A Miracle Within a Miracle

''There was hail and fire flaming amid the hail'' [Va'eira 9:24]

The Midrash states that the Plague of Hail was a miracle within a miracle: the hail did not extinguish the fire and the fire did not melt the hail.  Rather, both elements joined forces in smiting the Egyptians.

R' Acha compared this to a king who had two very powerful legions of soldiers. To find greater favor in the king's eyes, each legion tried out-doing the other when they went out to war. The competition between the two legions escalated to the point that they hated one another.

This hatred continued for some time until a major war threatened to break out in the king's land. The king summoned both legions to appear before him, and he told them the following:

''I know'' said the king, ''that you are both very powerful and dedicated to my service. I usually send only one of you at a time to the battlefront. But now a major war looms on the horizon, and I need assistance from both of you. But what shall I do about your mutual hatred? You must make peace between yourselves and go out to war united. Then we will be victorious!''

So it was with the Plague of Hail. Hail and fire cannot co-exist because the nature of fire is to melt hail and the nature of hail is to extinguish fire. But in this instance, Hashem made peace between them and together they struck at the Egyptians.

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

US, Israel in open rift over Iran: Big joint military drill cancelled

US-Israeli discord over action against Iran went into overdrive Sunday, Jan. 15 when the White House called off Austere Challenge 12, the biggest joint war game the US and Israel have ever staged, ready to go in spring, in reprisal for a comment by Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon in an early morning radio interview. He said the United States was hesitant over sanctions against Iran's central bank and oil for fear of a spike in oil prices.

The row between Washington and Jerusalem is now in the open, undoubtedly causing celebration in Tehran.

Nothing was said about the 9,000 US troops who landed in Israeli earlier this month for a lengthy stay. Neither was the forthcoming visit by Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint US Chiefs of Staff, Thursday mentioned.

Source: Debka

Reaching the Palace

Art: Maronski

Our Rabbis have said "This world is like an antechamber and the World to Come is like the palace; prepare yourself in the antechamber so that you may enter the palace" [Avot 4:17]

No one does anything except for a purpose. If the goal is important enough, no effort and no trouble are too much to attain it. We find, for example, that Yaakov Avinu worked seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him as a few days because of his love for her.

Now, the purpose of the whole of creation, and thus of the whole world, is the World to Come. For such a purpose as this, one should be willing to face all the difficulties and obstacles of this world with a good heart, after all, there is no other way to reach one's King.

The story is told of a savage who knew nothing of the value of gold, silver or precious stones. As a reward for saving the king's life, he is taken into the royal treasury, provided with a number of sacks, and told to fill them from whatever he sees on the shelves and take them to his home.

The savage misunderstands the situation and is under the impression he is being punished by forced labor for some unknown wrongdoing. He starts working, but soon notices that no one is watching. He promptly goes to sleep and even when he wakes up, he works as slowly as possible. At the end of the day the sacks are almost empty.

When he is sent away with the sacks over his shoulder he is pleased with himself. If I had obeyed their orders, he thinks, I would have had to work hard all day and then had a lot of heavy sacks to carry. But when he meets some of his more knowledgeable companions and tells them his story, he soon learns what a fool he has been. He realizes - too late - that he should have worked with a will during that one precious day when the treasure was his for the taking.

This is exactly how we shall look when we get to the World to Come, the world of truth, where the yetzer hara, the evil inclination, and its deceptions have no more place. Here in this world, the world of falsehood, where the yetzer hara rules, all our value judgments are distorted.

The happy man is the one who recognizes true values while he is still in the preparatory antechamber - this world. He will find his ultimate happiness in the Palace. But he rejoices too even in the hard and unremitting toil of this world. He knows the true value and final results of his labours.

Source: Michtav M'Eliyahu by Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler zt"l, adapted by B. D. Kvutzat

Think

More of those strange earth noises

This time in Conklin, Alberta Jan. 12 2012

Unity is Strength

"Behold! the people, the Children of Israel, are more numerous and stronger than we" [Shemos 1:9]

The verse teaches us, said R'Yisrael of Rizhin, that when the Jews act as one people, free of discord and strife, then the nations of the world see them as ''more numerous and stronger'' than themselves and realize that they cannot dominate the Jews.

This can be compared to a father who invited all his children to his home.

When they arrived, they gathered around him.

The father held several thin twigs in his hand. He gave one to each of his children and then asked them to break them.

His children snapped the dry twigs with ease.

The father then passed around a bundle of several twigs.  "Now" said the father "please try breaking this bundle."  Each one tried to break the bundle but none succeeded.

"You see" said the father "as long as you remain united in the same way that these branches are united, nobody will ever be able to harm you! But if you act divisively and there is disharmony among you, then be aware that a lone individual is as feeble and easily broken as a thin twig."

Source: Rabbi Yisrael Bronstein

The Humility of Moshe and Moshiach

Moshe initially declined his mission saying ''Who am I, that I should go to Pharoah, and that I should bring forth the people of Israel out of Egypt?'' [Shemos 3:11]

The answer to this question was hinted to by the verse ''A poor man is riding on a donkey'' [Zechariah 9:9].  The poor man is a metaphor for the profound humility of Moshiach.  Likewise, the fact that he is riding on a mere donkey also points to his humility.

So, we have here an answer to Moshe's question:

Just like Moshiach was chosen by G-d due to his great humility, so too it was with Moshe.  Thus, the fact that Moshe humbly declined the mission proved he was the right person for the task.

Source: Likutei Sichos Lubavitcher Rebbe

Rabbi Winston on the Erev Rav [video]

The Erev Rav, or the Mixed Multitude, seems to be a side show in the exodus story. However, as Rabbi Pinchas Winston explains, they are more of a main event with ramifications even until today.