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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Bo
But the word "Bo" is a gentler, softer, more respectful term; Hashem is telling Moshe he must approach Paro with respect even when coming to make demands of him. But why? Paro is a villain extraordinaire, responsible for putting our people through terrible ordeals of slavery, degradation & death. Why show him any honor at all?
One response is that Paro was a king, & kings are to be treated with respect. Another thought is that Moshe grew up in the palace, & so Paro was a semi-father to him, & fathers need to be spoken to with humility & deference.
But there is another, deeper dynamic at work here. Paro, for all his villainy, performed certain acts of goodness & kindness. For one thing, he (or his namesakes) gave Bnei Yisrael a home & shelter in Goshen for many years. Paro also once exhibited a surprising sense of Chesed. The Medrash says that he & Yitro, Paro’s advisor, were walking one day in Egypt’s slave market, & saw two young girls. They took pity on them, & decided to adopt them so as to save them from a life of misery. Who were these girls? None other than Batya & Zipora, who played major roles in Moshe’s life! Perhaps it was even Paro’s act of saving Batya that instilled in her the very instinct to save Moshe!
The lesson here is that Hashem is a meticulous CPA (Cosmic, Punctilious Accountant). He keeps careful track of everything his subjects do; for each & every positive act, we will be rewarded; conversely, every negative act we do will have its own consequences. And so a Tzadik will pay for his sins, regardless of his other acts of merit, & a Rasha will be blessed for his good deeds.
Think of it this way: Mitzvot are vitamins & medicine, & Aveirot-sins are poison. If you place medicine in a sick body, there will be some benefit to that person, maybe even a complete healing. But if you inject poison into even a super-healthy body, the results will certainly be harmful, maybe even deadly. That’s just reality.
Is there any person in this world who is completely & totally without sin, or who is 100% sinful? Certainly not! Perhaps this is why we should not be completely perplexed when we see "good" people suffer, or "evil" people prosper. What we are actually witnessing is the ultimate, eternal CPA balancing His books.
Now, if someone like Paro could be rewarded for acting nobly now & then, imagine what we could earn through a life of Yirat Shamayim & Torah observance. Let’s do our best to see that we are always on the right side of the ledger!
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
Jewish Laws and Thoughts Shul “etiquette:” can we honor Hashem while respecting our fellow congregants?
Rabbis in Midrash
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
