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Shmot 5760 - December 31, 1999 |
Why?
It's probably the oldest question in the history of human thought. It's surely the most disturbing, the most frequently asked and the least satisfactorily answered: Why, oh why, do bad things happen to good people?
| FROM THE CHASSIDIC MASTERS |
Moses: The Birth of a Leader
The Parshah of Shemot is the story of a galut-of Israel's exile and enslavement in Egypt. It is also the story of the making of the quintessential Jewish leader, Moses. Everything the Torah tells us about Moses in this Parshah-his origins, the circumstances of his birth, his placement in the Nile, his years in Pharaoh's Palace, his first actions upon leaving the palace, his seven-day argument with G-d at the burning bush-is a lesson in Jewish leadership.
Bonaparte and the Chassid
"The High Command of the French army was meeting," related Reb Moshe "and hotly debating the maneuvers and the arrangement of the flanks for the upcoming battle. The maps were spread on the floor, and the generals were examining the roads and trails, unable to reach a decision. Time was short. Tomorrow, or, at the very latest, the day after, the battle on the environs of Vilna must begin.
"They were still debating when the door flew open with a crash..."
The Man in the Glass Case
The Talmud relates that before the famous sage Rabbi Nachman was born, a fortune-teller told his mother that her unborn child would grow up to be a thief. The Rabbis advised the distraught woman that from the moment her child was born, she should be scrupulous to see that his head was constantly covered.
This story of Rabbi Nachman can instructively be contrasted with one about Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism. Bentham endowed the University of London on the condition that his portly body be embalmed and hung in a glass case over the entrance to the University and there you can see it today. Bentham thought this would ensure him eternal gratitude and respect.
Mikvah Time
I am writing these words from a different time. The year is the same, the days are the same, but the months are different.
The time in which I exist today is neither solar nor truly lunar. It is a time quite individual-created by G-d, especially for me.
Today is one cyclical month since my first immersion in the mikvah.
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Shmot
Exodus 1:1-6:1
Week of December 26, 1999 - January 1, 2000
THE PARSHAH IN A NUTSHELL
FULL PARSHAH SUMMARY WITH COMMENTARY
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