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| FRUMToronto Articles Parsha Pearls |
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Devrei Torah relating to the weekly Parsha.
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Reb Shlomo Zalman Parshas Bo 5771
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Hi Kids,
I hope this finds you all well and happy. I wish Hatzlacha to all those back to regular work and school
schedules and particularly also, those facing exams soon - Hashem Yatzliach Darkeichem !
I will B'Ez"H try to put together a medrash which I heard, with a story from R' Vallach even though they
were not told for the same purpose. The Torah tells us that as part of our mitzvah to recount and remember
the events of our exodus from Egypt, we must recall how Hashem 'played' or 'toyed' with the Egyptians. The
purpose of the Makos was not to facilitate the exodus - Hashem could've taken us out in one second without
any of the Makos. Rather their purpose was to teach, the Jews from their perspective and the Egyptians
from theirs, that Hashem is indeed not only the creator of everything, but in control of every aspect of
every level of life. Therefore the Makos never totally devastated the Egyptian people - there always
remained the possibility of error in that either the person could come to the realization that Hashem is
the one and only all-powerful G-D, or he could persist in thinking that the particular plague was just
another strange 'act of nature' that would surely pass.
The plague of locust brought with it trillions upon trillions of grasshoppers which ate up all the crops.
It was easy to see that this was definitely an abnormal occurrence (especially since it followed seven
other bizarre and painful Makos). Those who grasped the intended lesson suffered through it and perhaps
did some degree of Teshuva. There were many Egyptians who remained stubborn and refused to learn. Instead,
(in the same cold spirit of the current occupier of the White House, who never lets a good crisis go to
waste) they saw this as an opportunity to make big money. Seeing that the aftermath of the plague would
bring desperate food shortages, they busied themselves collecting locusts, storing them in barrels, oiling
and pickling them. When the dust would settle, they would 'make a killing' selling 'shmaltz-grasshoppers',
etc. They accumulated huge stockpiles and when the wind finally blew the plague away, they set up their
shops all over the country. Hashem did not prevent this activity, but when they opened their barrels for
business, Hashem 'had the last laugh' (K'vyachol) - at H-S command, when the wind blew away the plague,
not only did the locust outside disappear, but so did those in the barrels. At least some of the would-be
millionaires, with the prodding of the extra Makah of humiliation and defeat, finally awakened from the
stupor of their self-absorption and came to understand the message of Hashem. (Perhaps that is what the
Haggadah means when it says that each Makah actually consisted of multiple Makos - different people needed
to be affected and taught through different aspects of each Makah that personally suited them).
When it became public knowledge that the first-borns were all going to die in the last plague, the first-
borns sent a delegation to Par'oh begging him to let the slaves go. But he was the most self-absorbed of
all and was by then so trapped in his war with Hashem that he refused their request. That triggered a
civil war in which hundreds of thousands were killed. He, the great leader of Egypt, could not see beyond
his own agenda to take note of the internal unravelling of his whole glorious society.
R' Vallach relates a true story from Persian-Jewish history illustrating how one could become so enamored
of himself and so 'into' his supposedly beloved and respected stature, that he totally misreads it and
loses perspective about what is going on around him.
A certain Imam, a vicious Jew-hater, would regularly spew his vile and despicable lies about the Jewish
people, and vigorously encourage his followers to cause harm to the Jews. Almost every Friday after their
prayers, wild gangs of 'religiously' fired-up moslems, would violently invade the Jewish streets to
plunder, assault and generally make life miserable for the residents. The community could do nothing
against the very powerful Imam, and was forced to just suffer in silence.
One sharp Jew could not take the abuse any longer and devised a plan to 'bring down' the haughty,
dastardly Imam. He disguised himself as a moslem and attended the mosque services one Friday. The Imam was
passionate and fierce that day, in his contempt for and incitement against the Jews. The disguised Jew
tried his best to meld with the now very agitated crowd. They all stood up as the Imam ended his sermon
shrieking for action. As he stepped down from the podium to exit the Mosque, he was surrounded by throngs
of adoring congregants. He felt the power he had over them - he felt almost G-D-like.
The covert Jew pushed his way through the crowd to reach the Imam. He bowed before the Imam and wasted no
time . "Great and most honored Imam," he began, " Last night, 'the holy prophet' came to me in a dream and
said,' There is no one on earth as great and respected as your Imam. If he would find it in his merciful
heart to let you pluck one hair out of his holy beard, you will be guaranteed that when your time comes,
you will rise up directly to heaven and you will not have to fear any purgatory !' I beg of you oh
benevolent master," the Jew implored," have mercy on me and allow me to have one hair - please !"
The Imam, already intoxicated with feelings of self-importance, was even more moved upon hearing that 'the
prophet' himself thought so highly of him. He generously plucked a hair from his face and pompously handed
it to his anxious adorer saying," Yes, I am aware of this my son. Take this hair and guard it carefully
until it is time for you to leave this world. As a final request, make sure that they place the hair under
your head at burial and you will be assured that place in heaven". The Jew kissed the lock of hair,
thanked the Imam profusely and scurried away.
One person standing close by who had witnessed this incident, approached the Imam." Oh wise and holy
Imam," he beseeched, " would it be possible for me too to receive a hair from your face so that I too
could be guaranteed an automatic place in heaven ?" The Imam, feeling so superior, was magnanimous once
again and plucked out another hair for the man.
Before he grasped what was happening, others came forward requesting hairs and he was weak from all the
flattery and acquiesced. The news that heaven was 'only a hair away', spread like wildfire through the
crowd. People began to stampede toward the Imam and they didn't wait for him to ceremoniously hand out his
hair. They plucked and yanked at his beard and then moved on to his head until he bled and was rendered
completely bald. As the frenzied throngs ran home to hide their hairy treasures, the Imam was left
standing alone, humiliated and bewildered.
I realize that the connection between the medrash and this story is tenuous, what I saw here were two
examples of people who were so enamored with the importance of their own petty lives, that they made
themselves totally vulnerable - either to Hashem toying with their characters by way of miraculous events
or to Hashem destroying them through others. May we all be guided by the wisdom of the Torah to maintain
proper perspective about ourselves and our lives.
Have a wonderful Shabbos everyone. I love you all. 'd'
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Posted 1/6/2011 8:49 PM |
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