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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Va'era
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מנחם בן יהודה
Let us go back in time and see the relevance of water and blood to these events. The Egyptians were appalled by the fertility of the Jewish family. As such, they decreed that Jewish women should not immerse in a mikveh, in which water purifies the body from the effects of blood. In response, Hashem turned Egyptian water into blood (Shemot Rabba). Others say it is related to Paroh’s slaughter of 300 Jewish children in whose blood he bathed. Still others connect it to the decree to throw baby boys into the Nile. Rashi (Shemot 17:7) points out that the Nile was not only the life source of Egypt but also a diety in Egypt. This should not be surprising, as this extremely arid land always had available water, which seemed to miraculously appear in the Nile.
If we put these last facts together, we can uncover some interesting connections. After Paroh lost confidence in his system of killing Jewish males at birth, he decreed to have them thrown into the Nile. His astrologers told him that it was seen in the stars that the Jewish savior would find his demise with water. "How appropriate," Paroh must have thought, "that the Egyptian diety would subdue the Jewish savior." (In fact, not only did the Nile fail to kill the savior, but it protected him, which is the reason that Moshe did not personally bring the plague upon the water (Shemot Rabba 9:10). According to Me’am Loez, once Moshe was put into the Nile, the signs to the astrologers stopped indicating that there was still a danger from the Jews’ savior.) It must have been relatively easy to explain to his people that the Jewish newborns would not be slaughtered in cold blood but would be given over to the Nile to do to them what it would.
If we view matters along these lines, we can appreciate the story of Bat Paroh more fully. Here she was on the Nile, bathing, when she saw a child floating in the Nile. Not only did her father decree that the babies be killed, but it had been explained that the babies were "the property" of the Nile, which would deal with them. By choosing the life of the young Moshe, she was not only choosing mercy over cruelty, but was questioning the rights of the diety that the Nile represented. This is, perhaps, the Torah’s hint to the conversion of Bat Paroh from Egyptian idolatry to Jewish monotheism. Indeed both problems and solutions began with water and blood.
"You shall draw water, in joy, from the springs of salvation."
Shoftim Can a Sheitel be Prohibited Because of Avodah Zarah?
A Background Discussion about the use of Indian Hair
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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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.
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Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
