Va'eira Summaries
Va'era 5770-2010 "Shortness of Breath and Hard Work" The Bible states that the ancient Israelites could not hear Moses’ favorable message of G-d’s impending salvation due to “shortness of breath and hard work.” What does this mean? And what are the implications for contemporary times? |
Va'eira 5769-2009"Why Didn’t the Egyptians Rebel Against Pharaoh" Egypt had already suffered through seven plagues. The Egyptian people were down on their knees. Why didn’t the citizens rebel against Pharaoh? Why did they allow their storied civilization to be destroyed before their very eyes? Link to full |
Va'eira 5768-2008"Moses, the Exalted Leader"
Moses, the greatest prophet of Israel, comes to his position of leadership through much pain and profound challenge. Without charisma, and barely qualifying as a speaker, he teaches that leadership is based on moral courage and uncompromising devotion to truth. Link to full |
Va'eira 5767-2007"Even a Hardened Heart has a Silver Lining" |
Va'eira 5766-2006"Becoming Accustomed to the Burdens"
Why had the time now come to free Israel from bondage? While mamy reasons are offered, Rabbi Simcha Bunam of P'schis'cha suggests that G-d felt that the ancient Hebrews were becoming too accustomed to suffering--so it had to stop. A parallel may be drawn to contemporary times, when people become indifferent and unresponsive to the immorality of our own environment. Link to full |
Va'eira 5765-2005“Teaching a New Reality About Divine Power Through The Ten Plagues”
The ten plagues were not simply ten random events. They were carefully structured symbols that came to negate contemporary Egyptian beliefs, and teach very powerful lessons about faith in G-d and His ultimate power. The ten plagues also successfully worked to discredit the power of the chartoomim and chachamim, Pharaohys sorcerers and wise men. Link to full |
Va'eira 5764-2004"The Names of G-d and Their Meanings"
The names of G-d are many, each revealing to the world a different aspect of the Creator. In this parasha, the universe's understanding of G-d is heightened by Moses to a level never before conceived, even by the patriarchs. After Moses, the world's notion of G-d is never to be the same again. Link to full |
Va'eira 5673-2002 “The Exodus–A ‘Primitave Story’ with Revolutionary Implications” Jewish history is often perceived, with great justification, as one unending series of tragedies, pogroms, expulsions, inquisitions, crusades, destructions, exiles, and ultimately--holocausts. Even a cursory review of the Jewish calendar confirms this dark perspective. In truth, this perception is incorrect. Jewish history is really one unending series of moral, educational and ethical triumphs and victories but we fail to perceive it. We often fail to recognize the untold revolutionary contributions that Judaism has made to humanity. When we study the traditions of Judaism in depth, particularly the traditions of Passover, we see that we have much of which to be proud. We must let the world know about it. Link to full |
Va'eira 5762-2002 “Can We Question G-d and Get Away With It?” Parashat Vaeira opens with G-d berating Moses for saying that things have only gotten worse for the people of Israel since Moses’s intervention. Strict interpretation holds Moses accountable for his presumptuousness, eventually resulting in his inability to enter the promised land. The more liberal interpretation implies that G-d desires to be challenged, hoping to find justification that would exonerate those guilty of improper acts. Link to full |
Va'eira 5761-2001 “The Subtle Slavery” The Torah tells us that Pharaoh literally had to chase the Jews out of Egypt, not only because Egypt was the country that they knew as their home, but because Egypt embodied values from which they were not prepared to separate. It is this “subtle slavery,” embodied in our admiration for, and indeed worship of, alien cultures, that is a cause of concern for Jews, even today. Link to full |
Va'eira 5760-2000 |