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From our sages – Yitro

Saturday, February 4th, 2012

 

Now I know that G-d is the greatest of all deities (Exod. 18:11)

 To say that G-d is greater than all the other gods is heresy because it implies that other gods have some substance. Why would Yitro say such a thing?

This statement is not one of relative comparison, but of total rejection. Yitro was the High Priest of Midian and a very prominent theologian. He was familiar with all of the gods the pagan world worshipped. After learning of the miracles that G-d performed he was convinced of the worthlessness of all the other deities and of G-d’s identity as the one and only G-d of the world. Hence he proudly proclaimed, “Now I know that G-d is great, and I have reached this conclusion through realizing the falsehood of all the other gods.”

(Alshich)

 

You shall not kill (Exod. 20:13)

 When this mitzva of the Ten Commandments is read in private, it is read “lo tirtzach.” When the Torah is read in public, the Ashkenazic pronunciation of these words are “lo tirtzawch” (with the Hebrew vowel kametz instead of patach).

These two variant pronunciations teach us that there are two types of murder which are forbidden. The first is the actual shedding of blood. The second is shaming a person in public, which the Talmud equates to murder.

(HaRav Tzirilson M’Kishinev)

 


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From our sages – Beshalach

Saturday, January 28th, 2012

 

And He took off the wheel of their chariots, and He made them drive heavily (Exod. 14:25)

 

Had G-d removed all four wheels of their chariots, the horses could have exerted themselves and dragged the chariots on the ground. However, by removing only one wheel, G-d caused their ride to be turbulent and agonizing, with the chariots swaying from side to side.

 

(Sha’ar Bat Rabim)

 

G-d made the sea dry land and the water split (Exod. 14:21)

 

According to the Talmud, pairing two people in marriage and earning a livelihood are as difficult as splitting the Sea. When the Jews saw the Egyptians chasing them, they formed a number of plans of action, one group favored a battle with the Egyptians, another group advised leaping into the sea, a third said to surrender and return to Egypt, yet another suggested fleeing into the wilderness. No one dreamt that the sea would split and they would march through on dry land.

 

Young people will often fantasize about their most suitable match, but very often one meets one’s intended in a totally unanticipated way. Similarly, in earning one’s livelihood, a person may make plans and calculations, but ultimately G-d provides him an unanticipated source of income.

 

(HaRav Baruch Cohen)


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Bo – From our sages

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

 

And there was a thick darkness in all of Egypt for three days (Exod. 10:22)

 

The plague of darkness lasted for six days, three days of darkness when no one was able to see anyone else, and “a thick darkness… for three days” which was so dense that the Egyptians were unable to move. All of the other plagues (aside from the death of the first-born which lasted only one day) were seven days long. G-d saved the last day of darkness for when the Egyptians chased after the Jews in the desert. When the Jews travelled at night they were guided by a pillar of fire, but when the Egyptians chased them, G-d punished the

Egyptians by causing them to travel in darkness.

 

(Midrash Raba)

 

And G-d said to Moses and Aaron…”This month shall be for you the head of the months.” (Exod. 12:1-2)

 

The Jewish calendar follows the lunar system. The solar calendar is 365 days, and the lunar calendar is approximately 354 days. To make up for the deficiency, seven years in every 19 year cycle are leap years. Thus, in some years, the lunar year is actually a few days ahead of the solar year. The leap year serves as a reminder that everyone has an opportunity to make up for what he has failed to accomplish in the past.

Furthermore, just as the leap year not only makes up for the deficiency, but provides an “advance” on the future, a Jew must also intensify his efforts in his service of G-d and store up additional merits.

(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)

 


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