Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Why is “vayikra,” the first word of our parasha, and the namesake of Sefer Vayikra, written with a diminutive aleph as its final letter? In his commentary on the Torah entitled, Ba’al HaTurim, Rabbeinu Ya'akov ben Asher zatzal (1270-1340) provides an intriguing explanation:

Moshe was [simultaneously] great and humble. Therefore, he did not want to write “vayikra” (and G-d called); rather, he desired to write “vayikar” (and G-d happened to appear), which is an expression of a purely accidental meeting. By using vayikar, it would be as if Hashem spoke to him in a trance or in a dream, as the Torah states regarding Bilam. [Hashem, however, ruled against this view] and explicitly commanded Moshe to write the aleph [in order to represent his true eminence to the world.] Moshe, however, responded to Hashem—based upon his thoroughgoing humility— and told Him that he would only consent to write a miniature aleph that would be smaller than any other aleph in the Torah; and so, he wrote it in this manner. (Translation and brackets my own)
 
According to Rabbeinu Yaakov’s interpretation, there was palpable tension between Hashem and Moshe, as Hashem perceived Moshe in an entirely different manner than Moshe viewed himself. In the Almighty’s judgment, Moshe was truly great and ever His faithful servant, for we know that with Moshe alone did He: “… speak mouth to mouth; in a [direct] vision and not in riddles.” Moreover, only Moshe, of all the prophets, was able to see marot (visions) of Hashem. (Sefer Bamidbar 12:8, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  Clearly, Hashem sought to publicize Moshe’s unique nature by writing vayikra in its standard manner as the first word of our parasha. Moshe’s unparalleled anavah (humility), however, was at odds with this, and he therefore wrote “a miniature aleph that would be smaller than any other aleph in the Torah.”
 
The Chasidic rebbe, Rav Simcha Bunim Bonhardt of Peshischa zatzal (1765-1827), is cited as having said a beautiful mashal (parable) that illustrates the depth of Moshe’s anavah and advances our understanding of the miniature aleph:

Vayikra is written with a tiny aleph. The reason for this may be explained by the following mashal: There was a valiant man whom the king elevated to higher and higher levels [of power and authority] until he was raised above all his other officers. On one occasion, the king sought to ascertain if he [the intrepid individual] maintained the same level of awe toward him as he had in earlier times. He [the king], therefore called upon him to come to him. And this officer, being that he was truly humble in his self-perception, came before the king and presented himself in awe and fear in exactly the same manner as he had done in the past [prior to achieving his fame and glory]. The referent of this parable is Moshe, whom the Holy One blessed be He, raised up [above all others] and performed, through his agency, countless miracles and Matan Torah (the Giving of the Torah). Nonetheless, when He called to him [at the beginning of our parasha,] it was with a miniature aleph [at Moshe’s behest]. (Sefer Kol Simcha, Parashat Vayikra, translation and brackets my own)
 
Anavah emerges as a constitutive element of Moshe’s very being. In contrast, most of us must work at developing this middah (ethical characteristic). We are fortunate that the Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194-1270) gives us ready guidance as to how to undertake this process:

Speak gently at all times… with your heart focusing on Hashem… In all your actions, words, and thoughts, regard yourself as standing before Hashem, with His Schechinah [Divine Presence] above you, for His glory fills the whole world. Speak with fear and awe, as a servant standing before his master. Act with restraint in front of everyone. When someone calls you, don’t answer loudly, but gently and softly, as one who stands before his master. (Iggeret HaRamban, translation, with my emendations, http://www.pirchei.com/specials/ramban/ramban.htm, brackets my own)
 
Two salient points emerge that guide us toward the attainment of anavah: Our encounters with others should embody respect and dignity, and we must focus upon Hashem, ever conscious that we stand before His Divine Presence. With the Almighty’s help, may our efforts to achieve these goals enable us to fulfill Moshe’s clarion call to the Jewish people: “And you shall do what is proper and good in the eyes of Hashem.” (Sefer Devarim 6:18).  V’chane yihi ratzon.
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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: The Rav
 

 








Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh, the focus of this week’s additional Torah reading, has been an essential link between Hashem and our people since we were commanded in its observance prior to the Exodus from Egypt: “Hashem spoke to Moshe and to Aharon in the land of Egypt, saying, ‘This month (hachodesh hazeh) shall be to you the head of the months; to you it shall be the first of the months of the year.’” (Sefer Shemot 12:1-2, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, with my emendations)  In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) explains the expression, “hachodesh hazeh,” as referring to Chodesh Nissan: “Concerning the month of Nissan, He [Hashem] said to him [Moshe], ‘This shall be [to you, Leipzig manuscript] the first [month] of the order of the number of the months, so Iyar shall be called the second [month], and Sivan the third [month].’” In short, the first month of the year is Chodesh Nissan, a reading that is strongly supported by the concluding words of the pasuk, “to you it shall be the first of the months of the year.”
 
The Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194-1270), in his Drasha l’Rosh HaShanah, raises a strong objection to Rashi’s approach: “And if it [the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month from Chodesh Nissan,] is Rosh HaShanah, its month is incontrovertibly the first month of the year. For this is an unbreakable [logical] connection [that is, axiom,] that the first month of the year must also be Rosh HaShanah, as the year is, by definition, the combination of the months.” (Kitvei Ramban, vol. I, Rabbi Dr. Charles B. Chavel editor, pages 214-215, translations, and brackets, my own)  How, then, does the Ramban understand our pasuk? His explanation is an exegetical tour de force: 
​
That which is said in the Torah regarding Nissan, “this month shall be to you the head of the months; to you it shall be the first of the months of the year,” [must not be explained in a literal fashion,] that Nissan is the [first] and the head, rather, it means that it should be called, “first,” for us [the Jewish people]. That is, it [Nissan,] is the first month of our Redemption (rishon l’geulatainu), and that we count the months [of the chagim] based upon our Redemption from Egypt, as is the custom of the Torah to count the months and days regarding the mitzvot.
 
In sum, for the Ramban, though Nissan is not calendrically the first month of the year, it is rishon l’geulatainu, and, therefore, it is fitting and proper “that we count the months [of the chagim] based upon our Redemption from Egypt, as is the custom of the Torah to count the months and days regarding the mitzvot.” 
 
As Rabbi Yehoshua declared so long ago: “b’Nissan nigalu; b’Nissan atidin liga’ale—in Nissan, we, the Jewish people, were redeemed from Egypt, and in Nissan in the future, we will be redeemed in the Ultimate Redemption (Geulah Shlaimah).” (Talmud Bavli, Rosh HaShanah 11a). With Hashem’s mercy and kindness, may this Nissan usher in the Geulah Shlaimah for all of klal Yisrael. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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: The Rav

 








​Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The mitzvah of the Parah Adumah (Red Heifer), the focus of this week’s additional Torah reading, is the best-known example of our inability to comprehend the underlying reasons for the mitzvot. We do, however, know that the outcome of this commandment is the halachic purification of an individual who has become tamei (ritually impure) due to contact with a corpse. Since the Parah Adumah purifies those who are tamei, while simultaneously rendering those who are tahor (ritually pure) tamei, it is intrinsically paradoxical and mystifying in nature. Even Shlomo HaMelech, blessed with the most prodigious intellect and insight in history, was stymied by the Red Heifer’s seemingly irreconcilable contradictions. As he plaintively declared: “All this I tested with wisdom; I said, ‘I will become wise,’ but it [that is, the Parah Adumah] was far from me.” (Sefer Kohelet 7:23, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
While many Rabbinic sources suggest that Shlomo HaMelech was successful in ascertaining the rationale inherent in all mitzvot other than the Parah Adumah, we are far from his level. What approach, then, can we follow to try to comprehend Hashem’s mitzvot? Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi (1080-1145) teaches in his Kuzari that humankind is, by definition, incapable of comprehending infinite Hashem and His works. Little wonder, then, that the Rambam (1135-1204) urges us to avoid the pitfalls of treating the mitzvot whose reasons escape us in a facile and flippant manner: 

A matter [mitzvah] wherein one does not find a reason and does not know its rationale should not become frivolous in his eyes and he should not burst forth against Hashem, lest He burst forth against him. Additionally, his thoughts in this matter ought not to be like his thoughts in profane matters. (Sefer Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Meilah 8:8, this and the following translations my own)
 
The Rambam utilizes classic halachic reasoning to buttress his contention:
 
Come and see how strict the Torah is in the Laws of Trespassing (Meilah): Just like wood, stones, dust, and ashes, once they are sanctified with the name of the Master of the Universe through words alone, and all who treat them in a profane manner commit a trespass will have to seek atonement, even if the act was done inadvertently, all the more so (kal v’chomer) in the case of mitzvot that the Holy One Blessed be He has commanded us, wherein man may not rebel against them simply because he does not understand their reasons. 
 
In addition, the Rambam warns against inventing ingenious, but specious, reasons for the mitzvot: “And he should not attribute (literally “pile on”) false rationalizations [for the mitzvot] against Hashem. He concludes his presentation by warning, “And one ought not to think concerning them [the mitzvot] in the manner in which he thinks about everyday profane matters.”
 
In his incisive exegetical study, Beit Halevi, on Sefer Shemot 31, Rabbi Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik zatzal (1820-1892) posits an exposition of the Parah Adumah that expands upon the Rambam’s approach. He notes that the phrase “This is the statute of the Torah that Hashem commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and have them take for you a perfectly red unblemished cow...’” (Sefer Bamidbar 19:2) is very unusual, since the Parah Adumah is singled out as being the “statute of the Torah.” Consequently, he asks: “At face value, the Parah Adumah is simply one of the [613] mitzvot of the Torah. Why, then, is it given the unusual label of the ‘statute of the Torah?’” His answer expresses some of his central beliefs concerning the search for the underlying rationale of the mitzvot:

… for it is precisely from the Parah Adumah that it is revealed to man that he, in reality, does not know anything regarding [the true meaning inherent] in any mitzvah of the Torah, since [based upon this verse,] the entire Torah is a statute (chukah) [that eludes our understanding] And the explanation of this concept is the following, behold all of the mitzvot are inextricably attached to, and interwoven with, one another. Moreover, each one depends upon the other … [As a result,] it is impossible to comprehend even one of the mitzvot without understanding all of them. Therefore, when we encounter the Parah Adumah, and we do not understand its underlying principle, it is clear that we really know nothing at all [regarding the other mitzvot]. 
 
For the Beit HaLevi, since all the mitzvot are inextricably interwoven, if the Parah Adumah is incomprehensible, it is impossible to truly understand any other mitzvah of the Torah. As such, the Parah Adumah emerges as a protection against humankind’s potential intellectual arrogance:

…the Parah Adumah is, therefore, a fence and a protective measure for man who utilizes his intellect (hamitbonane b’sichlo) to examine the reasons inherent in the mitzvot; to prevent him from erring in their regard if he were to [merely] follow his intellect and thereby burst forth [against the mitzvot] and declare: “I am the one who knows their rationale!” In this manner, one would be able to err and add or subtract [from the mitzvot]. 
 
The Beit HaLevi, therefore, concludes that there is only one way to demonstrate our acceptance of, the mitzvot: 
​
One must perform all of the mitzvot, with all of their specific details, according to what we have received from our Rabbis according to the overarching rules of the Torah and the established Halacha without any deviation whatsoever from the words of the Shulchan Aruch. This is the case, since, he himself, recognizes that he does not comprehend the depth of these matters… (Translations and brackets my own)
 
Perhaps more than any other mitzvah, the Parah Adumah reminds us that Hashem is the measure of all things. With the Almighty’s help, and our fervent desire, may we be zocheh (merit) to serve Him with heartfelt devotion as we fulfill His holy Torah. V’chane yihi ratzon. 
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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: The Rav

 









Rabbi David Etengoff
​
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
This Shabbat we read Parshiot Tetzaveh and Zachor. According to the Shulchan Aruch, Orech Chaim (146:2 and 685:7), the public reading of Parashat Zachor enables us to fulfill two of the three Taryag (613) commandments associated with Amalek. As cited by the Rambam (1135-1204) in his Sefer HaMitzvot, these are: “Zachor mah sh’asah lanu Amalek—Remember what Amalek did to us,” (Positive Commandment 189) and “Hizharnu mishchoach mahsh’asah lanu zerah Amalek—We are warned not to forget what ‘the seed’ of Amalek did to us” (Negative Commandment 59). 
 
Amalek exemplified malicious and unmitigated evil like no other ethnic group in history. As the Torah states: “v’lo yarah Elokim—and he did not fear G-d.” (Sefer Devarim 25:18)  In other words, Amalek acted as if G-d did not exist, and there would be no response to his malevolent and sadistic behavior against our people. As such, there must ever be a: “…milchamah l’Hashem b’Amalek m’dor dor—a war of Hashem against Amalek throughout all the generations.” (Sefer Shemot 17:16) 
 
Chazal teach us that, with the exception of the Jewish people, King Sennacherib of Assyria (720-683 BCE) destroyed the ethnic cohesion of all the nations of his time. (Mishnah Yadaim 4:4)  Since this is the case, why does the Torah give us three separate and eternal mitzvot regarding a tribal entity that no longer exists? 
 
My rebbi and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, answers this question in his seminal essay of 1956 entitled: “Kol Dodi Dofek.” Therein, he presented a profound idea from his father, Rav Moshe Soloveitchik zatzal (1879-1941):
 
Divine providence is testing us once again via the crisis that has overtaken the land of Israel. Let it be clearly stated: The matter does not just affect the political future of Israel. The designs of the Arabs are directed not just against the political sovereignty of the State of Israel but against the very existence of the Yishuv (settlement) in the land of Israel. They wish to destroy, heaven forbid, the entire community, “both men and women, infant and suckling, ox and sheep.” (1 Samuel 15:3) At a Mizrachi convention I cited the view expressed by my father and master (Rabbi Moses Soloveitchik) of blessed memory, that the proclamation, “The L-rd will have war with Amalek from generation to generation” (Exodus 17:16) does not only translate into the communal exercise of waging obligatory war against a specific race but includes as well the obligation to rise up as a community against any people or group that, filled with maniacal hatred, directs its enmity against Keneset Israel. When a people emblazons on its banner, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation: that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance,” (Psalms 83:5) it becomes, thereby, Amalek… (Fate and Destiny, translation, Rabbi Dr. Lawrence Kaplan, pages 65-66)
 
According to Rav Moshe Soloveitchik zatzal, Amalek is not a tribe or an ethnic entity, but, rather, a state of mind. As such, Amalek has existed since time immemorial and will continue to exist until Mashiach Tzidkanu (the righteous Messiah) comes and destroys evil. (Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 11:4)  The Rav underscores this point in footnote 23, in the original Hebrew text of Kol Dodi Dofek: “…Amalek still exists in the world. Go and see what the Torah says: ‘a war of Hashem with Amalek throughout all of the generations.’ If so, it is impossible that Amalek will be destroyed from this world before the arrival of the Messiah.” (Translation my own) Therefore, the Rav writes: “In the 1930’s and 1940’s the Nazis, with Hitler at their head, filled this role. They were the Amalekites, the standard-bearers of insane hatred and enmity during the era just past.” 
 
We must make no mistake about it. The ever-changing persona of Amalek has one undeniable goal: to destroy each and every member of the Jewish people in order to, chas v’shalom, obliterate Hashem’s name from the world. The Torah therefore commands us “Zachor!—Remember!” In so doing, we will join the Almighty is His battle against the forces of evil.
 
May Hashem grant us the strength to join Him in His righteous war against Amalek, and may we witness the time of Mashiach when the entire world will stand shoulder to shoulder in recognizing His truth and glory. Then, the words of Zechariah the prophet will finally be realized: “And Hashem shall become King over all the earth; on that day shall Hashem be one, and His name one.” (14:9)  May this time come soon, and in our days. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Parashat Terumah focuses on the various raw materials necessary to construct the Mishkan (Portable Sanctuary) and its holy kalim (vessels). Therein, we find a well-known pasuk that speaks to the general mitzvah of building the Mishkan: “V'asu li mikdash v’shachanti b’tocham—And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst.” (Sefer Shemot 25:8, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach). The very next pasuk, however, employs the word, “mishkan,” in place of mikdash: “According to all that I show you, the pattern of the Mishkan and the pattern of all its vessels; and so, shall you do.” Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar zatzal (1696-1743), known as the Or HaChaim Hakadosh after the name of his commentary on the Torah, addresses this change in terminology:
… It appears to me that when the Torah says, “v’asu li mikdash,” it is referring to the general positive commandment that incorporates all times, whether [the Jewish people were in] the desert or when they entered the land [Eretz Yisrael], as well as the entire period the Jewish people would dwell therein throughout the generations. [Moreover,] the Jewish people were obligated to create a mikdash, even in the Diaspora (galiot), [but were prevented from so doing, since] we find that Hashem forbade all other places [outside of Eretz Yisrael] from the point in time of the construction of the Beit HaMikdash, as it says in the Torah: “For you have not yet come to the resting place or to the inheritance, which the L-rd, your G-d, is giving you.” (Sefer Devarim 12:9)  This, then, is why the Torah does not declare, “v’asu li mishkan,” in order that we may understand that the creation of the mishkan was a mitzvah solely at that time… (Or HaChaim, Sefer Shemot 25:8, translation, brackets and paratheses my own)
 
According to the Or HaChaim, the Torah first utilizes the term, mikdash, and then mishkan, to teach us a crucial lesson: the mitzvah of the mikdash is obligatory at all times in Eretz Yisrael. In contrast, the mitzvah of the mishkan was time-bound, that is, its construction was a commandment to the Dor HaMidbar (Generation of the Desert) to create a temporary stand-in for the yet to be built Beit HaMikdash. As such, the Torah commands us, “v’asu li mikdash,” rather than “v’asu li mishkan.”
 
A different approach as to why the Mishkan was called mikdash is offered by Rabbeinu Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (1255–1340) in his Commentary on the Torah on our verse: “The Mishkan was called ‘mikdash’ because it was made holy through the indwelling of the Shechinah (b’shriat haShechinah). Then, too, it is possible to say that it was an earthly representation of the heavenly Beit HaMikdash.” (Translation my own)  In sum, the Mishkan was a makom mekudash (holy place) and called, “mikdash,” because Hashem’s holy presence was manifest therein, and it was a human reflection of the Beit HaMikdash in Shamayim. 
 
My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as the “Rav” by his followers and disciples, builds upon these ideas and notes that the ultimate purpose of the Mishkan, and, by extension, the Beit HaMikdash, was to reinstate the original relationship between the Almighty and Adam and Chava:
God created the world to reside in it, rather than to reside in transcendence. Man could have continually experienced Him instead of trying to infer His Presence through examining nature. But in the wake of the original sin of Adam and Eve, He retreated. And they heard the voice of the Lord God going in the garden to the direction of the sun, and the man and his wife hid from the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden (Gen. 3:8).  These “footsteps” were those of God leaving the garden and departing into infinity. Had they not sinned, God would always have been close. As a result of Adam’s hiding and fear of communicating with God in the wake of his sin, God removed His Divine Presence. The purpose of the tabernacle [Mishkan]was to restore the relationship between man and God. (Public lecture, Boston, 1979, cited in Chumash Mesoras HaRav, Sefer Shemot: with Commentary Based Upon the Teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Dr. Arnold Lustiger, editor, page 226, underlining my own
 
May the time come soon and, in our days, when the relationship between Hashem and the Jewish people is fully restored and His Shechinah once again dwells in the soon to be rebuilt Beit HaMikdash. V’chane yihi ratzon. 
 
Shabbat Shalom 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha concludes with the introduction to Kabbalat HaLuchot HaRishonim (Receiving of the First Tablets of the Law) by Moshe Rabbeinu: “And Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Come up to Me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets, the Law and the commandments, which I have written to instruct them.’ … and Moshe ascended to the mount of Elokim…” (Sefer Shemot 24:12-13)  These pasukim are a foundational source in establishing the theological principle of “Torah min HaShamayim—the Divine nature of the holy Torah.” Due to its singular import, the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) includes this doctrine in his celebrated 13 Principles of Faith (Yud Gimmel Ikkarim): “The eighth Principle of Faith is that the Torah has been revealed from Heaven. This implies our belief that the entire Torah found in our hands today is the [same as] that which was given to Moshe by the Omnipotent One.” (Mishnah Sanhedrin, Introduction to Perek Chalek, this and the following translations, J. Abelson with my extensive emendations)  
 
Hashem’s role at this transformative moment in world history is well-defined. What is less clear, however, is the part Moshe played in this process. Fortunately, the Rambam clarifies this issue: “Moshe was like a scribe writing from dictation who wrote down what he heard in its entirety, inclusive of its chronicles, its narratives and its mitzvot. It is in this sense that he is termed “mechokake—lawgiver.” (Sefer Bamidbar 21:18) The Rambam was exceptionally exact in his wording. As such, this statement informs us of the precise process in which Moshe was engaged, that is, that he did not create the mitzvot or compose the chronicles and narratives, as many have spuriously claimed. Instead, he acted as a faithful sofer (scribe) and recorded verbatim that which he heard from Hashem. Therefore, since every word of the Torah is divrei Hashem (the words of Hashem):

There is no difference between verses like “And the sons of Cham were Cush and Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan” (Sefer Bereishit 10:6) and… “I am Hashem your G-d,” (Sefer Shemot 20:2) and “Shema Yisrael,” (Sefer Devarim 6:4). They are equally of Divine origin and are within the category of the “Law of Hashem, which is perfect, pure, holy and true.” (See Sefer Tehillim 19:8)
 
In addition, the Rambam emphasizes that Moshe received the Oral Law (Torah she’beal peh) at the same time he received the Written Law (Torah she’bichtav). Consequently, Torah she’beal peh is a constitutive element of Torah min HaShamayim:

So, too, is its [that is, Torah she’bichtav] accepted interpretation (perushah hamekubal) [that is, Torah she’beal peh], directly from the Omnipotent One. And that which we do today regarding the form [tzurah, the manner of fulfilling the mitzvot] of succah, lulav, shofar, tzitzit and tefillin, and other mitzvot besides these, is precisely the same form that Hashem said to Moshe, and he subsequently said to us.
 
According to the Rambam, the direct proof text for Torah min HaShamayim is Sefer Bamidbar 16:28, wherein Moshe was aggressively challenged by Korach and his rebellious assembly: “Moshe said, ‘With this you shall know that Hashem sent me to do all these deeds, for they are not of my own device--ki lo m’libi.’” In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) explains the expression, “ki lo m’libi,” as “I [Moshe] did according to the word of Hashem(sh’asiti al pi hadibbur) and gave Aharon the kahuna gedolah, his sons the deputy kahuna, and Elitzaphon the leadership of b’nai Kehati.” (Translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  In stark contrast, the Rambam perceives the phrase, “ki lo m’libi,” in its most universal sense, that everything Moshe said to the Jewish people in Hashem’s name and did on their behalf, was al pi hadibbur mamash--according to the actual words of Hashem. In short, all that Moshe shared was Torah min HaShamayim.
 
May the Master of the Universe aid us in our acceptance and fulfillment of Torah min HaShamayim. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Parashat Yitro is preeminently the parasha of the Asseret Hadibrot (The Ten Statements). The first of these dibrotbegins with the famous words, “Anochi Hashem Elokecha (I am the L-rd your G-d), Who took you out of the land of Egypt), out of the house of bondage…” (Sefer Shemot 20:2, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  In his Commentary on the Torah on this verse, the Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194-1270) notes that the phrase, Anochi Hashem Elokecha, is a mitzvat asah (positive commandment) that Hashem tasked Moshe to:

… teach and command them [the Jewish people], in order that they should know and believe that Hashem exists, and He is their [sole] Elokim. This means, He is, and He was, and everything stems from Him, according to His will and [unlimited] ability. [Moshe also needed to instruct them that] He was their Elokim, and they were therefore obligated to serve Him. (Translation my own)
 
In Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 1:1, the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) formulates the mitzvah of Anochi Hashem Elokecha in this manner: “The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know (leida) that there is a Primary Being who brought into being all existence. All the beings of the heavens, the earth, and what is between them came into existence only from the truth of His being.” (All Rambam translations, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger)  My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, expands upon the Rambam’s formulation and in so doing, helps us to attain a deeper appreciation of what it means to know Hashem—leida et Hashem:

To know (leida) means that our conviction of the existence of God should become a constant and continuous awareness of the reality of God, a level of consciousness never marred by inattention… the term “to know” (leida) the reference is to a state of continuous awareness—that the belief in God should cause man to be in a state of perpetual affinity, of constant orientation. God should become a living reality that one cannot forget even for a minute. This keen awareness of the existence of God should constitute the foundation of our thoughts, ideas, and emotions in every kind of situation and under all conditions. Everything else inevitably depends upon this supreme article of faith. (On Repentance in the Thought and Oral Discourses of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, translated and edited from the Yiddish, Professor Pinchas HaKohen Peli, pages 145-146)
 
In sum, for the Rav, to know Hashem connotes “a constant and continuous awareness of the reality of God, a level of consciousness never marred by inattention.” This, in turn, strongly parallels the Rambam’s understanding of the love one should develop for Hashem: 
​
What is the proper [degree] of love? That a person should love God with a very great and exceeding love until his soul is bound up in the love of God. Thus, he will always be obsessed with this love as if he is lovesick. [A lovesick person’s] thoughts are never diverted from the love of that woman. He is always obsessed with her; when he sits down, when he gets up, when he eats and drinks. With an even greater [love], the love for God should be [implanted] in the hearts of those who love Him and are obsessed with Him at all times as we are commanded [Sefer Devarim 6:5: “Love God...] with all your heart and with all soul.” (Hilchot Teshuvah 10:3)
 
These ideas are reflected in the pasuk we recite at the conclusion of the first paragraph of the Aleinu: “And you shall know (v’ya’da’ta) this day and consider it in your heart, that the Lord He is God in Heaven above, and upon the earth below; there is none other (ain od melvado).” (Sefer Devarim 4:39)  With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may this guide and inspire us as we strive to draw near to Him, each and every day, v’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The protagonist of this week’s haftorah is the prophetess and judge Devorah: “Now Devorah was a woman prophetess, the wife of Lappidot; she judged Israel at that time.” (Sefer Shoftim 4:4, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  Chazal teach us in Talmud Bavli, Megillah 14a, that Devorah was one of the seven prophetesses: “Who were the seven prophetesses? Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Chana, Avigail, Chulda, and Esther.” It appears, as well, that she had the additional distinction of being one of the Judges (Shoftim) of the Jewish people—if we take the phrase, “she judged Israel at that time” (“hi shoftah et Yisrael ba’eit hahi”) at face value.
 
It seems that the phrase, “she judged Israel at that time,” should be understood in its literal sense, as the next pasuk states: “And she sat under the palm tree of Devorah, between Ramah and Beth-El, in the mountain of Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.” (Sefer Shoftim 4:5)  There is a fundamental halachic problem with this interpretation, however, since the fourth century Talmud Yerushalmi, Yoma 6:1 (32a) states: “… a woman may not judge” (“ain haisha danah”). Although the Rambam (1135-1204) does not explicitly include this ruling in his Mishneh Torah, it is found nearly verbatim in the Arba’ah Turim of Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher (1270-1340), and in Rabbi Yosef Karo’s (1488-1575) Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat, Hilchot Dayanim 7:4: “A woman is disqualified from judging” (“ishah pasulah l’don”). Given this clear-cut ruling, we must ask the simple and straightforward question: “Was Devorah really a judge?” The answer, as in many areas of halacha and hashkafah, is a resounding, “It depends on who you ask.”
 
Tosafot discuss Devorah’s status in a number of different tractates of the Talmud. One such source is Talmud Bavli Gittin 88b s.v. v’lo lifnei hedyotot. Initially, Tosafot opines that the phrase from Sefer Shoftim “she judged Israel at that time,” should not be taken literally, since it may very well mean “… perhaps she never rendered judgment at all, and [instead] she instructed [the judges] as to what the legal decisions ought to be.” (This, and the following Tosafot translation of this source, my own)  According to this view, although Devorah was a legal scholar who discussed cases with members of various batai din (Jewish courts), she was not an actual judge. It should be noted that this approach is followed by Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher in the above-cited section of the Arba’ah Turim. In contrast, Tosafot’s second approach suggests that Devorah was a practicing judge, and her mandate to adjudicate cases came directly from the Almighty: “Alternately, perhaps they [the Jewish people] had accepted her judicial authority upon themselves because of [a Divine pronouncement] from the Schechinah (Hashem’s immanent presence).” 
 
Devorah as a judge in practice—based upon Divine mandate—finds further support in Talmud Bavli, Megillah 14a, in one of the explanations of the phrase, “And she sat under the palm tree of Devorah:” “Just as this palm tree has but one heart [Rashi: “a central growing point”], so, too, did the Jewish people of that generation have but one heart (lev echad) directed to their Father in Heaven.” This explanation is particularly fascinating in that Devorah’s universal acceptance as a judge for klal Yisrael (the Jewish people) took place precisely because the heart of the Jewish people was unanimously directed to avinu she’b’shamayim (our Father in Heaven).
 
Chazal’s use of the term, lev echad, is reminiscent of Rashi’s gloss in Parashat Yitro on a celebrated phrase that precedes Kabbalat HaTorah (the Receiving of the Torah). Therein the Torah states: “and the Jewish people encamped (va’yichan Yisrael) there opposite the mountain.” (19:2)  Rashi focuses on the word, “va’yichan,” and notes that it is in the singular, rather than the plural, even though it refers to the entire Jewish nation. Consequently, he suggests this term connotes: “K’ish echad b’lev echad—like one man with one heart—but [that is, even though,] every other encampment was marred by complaints and arguments.”
 
In sum, our ancestors were united, and stood shoulder to shoulder in anticipation of receiving the Torah in order to serve avinu she’b’shamayim, just as they would in the time of Devorah HaNaviah. The message is clear: When we have achdut (unity) and a desire to draw closer to the Holy One blessed be He, then there is nothing that we cannot accomplish as a people. 
 
Shabbat Shalom 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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: The Rav

 ​Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Parashat Bo continues the Torah’s emphasis on events leading up to Yetziat Mitzraim (the Departure from Egypt) that began in the prior two parshiot of Sefer Shemot. At this juncture, we are introduced to two mitzvot that portray the singular import of the Exodus: The first is the mitzvah of Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim (13:3), the obligation to remember and mention the Exodus, and the second is the mitzvah of Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim, the recounting of the story of the Departure from Egypt (13:8).
 
The 13th century anonymous author of the Sefer HaChinuch, a work that analyzes the Taryag Mitzvot (the 613 Commandments), begins his discussion of Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim with this formulation: 

The commandment to recount the Exodus from Egypt: To retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan—each person according to their power of expression—to laud and to praise Hashem, may He be blessed, for all the miracles He performed for us there, as it is stated, “V’he’gaddatah l’vinchah… (“And you shall tell your son,” Sefer Shemot 13:8),” translation with my emendations, https://www.sefaria.org/Sefer_HaChinukh.21.1?lang=bi)
 
The Sefer HaChinuch does not discuss Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim, since it is nearly universally accepted among the Monei HaMitzvot (Compilers of the Taryag Mitzvot) that it is not counted among the 613 Commandments. In contrast, Rashi (1040-1105), in his gloss on the phrase, “zachor et hayom hazeh asher y’tzatem m’mitzraim (remember this day, on which you left Egypt, Sefer Shemot 13:8),” makes it clear that this statement represents a mitzvah of the Torah. Basing himself upon Midrash Mechilta d’Rabbi Yishmael, Parashat Bo 16, he explains “This teaches us that we have a daily [obligation] to mention the Exodus from Egypt.” My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, supports Rashi’s reading and notes that “regarding the truth of the matter, the mitzvah [that is, the daily obligation to mention the Exodus] was really stated in the verse, ‘zachor et hayom hazeh.’” (Shiurim l’Zacher Abba Mori, II, page 152, translation and brackets my own)  
 
It is clear that the mitzvot of Zechirat and Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim are firmly based upon pasukim in our parasha. Yet, if the Torah commands us to remember and mention Yetziat Mitzraim, why are we also obligated in the mitzvah of Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim? To borrow from the language of the Haggadah: Mah nishtanah mitzvat Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim m’mitzvat Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim (What is the difference between the mitzvah of Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim and Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim)? The Rav states that his father, HaRav Moshe Soloveitchik zatzal (1879-1941) shared the opinion of his father, HaRav Chaim Soloveitchik zatzal (1853-1918) on this matter, and noted four differences between these two mitzvot:

1. Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim is obligatory twice a day in the morning and at night, whereas Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim is mandatory only on the first night of Pesach (15th of Nissan).
2. Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim is fulfilled by merely mentioning the event, while Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim must contain a recitation of the specific miracles and wonders that the Holy One blessed be He performed for us in Egypt.
3. Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim is, a private mitzvah, that is, a person need only mention the Exodus to themselves. Based upon the actual wording of the source text, however, Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim diverges from this approach and requires that the story be told to one’s children and others present at the Seder.
4. Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim is not “a standalone mitzvah.” Rather, it stems from the mitzvah of Kriat Shema and the fulfillment of Kabbalat Ol Malchut Shamayim (Acceptance of the Yoke of Heaven). Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim, however, is its own mitzvah and is, therefore, included in the Taryag Mitzvot.

 
The Rav added another distinction: 
​
The obligation of remembering does not require a person to proclaim praise and thanks [to the Almighty,] whereas, Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim is not only [an act] wherein we recite the wonders and miracles that were done for us, rather, we have the additional responsibility to give praise and thanks [to Hashem] … (Shiurim l’Zacher Abba Mori, I, page 2, translation and brackets my own)
 
Whenever we recite Kriat Shema, we have the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of Zechirat Mitzraim. May the Almighty help us do so with kavanah (focus and intent) and may this spiritual awareness lead to a powerful recognition of the wonders and miracles He performed for us at that time, enabling us to praise and thank Him when we recount the story of Yetziat Mitzraim. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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: The Rav

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Pesach, the most widely observed chag of the Shalosh Regalim, is preeminently the time when families and friends join together at the Seder and recite the Haggadah. One of the many highlights of this experience is the presentation of the Eser Makkot (Ten Plagues), which have become one of the most celebrated aspects of the Pesach story. Precisely because they are so well-known, however, there is a danger that some among us may lose sight of their miraculous nature. As we find in Pirkei Avot: “Ten nissim (miracles) were performed for our forefathers in Egypt… Ten makkot were wrought by G-d upon the Egyptians in Egypt.” (5:4, translation, Rabbi Yosef Marcus with my emendations)
 
The first seven makkot are found in our parasha, and the final three in Parashat Bo. As such, the time of these Torah readings is an ideal opportunity to ask ourselves, “Since the Master of the Universe could have visited any kind of plague upon the Egyptians, why did He choose precisely these ten?” A revealing answer is found in the midrashic work, Seder Eliyahu Rabbah:

The Holy One blessed be He brought ten plagues upon the Egyptians; and all were brought upon them solely as a result of what they planned to do, [and did against,] the Jewish people. This is the case, since the words [and deeds] of the Holy One blessed be He are absolute truth and operate with the principle of middah k’neged middah (measure for measure). Therefore, no evil action goes forth from Him, only good (that is, fitting) actions. Moreover, [seemingly] negative behaviors are actualized against people, [as in the case of the Eser Makkot,] as a result of their twisted and perverse actions … (7:8, this and the following translation and brackets my own)
 
In sum, each of the Eser Makkot is a middah k’neged middah response by the Almighty to the evil behaviors of the Egyptians against our people. A particularly telling proof of this concept is offered by this midrash (7:15) in its analysis of Makkat Barad (the Plague of Hail):
Why was barad brought upon them? This is because the Egyptians forced the Jewish people to plant gardens, orchards, [vineyards] and all manner of trees. [They forced them to undertake this activity] to prevent them from returning to their homes so they would be unable [to engage in marital intimacy and bring forth] more children. Therefore, the Holy One blessed be He brought the Plague of Hail upon them that destroyed all the plantings in which the Jewish people had been engaged. As the texts state: “He destroyed their grapevines with hail…” (Sefer Tehillim 78:47) … “the hail struck all the vegetation of the field, and it broke all the trees of the field.” (Sefer Shemot 9:25)
 
The barad sent by the Almighty was completely beyond the Laws of Nature: “And there was hail, and fire flaming within the hail, very heavy, the likes of which had never been throughout the entire land of Egypt since it had become a nation.” (Sefer Shemot 9:24, this and the following Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach).  Rashi (1040-1105), basing himself on Midrash Tanchuma 14:10, develops this theme by noting the nase b’toch nase (miracle within a miracle) composition of the barad: “[This was] a miracle within a miracle. The fire and hail intermingled. Although hail is water, to perform the will of their Maker they made peace between themselves [so that the hail did not extinguish the fire nor did the fire melt the hail].” In addition, Midrash Tanchuma brings a mashal (parable) to help us grasp the meaning of this unique double nase:

To what may this be compared? To two powerful legionaries who have despised each other for a long time. When their king became involved in a war, he made peace between them so that they would go forth together to fulfill the king’s command. Similarly, though fire and hail are hostile to each other, when the time for war with Egypt came, the Holy One, blessed be He, made peace between them and they smote Egypt. Hence it is said: “The fire flashing up amidst the hail.” When an Egyptian was seated, he would be pummeled by hail; when he arose, he would be scorched by fire in conformity to the punishments meted out to wicked men in the netherworld… (Translation, Samuel A. Berman, with my emendations)
 
The miraculous nature of the Eser Makkot represented the perfect vehicle for teaching the greatness of Hashem. The Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194-1270) gives powerful voice to this idea in his Commentary on the Torah, Sefer Shemot 13:16:

Now when G-d is pleased to bring about a change in the customary and natural order of the world for the sake of a people or an individual [that is, a miracle], then the voidance of all these [false beliefs] becomes clear to all people, since a wondrous miracle shows that the world has a G-d Who created it, and Who knows and supervises it, and Who has the power to change it…This is why Scripture says in connection with the wonders [in Egypt]: “in order that you know that I am Hashem in the midst of the earth” (Sefer Shemot 8:18), which teaches us the principle of providence (hashgacha), that is, that G-d has not abandoned the world to chance, as they [the heretics] would have it; “in order that you know that the earth is Hashem’s” (9:29), which informs us of the principle of creation, for everything is His since He created all out of nothing; “in order that you know that there is none like Me in the entire earth” (9:14), which indicates His might, that is, that He rules over everything and that there is nothing to withhold Him. The Egyptians either denied or doubted all of these principles, [and the miracles confirmed their truth]. Accordingly, it follows that the great signs and wonders constitute “trustworthy witnesses” (Sefer Yeshayahu 8:2) to the truth of the belief in the existence of the Creator and the truth of the whole Torah. (Translation, Rabbi Dr. Charles B. Chavel, with my emendations)
 
For the Ramban, the Eser Makkot emerge as one of history’s greatest heuristic devices, as they are exemplars of nissim that teach us Hashem created (bara et HaOlam) and runs the world (hashgacha), that “He rules over everything,” and that there is nothing beyond His control. With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may these essential principles of emunah (belief) guide our thoughts and actions each and every day. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
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