Torah · Weekly Parasha VideoParashat ShemotRabbi Uri Nahum · June 19, 2017 · Shemot · שמות · 15 Min Parasha RoundupSave⌄ShareParasha class with Rabbi Uri Nahum, from BSD Productions’ 15 Min Parasha Roundup.Transcript0:05Parashat Shemot. This week's parashah is the first parashah in Sefer Shemot.0:09We begin a new sefer,0:10and the parashah has 124 pesukim.0:15This also, Parashat Shemot begins the yearly0:19shovavim, which takes place from now until Parashat Mishpatim,0:23and whenever it's a leap year, then we add two more parashiot to the weeks of0:27shovavim, which are special weeks of0:30teshuvah, which means in the year of the leap year we'll go from to Shovavim Tat,0:34which includes Parashat Terumah and0:37Tetzaveh. We broke up the parashah into six parts.0:39The first part of the parashah Torah tells us about the beginning of the Jewish slavery.0:44The second part of the parashah Torah tells us about Moshe Rabbeinu's early years.0:49Third part of the parashah is when Moshe runs away from Mitzrayim,0:53and the fourth part of the parashah Torah tells us about the first time that Moshe speaks to Hashem.1:00The fifth part of the parashah Torah tells us about Moshe returning to Mitzrayim,1:04and finally the Torah ends, concludes with Moshe and Paro's meeting for the first time,1:11as we will see at the end of the1:12parashah. No mezvot in this week's parashah, but in a few weeks we'll come back to the mitzvot,1:16and from there we'll start to have almost in every1:19parashah a mitzvah. Let's get to the parashah because it's a very long1:22parashah, and we'll begin with the first part of the Torah tells us about the beginning of the Jewish slavery.1:26So what happened?1:27Torah begins by telling us that the old generation of Yaakov Avinu and the shevatim has now passed away,1:35and the last one from the shevatim to pass away was Levi, who passed away at the age of 137 years old.1:43The Jewish people, meanwhile, the pasuk says,1:47Vatimaleh ha'aretz otam. They start increasing in high numbers,1:51and as the Gemara tells us, the Chachamim tell us,1:54six children would be born at a time.1:58The Jewish people numbered a lot, and they started filling up all of Eretz2:03Yisrael, which of course brought upon the hatred of the Egyptian people.2:08In fact, the Chachamim tell us that the Jewish people started mixing and joining the Egyptian culture,2:14and that really set off the beginning of slavery and the suffering of the Jewish people.2:20And how did it start?2:21Well, the Chachamim tell us that so long as one of the shevatim was alive,2:26the Jewish people were not bothered; they were not pushed into slavery.2:28Only once Levi died, which was 116 years before the Jewish people left Mitzrayim,2:34or if you want to count it the other way, 94 years after the Jewish people,2:39which is Yaakov Avinu's family, entered Mitzrayim, that's when the slavery began.2:42And who was it? A new king.2:44The new king came about.2:46Chachamim tell us some say it was the same king, or he died, or he just reformed his decrees,2:55and this king's name was Malul.2:57Even though we call him Paro, Paro was the title of every king in Mitzrayim.3:02So the Malul comes to the scene, and he does not acknowledge the good things that Yosef has done,3:08and therefore decides to turn his face against the Jewish people.3:13And Paro takes the advice of his three top ministers, who were at the time Yitro,3:19Iyov, and Bilam. They're trying to figure out the question that has bothered the anti-Semite leaders for centuries,3:25and that is how to take care of the Jewish problem.3:27And the final solution was, as Bilam's advice was,3:31you must start enslaving them, slowly, slowly, to take over them,3:36and that's exactly what3:37happens. The Jewish people are told to build the cities of Pitom and3:40Raamses, as Seder Hadorot explains, they used the excuse that we have to prepare the country in case there's a war3:45and we need you to help us.3:46In the beginning all the Egyptians joined, as well as the Jewish people,3:49but slowly and surely the Egyptians left, and the Jewish people were forced into slavery.3:55And it wasn't just slavery.3:57Pasuk says clearly that they embittered their lives with4:01the slavery, and as we speak every Leil Pesach, you read in how much suffering the Jewish people went through.4:06But that wasn't it.4:08Paro also was told that the Jewish people will have a savior,4:13a boy, a man who will come and save the Jewish people.4:16So therefore Paro decreed that we have to kill the Jewish babies.4:19How are we going to do it?4:20The Jewish boys.4:21So he told the midwives at the time, who were4:25Shifrah and Puah, which Chachamim tell us were Miriam and her mother Yocheved.4:29They were told that during childbirth they should see4:32if it's going to be a boy, they should kill him at childbirth4:34so it looks like an accident,4:37the child was born dead.4:40However, the midwives feared HaKadosh Baruch Hu4:43and they were not scared of Paro's punishment;4:45they were scared more of Hashem's punishment, and they didn't listen to4:49Paro. And as a result, Hashem rewarded them with families that had kings coming out of4:55them, Kohanim and Nevi'im coming out of them.4:57So Paro decrees a new decree:4:59from now on, we'll throw all the babies into the river.5:03Now, the decree was originally on only Jewish boys,5:06and that decree lasted for three and a half years, as we'll see how it soon stopped.5:10And eventually this decree also took effect on the Egyptians as well,5:15but that took effect for only a few months, as we'll soon see,5:21בעזרת השם. The second part, we move from there to the second part of the parashah.5:24Torah tells us about Moshe Rabbeinu's early years,5:26and Torah tells us how Moshe was born.5:29Amram went and he married Yocheved, who technically was his aunt,5:34and he remarried her really because, really, he divorced her in the beginning,5:38and eventually, after three years of divorce, he remarried her,5:41and they were blessed with a child who was to be Moshe Rabbeinu,5:46who was born six months after pregnancy,5:49on Wednesday, Zayin Adar, in the year 2332 from the creation of the world.5:55And when the baby was born, the house was filled with light,5:58and because he was born as a preemie, as we would call it.6:02She was able to hide him for three months in the house.6:05But eventually the time has come that she has to put him away,6:08and Chachamim tell us that Moshe Rabbeinu was placed in the basket, which was made out of gome,6:12not the Chachamim, actually the Torah says it clearly.6:14Chachamim tell us that she placed him on vav Sivan,6:19and the basket was made out of bendable twigs, if you want to call it6:23wicker, and it was covered with plaster on the inside and pitch on the outside,6:28and she placed the basket in the water.6:30Meanwhile, Miriam would follow her brother to see what's going to happen with her brother,6:33because she knew, she had a prophecy before Moshe was born,6:37that this child will become Moshiach, will become the savior of the Jewish people.6:41And she follows him, she follows him, and she sees that the basket goes into that direction of who else6:48but Batya, the daughter of6:50Pharaoh. Chachamim tell us that Batya, which was not her real name,6:53but Batya was coming down to dip in the water because she wanted to convert,6:57and she was coming with her maidservants.6:58And when they saw the Jewish baby and saw the basket, she was interested.7:02She heard a cry and she wanted the child,7:05but the maidservants actually didn't want to save that Jewish child,7:08and as a result, Hashem brought the malach, which killed all the maidservants right there by the water.7:13And when she went into the water, she stretched out her arm,7:16which Chachamim tell us miraculously stretched longer than it was,7:21and she grabbed the baby.7:22The moment she grabbed the basket with that baby,7:24she saw the tzaraat, which she had at the7:26time—she was a leper at the time, leprosy on her7:29skin—the tzaraat went away, and she realized this is a special baby.7:32And when she brought him closer, she realized this was a Jewish child from his cries,7:37or some explain from the cries of his brother, which was Aharon crying for him on the side.7:42In any case, Batya takes the child and she decides to adopt him,7:48and she looks to raise the child, she looks to feed him, that's the first thing.7:52But Moshe Rabbeinu, as a child, did not want to nurse from any woman, from any non-Jewish woman.7:56Even though he was a baby, he didn't understand what he was doing,7:58but he would not nurse from any woman.8:00Finally, Miriam approaches Batya and she offers to find a Jewish nurse.8:05And who does she bring? Moshe Rabbeinu's real mother, Yocheved,8:09who was now hired by Batyaam to nurse her, quote-unquote adopted, her child,8:16which was really Yocheved's child.8:17For two years, Yocheved was paid to nurse her own son8:21until Moshe grew up already and he didn't need to be nursed anymore,8:25and he was given back to8:26Batya. Seder HaDorot brings that at that time, Moshe Rabbeinu was given different names.8:31Of course, Batya called him Moshe,8:33and it says that Kehat gave him a name,8:36and Amram gave him a different name,8:38and many different people in the family named him differently,8:40as the Gemara Masechet Megillah explains that Moshe Rabbeinu had ten names.8:43We move on now to the third part of the8:47parashah: Moshe growing up in the palace and Moshe running away from8:50Mitzrayim. Moshe Rabbeinu grew up in the palace of8:52Paro. He was beloved by Paro. Paro loved him a lot,8:54and there was an incident in which Moshe burnt his tongue and mouth,8:58which made him have a difficulty in speech.9:01But in any case, Moshe was a prince,9:03and at 17 years old, Moshe decided to go and visit the Jewish people in Eretz Goshen.9:08And when he saw what was happening,9:10the Midrash explains how he tried to help the Jewish people as much as possible.9:14One day, Moshe sees an Egyptian guard beating up on a Jewish man,9:19who, the Chachamim tell us, was the husband of Shlomit bat Dibri,9:23and Moshe Rabbeinu, to save this Jewish man,9:26kills this Egyptian guard with the9:30Shem HaMeforash, and he buries him.9:31And Moshe, of course, was careful to do it when nobody was watching.9:33On the second day, Moshe Rabbeinu comes out,9:36he sees two Jewish men now fighting.9:38It was none other than Datan and Aviram,9:39and he tells one of9:42them, Why are you hitting your rasha? Why are you hitting your brother?9:45To which they reply,9:46Ho, ho, ho, who made you as a leader over us?9:50You're not going to tell me what to do.9:52You're going to kill me maybe now, like the way you killed the Egyptian?9:55And therefore, Datan and Aviram report to Paro that Moshe Rabbeinu,10:00this little boy that you're raising in your house...10:03Killed an Egyptian guard,10:05and he's rebelling against you.10:06Moshe, when he hears this, chases him away, but he's captured,10:10and a miracle happens.10:13Moshe was supposed to be executed,10:15but his neck turns into marble,10:17which Moshe sees as a10:19miracle, and the malach saves him, and he's able to escape,10:22and he runs to the land of10:25Cush, where he meets up with the king10:27Kokyanus, and over there there's a long story which we can't go into,10:29but basically Moshe ends up being a king in10:34Cush when he was 27 years old.10:36For 40 years until he was 67,10:38at which point he traveled on to Midian,10:41and in Midian he was arrested by Yitro for 10 years,10:44and now Moshe is 77.10:47Afterwards Moshe is taken out.10:48He marries Tzipporah, the daughter of Yitro,10:52and they have two children.10:53The first, Gershom, and the second, Eliezer.10:56And we move on to the fourth part of the10:58parashah. The Torah tells us about the first time11:00that Moshe Rabbeinu and Hashem spoke.11:02Moshe was shepherding Yitro's sheep,11:05and one of the sheep, one of the kid goats11:07actually—it wasn't the sheep, actually; it says son,11:09so all11:10his cattle—and one of the kid goats, the baby goats, runs away.11:14Moshe now runs after the goat,11:15and when he goes and he reaches the11:17goat, it says that he saw him drinking,11:20and he was carrying him on the way back.11:21On his way back, he sees a bush that was burning,11:24and the bush was not being destroyed.11:28So Moshe approaches, and he hears the voice of his father calling him,11:31Moshe, Moshe,11:33and it was Hashem calling him,11:35and he's told to remove his shoes,11:37and Moshe speaks to Hashem for the first time.11:40Hashem tells him that, I've seen the suffering of the Jewish people.11:43What was so special now that Hashem saw the suffering of the Jewish people?11:46So the Torah tells us that really at that point.11:51The king of Mitzrayim, the first Paroh, which is Malul, died,11:55and he died, Baruch Hashem, a horrible death.11:58He had leprosy, and he was trampled,12:02and it was a horrible death, the way he died,12:05midah keneged midah, making the Jewish people suffer.12:06However, his son, who is Adikam, takes over at 20 years old,12:11and he's much worse than his father,12:13and he increases the work much more than his father,12:16and therefore the Jewish people started calling out to Hashem.12:19To that, Hashem tells Moshe, This is what I heard.12:21I heard the Jewish people cry,12:23and the time has come to fulfill the promise12:25that I promised their forefathers, Abraham, Yitzchak, and12:29Yaakov, and the time has come that I'm going to take them back, take them back to12:33Eretz Yisrael, to bring them out of12:34Eretz Mitzrayim. And guess what, Moshe?12:35You will be the one to take the Jewish people out of Mitzrayim.12:41However, Moshe refuses.12:45He feels that he's not fit to take out the Jewish people,12:48and to a certain extent he feels that the Jewish people also are not fit to come out.12:52And after a seven-day deliberation,12:54which started on Shabbat,12:56that was the first time Moshe spoke to Hashem,12:58he was speaking to Hashem for seven days,13:00arguing back and forth, Hashem and Moshe,13:02Hashem trying to convince Moshe to come to13:05Eretz Mitzrayim, to be the leader, to take the Jewish people out.13:08Finally, Moshe accepts when he is told that Aharon will be by your side.13:14Aharon will be the one who speaks on your behalf,13:16he'll be your speaker.13:18And Hashem gives Moshe three signs to show the Jewish people13:22that they are redeemed.13:24One of the three signs,13:25number one is Moshe's stick turning from a staff,13:27from a stick, from a wood to a snake.13:30Number two is Moshe's hand turns into13:34tzaraat. His hand has tzaraat when he puts it inside of his13:38coat, and it turns back when he puts it back into his13:41coat. And the third is that Moshe is told that you'll take the water and spill it on the floor,13:43and you see that the water will turn into blood.13:45These are the three signs you show the Jewish people,13:47and they'll know that I sent you. To them.13:51And we move on now to the fifth part of the parashah,13:53when Moshe returns to Mitzrayim.13:55When Moshe returns to Mitzrayim,13:58Torah tells us that he gets permission first from Yitro,14:01and on the way back,14:02the Chachamim tell us a very interesting story,14:04that Moshe did not give brit milah to his youngest son14:07Eliezer because he was still a baby;14:07he was scared to give him a brit milah.14:09And therefore, on the way back home,14:10a snake, which was really a malach sent by HaKadosh Baruch Hu,14:14a snake, a huge snake, attacks Moshe14:18and consumes, swallows Moshe up to his waist,14:21and Moshe fights it off, and he keeps on swallowing Moshe.14:23Eventually, Tziporah realizes that it was because they did not circumcise Eliezer,14:28so she circumcises Eliezer, and the snake runs away.14:31And then the Torah tells us about Moshe coming to Mitzrayim,14:36where he meets his brother Aharon.14:38How does he meet Aharon?14:39Because Hashem tells Aharon,14:41Go outside to the desert and meet your brother.14:43He is coming to Mitzrayim.14:44And when Aharon sees Moshe and his family,14:46he tells him some good advice:14:48I want you to take your wife and children14:50and send them back to Midian,14:52because we already have enough people suffering in Mitzrayim.14:55Moshe listens, and together Moshe and Aharon come to the Jewish people,14:59and they show them the miracles,15:01and they tell them the message of Hashem.15:03The Jewish people were still skeptical15:05until Moshe gives them the secret code,15:06and that is pakod15:09pakadti. When Moshe says those two words,15:11the Jewish people realized about the news. They realized that what Moshe was saying is true,15:15and they bow down to Hashem,15:18and they are very happy and excited about the news15:21that Hashem is ready to redeem them.15:22And we finally move on to the last part of this week's15:25parashah. Moshe and Paro meet for the first time.15:28Originally, it was supposed to be Moshe, Aharon, and the elders,15:32the15:33zekeinim, meeting Paro, but Chachamim tell us that each one slipped away,15:37and it turned out only that Moshe and Aharon confronted15:40Paro. And they came to15:41Paro, and they told him that we have a message from Hashem:15:44You must take the Jewish people out of Mitzrayim.15:46Paro replies, Who is Hashem?15:47I don't know anything about Hashem.15:49I don't understand.15:49In fact, with your news, with your declarations,15:52you're only disturbing the workforce.15:55Therefore... You are not allowed to be. You must leave, and not only that.16:00In order to make sure that the Jewish people do not have enough time, do not have extra time to think about leaving,16:09will increase the workforce. They will not have a day off, which they had until now.16:13They'll start working even on Shabbat. They used to have Shabbat off, but now they'll start working on Shabbat,16:18and in fact will increase the amount of bricks that they have to bring.16:22And if they don't, of course their children will have to die for it.16:25And the workforce was increased, to which the Jewish people suffered even more.16:30To that, the guards, the Jewish guards who were appointed to oversee the project, were beaten more.16:37They took the hits for the Jewish people,16:39and they in turn complained to Moshe and Aharon. They told them, Who asked you to come?16:42You know, it was hard enough before you came, but once you came, you made it even harder.16:46At which point Moshe complains to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, Why have You sent me? You sent me to be redeemed,16:50but it doesn't look like we did anything. In fact, we damaged more than we helped.16:56And Moshe returns to Midian for six months, and that's how we finish the parashah in this week.17:01And finally we come to the lesson of the17:04parashah. The lesson of the parashah is really a lesson for the Jewish people throughout all of our years in exile.17:09This is the first time that the Jewish people are in galut, the first exile of the Jewish people.17:14And the rule by the galut is as follows:17:16although we have suffering, we must keep our emunah with HaKadosh Baruch Hu.17:20And when we truly turn our hearts to Hashem, and we look to Hashem to help us,17:27and we believe with full emunah that only Hashem can help us,17:31and we need to leave the galut, Hashem turns back to us and He takes us out of galut.17:36That is the recipe for17:40geulah. We want to escape galut, we turn to HaKadosh Baruch Hu,17:44Hashem turns back to us, and He sends us our Mashiach, our leader to take us out,17:49and we have the final18:17geulah. Shabbat shalom.