Fire and Ice – Parasha Va’eira
“….And there was hail, and fire flaming within the hail….” – Shemot 9:24 וַיְהִי בָרָד וְאֵשׁ מִתְלַקַּחַת בְּתוֹךְ הַבָּרָד – שמות ט, כד In the seventh of the Ten Plagues that G-d brought upon the Egyptians, a devastating hail rained down upon Egypt, striking all people and livestock that were not indoors and crushing all of Egypt’s remaining crops and […]
Blood before Frogs
“…..And the river will swarm with frogs, and they will emerge and come inside your home and your bedroom and upon your bed, and inside the homes of your servants and among your people, and into your ovens and your kneading troughs….” – Shemot 7:28 וְשָׁרַץ הַיְאֹר צְפַרְדְּעִים וְעָלוּ וּבָאוּ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבַחֲדַר מִשְׁכָּבְךָ וְעַל מִטָּתֶךָ וּבְבֵית עֲבָדֶיךָ וּבְעַמֶּךָ וּבְתַנּוּרֶיךָ וּבְמִשְׁאֲרוֹתֶיךָ […]
Escaping the Cold
“….And all the water that was in the Nile turned to blood…” – Shemot 7:20 וַיֵּהָפְכוּ כָּל הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר בַּיְאֹר לְדָם – שמות ז, כ The Jewish people were so oppressed in Egypt that even Moshe struggled to understand how this could be part of G-d’s plan. Their misery was so profound that they refused to accept Moshe’s message from […]
When the Bare Minimum is Optimal
“…And Aharon stretched forth his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frog came up and covered the land of Egypt…..” – Shemot 8:2 וַיֵּט אַהֲרֹן אֶת יָדוֹ עַל מֵימֵי מִצְרָיִם וַתַּעַל הַצּפַרְדֵּעַ וַתְּכַס אֶת אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם – שמות ח, ב Our Sages place great emphasis on the importance of executing a mitzvah project from start to finish and […]
Discovering the Real Motive
“….But i will harden pharaoh’s heart, and i will increase my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt….” – Shemot 7:3 ״….ואני אקשה את לב פרעה והרבתי את אותותי ואת מופתי בארץ מצרים….״ – שמות ז, ג G-d struck the Egyptians with the Ten Plagues as punishment for their cruel enslavement of Bnei Yisrael. These supernatural Plagues also […]
The Fathers – Parashat Va’eira
“….And I appeared to Avraham, to Yitzchok and to Yaakov….” – Shemot 6:3 ״…וארא אל אברהם, אל יצחק ואל יעקב….״ – שמות ו, ג In this verse and the verses that follow, G-d tells Moshe that He will now fulfill the promise He made when He appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, namely, to redeem their children from Egypt. In […]
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