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| Art: Jacek Yerka |
"Provide a wonder for yourselves" [Va'eira 7:9]
Why, asked R' Elimelech of Lizhensk, would Pharoah ask Moshe to "provide a wonder for yourselves"? Since Pharoah was the one who wanted proof of Moshe's legitimacy, would it not have made more sense for him to say "Provide a wonder for me"?
The difference, answered the Rebbe, between a genuine wonder and one which is no more than an optical illusion is that the illusion amazes only those who witness it. However, the one who performs the feat is not impressed in the least, since he knows that it was no more than a delusion. A genuine wonder, on the other hand, amazes not only its spectators, but even the tzaddik who performs it.
This, then, was Pharoah's intention when he said: "Provide a wonder for yourselves" - Provide us with a true wonder, one that will not only dazzle us but will even make an impression upon yourselves."
Source: Rabbi Y. Bronstein
4 comments:
Cool. I never heard this nor would have considered the subtlety of Pharoah's words.
when Moshe fled from the nachash at Shemos 4:3, was the Performer of the trick impressed in the least?
or was the true wonder, for Him, creation itself, which appeared, stage by stage, ki-tov? did not His entire oeuvre, His work taken as a whole, strike Elokim Himself as tov m'ode?
or did creation impress Hashem-Elokim as but so much effective presentation, as something, yesh, that ought to do the trick? indeed at Bereishis 3:6 the first woman is triply smitten by the eitz ha'da'as (when the nachash--the Creator's stage assistant--presents that tree's fruit, a 'truly' lethal wonder, in an illusory way). as odd Edgar asks for the whole of the race, "Is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dream?"
Too complicated for me I’ll stick with Noam Elimelech thanks
Also cannot understand the comment of Anon @7:55 pm.
Think it's easy to understand what is meant by 'wonder to yourself' means. The court magicians in Pharoah's palace were sorcerers (there is the power of evil-tumah) and they were easily able to copy the first three wonders, but Moshe knew their's was trickery (illusions) whereas his wonder was from H'. His snake at the end of this scenario swallows up the snakes of the court magicians. It's not hard to understand.
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