STAM
TORAH
PARSHAS
SHEMOS 5779
“SIGNS
OR WONDERS”[1]
The following
speech was delivered by Rabbi Yisroel Meir Lau to (then) President Barack Obama
on March 22, 2013, at Yad Vashem, during Obama’s visit to Israel[2]:
“On April 11, 1945 in
the Buchenwald Concentration camp which you recently visited, American troops
liberated us. One of the Jewish leaders from the United States, Rabbi Herschel
Schachter was there. He entered the barracks, and crying in Yiddish
proclaimed, “Jews you are free!” We didn’t believe him. After six
years of horror we couldn’t believe it.
“I take this opportunity
to thank you, to thank the American people who came finally in 1945, April, to liberate
us - not from slavery to freedom, but from death to life.
“But I would like to
add something. Two months ago, I had the privilege to speak at the
International Commemoration day for the Holocaust. At that time, I
related an experience I had last year. I was in a very small Holocaust Museum in
Seattle, Washington, that consisted of only one room. In front Mr. Leo
Hymas, an old handsome brigadier General, stood clad in his military uniform
with many medals pinned on. He knew that as a child I survived Buchenwald, and
he welcomed me with tears in his eyes. He shook my hand and said “Rabbi, I was
one of the liberators of Buchenwald; I served with General Patton. When I heard
that you were coming to Seattle, I asked for permission to meet with you.
Before I return my soul to the Lord of the Universe, I am asking you for
forgiveness… for being late; we came too late! When I saw the horrible
sights that greeted us when we arrived to liberate you, I knew we came too
late, and I’m asking you to forgive me.” I replied that if he is carrying that
pain on his consciousness for sixty-seven years, he must be a great man.
“Yesterday, Mr.
President you promised us that we are not alone… I am asking you to make sure
that you never be too late... Next week, we will all sit together on the night
of the Seder and we will not only to praise the Lord for the past Exodus, but also,
we pray for peace in Israel, in the Middle East, and the entire world…”
Hashem informed Moshe that he was
to return to Egypt and inform the Jewish slaves that redemption was imminent.
Then he was to appear before Pharaoh and convey to him the same message, and
that the time had arrived for him to free the oppressed Jewish slaves.
Moshe Rabbeinu replied, “But they
will not believe me, and they will not listen to my voice, for they will say
Hashem did not appear to you.”[3] In
response, Hashem conveyed to Moshe three signs that he was to demonstrate in
front of Klal Yisroel.
First, Moshe cast his staff on
the floor and it transformed into a snake. When Moshe lifted it by its tail, it
reverted into a staff. Then Moshe placed his hand against his chest whereupon
it became white with tzara’as. When Moshe again placed his hand against his
chest, his hands retuned to normal. Finally, he was instructed to take some
water from the Nile and pour it onto the land, and it would instantly become
blood.
The Nesivos Shalom explains that
the Jewish people did not lack faith in G-d. Rather, their lack of faith was in
themselves. They couldn’t believe that they were worthy of redemption and to be
elevated into a holy and elite people. They were so mired in their current misery
that they could not fathom a greater future.
Each of the three signs Hashem
instructed Moshe was to encourage the nation that they would indeed merit
redemption.
There are two words for staff in
Hebrew. A makal is a stick used to beat and discipline; a mateh
is a staff used for support, such as a walking stick. When G-d asked Moshe what
was in his hand, he was asking him what the staff was to be used for. Moshe
replied that it was a mateh, symbolizing the fact that he was to be the leader
of the nation. He was not there to beat them into submission, but to guide them
upwards.
Hashem instructed Moshe to take
that holy staff and cast it onto the impure ground of Egypt. As soon as Moshe
did so, the staff became a snake, the symbol of evil. But when Moshe lifted it
off the floor it immediately reverted into a holy staff.
The nation felt impure, lost in
Egyptian society and servitude. The message to the nation was that if they were
to be ‘lifted’ from the doldrums of Egyptian influence, they could become
elevated, and regain the holy state of their ancestors.
There were many who felt they
were beyond help; they felt dead inside. Tzar’as is a symbol of death. When
Moshe placed his tzara’as afflicted hand against his chest, it was instantly revitalized.
That too was a message to the demoralized nation. Despite the fact that they felt
spiritually and emotionally lifeless, they could become spiritually invigorated
and emotionally resurrected.
Despite the poignant message of
the first two signs, the nation might still be skeptical – how could a nation
as powerful as Egypt be overcome?
G-d instructed Moshe to take
water from the Nile, the lifeforce of Egypt. When he would pour it out onto the
land it would instantly transform into blood, a symbol of the spilling of
Egyptian blood and the destruction of the superpower. The message was that G-d
controls the Nile. This was the only sign that was not reversed afterwards. The
message to the nation was that G-d will destroy Egypt so completely that it
will never again regain the status it once had.
After Moshe began his fateful
journey back to Egypt, G-d appeared to him and gave him the following message:
“When you will go to return to Egypt, see all the wonders that I placed
in your hand, and perform them before Pharaoh.”[4]
Ramban[5] understands
that the wonders G-d refers to here were the three signs G-d instructed him to
show the Jews.
It is interesting to note that
when G-d instructed Moshe to perform the three miracles before the Jews, He referred
to them as signs. When He instructed Moshe to perform them before Pharaoh however,
He referred to them as wonders.
What is the difference between a
sign and a wonder?
Ramban[6] explains
that a sign portends events that will occur in the future, while wonders
demonstrate absolute power that transcend natural abilities. Shabbos and tefillin
are signs, symbols of our faith in the Almighty who created heaven and earth,
and of our covenant with the Almighty. Wonders are incredible events that
demonstrate absolute control and dominion.
Dovid Hamelech writes in Tehillim[7], “He placed
in them the words of His signs and His wonders in the land of Chom.” Rav Samson Rafael Hirsch writes[8] that what
was considered signs for the Jewish people, was at the same time wonders for
Pharaoh and Egypt. “These acts of G-d were to be signs for Yisrael from which
it should derive for all times the knowledge that G-d is the Creator and Lord
of nature, the ruler and judge of men and nations. Then these same acts of G-d,
executed upon the Egyptians and in their territory, were to serve for them as
wonders, that is, to break their obstinacy and to make them obey G-d’s
command.”
It would seem that this is also
what occurred with the three signs Moshe performed. For the Jews they were
signs of great events that were to come, and of the fusing of an eternal bond
between G-d and this people. For Pharaoh and the Egyptians however, it was a
small display of the omnipotent power of G-d, a warning of ominous events that
would occur if they failed to pay heed to the warnings being issued.
This is demonstrative of an
important idea in Judaism – we don’t view events and life in the same manner as
the rest of the world. We don’t see anything as happenstance or coincidence. A Jew
must always search for the messages contained in everything that occurs in his
own life, and in the world generally.[9] What the
world views as wondrous events, we see as signs.
No matter
what spectrum of American politics one is on, the election of Donald Trump was
an absolute shock[10].
The pundits said that it absolutely could not and would not happen. The truth
is that most of the recent elections had shocking results. President Bush won
based on a recount of a few elderly people in Florida, Obama, a young senator
with practically no experience, defeated Hillary Clinton in his own party, and
then defeated John McCain, a war hero and respected politician. But there is
unquestionably no greater surprise than the election of Donald Trump.
We do not
have prophets to inform us of G-d’s message and why things happen. But it is a
clear reminder from on high that G-d runs the world, and only G-d can deem what
is impossible.
The world
sees it as an erratic wondrous event. We know that it is the Hand of G-d, with
reasons beyond what we can know.
“So that they will believe that
Hashem has appeared to you”
“His wonders in the land of Chom”
Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW
Rebbe/Guidance
Counselor – Heichal HaTorah
Principal – Ohr
Naftoli- New Windsor
[1] The following
is the lecture I delivered in Kehillat New Hempstead, Shabbos Kodesh Shemos 5777
[2] Note – I have
edited the wording to make it flow better in writing
[3] Shemos 4:1
[4] Shemos 4:21
[5] In his second
explanation
[6] Parshas Re’eh;
Devorim 13:2 – Ramban is discussing a false prophet who tries to prove his
legitimacy by performing signs or wonders. The Torah warns that one not be
duped by him.
[7] 105:27
[8] Commentary
Tehillim ibid; the morning I was preparing this lecture I had read this chapter
of Tehillim and had the thought to learn Rav Hirsch’s commentary.
[9] The greatest
danger is that we often feel we know the message G-d wants to give to everyone
else. But we have a very hard time thinking about the message that pertains to
us personally, and the personal improvements we can make in our own lives.
[10] President
Trump was sworn in as president on January 20, 2017, the week this lecture was
delivered.