Parsha Va-Era
D’ Var Torah
Shabbat
Saturday, January 11, 2013
Vayetze Moshe
me'im Par'oh et-ha'ir vayifros kapav el-HASHEM vayachdelu hakolot vehabarad
umatar lo-nitach artzah.
Moses went
out from Pharaoh, from the city, and he stretched out his hands to G-D; the
thunder and hail ceased, and rain did not reach the earth.
Vayar Par'oh
ki-chadal hamatar vehabarad vehakolot vayosef lachato vayachbed libo hu
va'avadav.
Pharaoh saw
that the rain, the hail, and the thunder ceased, and he continued to sin; and he
made his heart stubborn, he and his servants!
Vayechezak lev Par'oh velo shilach et-benei
Yisrael ka'asher diber HASHEM beyad-Moshe.
Pharaoh's
heart became strong and wicked again, and he did not send out the Children of
Israel, as G-D had spoken through Moses and as promised to Moses and Aaron.
This is the
last paragraph of this week’s parsha (portion). Let’s look at what has happened
up to this point, and the Pharaoh’s decision NOT to “LET My PEOPLE GO!” as
exclaimed by Aaron and Moses through that of G-D.
Through the
help of Aaron and Moses, G-d speaks to the Pharaoh and asks, for freedom of the
Israelites “LET MY PEOPLE GO”, and to no avail! So Aaron and Moses deliver
G-d’s message of what is going to transpire if the freedom does not get
granted! Bring on The plagues! Every child’s and some adult’s favorite part
of the Passover Seder; Yelling out-loud the 10 plagues! This parsha (portion) covers the first seven;
let’s take a look:
1. Plague of
blood: Ex. 7:14–25
“ This
is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD: With the staff
that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed
into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink and thus
the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water. ”
— Exodus 7:17–18
The first
plague was blood. God instructed Moses to dip the top his staff in the river
Nile; all of its water turned into blood. As a result of the blood, the fish of
the Nile died, filling Egypt with an awful stench. Other water resources used
by the Egyptians were turned to blood as well (7:19). Pharaoh's sorcerers
demonstrated that they too could turn water into blood, and Pharaoh therefore
made no concession to Moses' demands.
2. Plague of
frogs: Ex. 7:25–8:11
“ This
is what the great LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If
you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. The
Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom
and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and
into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will go up on you and your people
and all your officials. ”
— Exodus 8:1–4
The second
plague of Egypt was frogs. God commanded Moses to tell Aaron to stretch the staff
over the water, and hordes of frogs came and overran Egypt. Pharaoh's sorcerers
were also able to duplicate this plague with their magic. However, since they
were unable to remove it, Pharaoh was forced to grant permission for the
Israelites to leave so that Moses would agree to remove the frogs. To prove
that the plague was actually a divine punishment, Moses let Pharaoh choose the
time that it would end. Pharaoh chose the following day, and all the frogs died
the next day. Nevertheless, Pharaoh rescinded his permission, and the
Israelites stayed in Egypt.
3. Plague of
lice or gnats: Ex. 8:12–15
“ Then
the LORD said […] "Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land,
that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt." […] When Aaron
stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats
came upon men and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became
lice. ”
— Exodus 8:16–17
The third
plague of Egypt was lice. The Hebrew noun could be translated as lice, gnats,
or fleas.[30] God instructed Moses to tell Aaron to take the staff and strike
at the dust, which turned into a mass of lice that the Egyptians could not get
rid of. The Egyptian sorcerers declared that this act was "the finger of
God" since they were unable to reproduce its effects with their magic.
4. Plague of
flies or wild animals : Ex. 8:20–32
“ This
is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you do
not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your officials,
on your people and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full
of flies, and even the ground where they are. ”
— Exodus 8:20–21
The fourth
plague of Egypt was of animals capable of harming people and livestock. The
Torah emphasizes that the arov ("mixture" or "swarm") only
came against the Egyptians, and that it did not affect the Land of Goshen
(where the Israelites lived). Pharaoh asked Moses to remove this plague and
promised to allow the Israelites' freedom. However, after the plague was gone,
Pharaoh "hardened his heart," and again refused to keep his promise.
5. Plague of pestilence:
Ex. 9:1–7
“ This
is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: "Let my people go, so that
they may worship me." If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold
them back, the hand of the LORD will bring a terrible plague on your livestock
in the field—on your horses and donkeys and camels and on your cattle and sheep
and goats. ”
— Exodus 9:1–3
The fifth
plague of Egypt was an epidemic disease which exterminated the Egyptian
livestock; that is, horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats. The
Israelites' cattle were unharmed. Once again, Pharaoh made no concessions.
6. Plague of
boils : Ex. 9:8–12
The sixth
plague of Egypt was a kind of skin disease, usually translated as
"boils". God commanded Moses and Aaron to each take two handfuls of
soot from a furnace, which Moses scattered skyward in Pharaoh's presence. The
soot induced festering Skin eruptions on Egyptian men and livestock. The
Egyptian sorcerers were afflicted along with everyone else, and were unable to
heal themselves, much less the rest of Egypt.
7. Plague of
hail: Ex. 9:13–35
“ This
is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they
may worship me, or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against
you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is
no one like me in all the earth. For by now I could have stretched out my hand
and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the
earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my
power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. You still set
yourself against my people and will not let them go. Therefore, at this time
tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from
the day it was founded till now. Give an order now to bring your livestock and
everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will
fall on every man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in
the field, and they will die. […] The LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning
flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail
fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the
land of Egypt since it had become a nation. ”
— Exodus 9:13–24
The seventh
plague of Egypt was a destructive storm. God commanded Moses to stretch his
staff skyward, at which point the storm commenced. It was even more evidently
supernatural than the previous plagues, a powerful shower of hail intermixed
with fire. The storm heavily damaged Egyptian orchards and crops, as well as
people and livestock. The storm struck all of Egypt except for the Land of
Goshen. Pharaoh asked Moses to remove this plague and promised to allow the
Israelites to worship God in the desert, saying "This time I have sinned;
God is righteous, I and my people are wicked." As a show of God's mastery
over the world, the hail stopped as soon as Moses began praying to God.
However, after the storm ceased, Pharaoh again "hardened his heart"
and refused to keep his promise.
Pretty awful
things happened with those seven plagues upon Egypt, and The Pharaoh was so
hardened and stubborn, and still didn’t budge and allow for the freedom of the
Israelites! We all know, or should know, the outcome and the remainder of the
biblical venture!
My most
sincere concern must be shared now; we are in the year 2013ce, and take a look
around us, take a deep look into OUR
modern world, dissect and really think about what’s going on in front of us:
Starvation, Excessive pollution, Rape, Massive and Unexplained murdering,
Slavery and trafficking, Misusage of substances (legal and Illegal), Global
Warming (Hello? Houston, TX had 90*f in December??, Jerusalem is having SNOW
now!!!!), Aids, Cancer, The West Nile Virus………….. I can keep adding to the
list, but I shall stop!
(Long pause)
IS G-D TRYING
TO RELAY A MESSEGE OR TELL US SOMETHING IMPORTANT? REMEMBER, HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.
Let’s
make our proactive, positive and faithful impact NOW, and not wait for the next
sign of a modern plague, number 8……..
-Amen-
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