Bostoner Torah Insights: Bostoner ‘Chassidus’ in English and Hebrew: Parshas Vaeira – 25 Tevet 5785
Bostoner Torah Insights - Yerushalayim
Bostoner Torah Insights
Bostoner ‘Chassidus’ in English
Parshas Vaeira – 25 Tevet 5785
Bostoner Rebbe shlit”a – Yerushalayim
Secretariat Email: bosto...@gmail.com
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The first few Mishnayos in Pirkei Avot Chapter 5 discusses certain historical groups of ten. Rashi explains that corresponding to the 10 trials that Hashem tested Avraham Avinu with HaKadosh Baruch Hu also performed the Ten Makkos for Klal Yisroel in Mitzrayim and another Ten Miracles at the Yom Suf. Furthermore, corresponding to these Hashem gave Bnei Yisroel the Aseres HaDibros.
In Pesikta Zutarta (Vaetchanan 9b) it states that the Aseres HaDibros correspond to the Aser Mamaros, or the Ten Utterances that Hashem uttered to create the world as found through the beginning of Sefer Beraishis.
The first of the Ten Commandments אנכי Anochi (Shemos 20:2) corresponds to ויהי אור 'Let there be light' (Beraishis 1:3) as it says “And Hashem will be an everlasting light to you” (Yeshayah 60). The second commandment לא יהיה לך 'You shall have no other gods' corresponds to ויהי רקיע 'Let there be a firmament' as there are no other powers in the Heavens other than Hashem who created those Heavens. The third, לא תשא that you shall not take the name of Hashem in vain corresponds to 'Let the waters be gathered together’, as a false statement is compared to a vessel that doesn’t hold water. The fourth, זכור/שמור את יום השבת Observing Shabbos, corresponds to ‘Let the earth bring forth grass’ as Shabbos observance is a testimony that Hashem provides sustenance and livlihood. The fifth, כבד את אביך honoring parents, corresponds to 'Let there be luminaries’ as the sun and moon were compared to Yosef’s parents in his dream (Beraishis 37) the luminaries that shine as role models for their children. The sixth, לא תרצח murder, corresponds to 'Let the waters teem with living creatures' to demonstrate that taking the life of humans and animals is inherently differentl. The seventh, לא תנאף adultery, corresponds to 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature' likewise to show that illicit relationships apply to humans and animals differently. The eighth, לא תגנב human kidnapping, corresponds to 'Let us make man'. The ninth, לא תענה bearing false witness, corresponds to ‘I have given you every herb bearing seed', meaning one should be like the earth that always brings produce akin to the species of seed that it was planted within it. Finally, the ten commandment, לא תחמוד coveting possessions of another corresponds to ‘'It is not good for man to be alone' (Beraishis 2:18) the most precious thing a man has is his wife.
The Pri Tzaddik, correlates the Ten plagues directly to the Ten Commandments. He explains that by keeping the Ten Commandments, which represent and allude to all the Mitzvos in the Torah, the righteous Tzadik produces the positive energy that sustains the world that Hashem brought into being with his Ten Utterances. This is why the Gemara (Shabbos 88a) explains that if the people would not accept the Torah the world would revert back to its pre-Creation state of Tohu VaVohu. This is because when Hashem gave over the Torah to Klal Yisroel he permanently put the system in place where the homeostasis of world history are a direct result of the observance of the Taryag Mitzvos by Klal Yisroel and the 7 Mitzvos by the rest of mankind.
This week Paro said, “I do not know Hashem” (Exodus 5:2). Those who deny the Creator and his metaphysical system of maintaining the world through Torah and Mitzvah observance contribute to the destruction of our world L’Havdil the way that those who deny the scientific laws and phenomenon of the natural world contribute to the destruction of our physical world. The Ten Makkos was a similar reminder to Paro that those whose evil actions detract from the maintenance of the world that was created with Ten Utterances need to be repent and change their ways or be eradicated.
Just as the Midrash made a one-to-one correlation of the Commandments to the Utterances, we will try to do the same for the Utterances and the Makkos. ויהי אור "Let there be light" (Beraishis 1:3) contrasts with the ninth plague of חשך Darkness. יהי רקיע corresponds to the שחין Boils that resulted from Moshe taking the soot of the furnace and in front of Paro throwing it Heavenward (Shemos 9:10). יקוו המים corresponds to דם Blood contaminating all waters of Mitzrayim. תדשא הארץ corresponds to the Lice כנים that came from the dust of the earth. יהי מאורות correspond to the ברד hail that rained down fire from the sky. ישרצו המים corresponds to the Frogs that teemed from the waters. תוצא הארץ נפש חיה corresponds to דבר Pestilence which effected only the land animals. נעשה אדם corresponds to the ערוב Wild Animals which was the first plague that caused the Mitzri people to be killed. הנה נתתי לכם את כל עשב זורע זרע לאכלה corresponds to ארבה Locust that ate up all the remaining produce in the fields. The final Ma’amar of בראשית ברא אלקים corresponds to מכת בכורות as the first Rashi in Chumash explains learns that בראשית means that Hashem created the world for Yisroel who is considered the first בשביל ישראל שנקרא ראשית. Similarly, Hashem killed all firstborns in Egypt because “My firstborn son is Yisroel…Send out My son that he may serve Me, but you have refused to send him out, therefore I shall kill your firstborn son” (Shemos 4:22-23)
May it be His will that we merit the existence and repair of the world as a reward for the righteous who keep the ten commandments, and thereby the ten utterances are sustained, and to see a complete redemption in the days of the Messiah.
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