Va'eira

Hashem tells Moshe that He has heard the cries of the Jewish people who are enslaved in Egypt and that Moshe should go tell them that he will redeem the Jewish people, save them from the crushing burdens of Mitzraim, make them into his special nation and bring them into the of Israel. Moshe goes to the Jewish people to give them the news that soon they would be free; instead of the rejoicing one would expect, the Torah tells us לא שמעו אל משה מקצר רוח ומעבדה קשה, they didn't listen to Moshe because of shortness of breath and hard work. Hashem then commands Moshe to go to Pharaoh to tell him to send the Jewish people out of his land. Moshe replies, if the Jewish people wouldn't listen to me then surely Pharaoh won't listen to me.  

All the commentators ask what was the comparison? The Jewish people didn't listen to him because of   מקצר רוח ומעבדה קשה; they were overworked and could hardly breathe. Pharaoh, who didn't have any of those issues, perhaps would listen, so why was Moshe so sure Pharaoh wouldn't listen?

Rav Yosef Tzvi Ha’Levi explains,the Jewish people knew that this Egyptian exile was predestined for them from the time that Hashem had told Avraham that his children would be slaves. They also knew that the exile was supposed to last four hundred years. Since it was only two hundred and ten years, they were reluctant to get their hopes up and believe that the redemption was coming early. What Moshe told them was that it was actually the time.  He then gave them two reasons for the early redemption: first was מקצר רוח, translating it as if it was written מקוצר רוחניות, from a lack of spirituality, for we know they had already sunk to the lowest levels of impurity and second from ומעבדה קשה, the hard work; the work that they had to do was so hard that it fulfilled the hardships of four hundred years in only two hundred and ten. That’s what the posuk meant when it states that they didn't listen to him because of מקצר רוח ומעבדה קשה; they wouldn't listen to his explanations of why they were able to get out early. Now Moshe claim about Pharaoh is valid; if the Jews who stand to gain wouldn’t believe his reasons for the early redemption, surely Pharaoh, who has only to lose, won't listen to his reasons for the early redemption.      

At a family gathering, the Chafetz Chaim was lamenting about the state of his generation whom he felt were lacking in אמונה, belief in Hashem. The ר"מ בישיבת ראדין Reb Naftali said to him, what do you expect? Even when the Jews were in Egypt, they remembered the Avos and the Shevatim and knew that there was an end to their exile. Yet, the harshness of the exile made them fall into the darkest level of impurity. We, who are quite distant from the avos with no end in sight to our exile, why are you surprised that our אמונה is weak? The Chafetz Chaim said to him “excellent point; you will be an advocate for the Jewish people and your words should reach the heavenly throne".

Today, we must consider this same point. How can we, with no end in sight to out exile and with impurities all around us, increase our level of belief in Hashem?

Later in the Parsha, Hashem tells Moshe ראה נתתיך אלקים לפרעה; see I made you a lord over Pharaoh. The 'של"ה הק explains from the Midrash that when Moshe was a small child living in Pharaoh's palace, while riding on Pharaoh's shoulders, he took the crown off of Pharaoh and put it on his own head. Pharaoh saw this as a sign that Moshe would take his kingdom from him and therefore wanted to have him killed. The Angel Gavriel appeared as one of his advisers and told him to do a test with a hot coal and gold to see which he takes. If he takes the coal, you know he's harmless. With the angel’s help, Moshe selects the coal and puts it in his mouth which made it difficult for Moshe to speak clearly.

When Moshe came before Pharaoh to warn him and Pharaoh heard him speaking, he remembered the whole story of how Moshe got that speech impediment, realizing that his initial belief was correct. Moshe was going to try to take his kingdom from him. Now he was powerless to kill him. Many times we do something which, at the time, seems like the right decision, yet a little later on we realize that’s just what we didn't want to happen. Similarly, Pharaoh was correct in his reasoning to kill Moshe but then decided not to which came back to haunt him and his worst fears were realized. Why did that happen?  It’s because Hashem had different plans and worked it out that Moshe would be around to deliver the Jews from Egypt. Maybe if we take this to heart and recognize that Hashem is in control we will be able to strengthen our belief and Hashem will send someone once again to redeem us!

Shemos

As Hashem argues with Moshe regarding the mission to go down to Egypt to save the Jews, Moshe says to Him,“Send as Your emissary the one that You usually send”.  Rashi explains that he is referring to Aaron, for Moshe did not want to take the leadership away from his older brother, who was also a Navi. Hashem gets angry at Moshe for worrying about Aaron being upset and responds, “Not only isn't he upset, but he's coming to greet you with joy in his heart."

The Midrash adds that had Aaron known that Hashem would write that he went out happily to greet Moshe, he would have gone out with trumpets & drums to greet him.  The obvious question is would someone as great as Aaron have acted differently just because his behavior would be publicized?

Otzros Hatorah quotes the sefer קהלת יצחק who explains: we need to understand whether Moshe & Aaron were equal in stature.  If so, Aaron was older so why was he not the one appointed as the leader? רב הלל א"בד סואלק explains based on the gemara which relates the story about a drought in the land. Reb Eliezer went up to the pulpit to pray for rain but wasn't answered. Then, Rebbi Akiva went up & was answered.

The people then chattered about how Rebbi Akiva must be greater than Reb Eliezer until a Bas Kol established that it is not that one of them is greater than the other, rather Rebbi Akiva was answered because he is מעביר על מדותיו while Reb Eliezer is not. If that’s the case, one must wonder how they can be equal?  Rebbi Akiva overcomes his character traits while Reb Eliezer does not.  In actuality, neither one was greater than the other. However, Rebbi Akiva was the son of converts about whom chazal tell us their natural tendency to do bad is much greater. That is the reason the Torah warns us not to antagonize the convert. Therefore, Rebbi Akiva had to work much harder to control his natural character traits whereas Reb Eliezer, who was born into a holy family, didn't have to work as hard.  His natural tendencies were for good.  

The reason Rebbi Akiva was answered was that the harder it is for one, the more he is rewarded. Since he worked so hard to get where he was, he was answered as a reward but not because he was any greater.  Here, too, Moshe & Aaron were equal. However, Moshe was born with bad character traits while Aaron was born with good ones. In order for one to lead the nation, one has to be able to control it & be able to take charge in any situation. Moshe, who was tough by nature, had the character needed as he demonstrated by how he took charge, both at the time of Korach, & the Eigle. Aaron, by contrast, was a loving, kindhearted man who would have been too soft hearted to lead. One was not greater than the other; their natures were merely different.

When Hashem told Moshe to go lead, Moshe thought that Aaron would be upset. Therefore, Hashem told Aaron to go out & greet him to demonstrate he wasn't upset at all. In truth, Aaron should have gone out with drums & trumpets to show that there was no jealousy. However, Aaron, who was such a good hearted person, never even thought that Moshe would be jealous & that's why Hashem had told him to go greet him. Therefore he saw no need to bring a band. This is what the Midrash is saying: had he known that Hashem was telling him to go out & greet Moshe because Moshe thought that he would be jealous, then he would have brought the band to show that there wasn't even a drop of jealousy in him.

We have to learn from Aaron not to let jealousy be a part of us. If we truly believe that Hashem controls the world & gives each one of us exactly what we are supposed to have, then there can be no reason for jealousy. If we don't have it, then we must trust that we don't need it!

Shemos

As Hashem argues with Moshe regarding the mission to go down to Egypt to save the Jews, Moshe says to Him,“Send as Your emissary the one that You usually send”.  Rashi explains that he is referring to Aaron, for Moshe did not want to take the leadership away from his older brother, who was also a Navi. Hashem gets angry at Moshe for worrying about Aaron being upset and responds, “Not only isn't he upset, but he's coming to greet you with joy in his heart."

The Midrash adds that had Aaron known that Hashem would write that he went out happily to greet Moshe, he would have gone out with trumpets & drums to greet him.  The obvious question is would someone as great as Aaron have acted differently just because his behavior would be publicized?

Otzros Hatorah quotes the sefer קהלת יצחק who explains: we need to understand whether Moshe & Aaron were equal in stature.  If so, Aaron was older so why was he not the one appointed as the leader? רב הלל א"בד סואלק explains based on the gemara which relates the story about a drought in the land. Reb Eliezer went up to the pulpit to pray for rain but wasn't answered. Then, Rebbi Akiva went up & was answered.

The people then chattered about how Rebbi Akiva must be greater than Reb Eliezer until a Bas Kol established that it is not that one of them is greater than the other, rather Rebbi Akiva was answered because he is מעביר על מדותיו while Reb Eliezer is not. If that’s the case, one must wonder how they can be equal?  Rebbi Akiva overcomes his character traits while Reb Eliezer does not.  In actuality, neither one was greater than the other. However, Rebbi Akiva was the son of converts about whom chazal tell us their natural tendency to do bad is much greater. That is the reason the Torah warns us not to antagonize the convert. Therefore, Rebbi Akiva had to work much harder to control his natural character traits whereas Reb Eliezer, who was born into a holy family, didn't have to work as hard.  His natural tendencies were for good.  

The reason Rebbi Akiva was answered was that the harder it is for one, the more he is rewarded. Since he worked so hard to get where he was, he was answered as a reward but not because he was any greater.  Here, too, Moshe & Aaron were equal. However, Moshe was born with bad character traits while Aaron was born with good ones. In order for one to lead the nation, one has to be able to control it & be able to take charge in any situation. Moshe, who was tough by nature, had the character needed as he demonstrated by how he took charge, both at the time of Korach, & the Eigle. Aaron, by contrast, was a loving, kindhearted man who would have been too soft hearted to lead. One was not greater than the other; their natures were merely different.

When Hashem told Moshe to go lead, Moshe thought that Aaron would be upset. Therefore, Hashem told Aaron to go out & greet him to demonstrate he wasn't upset at all. In truth, Aaron should have gone out with drums & trumpets to show that there was no jealousy. However, Aaron, who was such a good hearted person, never even thought that Moshe would be jealous & that's why Hashem had told him to go greet him. Therefore he saw no need to bring a band. This is what the Midrash is saying: had he known that Hashem was telling him to go out & greet Moshe because Moshe thought that he would be jealous, then he would have brought the band to show that there wasn't even a drop of jealousy in him.

We have to learn from Aaron not to let jealousy be a part of us. If we truly believe that Hashem controls the world & gives each one of us exactly what we are supposed to have, then there can be no reason for jealousy. If we don't have it, then we must trust that we don't need it.

Vayechi

One part of the bracha that Yaakov gave Yehuda was חכלילי עינים מיין ולבן שנים מחלב ,Red eyed from wine, and white toothed from milk.
Rashi interprets this to mean that Yehuda will have an abundance of wine & milk.

In the gemara, Reb Yochanan has an interesting take on these words. He says that these words teach us that greater is one who smiles at his friend than one who feeds him. Although it says  ולבן שנים מחלב , read it as it’s better ליבון שינים, showing the white of your teeth, your smile, מחלב than material goods. As it says in אבות דרבי נתן you could give someone all the gifts in the world but if you do it begrudgingly, with a sour face, it means nothing. However, one who greets his friend with a smile, even if he gives him nothing, it’s as if he gave him everything.
What's so great about a smile? What does it really do?

There's a story told over by רב זילברשטיין that, at one of the rabbinical conventions where רב משה פיינשטיין זצ"ל & the פני מנחם מגור were participants, רב משה asked the rebbi to speak & introduced him as a גברא רבה , a great man.
The rebbi got up and said that if the פוסק הדור asks me to speak I have no choice. Let me explain, however, what he meant by calling me a גברא רבה.

The gemara says how foolish are those that stand up for a Sefer Torah but don't stand up for a גברא רבה a great man. For we see in the Torah that it is written that one who gets lashes gets forty; yet, the rabbis come along and say it means only thirty nine. See how much honor we should have for the rabbis since the Torah gave them the power to interpret & make changes.

Nevertheless, continued the rebbi, we see that someone who saves a Jew from being hit even one more time, thereby lessening this Jew’s pain, is considered a גברא רבה . So, too, I, who take hours from my day listening to all the problems of the people & comforting them as best as I can, can be called a גברא רבה which is why רב משה asked me to speak.
Sometimes all it takes is a smile & a kind word, to listen to someone else & ease their pain.

This is demonstrated, as well, by Moshe Rabbainu, says the sefer עלי שור. The gemara relates that the last thing Moshe did was separate three cities to be cities of refuge for the accidental murderer. Then, Hashem said to him הזרחת שמש לרוצחים , you let the sun shine for the murderers, praising him for setting aside the cities of refuge. Moshe Rabbainu , our greatest leader, found no other mitzva to do right before his death than to help out the downtrodden. He started out וירא בסבלותם seeing their troubles & ended with הזרחת שמש , making it easier for the downtrodden troubled ones.
How can we reach this goal? How do we learn to smile at everyone & try to help?

In the bracha of Hamalach, Yaakov said, וידגו לרב they should be abundant like fish. פורת יוסף asks, what are the good points of being compared to fish? He answers, that there is no evil eye & they multiply לרוב , greatly. However, the evil component of fish is that whichever is the bigger one, swallows the smaller one. Therefore, the bracha was  וידגו לרב without the "ו" so that they would be compared to fish only in the good points & not the bad.

Maybe that's how we could learn to smile at everyone. If we can train ourselves to only look at the good in people & not see the bad, then it will be much easier to smile at them & want to help. The Torah is teaching us here to only look at the good in people, no matter what kind of person they are & want to help them. By so doing & showing people that you care about them we will be making the world a better place!

Vayigash

After Yaakov is brought down to Egypt, he comes before Pharaoh who asks him, “how old are you.” Yaakov answers, “one hundred & thirty years”, to which he adds "few & bad have been the days of my life". The Daas Zikainim says that the reason Pharaoh even asked Yaakov how old he was because of Yaakov’s appearance. He looked extremely old. Therefore, Yaakov explained that he was only a hundred & thirty but had had a really hard life full of troubles which is why he looked old beyond his years.  

The Midrash tells us that Yaakov was punished for uttering those words. As he said those words, Hashem responded " I saved you from Eisav & Lavan; I returned Dina to you; I reunited you with Yosef; everything has played out for the best yet  you say that your life was bad? Because of that, for every word that you uttered, you will lose a year of your life. Your answer consisted of thirty three words from when Pharaoh asked his question. Therefore, that is the number of years that will be taken off your life.

The אוצרות התורה asks, what was Hashem's complaint against Yaakov? That he said he looked old because of all his troubles? Despite the troubles going away in the end, still he had years & years of troubles. That's what he was referring to when he answered Pharaoh.

The אוצרות התורה explains as follows, the שו"ע says that one should accustom himself to saying כל מה דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד , whatever Hashem does is for the good. The חכמת שלמה says that one should say גם זו לטובה , this too is for the good.
The sefer שומר אמונים explains the difference between the two sayings. When one says כל מה דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד, whatever Hashem does is for the good, he is waiting to see the good in the bad situation that he's in. This is displayed in the story of Rabbi Akiva who was refused a room in the town & had to sleep in the woods. First his donkey was killed; then his rooster was eaten; his candle blew out & he was all alone in the dark in the woods. His reaction was:  כל מה דעביד רחמנא לטב עביד , whatever Hashem does is for the good. When morning came, he found out that the town was looted by robbers. Had he been seen by his light or heard because of his animals, he, too, would have been captured. In the end, it all worked out.

Then you have the one who says, גם זו לטובה , this too is for the good, just like נחום איש גם זו. This is a much higher level where you’re not looking for the good in the situation but rather that the actual trouble that you’re going through is good. That's גם זו לטובה , even this trouble that I'm going through is good.

This was why Yaakov was faulted by Hashem. Hashem was telling him that even had I not taken you out of your troubles, you should have recognized that it was all good. How much more so since I took you away from your troubles & now you even see the good. You certainly shouldn't complain.

We see this same attitude with Yosef when he reveals himself to his brothers. He says to them,  “don't fault yourselves for selling me; it wasn't you. Hashem wanted me down here so that I could save all of your families from the hunger.” Not once did he blame them. Not only that, when he sent them to get Yaakov, he told them not to talk too much on the way. He didn't want them getting into it blaming each other as to who’s at fault. He realized that all that happened was orchestrated by Hashem & saw it only as good. This teaches us that no matter what happens, despite all appearances, we have to know it’s good!