Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Va'era
The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Yakov Ben Behora
There are many questions on this pasuk. If Hashem hardened Paroh’s heart, what was his sin? (See Rambam, Hilchot Teshuva, and Ramban.) Why did Hashem need to redeem the Jews with Paroh’s consent? Could He not have taken them out against his will? While we understand Paroh’s behavior during the last five makot, when Hashem hardened his heart, how could he have been so obstinate during the first five makot, despite all that occurred?
Rashi on "I will harden..." explains as follows. After Paroh blasphemed Hashem so wickedly, it was clear that Paroh would never repent with a full heart. Hashem, therefore, hardened Paroh’s heart in order to increase His wonders so that the Jews would come to recognize His might. Rashi concludes that even though the above holds true, during the first five makot, the Torah only says that Paroh’s heart was hardened; it does not say that Hashem hardened it. Rashi implies that even at this early stage (before the first makot) Paroh’s atrocious actions and his denial of Hashem ("who is Hashem that I should listen to His voice?" (Shemot, 5:2)) were sufficient grounds for Hashem to harden his heart. However, Hashem enabled him to repent until after the fifth makah. We should note that even Paroh’s ultimate decision to free the Jews was not repentance, just as a thief who sneaks into a house and flees because of a noise is not considered a ba’al teshuva.
Regarding why Paroh’s consent was necessary, one can claim that since Bnei Yisrael’s enslavement was decreed to last for 400 years, which had not yet elapsed, Paroh was needed to agree to free them. Or, as Rav Yisraeli explained, since the Jews were slaves, if they would leave without their master’s consent, they would remain slaves. Rav Charlap explains that Paroh’s stubbornness stemmed in part from the need for his permission. When one makes a request of an arrogant person, it increases his feeling of power. Although he already realized that his power was limited, Paroh used the request to free Bnei Yisrael to demonstrate his apparent power to refuse. Thus, the first makot, where Paroh hardened his own heart, not only show Hashem’s power, but also teach the folly of a man who thinks he is almighty.
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
