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Shabbos Mevarchim Chodesh Iyar

Rosh Chodesh will be Monday and Tuesday

The Molad for Iyar will be on Sunday night {Apr 27},

30 minutes and two chalokim after 8

Transitions: Yom HaZikaron to Yom Ha’atzmaut

On Wednesday and Thursday of this coming week, Yom HaZikaron (Israel Memorial Day) will transition into Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day). It’s an interesting shift from the solemn to the celebratory, which finds a parallel in this week’s parashah.

On the eighth and final day of the Mishkan’s inauguration, a day that should have been filled with unmitigated joy, tragedy struck. Aharon’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, died. They had made a miscalculation, attempting to connect to the Divine through an unauthorized fire offering, and in the process lost their lives. The Midrashim and commentators discuss the root of their sin, but whatever the mistake was, it was committed by two of the greatest men of their generation. This can be seen from the fact that after their death, Moshe tells Aharon, Of this did Hashem speak, when He said, “I will be sanctified through those who are close to Me” (Vayikra 10:3). Nadav and Avihu were “those who are close to Me.” They were tzadikim, whose loss was keenly felt.

Nevertheless, Moshe tells their cousins to remove their bodies, and he tells Aharon and his remaining sons that they should not exhibit outward signs of mourning. In the words of our Sages, “remove the corpse from the presence of the bride, so as not to disturb the rejoicing of the wedding” (Vayikra Rabbah 20:4 cited by Rashi, Vayikra 10:4).

The pain was still felt. Certainly, the celebration was affected. In fact, a few pesukim later the Torah notes that one of the offerings of the day was not eaten because the family was in a state of mourning. And as Moshe acknowledges in the end, they were right in abstaining from partaking in that offering. The “wedding” went on, but the loss was not ignored.

This Yom Hazikaron, like that of last year’s, carries a particular heaviness. The recent loss of hundreds of men and women who heroically gave their lives for their brothers and sisters, protecting their country and ours, is a loss that is still very fresh. The pain is real. The Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration that follows is certainly affected. But it remains a celebration, where we express Hakaros HaTov to Hashem for the amazing gift of Israel, a Jewish country, in our homeland, that these men and women fought to uphold, protect, and preserve. May Hashem continue to watch over His holy land and His holy people, and may we share in besuros tovos with the return of the hostages, the removal of evil from our midst, and the advent of a real and enduring peace בב''א.

Wishing you all a Good Shabbos and a Yom Ha’atzmaut Sameach.

Rabbi Moskovitz

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Groups of Plagues and Lessons Learned

One of the highlights of the Haggadah is our recounting of the Ten Plagues (Makkos). Those miraculous plagues were not simply a punishment for the Egyptians. Rather, as we will see, they served a crucial educational purpose as well, teaching the Egyptians and by extension, us as well, Hashem’s complete mastery over all of creation.

Firstly, the plagues moved in an orderly direction. They started from the bottom – i.e., the water (blood), and what was in the water (frogs). They then moved up to the land itself (lice) and what was on the land (wild beasts, pestilence, boils); then upwards to the atmosphere (hail, flying locust, darkness), and finally to the world of the spirit (the souls of the firstborn). In doing so, the plagues progressively showed Hashem’s control over all facets of existence (Maharal, Gevuros Hashem 34).

Not only that, though, they did so in an orderly way. As per the famous mnemonic of R’ Yehudah – דצ''ך עד''ש באח''ב, datzach, adash. b’achav – the plagues were in fact organized into three groups, each teaching its own specific lesson about Hashem’s control. In short, the plagues – in these groupings – came to prove three points: 1) Hashem’s existence, 2) His involvement in and management of the world, and 3) His absolute Omnipotence. They did so as follows:

דצ''ך – The first three plagues (blood, frogs, lice), came to prove Hashem’s existence. Moshe is told to introduce them to Pharaoh with the declaration, Through this shall you know that I am Hashem (Shemos 7:17). After each of those plagues, Pharaoh called his necromancers to try and emulate the plagues, until finally, after lice they no longer could. Finally, they admitted, “It is the finger of Gd!” (Shemos 8:18). Hashem’s existence was proven.

עד''ש – The next three plagues (wild beasts, pestilence, and boils), came to prove Hashem’s involvement and management of this world. Accordingly, they were introduced with the declaration, so that you will know that I am Hashem in the midst of the land (Shemos 8:18), i.e., not a distant uninvolved Gd, but One who is “in the midst of the land.” Indeed, with the first of those plagues, Hashem specifically notes I shall set apart the land of Goshen upon which My people stands, that there shall be no swarm [of beasts] there (ibid). The point that Hashem not only exists but is involved, punishing the wicked and protecting the innocent, was now proven as well.

באח''ב – finally, the last grouping of plagues (hail, locust, darkness, and killing of the firstborn), came to deliver the message that Hashem’s power is unmatched, and so they were introduced with the declaration: so that you shall know that there is none like Me in all the world (Ibid 9:14). Indeed, each of these plagues was unique and unparalleled: “hail, such as there has never been in Egypt” (ibid. v. 18), “there was never a locust-swarm like it and after it there will not be its equal” (ibid. 10:14), a darkness that was thick and palpable, and the plucking of the firstborn from each home. Even Pharaoh had to admit that there is no other being that could perform such wonders. Hashem’s Omnipotence was proven (see Gur Aryeh Shemos 9:14).

The Makkos were not just a lesson to Pharaoh. They remain a lesson to us, our children and future generations as well. We joyously recount those Makkos at our sedarim, not just for the justice contained within them, but for the lessons they continue to impart to us. Hashem indeed exists, runs the world, and is All-powerful – then, now, and forever!

Wishing you a Chag Kasher V’sameach!

Rabbi Moskovitz

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Shabbos Mevarchim Chodesh Nisan

Rosh Chodesh will be Sunday.

The Molad for Nisan will be on Shabbos morning {Mar 29},

46 minutes and one cheilek after 7

The Cap of the Book of Shemos

This week’s parashah, Pikudei, is the conclusion of Sefer Shemos (the Book of Exodus). Sefer Shemos began with the descent of the Jewish People into Egypt and our slavery there. It then moved on to discuss our miraculous redemption, our travels to Sinai, our receiving the Torah and its aftermath, and concludes with the construction of the Mishkan.

Ramban (introduction to Sefer Shemos) explains that the very end of our parashah sheds light on the message of the entire Sefer Shemos. After discussing the successful construction of the Mishkan and Moshe having set it up, the final verses of Pikudei state: The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Hashem filled the Tabernacle… the cloud of Hashem would be on the Tabernacle by day, and fire would be on it at night, before the eyes of all of the House of Israel throughout their journeys (Shemos 40:34,38).

With these concluding verses of Sefer Shemos, the Torah notes how the Jewish People came full circle. How so? Sefer Bereishis (Genesis), explains Ramban, is the “book of creation of the world and the story of the Forebearers of the Jewish People.” Understood correctly, it contains within it the future story of the Jewish People, for the story of our Avos (Forefathers) is a portent for us, their children (מעשה אבות סימן לבנים). Their lives are effectively the outline of our story, much like a baby’s DNA spells out its development.

The next sefer, Sefer Shemos, then is the beginning of the unfolding of that story; starting with the first exile decreed upon the descendants of Avraham at the Covenant Between the Pieces (see Bereishis 15:13) and our redemption therefrom. But the sefer does not end with the splitting of the sea, when we were freed from Egyptian tyranny. Rather it takes us all the way through to the end of our parashah, when the Cloud of Glory filled the Mishkan. Why? Because back in Sefer Bereishis the Shechinah was a fixture in the lives of our Avos. In the words of our Sages (Bereishis Rabbah 47:6), האבות הן הן המרכבה, The Patriarchs are the chariot [of the Omnipresent], so to speak. His Presence rested upon their tents and was manifest in every aspect of their lives.

Simply leaving Egypt was not enough. Rather to achieve redemption, we would need to come full circle. The Shechinah would need to return to us, the children of the Patriarchs. And return it did! The cloud of Hashem would be on the Tabernacle by day, and fire would be on it at night, before the eyes of all of the House of Israel. And with that we were redeemed from Egypt, and ready to move on to our destiny in the Promised Land.

Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom / Good Shabbos

Rabbi Moskovitz