Rabbi David Etengoff
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Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimahof Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Arbeh (locusts) is one of the makkot (plagues) that figure prominently in our parasha. Like the other makkot, the arbeh are a heuristic device that the Almighty brought upon Pharaoh and his people in an effort to teach them the unlimited nature of His power. Therefore, Moshe and Aharon made it quite clear to Pharaoh exactly what was at stake if he remained obstinate in his recalcitrance: 

Moshe and Aharon came to Pharaoh and said to him, “So said the L-rd, the G-d of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, and they will worship Me. For if you refuse to let [them] go, behold, tomorrow I am going to bring locusts into your borders. And they will obscure the view of the earth, and no one will be able to see the earth, and they will eat the surviving remnant, which remains for you from the hail, and they will eat all your trees that grow out of the field.’” (Sefer Shemot 10:3-5, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
This passage presents a terrifying apocalyptic vision of the imminent future that will ensue if Pharaoh continues his rebelliousness against Hashem. Little wonder, then, that his servants beseech him and declare: “How long will this one [Moshe] be a stumbling block to us? Let the people go and they will worship their G-d. Don’t you yet know that Egypt is lost (haterem taida ki avda mitzrayim)?” On the surface, Pharaoh’s inability to recognize “haterem taida ki avda mitzrayim” is almost incomprehensible, as seven other plagues had already taken place, each one more destructive than the former. I believe, however, that we can explain Pharaoh’s self-destructive behavior in the following manner. Like many enemies of our people, this despot represented unrepentant evil. His yetzer hara, in conjunction with his unlimited arrogance, prevented him from seeing even the most obvious reality: “haterem taida ki avda mitzrayim!”Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks zatzal formulates this idea in a deeply insightful manner:

Pharaoh is in fact (and this is rare in Tanakh) a tragic figure like Lady Macbeth, or like Captain Ahab in Melville's Moby Dick, trapped in an obsession which may have had rational beginnings, right or wrong, but which has taken hold of him, bringing not only him but those around him to their ruin. This is signaled, simply but deftly, early in next week's sedra when Pharaoh’s own advisors say to him: “Let the people go so that they may worship the L-rd their G-d. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?” (10: 7). But Pharaoh has left rationality behind. He can no longer hear them. (Covenant and Conversation, Parashat Vaera -16th January 2010 -1st Shevat 5770)
 
Upon careful analysis, it appears that Pharaoh had three nemeses. The first one was G-d. Thus, he declared with the greatest possible hubris: “… Who is the L-rd [Hashem] that I should heed His voice to let Israel out? I do not know the L-rd, neither will I let Israel out.” (Sefer Shemot 5:2)  Herein, Pharaoh denied the dominion of the Master of the Universe over the world that He had created. Moreover, he denied Hashem’s role as the supreme force in history. In Pharoah’s twisted world of irrational illusion, he, and not the Almighty, ruled the world and controlled human destiny. As a result, he believed that G-d did not exist — even when His presence could be palpably felt during the eser makkot (the Ten Plagues).
 
Pharoah’s second nemesis was Moshe Rabbeinu (our Teacher Moshe). Moshe was the polar opposite of Pharaoh, as he represented all that is righteous. He ceaselessly pursued that which is good, true and tahor (pure) with his entire being. In addition, he fulfilled his G-d-given mission with the greatest humility ever known: “Now this man Moses was exceedingly humble, more so than any person on the face of the earth.” (Sefer Bamidbar 12:3)  In stark contrast, Pharaoh was self-serving, pursued evil for its own sake, was driven by every manner of falsehood and machination, and led Egypt and its culture to the 49th level of tumah (impurity). 
 
Pharaoh’s third nemesis was none other than himself. At each twist and turn in his many encounters with G-d, Moshe and Aharon, he did his best to try to “outsmart” them and thwart their plan by further obstructing b’nai yisrael’s path to physical and spiritual freedom. He was a crazed individual whose evil obsessions drove him beyond all boundaries of humanity. Yet, far from being free, he was a slave to himself and his unfettered desires. As Rabbi Lord Sacks so eloquently states: “Evil has two faces. The first — turned to the outside world — is what it does to its victim. The second — turned within — is what it does to its perpetrator. Evil traps the evildoer in its mesh. Slowly but surely he or she loses freedom and becomes not evil’s master but its slave.” 
 
In stark contrast to all that Pharaoh embodied, may we strive to fulfill the beautiful words of King David in Sefer Tehillim: “Shun evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.” (34:5) May Hashem grant us the wisdom and discernment to eschew all that is evil. If we can do this, we will be truly free to authentically serve our Creator. May this time come soon and in our days. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom, and may Hashem in His infinite mercy remove the pandemic from klal Yisrael and from all the nations of the world. 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:rdbe718@gmail.com.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.
 
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Rabbi David Etengoff 
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
 
Our parasha contains four words that refer to the imminent salvation of the Jewish people from their merciless Egyptian taskmasters: 

Therefore, say to the children of Israel, “I am the L-rd, and I will take you out (v’hotzati) from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will save you (v’hitzalti) from their labor, and I will redeem you (v’ga’alti) with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. And I will take you (v’lakachti) to Me as a people, and I will be G-d to you, and you will know that I am the L-rd your G-d, Who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (Sefer Shemot, 6:6-7, translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) 
 
Rashi (1040-1105), Rashbam (1085-1158), and the Ba’alei Tosafot (12-14th centuries), among many others, labeled v’hotzati, v’hitzalti, v’ga’alti, and v’lakachti as the “four expressions of redemption” (“arba’ah leshonei geulah,” Talmud Bavli, Pesachim 99b). The earliest source for this concept, however, is the Talmud Yerushalmiin tractate Pesachim (10:1): 

What is the derivation of the obligation to drink the four cups of wine at the Seder on the night of Passover? Rabbi Yochanan in the name of Rabbi Banayah said: “They correspond to the four redemptions: ‘Therefore, say to the children of Israel, ‘I am the L-rd, and I will take you out (v’hotzati)… And I will take you (v’lakachti) to Me as a people… v’hotzati, v’hitzalti, v’ga’alti, v’lakachti.’” (Translation, my own. See Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 88:11 for a parallel presentation of this idea.) 
 
Whether we follow the Talmud Yerushalmi’s approach and label our terms “the four redemptions,” or follow Rashi, Rashbam, and the Ba’alei Tosafot and call them the “four expressions of redemption,” it is clear they provide the Torah basis for the Rabbinic obligation of drinking the four cups of wine at the seder. This requirement is stated explicitly in the Mishnah at the beginning of the 10th chapter of Talmud Bavli, Pesachim 99b: “Even the poorest person from the Jewish people may not eat [on the night of the seder] until he leans [in a demonstrable sign of freedom]. In addition, there shall be given to him no less than four cups of wine — even if this must come from the public dole.” The Rambam (1135-1204) codified this halacha in the following manner: 

Therefore, when a person feasts on this night, he must eat and drink while he is reclining in the manner of free men. Each and every one, both men and women, must drink four cups of wine on this night. [This number] should not be reduced. Even a poor person who is sustained by charity should not have fewer than four cups… (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Chametz u’Matzah 7:7, this and all Mishneh Torah translations, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger) 
 
It should be noted that all subsequent poskim (halachic decisors) follow this opinion; as such, the commandment to drink the arba kosot (Four Cups of Wine) is a constitutive element of the Seder.
 
The 14th century Spanish halakhist, Rabbi Vidal di Tolosa, known as the Maggid Mishneh, after the name of his commentary on the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, examines the underlying meaning of the arba kosot within the context of his explanation of Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Chanukah 4:12: 
 
The mitzvah of kindling Chanukah lamps is very dear. A person should be very careful in its observance to publicize the miracle and thus increase our praise of G-d and our expression of thanks for the miracles that He wrought on our behalf. Even if a person has no resources for food except [what he receives] from charity, he should pawn or sell his garments and purchase oil and lamps to kindle them [in fulfillment of the mitzvah]. 
 
In his gloss on this passage, the Maggid Mishneh opines: “It appears that the Rambam learns this from that which is explained in the seventh chapter of Hilchot Chametz u’Matzah: ‘Even a poor person who is sustained by charity should not have fewer than four cups.’ The reason thereof is because of the obligation of pirsumei nisa (publicizing the miracle) …” Based upon Maggid Mishneh’s interpretation, we may conclude that the overriding significance and obligatory character of the arba kosot stem directly from their role as mitzvah objects in the grand drama of pirsumei nisa. As such, they join two other Rabbinic commandments that share this rationale, the lighting of the Chanukah candles and the reading of the Megillah on the night and morning of Purim. 
 
The founder of the Sochatchover Chasidic dynasty, Rabbi Avraham Bornsztain zatzal (1838-1910), in his posthumously published work of Torah responsa entitled Avnei Nezer, expands upon the Maggid Mishneh’s analysis of the Rambam’s decision in Hilchot Chanukah and declares: 
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Perforce one must say that the mitzvot of the night of Passover are different [than other commandments in general] since they serve the purpose of publicizing [the wonders and miracles of Passover] to his sons and the other members of his family, as the Torah states: “And you shall tell your son on that day…” This matter is understood based upon what I have already explained as the rationale of the Rambam — namely, in all other commandments [excluding pirsumei nisa] one is not obligated to sell their garment in order to fulfill a particular mitzvah. [This is based upon the well-known Talmudic dictum found in Talmud Bavli, Berachot 6a, wherein it states:] “Behold if one has the intention to perform a mitzvah and does not do so [through no fault of his own], the Torah considers it as if he has done so.” This is not the case in instances of pirsumei nisa where the entire rationale for the mitzvah is to publicize [the miracles] to others… (Orech Chaim, Hilchot Chanukah 501, translation my own) 
 
Rav Bornsztain teaches us that all the mitzvot of Pesach night, and not just the arba kosot, are an expression of pirsumei nisa. Moreover, while regarding other mitzvot it may well be “the thought that counts,” in matters of pirsumei nisa, the commandment must be performed without exception. 
 
With Hashem’s help, may we be zocheh (merit) to live lives wherein we bring universal recognition to His great and awesome Name, reflecting the ultimate purpose of arba kosot. May this time come soon and in our days. V’chane yihi ratzon. 
 
Shabbat Shalom, and may Hashem in His infinite mercy remove the pandemic from klal Yisrael and from all the nations of the world. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:rdbe718@gmail.com.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

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Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimahof Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The name Hashem (yud-heh-vav-heh) appears 47 times in Sefer Bereishit, a number of which take place within the context of Hashem’s direct communication with the Avot. In our parasha, the name is found following Moshe’s request from the Almighty as to what he should tell B’nai Yisrael when they ask: “What is His [that is, G-d’s] name? what shall I say to them?” The Almighty responds: “So shall you say to the children of Israel, ‘The L-rd G-d of your forefathers (Hashem Elokei avotaichem), the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, and the G-d of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is how I should be mentioned in every generation.” (Sefer Shemot 3:13 and 15, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  It is, therefore, difficult to understand one of the early pasukim in next week’s Parashat Vaera: “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob with [the name] Almighty G-d (A-le Sha-dai), but [with] My name Hashem, I did not become known to them.” (Sefer Shemot 6:3) 
 
Rashi (1040-1105) explains this seeming contradiction in the following fashion:

It is not written here lo hoda’ati, “but My Name Hashem I did not make known to them,” but lo noda’ati, “I did not become known.” [That is,] I was not recognized by them with My attribute of keeping faith, by dint of which My name is called Hashem, [which means that I am] faithful to verify My words, for I made promises to them, but I did not fulfill [them while they were alive]. (Sefer Shemot 6:3)
 
Rashi suggests that the solution to the above-noted inconsistency is contained in the terminology of the verse itself. Clearly, the Avot were well aware of the name Hashem. They were, however, unaware of its full significance and meaning, since Hashem had not yet fulfilled His promises regarding their future numerous descendants and possession of Eretz Yisrael.
 
The great Spanish exegete, Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra (1092 –1167), presents an insightful resolution to our textual conundrum that parallels that of Rashi. He opines that it was impossible for the Avot to be unaware of the name Hashem, since it is used throughout Sefer Bereishit. He describes this name as the shame etzem (the proper name) of G-d. In other words, while they knew G-d by this title or appellation, they had not encountered Him based upon His actions and deeds, which the Ibn Ezra calls the shame toar (the adjectival descriptive name). Hashem specifically refers to G-d’s name as manifested through His actions and as He who fulfills His promises. The Ibn Ezra places a great deal of emphasis on this newly revealed aspect of G-d’s being. In fact, he suggests that the true purpose inherent in Moshe’s agency was none other than: “… to make this name Hashem known [to mankind].” (Ibn Ezra, Commentary on the Torah, Sefer Shemot 6:3)  When viewed in this light, Hashem clearly carries the connotation of He who fulfills that which He has promised. In sum, it was this newly revealed aspect of Hashem that Moshe publicized to the Jewish people and the world.
 
My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, builds upon the interpretations of Rashi and the Ibn Ezra, and suggests the following analysis of the meaning and import of the name Hashem to the Jewish people:
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The name Hashem signifies realization. The Patriarchs had only been given promises; a long road still lay ahead of them before their descendants would conquer the land. Deviations from the straight course and long delays characterize the strange movement of Jewish history: the longest, not the shortest route, seems to be our destiny. This mystifying pattern of Jewish history demands our loyalty even as it defies our comprehension. Why should A-le Sha-dai be separated from Hashem, the promise from the fulfillment? And yet the Jew waits patiently, filled with expectancy, with an unshakable faith in the inevitable geulah. (Chumash Mesoras HaRav, Sefer Shemos, page 49)
 
May the time come soon, and in our days, when the promises made to Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya’akov regarding Eretz Yisrael and their future offspring will be completely realized:
For all the land that you [Avraham] see I will give to you and to your children for all eternity. And I will make your children like the dust of the earth, so that if a man will be able to count the dust of the earth, so will your children be counted. Rise, walk in the land, to its length and to its breadth, for I will give it to you. (Sefer Bereishit 13:15-17)
 
V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom, and may Hashem in His infinite mercy remove the pandemic from klal Yisrael and from all the nations of the world. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:rdbe718@gmail.com.
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.