Dedicated l’iluy nishmas Matisyahu ben Henoch
With Our Children We Will Go
Photo: Rabbinical School by Roy Lindman
When Moshe and Aharon threaten the plague of locusts at the beginning of our reading, Paro’s advisors tell him that he truly must let them go, asking rhetorically, “do you not realize that Egypt is lost?” [Ex. 10:7].
Paro then brings Moshe and Aharon back, but asks them who will be going out into the desert to worship. They respond, “with our youth and with our elders we will go,” meaning everyone, of every age. Paro refuses, but only because of the children. He responds: “It will truly be that Hashem is with you, when I send you out and the little children; see that evil is before you. Not so, the adults should please go and serve Hashem, because that is what you are asking for” [10:10-11]. And with that, Moshe and Aharon were pushed out from before Paro, to bring down the plague of locusts.
Why was Paro so incensed at the idea that the children would go along, that he was willing to risk another plague? He was convinced to let the Jews go until he learned that one detail. And then he reversed course. Why?
Paro intended to get rid of all the Jews, through enslavement and killing their baby boys. He knew that simply allowing the Jewish children to see the parents worship Hashem would educate them in how to pray and follow Him.
In other words, Paro knew that the education children receive, especially when guided by their parents, sets them on a particular path for life. And that was what he wanted to prevent.
This is why, throughout years of exile and up to the present day, Jewish education has been seen as critical for preservation of the Jewish nation. The best thing we can give our children is a Jewish future, and that begins with the foundations of Jewish schooling. Even Paro knew how valuable Jewish education is to Jews!
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Yaakov Menken
How long were the ten plagues?
See it at JewishAnswers.org
Question:
How long did the ten plagues last?
Answer:
According to the Mishnah (Eduyos 2:10), the punishment of the Egyptians lasted for 12 months. This implies about a month for each plague; some say that each plague lasted for a week and was preceded by a three-week warning, and some say the reverse. According to both of these views, the time between the first and tenth plagues (inclusive) was at least ten months. But others say that the plagues lasted for only about 10 weeks. In fact, the Torah says that the first plague lasted seven days (Ex.7:25), and some of the plagues lasted less than seven days; the darkness lasted three days (Ex.10:23), and the firstborn died at midnight of one night.
Yours,
Rabbi Azriel Schreiber
Bo – What Does the Word Teshuva Mean?
Rabbi Yakov Bronsteyn
Hear it at TorahMedia.com
Rabbi Bronsteyn is the West Coast Kashrus Administrator for the world renowned Star-K Kosher Certification. Rabbi Bronsteyn is one of the four “Founding Fathers” of the Phoenix Community Kollel. He was raised in Lawrence, New York. While studying in both the US & Israel, he earned a Bachelors in Economics from Queens College & was ordained at Yeshiva Mercaz Hatorah in Jerusalem. As a well seasoned senior lecturer, he offers popular public classes in the community & other venues in the greater Phoenix area.
Questions or comments? Email Rabbi Bronsteyn at [email protected]
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The Stroke of Midnight
By Rabbi Naftali Reich
Egypt was in ruins, utterly devastated by the first nine plagues. The cities were reduced topiles of rubble, with dead and wounded everywhere. Bloated carcasses of livestock littered fields denuded of crops and vegetation. The rivers and irrigation ditches were polluted and lifeless. Now it was time to administer the coup de grace. The tenth and final plague, the death of all the firstborn, would sweep away the last vestige of resistance in Egyptian hearts, and they would finally release the Jewish people from bondage.
As the time of the Exodus draws near, Hashem instructs Moses to warn Pharaoh about the impending death of all the Egyptian firstborn “at the stroke of midnight.” Moses, however, made a small revision in this statement when he transmitted it to Pharaoh. Instead of saying “at the stroke of midnight,” he tells Pharaoh that the firstborn will die “near midnight.”
Why did he do this? The Sages explain that Moses was concerned the Egyptian astrologers might be somewhat less than accurate in their time-keeping. It was thus possible that the plague would indeed commence precisely at the stroke of midnight but that the astrologers would think it was a few minutes before or after midnight. Pharaoh might then be encouraged to mock Hashem’s might by accusing Him of being off in his timing and continue to resist. Therefore, in order to defend the honor of Hashem, Moses told him the plague would take place “near midnight.”