Beit Midrash

  • Torah Portion and Tanach
  • Bo
To dedicate this lesson

The Day After Tomorrow

There are many people who live for today; some live for yesterday, while other people live for tomorrow. And then there are those who live for the day AFTER tomorrow.

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Rabbi Stewart Weiss

Shvat 4 5782
There are many people who live for today; some live for yesterday, while other people live for tomorrow. And then there are those who live for the day AFTER tomorrow.

Life is about learning, & the Jewish sojourn in Mitzrayim was meant to be the learning experience par excellence; its profound lessons should be studied & scrutinized, & should never be lost on us.

As our Sedra opens, G-d orders Moshe to approach Paro & warn him regarding the 8th Plague, locusts. "I have hardened Paro’s heart," He says, "so as to multiply My wonders, & so you can tell your sons & grandsons what I did to Egypt, so that all may know that I am Hashem."

Moshe then proceeds to meet Paro, & tells him about the impending locust attack. "They will cover the earth, they will consume your crops & completely fill your houses. It will be something never before seen by the likes of your father & grandfather from the time the world was formed."

Notice the subtle phraseology Moshe uses? About Am Yisrael, he talks of future generations’ sons & grandsons. But vis a vis Egypt, he cites previous generations.

There are many Eastern religions that do not believe in a Supreme Being. Instead of worshipping G-d, they pray to their ancestors. But Jews, while revering those who came before us - either in our own families or in the collective history of our People - pray only to the One G-d. (When we visit cemeteries, we ask our loved ones to use their merit & intercede for us with G-d; we don’t pray to them.)

We are answerable not only to our predecessors, but also to those who come after us. We cannot make decisions based only on past precedent; we also have to consider the effect on future generations. They are the ones who will reap the reward or punishment for what we do today.

Ben-Gurion met with his advisors to decide whether or not to declare Statehood. Then he dismissed the group & said he must first consult with 2 other people before he can make his final decision: one of them was his Zayde, long since dead; the other his grandchild, not yet born.

I wish I had a 5-shekel coin for every time someone came up to me & said, "Rabbi, you know, my bubbie was a tzadeyket & an Ayshet Chayil & my zayde was a Talmid Chacham & a distinguished Rav!" I always reply, "That’s indeed very impressive; but I’m even more interested in who your grandson & granddaughter will be! That’s truly accessing the power of the day after tomorrow!
את המידע הדפסתי באמצעות אתר yeshiva.org.il