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Parshat Shemot relates a difficult dialogue between Moshe and Hashem. For a week, Moshe resisted Hashem’s mission to take the Jews out of Egypt. He argued that the Jews would ask for Hashem’s name. Hashem said, “Tell them, Ehyeh asher ehyeh.” Moshe then countered that the Jews would not believe him. Hashem tells him to show them three signs.

The Shem MiShmuel asks several questions. If the Jews did not believe him, shouldn’t Moshe have first shown them the signs and then told them Hashem’s name? Additionally, they had a tradition that Hashem would redeem them. Why wouldn’t they know who Hashem was? Why did they need to hear his name? Furthermore, if Hashem told Moshe that the Jews would believe him, how could Moshe contradict Him?

The Shem MiShmuel explains that Hashem created the world with din (judgment) and chesed (mercy). Sometimes he is merciful and sometimes he is strict. When Moshe told the Jews that they would be redeemed, they claimed they had a tradition from Avraham that the exile would last 400 years and only 210 years had passed. Addition-ally, they argued that according to din they did not deserve redemption because they

had committed evil deeds and worshipped idols. Moshe answered that Hashem would go beyond din and rational justification, and would utilize his midda of chesed to redeem them.

What a lesson this is for us. Chazal say that the Jews were at the 49th level of impurity. If not for Hashem’s chesed, the Jews would have never been redeemed. Chesed was the core seed that led to the exodus from Egypt and our creation as a people. Sometimes as parents or spouses, justice tells us not to act with kindness. Yet Hashem, the model of chesed, enjoins us to go beyond our call of duty.

The gemara lists seven names of Hashem. Six of these names represent different levels of din, tzimtzum or confinement. The four letter essential name of Hashem signifies chesed. The closer we get to the essence of Hashem the more chesed we discover. A great part of our Torah is din, but our primary relationship with Hashem is chesed. The Shem MiShmuel explains that Moshe asked Hashem what the foundation of the salvation will be. Hashem answered, “Ehyeh…,” meaning, I will redeem them with chesed. The Egyptians, however, would be punished with din. Moshe then countered that the Jews would be confused at the

paradox of din and chesed.

Hashem said he would give Moshe three signs that would demonstrate that din and chesed can function together. When Moshe put his hand in his bosom it became leprous. When he put his hand back in, it returned to normal. In the regular course of nature, leprosy takes weeks to heal. Din is connected to time. Chesed is beyond time.

The transformation of water into blood represented chesed on an elevated level. The sign intimated that Hashem would accept one good deed performed with blood and fire. This one act would erase all their many bad deeds. This was the korban pesach, which connected the Jewish nation with Hashem and helped them merit the redemption.

For the third sign, Moshe threw down his stick and turned it into a snake. He then picked up the snake by its tail and it turned back into a stick. The snake signifies the poison of idolatry. Moshe hinted to the Jews that if they would just stop worshipping idols (discard the snake), they would allow good to come rushing in (it would turn into a stick).

The Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt with chesed , and the ultimate redemp-tion will come with chesed.

Parshat Shemot: The Three Signs of Moshe RabbeinuBased on a Naaleh.com shiur on Chassidut by Rabbi Hershel Reichman

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Dedicated in memory of Rachel Leah bat R' Chaim Tzvi

Rebbetzin’s Perspective II Part 6Excerpted from Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller’s Question and Answer series on Naaleh.com

Question:

Can you give me guidelines on how to handle chutzpa in my growing children ages ten to thirteen? What should I say if my otherwise sweet daughter keeps saying to me, “I can do whatever I want!"? Should I force her to comply or teach her negotiation skills?

Answer:

You should teach her negotiation skills. You also have to teach her the laws of Kibud Av Va’em. Preferably your husband should show her these halachot in a sefer so that she sees that the same Hashem who commanded us not to kill or steal commanded us to treat our parents with respect. She has to see that you and your husband take these laws seriously in your

relationship with your own parents. If a child says, “I can do what I want,” you should say, “Can you go to the store and take what you want without paying? Can you get on the bus and not pay the fare because you just feel like riding on the bus?” Hopefully she will answer no and you should ask her why. She will tell you that if she gets caught, she’ll be in big trouble, and that the Torah forbids it. You have to tell her, “My dear child, the Torah forbids you to behave with chutzpa. And since I care about you, I can’t allow you to continue acting this way, just like I can’t allow you to do anything else that will harm you.”

As children move towards adolescence they need greater autonomy. So while you can’t tolerate chutzpa, you should foster opportu-

nities for success by giving them more responsibilities. Let your child prepare some new salads for Shabbat or allow her to visit a friend without having a specific curfew. Inform her that you trust her to come back early enough to get a good night’s sleep. Convey to your child that you have confidence in her and that you see her as an adult. This should not preclude the fact that she views you as a parent, just as you view your own parents as parents.

Teaching your children negotiation skills is good because it is a respectful way of stating your needs in a way that the other person doesn’t lose out. But it has to be presented as a way of fulfilling Kibud Av, not as a way of manipulating a parent into doing what the child wants.

Shovavim is an acronym for the parshiyot that we read during the period between Chanukah and Purim. Rav Nachman Cohen writes that this period is an auspicious time to repent for Adam’s sin with the Eitz Hadaat and his subsequent errant behavior, pegimat habrit, for which mankind suffers until today. Why do we specifically repent now for the sin of Adam?

This period falls after the winter solstice when the days begin to get longer. When Adam sinned, the days began to get shorter and he thought it was because of his sin. When the days began to get longer again, he realized he was not doomed and that his repentance had been accepted. Thus this period is an eit ratzon where one can connect to Hashem.

Working on curbing one’s physical desires and avoiding inappropriate pleasures seems male focused. What is the corollary for women? The Maharal says that the primary praise of a woman is her level of tzniut. Rav Pincus writes that because Adam and Chava did not conduct themselves modestly, the snake desired Chava and devised a plot to make her sin. Therefore, in a sense, the sin of Eitz Hadaat came about through immodesty.

What is modesty? It is a call to concentrate our energies on our inner personality, our

spiritual nature, which is deep and hidden within us. We must become attuned to our souls instead of getting caught up in the outer trappings of the physical world. Shovavim is not only a time to work on tzniut but a time of introspection, a time to work on our relationship with Hashem. This entails watching our behavior with the awareness that we are in the presence of Hashem. It is irrelevant what other people think. Life is about walking alone with Hashem. Elevating mitzvot to a higher level by practicing modesty in deed – not talking about the mitzvot you’ve done, is an appropriate goal to work on during Shovavim.

These levels of modesty can be applied equally to men. How do we understand that the major accolade of a woman is her tzniut? Tzniut is to protect. The more valuable something is the more protection it needs. Our soul is our most precious possession. A woman’s job is to protect her soul and the souls of her family. A mother determines her child’s Jewishness. It is within the mother’s womb, rather than in the beit midrash, that the angel teaches the fetus Torah. Whatever the mother exposes herself to has a tremendous effect on her children.

Rav Wolfson explains that during Shovavim we re-experience the parshiyot of the weeks. We ourselves go through slavery

and redemption. Ultimate redemption is when we succeed in bringing the secret of Hashem into our tent. Shovavim is feeling Hashem’s presence in our home. It is a time of introspection when we try to positively create harmony and the proper environment within our homes.

Adam named all the animals because he knew their essence. He named himself Adam since Hashem formed him from earth. The Alter of Slabodka explains that we are like the earth, in which there is a constant cycle of planting and harvesting. Human life involves constant effort and growth.

The Netivot Shalom writes that the 42 days of Shovavim are a microcosm of the 42 places the Jews encamped in when they left Egypt. The Baal Shem Tov notes that we go through 42 major experiences in our lives. Shovavim reminds us that life is about moving forward, not standing still. The Torah says about the Jewish nation in the desert, “Vayisahu vayachanu, They traveled and they encamped.” Life is not only about growing and changing but about making time to integrate what we’ve gained into our lives. We also need to recognize that the encampments of life may sometimes be difficult. Moving forward despite challenges and recognizing that Hashem is leading the way, is living life with true emuna the way Hashem meant it to be.

Shovavim: Self ImprovementBased on a Naaleh.com shiur by Mrs. Shira Smiles

2visit us online at: www.naaleh.com | for questions, suggestions, or dedication opportunities, email contact@naaleh.com

Brought to you by Naaleh.comVolume I, number 42

Dedicated in memory of Rachel Leah bat R' Chaim Tzvi