A Thought on Parshas Bo

"...al tzli esh u'matzos al marrorim yochlu'hu..."
"...roasting the meat on fire with matzos on bitter herbs..." (12:8)

I realize that we just began the month of Shvat and that Pesach is a while away. Nonetheless, so much of our parsha is relevant to Pesach, and the comments of the Bechor Shor seem so insightful and original that I decided to share them. Besides, with me being in Israel and in Jerusalem, the concepts involved with Pesach are so close to home that sharing these words seems right.

In our verse, the Torah instructs us on how to prepare and to partake of the "Paschal lamb." We are quite familiar with the latter two thirds of the process, since we look forward to matzo and even to marror all year round. (In fact, the Bechor Shor on verse 42 suggests that this is one of the meanings of "layl shimurim" - Pesach is called a night of watching: he suggests that all year long the Jewish people are watching and waiting for Pesach to come so that we can celebrate our salvation and nationhood!).

What is another meaning of our above verse which depicts the eating of meat, matzo and bitter herbs? The Bechor Shor writes that the three items, eaten together, represent the three facets of significance to us. They are servitude, freedom and rescue, or salvation. The bitter herbs represents the slavery and our bitter servitude. The matzo, which were not given time to rise as we rushed out of slavery, symbolize our being freed from servitude. The Passover lamb recalls our salvation and rescue, when the plague struck our oppressors and we were spared. Thus, the compounding of these three foods during the observance of Pesach capture the three lessons of our emergence as a nation. We were bound together through slavery, through becoming free, and by way of the miracles which were manifest from Above.

As I began, I know that Pesach is a long way off, but why not focus on these lessons now, both in preparing for that yomtov and in contemplating our miraculous nationhood? We have a shared history of being persecuted because we are Jews, we have a shared history of becoming a free nation, free to serve HaShem as His people, and we have the shared history of knowing and feeling that HaShem deals with us in miraculous ways.

Warm greetings from the Holy City. Good Shabbos. D Fox

A Thought on Parshas Va'era

"...v'yichazek lev Pharoah..."
"...and Pharoah's heart hardened..." (8:15)

I am in Jerusalem currently and I spent last evening with my rebbe
HaGaon HaAdmor M'Savraan shlit'a, Rav Yissachar Dov Hager. He told over
an original explanation on why, when Moshe asked Pharoah when he would
like the plague of frogs to end, the Egyptian king said "tomorrow"
(8:6). Many commentaries have puzzled over this. If one was beset by
troubles and had the ability to have them ended, surely one would
demand an immediate stop to them! The Rebbe explained that Pharoah
thought about himself, and simply had no real concern for the welfare
of others. His immediate response was a nonchalant "Just take care of
it tomorrow" since the problem was primarily outdoors affecting others.

I mentioned then to the Rebbe that the Bechor Shor offers a related
thought. The verse cited above refers to the plague of kinim, lice. We
do not find that Pharoah asked that this plague stop nor did he
entreaty Moshe to pray for help. What made the plague of lice less of a
problem in Pharoah's eyes? The Bechor Shor offers that King Pharoah
lived in his palace where the floors were made of marble. Marble gets
swept every day and as a result, there was no accumulation of dirt for
the lice to nest. As for the people outside, reasoned Pharoah, most of
them are poor workers anyway who are accustomed to dirt and to lice. He
decided to let them worry about themselves, and hence did not ask for
intervention nor turn to Moshe in panic.

The lesson to be learned from these similar interpretations pertains to
our own level of consideration and concern for others. When things are
well with us, do we sit back and relax, or do we appreciate our comfort
but then seek out the welfare of those around us? Are we content with
our personal circumstances, or are we concurrently moved by the plight
and needs of others, willing to intervene and help them despite risking
our own tranquility and ease?

Are we Pharoahs, or are we Moshes?

Good Shabbos and blessings from the Holy City.. D Fox

A Thought On Parshas Shmos

A Thought on Parshas Shmos

"...v'gam R'isi es ha la'chatz..."
"...and I have also seen the oppression..." (3:9)

HaShem describes to Moshe the events which had befallen the Jewish people in Egypt over years of slavery. Moshe Rabbeinu had lived in Egypt, had been aware of what was going on in the kingdom from his position as adopted member of the royal family, and had even secretly intervened on behalf of his brethren. In fact, it was such an intervention, which had been witnessed by other Jews, which led to his having to flee his birthplace when word got to Pharaoh that Moshe had obstructed official orders by saving a Jewish slave.

It seems confusing, then, that our verse has HaShem recounting to Moshe the history which he was so well aware of. It seems difficult, too, to understand the words "I have seen", since we know that HaShem sees and knows everything anyway, as the verse says earlier (2:25) "ve'yaida Elokim" - it was all known to G-d.

The Bechor Shor explains that the reason HaShem reviewed for Moshe the history and the events of the slavery and the suffering was because He knew that Moshe only had a limited grasp of the facts. Moshe Rabbeinu had grown up in the palace of Pharaoh and in a sense, he was estranged from his people and their experience. His early encounter with their suffering (v'yar b'sivlosam" - and he saw their burdens - 2:11) resulted in his striking out, which led to his predicament and loss of royal protection and trust. He had to run into hiding and exile for years.

By reviewing the history, HaShem better acquainted Moshe with the traumatic and grim details. He sensitized his faithful servant to the realities and intricacies of the Egyptian bondage. Lastly, by HaShem saying "I too have seen the suffering", He was resonating with Moshe's own earlier experience of "and Moshe saw their suffering", to trigger in Moshe a shocking memory of what he had witnessed, but now framed against the backdrop of understanding the entire saga of issues and conditions facing the Jews.

This disclosure, writes the Bechor Shor, was to initiate in Moshe Rabbeinu the motivation to return to Egypt and this time, to engage in a Divinely planned systematic intervention.

I am sending this out early because I will be leaving for Jerusalem iy'H where I will reside for a number of weeks, to my great joy and spirited excitement. I hope to continue these Parsha Thoughts from the Holy City. Good Shabbos. D Fox

A Thought On Parshas VaYechi

A Thought On Parshas VaYechi

"...va'yi'karae ba'hem sh'mi..."
"...let them be called by my name..." (48:14)

Yaakov Avinu blessed his descendants in an unusual manner. In many other places, children are given the blessing of growth and proliferation. HaShem too blessed the patriarchs with the bracha of being fruitful and multiplying. Whereas Yakov also wishes upon his progeny that they become many (va'yidgu l'rov), he seems to emphasize here the feature of being called by his name. Other than the fact that we are sometimes referred to as "Children of Yaakov" or "Children of Israel", what does this particular bracha intend?

The Bechor Shor suggests that "name calling" is an addition to the Divine blessing of being great and many. He intended that his descendants, wherever they went and however many they became, would always be identified with the Patriarchs. Yaakov wanted it to be clear to the nations of the world who will encounter Jews that "these are definitely the seed of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov who have been blessed by the Creator."

The Bechor Shor connects this to the words of the prophet Yishayahu (61:9) who said, "all who will see them will recognize them, that they are the seed of those blessed by HaShem."

Whereas the Avos were told that their descendants would be a great and populous people, that promise was fulfilled earlier in our history, and was manifest at different stages of our nation's experiences. What Yaakov introduced was not a guarantee of quantity but rather a forecast of quality. Even in exile, where our nation is small and scattered, we continue to make our mark and contribution. Hopefully, we are identified through our Patriarchal legacy of being kind, compassionate and contributing to the good of society. When Jews conduct themselves with grace, with ethics, with integrity and with respectable productivity, then our name is a fulfillment of the blessing of Yaakov, who longed for us to be thought of as the goodly and G-dly nation of Yaakov.

With such wholesome and positive thoughts, the Bechor Shor closes his commentary on
Sefer Bereishis. May his blessed and holy words continue to illuminate us in the weeks ahead. Good Shabbos. D Fox