; 1). Their lifestyles complemented each other, and they had a partnership that allowed them to share the material and spiritual gains equally. Yosef knew that both of these were worthy pursuits, but it seems from their names that he felt that Efraim’s Torah learning was more important for their long term survival. “Yosef named the first-born Menashe ‘because G-d has made me forget my troubles and even my father’s house’. He named the second Efraim - ‘Because G-d has made me fruitful’. (41; 51-2). On the face of it Efraim represented the future, while Menashe severed Yosef’s links with the past. However, on a slightly deeper level we could see these two names as also showing the different approaches to serving G-d in Israel and outside of Israel respectively. In Israel Yosef and his brothers were shepherds. They worked the land and, though they also learnt ‘Torah’ from their father and grandfather, their physical relationship with the Land was paramount. In Egypt Yosef felt that the emphasis must be on Torah learning to retain the close connection with G-d. Yosef embodied the concept of Torah Im Derech Eretz, (Torah combined with living in the material world), but his priority was always the Torah.
Therefore the Torah tells us that when Yosef approached Ya’akov, Efraim was on his right, symbolising the superiority of Torah outside of Israel. However, the blessing they were to receive, which was really for the time when the Jews returned to Israel, Yosef envisaged a return to the dominance of Menashe’s lifestyle, and intended Ya’akov to give him the blessing of the ‘right hand’.
Ya’akov’s response was that even in Israel Torah must still be placed before Derech Eretz. According to Rashi, Ya’akov’s response “He too will attain greatness. But his younger brother will become even greater.” refers not to numbers, but the leaders of the nation who will be descended from the two boys. The greatness of Menashe is that Gidon will come from him. The Bible introduces us to Gidon “as he was threshing wheat by the winepress...” (Judges 6; 11). His success as a saviour of Israel was based on the fact that he was a working person, not a great Torah scholar. Yet he merited to have miracles performed on his behalf because of his dedication to G-d and Israel. However, Efraim’s descendant was Yehoshua, who was even greater. It was he who led the Jews into the Land of Israel, though he was primarily a Torah scholar and teacher, not a warrior or worker (although he was also very capable in the battlefield as we see from the war against Amalek, where he led the troops, and most of the book of Yehoshua which lists his battle campaigns).
Thus Yosef thought that the primary need for Torah was a temporary necessity of life outside of Israel, which would be reversed upon the Jew’s return to Israel. However, Ya’akov demonstrated through his order of blessing that even in Israel precedence must be accorded to Torah learning, which would remain the prerequisite for physical and material prosperity.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Sedley

for a pdf version of this d'var Torah please click here