This week’s
Torah portion, Vaera, is renowned for its central theme of the plagues which
are recounted during our sedarim at Pesach every year. This portion actually presents the account of
7 of the 10 plagues which occurred in Mitzrayim. When G-d speaks to Moses, G-d tells him, “I
shall harden Pharoah’s heart and I shall multiply My signs and My wonders in
the land of Egypt.” (7:3) Rabbi Meir
Schweiger, who coordinates the Executive Learning Seminar at the Pardes
Institute in Jerusalem, discussed the difference between a sign and wonder in
the following manner: “A wonder astonishes
me, baffles me….I can’t describe it or explain it, but there is a distance
between me and the wonder. I do not
learn from it, I can ignore it if I choose to do so.” On the other hand, “A sign directs me, shows
me the way, I am impressed by it and learn from it." According to Rabbi Schweiger, for Pharoah, the
plagues were merely wonders, for the Jews they became signs.
Why was
Pharoah able to dismiss the plagues? Why
was he able to ignore them and not see them as signs rather than just as
wonders? It was because of the condition
of his heart! There are two terms used
in today’s portion that refer to the state of Pharoah’s heart. The first term can be found in Chapter 7 line
13 / Vayechzak lav paroah….Pharoah’s
heart became strong (not hardened). The
second term is found in the following line (7:14) kaved lav paroah …Pharoah’s
heart is heavy, he has refused to send the people. There is a third and final term that is often
used to describe Pharoah’s heart, “lev kasheh , a hard heart.
Each of these terms speaks about the nature
of Pharoah’s personality. Pharoah
possessed a strong heart (and that is not being used in a positive sense) that
could withstand the pressure of the plagues.
Even when he was overwhelmed by the impact of the plagues, he refused to
buckle under and cede the power that he believed was rightfully his by
acknowledging G-d. His strengthened
heart led him to refuse to capitulate to G-d and eventually led to his own
demise.
Pharoah’s heavy heart was not
filled with honor as the root of the word kaved would lead one to believe. It was heavy with self-importance. The plagues represented a power struggle
between Pharoah and G-d. Pharoah
believed he was a god and in control over all.
There’s actually a midrash related to chapter 7 verse 15 “Go to Pharoah
in the morning- behold! he goes out to the water- and you shall stand opposite
him at the river’s bank.” It is said
that this all powerful Pharoah who believed he was a god went to the water secretly
early every morning so no one would see him, and what would he do? He would relieve himself. He tried to hide the fact that he had bodily
needs! A god after all, could not have such needs.
And
finally, Pharoah is described as having a heart that was impenetrable (stone-like). During the first 6 plagues he could have let
the Israelites go and not have suffered a plague as a result of keeping them
enslaved. During the 7th
plague of hail, the game changed. He
could have told his people to stay inside so they would not have been harmed by
the hail that was to fall. (9:18-
21) If Pharoah had cared for his people,
he could have listened to G-d and acted to save them from the destruction
caused by the hail. Yet, he was willing
to let his people die, because he refused to capitulate once again.
Pharoah’s
heart lacked compassion. He did not even
look upon his fellow Egyptians and feel any concern for them. His actions revolved around himself, and his
visions of himself as a god.
So now the
question might be, how am I going to relate this portion to my husband,
Charlie, whose birthday is being celebrated here at shul? The relationship is quite easy…it is based on
the word Lev….heart….which is used time and time again in this portion. No, it’s not because we’ve been through so
much over the years related to Charlie’s heart….atrial fibrillation, atrial
flutter, and a diagnosis of clogged arteries. (We’ve come through those
incidences with the help of our wonderful Jewish doctors, Andy Merliss and
Marlon Weiss! And with the grace of G-d. ) It’s because the physical condition of his heart in no way mirrors
the emotional attributes that I would use to describe Charlie’s heart.
Charlie’s heart is strong but unlike Pharoah,
he does care about others. Whether it’s
willingly opening our home to guests(even though he’s the one who ends up
washing the floors) , taking in individuals who are not related to us who need
a place to live for a short while, or loaning funds to individuals who are experiencing
times of crisis, Charlie’s heart is open to doing such acts of gemilut chasadim,
acts of loving kindness. As opposed to Pharoah’s impenetrable heart, Charlie’s
heart really is soft, not rock-like. Whether
he’s treating his patients in the state penitentiary with respect because he
know that first and foremost they are human beings not just prisoners, or
whether he’s hanging out with his friends at the Mill or at the men’s lunch bi-weekly, he really does care about the well-being of those with whom he is in
contact. Pharoah might have had no room
in his heart for anyone but himself, but Charlie’s heart is filled with love
and caring for his three children, Abby, Yehoshua, and Becca, and his
daughter-in-law, Nava… it is also filled with love and affection for his five
grandchildren, Jemma, Orli, Shmuel, Chavivah, and Chananyia. He
would never do anything to endanger his family’s well-being because he knows
any such action would ultimately break his heart as well.
It is significant, I believe that we read
parshat Vaera today, because we can learn by looking at Pharoah what it means
to rid oneself of the divine image with which each one of us is created. I truly believe that Charlie unlike Pharoah,
has learned that he cannot distance himself from life, but must learn from its ups
and downs. I sense that his heart understands that as human beings we have the
ability to give of ourselves and care for others. That is why I am so happy to be able to
celebrate this 68th birthday with him at shul. Forty three years ago we designed rings that said… “Simani K’chotam…al levcha….set thee as a
seal upon thy heart…that phrase is as significant today as it was when we first
joined our paths in life together.
May G-d keep your heart alive, Charlie. May it always be filled with compassion,
love, and the knowledge that you will forever hold a place in my heart and in
the hearts of your family and friends. Ad meah v’esrim!
(I thank my friend, Rabbi Meir Schweiger for his podcast which helped me understand this portion more fully.)
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