Parashas Beshalach - Moshe's Greatness Before Matan Torah

I just learned a Gemara in Chullin (7a) which says the following story: Rebbe Pinchos ben Yair was going to do the mitzvah of freeing someone from captivity. As he was traveling, he encountered a river. He wanted to pass through it so he said, “Split for me, so that I shall pass through you!” The river responded, “You're going to do the will of Hashem but it's a sofek whether you'll succeed in saving the captives, however, I am also doing the will of Hashem and I am certainly succeeding.” So Rebbe Pinchos ben Yair rebuked him saying, “If you don't split now, I will decree against you that you'll never have water flow through you ever again!” And of course, the river quickly split. Once the river reverted, Rebbe Pinchos ben Yair told it to split two more times for the people behind him.

Rav Yosef said, “How great this man is - greater than Moshe and the 600,000 (who were with him,) because regarding Moshe, the sea split once, but here, the river split three times.” The Gemara then concludes that perhaps Rebbe Pinchos ben Yair really split it once too, therefore he's like Moshe.

Midrashim say that when Moshe tried splitting the sea, there was a back-and-forth debate as to why it should split for him. The Yam Suf would claim, “I am older, I was created on the second day, and so on....” However, Rebbe Pinchos ben Yair didn't have such a hard time with the River. The debate was short and it split without delay.

The Ohr HaChaim asks, “Why was it so hard for Moshe to split the sea, but Rebbe Pinchos ben Yair had an easier time?” He answers: When Moshe split the Sea, it was before Matan Torah, but when Rebbe Pinchos ben Yair split it, it was after Matan Torah.

After Matan Torah, creation is subjugated to Talmidei Chachamim who have the Torah. It's the key to controlling creation. Therefore, Rebbe Pinchos ben Yair told the River, “I have the Torah, you should split! If you don't then I will decree upon you that you will dry up!” And the River quickly split! The River knew that creation is subjugated to Talmidei Chachamim. The Torah says in Parashas Chukas, “Zos Chukas HaTorah – These are the chukim of the Torah.” Unkolus translates that posuk to mean, “Dah Gzeiras Deh'oraiisa – This is the Torah Decree!”

Another place where we see this is when Yehoshua split the Yarden with the Torah; the Kohanim took the Aron HaKodesh and as they put their feet into the Jordan River, the waters went back.

The Gemara in Chullin was just comparing Rebbe Pinchos ben Yair to Moshe in regards to how many times he split the body of water. On the contrary, Moshe was able to split the sea before Matan Torah, without using the Torah to subjugate creation. In addition, in this week's parasha, Rashi (14:22) mentions that when Moshe split the sea, all the waters of the world split too! This shows the greatness of Moshe! Kal v'Chomer, the Greatness of Hashem!

Have a wonderful Shabbos,
Nisso

Parashas Bo - Strengthening My Beliefs

I've always been intrigued by psychology and human behavior. Why do people do the things they do or say the things they say? What micro expressions do they display when hearing certain statements or comments? Why are some people more sensitive than others? Why do some people have a higher self-esteem than others? In order to understand more about the above questions, I started reading psychology books.

[Fun Fact: Everyone is born with healthy self-esteem. Somewhere throughout their lives, it has either been lowered or lost. For example: A young child doesn't mind asking for things they want (even from total strangers) nor do they care to (pardon my French) pass gas in public. They're not worried about what others will think about them. “They're Kids” - healthy kids!]

There's a concept I read about in psychology where a person verbally affirms his or herself to help raise his/her self-esteem. It's called, “Self Affirmation.” Verbalizing statements has a special koach to help believe something [positive] about oneself.

We also see this technique while learning Mussar; to help build one's characteristics (middos.) Rabbanim would go out to the forest or a quiet room where they could chant and ponder on a specific posuk or divrei chazal to instill it in themselves.

Where did this concept of verbalizing statements to help build good middos come from? Why does it have an effect on a person? Who says it works?

To answer my questions, I ask another question - from this week's Parasha. It says in the first two pesukim, “Hashem said to Moshe: Go to Pharoh, for I have hardened his heart and also the hearts of his servants - so that I can perform these signs [miracles] in their midst. And so that you may relate it in the ears of your son and grandson how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and the miraculous signs I performed among them; you will then know that I am Hashem.”

Why did the posuk say the word 'ears'? Why was it significant to add that word? And why is it that once we relate it, we will then know He is Hashem? What's the connection between verbalizing and believing?

I believe the reason why it mentioned “ears” is because it's the one part of the body where one can hear sound. Verbalizing is the best form of getting a message across; communication. In telling over a story or praise (verbally - so that the ears can hear,) says the Torah, it can also strengthen one's belief. So if communication via speaking to someone else can have an effect on one's own beliefs; then communication via speaking to oneself can also have similar affects.

Have a wonderful Shabbos,

Nisso

Parashas Va'eira - A Battle Between G-ds?

Pharoh, the king of Egypt, liked to be known as 'god'. In fact, he told the Egyptians that he was indeed a god. He woke up earlier than anyone else in order to relieve himself in the Nile River – to keep his secret discreet. Before makkas dam, Hashem asked for Moshe to meet Pharoh by the Nile River, early in the morning, to give him a message and simultaneously put him in his place.[1] (He might be able to fool the Egyptians, however, nothing is hidden from Hashem.)

The posuk says, "Moshe and Aharon came to Pharoh and they did exactly as Hashem commanded them... Pharoh too called his wise men and magicians..." [2] Why does the posuk need to say the word 'too' – which means 'as well'? The word seems extra because the posuk would have read well without it anyways and we know the Torah never adds any unnecessary words.

Incidentally, every year I hear the same question, "How is it that Bnei Yisroel sinned with the golden calf? They witnessed Hashem's hand and saw miracles happen right before their eyes! Why did they feel like they needed to make another 'god' just because Moshe was no longer with them?!

I believe both of the above questions can be answered by one posuk in this week's Parasha: Hashem said to Moshe, "See, I have made you a G-d to Pharoh; and Aharon, your brother will be your spokesman." [3] Yonasan ben Uziel says on this posuk, “Why are you afraid of Pharoh? On the contrary! He's afraid of you, because I have turned you into a G-d.” His definition of 'G-d' is literal.

According to Yonasan ben Uziel, Pharoh perceived Moshe as a 'god' and he had a 'spokesman' (Aharon) who took care of what he (Moshe) instructed. Since Pharoh , too, viewed himself as a 'god' to the Egyptians, it seemed fit that he, 'too', called his spokesmen (wise men and magicians) to perform witchcraft.

Since the posuk mentioned the extra word, 'too', the Torah showed us how much Pharoh believed that Moshe was a god in his eyes. And perhaps we can assume that to some level, Bnei Yisroel felt the same way, which is why they felt they must "create a new god (leader)" once they saw that Moshe was dead.

Pharoh was stubborn and ignorant. He made it seem as if he was a god, ignoring the fact there's Someone more powerful than him - Someone legitimate. One who knows all and sees all. Moshe, on the other hand, was the humblest of all men. He knew his success was from Hashem. He never let the 'power' get to his head. In addition, Moshe had tremendous amounts of Hakaras HaTov. An example is when Moshe did not want to hit the river to turn it to blood or the ground to turn it into lice. He felt that since he was saved by the river and the ground, he couldn't be the one to smite it. Therefore he felt the need to delegate it to Aharon.

Have a wonderful Shabbos,
Nisso

[1] 7:15

[2] 7:10-12

[3] 7:1

Parashas Shemos - Overcoming Obstacles

I used to work in a small office with someone who was not religious at all. We got to share a few stories - one I will never forget: He told me he use to have long payis, wear only white shirts, and never left his house without a black hat. I asked him, “What happened? How did you go from all that to not keeping Kosher, Shabbos,or anything else in between for that matter?” He told me he was “angry” at Hashem. Ever since he was a child, he felt as if Hashem 'abandoned' him. He lost a brother at a young age and when his mother passed away from a tumor, it triggered his 'separation' from Judaism.. At one point, he actually went onto a rooftop to jump off but then changed his mind. From that day on, he 'gave up' on Hashem and Judaism.

In this week's Parasha, the Torah says, “These are the names of Bnei Yisroel who came to Egypt...” Then it names the eleven sons of Yaakov, followed by, “All the souls that came from Yaakov numbered seventy; and Yosef was already in Egypt.”

Rashi asks; Weren't Yosef's sons included in the seventy? From the above posuk it doesn't seem like that; however, in Bereishis (46, 8-27) we see Yosef and his sons were indeed counted in the seventy. Rashi answers that the purpose of breaking it up a little was to let us know how righteous Yosef was. “He was the same Yosef who tended his father's sheep and now he's the same Yosef who is King of Egypt and he remained righteous,” he says.

Between tending his father's sheep and becoming King of Egypt, Yosef had many obstacles. He was hated by his brothers, he had been thrown into a pit, sold as a slave, seduced by Potifar's wife, accused of trying to rape her, thrown into jail, etc.

How was Yosef was still righteous (Yosef Ish Tzaddik) even with all the obstacles in his life?

There's a concept of 'surrendering' to the 'Higher Power' a.k.a. Hashem. At times when I feel like everything in my life is not going the way I want it to go (I'm sure a lot of you know what I am talking about – as the saying goes, “when it rains it pours,”) I feel like I can't handle it and I have no strength to do it on my own. It's a similar feeling to hopelessness or giving up; Yi'ush. For example: when someone loses an object and gives up on ever finding it. He feels there's no way he's going to get it back, so he transfers ownership to whoever finds it by giving up on looking for it. Surrendering is knowing a person can't handle a situation on his own, and asks a 'Higher Power' (Hashem) for help. The difference between the two is that by 'giving up' (miya'esh) you're putting Hashem aside, whereas by surrendering, you're putting your hope in Hashem.

A reason why Yosef was “righteous,” was not only because he went from tending his father's sheep to becoming King of Egypt. I think there's more to Rashi than meets the eye. He was righteous because of the whole journey in between as well. No matter how bad a situation got, Yosef always knew Hashem would never abandon him. We saw this when Yosef comforted his brothers, telling them, “Please don't be afraid. Come close. It was Hashem who sent me here to Egypt, etc.” In every situation, Yosef knew Hashem was behind it all and when obstacles got in his way, he put his faith in Hashem's Hand to help him out.

Kaveh El Hashem, Chazak v'Yametz Libecha – Have hope in Hashem, He will strengthen your hearts.

Have a wonderful Shabbos,

Nisso