Self Mutilation vis-à-vis Self Exaltation

Fortunate is the man who is always afraid,
but he who hardens his heart will fall into evil (Mishlei 28:14).

Pharoa decided not to send the Jews out of Egypt.
He hardened his heart.

Question: Pharoa's self destruction was unprecedented. He was shooting himself in the foot. He destroyed his empire. He could have let them go and salvaged the remainder of his Kingdom.

Rabbeinu Bechaye points out the reason why Pharoa did not send them out is because he was cruel. The midah of achzorius cruelty that he possessed was so much a part of him that he could not overcome it.

It seems that this trait is what led about to his personal downfall.

Pharoa hardened his own heart the first five times he was smitten by plagues. This led to him being cruel to his own self. Cruel to his own people. Cruel to his own country.


Mitzvos and Midos Tovos have the opposite effect on people.
They change who we are. They change our essence.
They make our decisions in life different decisions.
Purer Decisions. Holier Decisions.

Midos Tovos leads to Avodas Hashem.

"Im lo litakein es haMidos lamah li chaim"

רמב"ן דברים פרק ו

ועשית הישר והטוב בעיני ה' - על דרך הפשט יאמר תשמרו מצות השם ועדותיו וחקותיו ותכוין בעשייתן לעשות הטוב והישר בעיניו בלבד. ולמען ייטב לך - הבטחה, יאמר כי בעשותך הטוב בעיניו ייטב לך, כי השם מטיב לטובים ולישרים בלבותם...

Redemption....

Why did we merit leaving Egypt?

There are four different reasons cited:

a) The children of Yaakov did not change their names, clothing or language

b) They prayed to G-d

c) Righteous Women adorned themselves to ensure continuity of the People

d) Blood of Milah and Blood of Pesach

It seems that these four reasons are complementary,

as opposed to being exclusive of one another.

What can we do to merit redemption from our exile?

Maaseh Avos Siman liBanim would dictate that these approaches would help us achieve our goal.

What would be a good parallel in today's day and age?

Shabbat and the Exodus

There seems to be a connection between Shabbat and the Exodus. The question is why is it that part of kiddush mentions that Shabbat is zecher liyitziat mitzrayim, when the other part of kiddush says that Shabbos is "zikaron limaaseh bereishis" (in memory of the acts of Creation)?

Should the focus of Shabbat be remembering Creation
[G-d as Creator] or the Exodus [G-d as Redeemer (Director)]?

Friday evening:

Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, has desired us, and has given us, in love and good will, His holy Shabbat as a heritage, in remembrance of the work of Creation; the first of the holy festivals, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt. For You have chosen us and sanctified us from among all the nations, and with love and good will given us Your holy Shabbat as a heritage. Blessed are You, Lord, who sanctifies the Shabbat.

Shabbat day:

Remember the Shabbat day to sanctify it. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is Shabbat for the LORD your God; you shall not do any work — you, your son and your daughter, your manservant and your maidservant, and your cattle, and the stranger who is in your gates. For [in] six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Shabbat day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11))

Objectifying Life: Overcoming Stress

וַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה כֵּן, אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְלֹא שָׁמְעוּ, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, מִקֹּצֶר רוּחַ, וּמֵעֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה

And Moses spoke so unto the children of Israel; but they hearkened not unto Moses for impatience of spirit, and for cruel bondage.

Rashi explains:
"Whoever is under stress, his wind and his breath are short, and he cannot take a deep breath."

But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, "Behold, the children of Israel did not hearken to me. How then will Pharaoh hearken to me, seeing that I am of closed lips?"

Rashi explains: How then will Pharaoh hearken to me This is one of the ten kal vachomer inferences mentioned in the Torah. — [I.e., inferences from major to minor, such as in this case. I.e., if, because of my speech impediment, the children of Israel, who have everything to gain by listening to me, did not listen to me, Pharaoh, who has everything to lose by listening to me, will surely not listen to me.]

Think about this kal vachomer. It makes no sense: Paroh was not under the same physical stress that the Jews were under, therefore why did Moshe say he would not listen to him?

Chazal say that the reason the Jews would not listen to Moshe was because they were spiritually stressed. They were Oved Avodah Zara. Therefore they were not open to hearing Moshe's word. So for sure, Paroh who considered himself a god, an idol, is spiritually closed off from listening to Moshe's spiritual messages.

Consider:

Some people are physically stressed.
Some people are mentally stressed.
Some people are emotionally stressed.
Some people are spiritually stressed.

We may find ourselves in a narrow, constrictive, constrained place. Places like that limit our ability to hear and listen to spiritual messages.

Recognizing that it is not we who are incapable of hearing the message, but rather the circumstance will help us transcend our circumstances.

The Goal is to objectify our place in life. Our place in relationships.


Relating to Ourselves...

Relating to Others...

&

Relating to Hashem...

Oral Torah I

"Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe Leimor"

The most common Pasuk in all of Chumash.

Rabbeinu Bechayeh points out:

Vayidaber - Torah Shebiksav

Leimor - Torah Shel Baal Peh

Every conversation Moshe had with Hashem is split into two parts.

Part of it was written down and forms the Written Torah.

The other part is relayed orally and becomes a part of Oral Torah.

A fraction of what Hashem told Moshe is actually written down.

But it is all Torah.

And it was all told to Moshe...

Who taught it to Yehoshua and the Zekeinim [elders]...

Who taught it to the Elders to the Prophets...

Who taught it to and the Prophets gave it over to the Men of the Great Assembly...

Who Taught it to...

Who Taught it to... [70x]

Who Taught it to ME and YOU.

PS Feel free to email me and I will send you a list of transmission...

Environmental Influence

דרך ברייתו של אדם להיות נמשך בדעותיו ובמעשיו אחר ריעיו וחביריו ונוהג כמנהג אנשי מדינתו לפיכך צריך אדם להתחבר לצדיקים ולישב אצל החכמים תמיד כדי שילמוד ממעשיהם ויתרחק מן הרשעים ההולכים בחשך כדי שלא ילמוד ממעשיהם

The Rambam famously states (Hilchos Deos 6:1) that a fundamental aspect of human nature is to be drawn after the mores and behaviors of the prevailing culture. As such, one must exercise extreme care and thought when choosing an environment to reside in, for it is a critical element in influencing his values and lifestyle. Therefore, choosing to reside among righteous and wise individuals will aid one in his pursuit of all that is worthy and good, and distancing himself from those that are evil will help him avoid the pitfalls that come from such an environment.

Consider the following:

A. Noach among the people of his entire generation.

B. Avraham Avinu among the people of Ur Kasdim

C. Yosef HaTzadik among the people of Mitzrayim

D. Moshe Rabbeinu among the people of the house of Pharaoh


Question to ponder:

At which point - if ever - does the environment one finds himself in cease to exist as a magnetic force, ever attracting and ever goading an individual to conform to its behaviors, only to then transform into a repelling force, guiding the individual away from the prevailing norms and strengthening one's opposing convictions ever more?

Belief in the Individual

וְשָׁמְעוּ, לְקֹלֶךָ; וּבָאתָ אַתָּה וְזִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל-מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם, וַאֲמַרְתֶּם אֵלָיו יְ-וָה אֱלֹ-ֵי הָעִבְרִיִּים נִקְרָה עָלֵינוּ, וְעַתָּה נֵלְכָה-נָּא דֶּרֶךְ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים בַּמִּדְבָּר, וְנִזְבְּחָה לַי-וָה אֱלֹ-ֵינוּ.

And they will listen to your voice, and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, 'The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us, and now, let us go for a three days' journey in the desert and offer up sacrifices to the L-rd, our G-d.'

הָעִבְרִיִּים- The Jews. The Hebrews.
Avraham was called Avraham haIvri.

His children are called Ivrim.

Notice that Ivrim here is spelled with 2 yuds.

Every single Jew represents the entire nation. Each one of us has the courage to uphold and carry on the nation's mission - alone, against then whole world.

Moshe is telling Pharao:

The spirit that lives in me,
that moves me to speak,
lives in each member of the nation.

Down to the last man.

The spirit, the courage, and the determination of the whole are reflected in each and every one of its members.

See Rav Hirsch for an elaboration of this theme.