IJII

Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh was one of the outstanding students of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zaccai, in the generation after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 C.E. He was described as an overflowing fountain, filled with Torah knowledge and intellectual creativity. He was so brilliant that the Pirkei Avot suggests that if all the scholars were on one side of the scale and Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh was on the other side of the scale, he alone would outweigh all of them in greatness.

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The Me'am Lo'ez, the classic Ladino biblical commentary (Turkey, 18th century), draws on midrashic sources in describing the two sets of the Ten Commandments. The original Revelation on Mount Sinai was a highly dramatic episode. Moses ascended the mountain, as the people of Israel gathered below with great anticipation. The scene was marked by thunder and lightning and the sound of the shofar.The voice of God was heard by all.

Yet, shortly afterward, the Israelites were dancing around a golden calf! When Moses came down the mountain and witnessed this idolatrous behavior, he threw down and shattered the tablets of the law.

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The Megillah pays close attention to what Mordecai wears. When he learns of the evil decree against the Jews, "Mordecai rent his clothes and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry." Mordecai had been one of the regulars at the king's gate--but the king did not allow people dressed in sackcloth to enter the royal precincts. In her distress, Esther sent Mordecai a change of clothes, which Mordecai rejected.

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A kabbalistic teaching has it that we come closer to God through the power of giving--giving love, charity, kindness.  A truly religious person is characterized by an overwhelming desire to share with others, to act selflessly with purity of heart.

On the other hand, we become more distant from God through the power of taking--trying to amass as much as possible for ourselves--more material goods, more honor, more egotistical satisfaction. We cannot exist without the power of taking, since we must fulfill our basic material needs. But when we exert this power excessively, we drift further and further from God.

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When we ultimately must come before the heavenly court and stand in judgment for our lives, what is the very first question we will be asked? According to the Talmudic sage Rava (Shabbat 31a), the question will be: "did you conduct your business dealings faithfully?"

We will not be asked about the quantity of our estate, but about the quality of how we obtained it. Were we honest, trustworthy, fair? Did we earn a good reputation for uprightness, morality, compassion?

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The great Hassidic master, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev, taught: There are those who hear the Shofar on Rosh HaShana, and then continue to hear the Shofar every day of the year. But there are those, on an even higher level, who heard the Shofar at the Revelation at Mt. Sinai, and who continue to hear that Shofar every day of their lives.

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When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and saw the destruction of their Egyptian enemy, they were elated. The Torah tells us that they revered the Lord and had faith in Him and in Moses His servant. They sang a magnificent song praising God for granting them a miraculous redemption.

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When God first appointed Moses to return to Egypt to lead the Israelites to freedom, He used the word "lekh"--go. The word "go" is repeated a number of times during the early phases of Moses' work. Yet, once the plagues began to afflict the Egyptians, God ordered Moses with a different word, "bo"--come.  This week's Torah portion opens with God telling Moses "bo el Par'oh", come to Pharaoh. What is the significance of the words "lekh" (go) and "bo" (come)?

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"And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt."

It is understandable why God commanded Moses and Aaron to order Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt.  Pharaoh was the ruler who had the power to release the Hebrew slaves. But what did God command them in regard to the Israelites? Some commentators explain that Moses and Aaron were commanded to be kind and patient with the Israelites. 

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"And he turned this way and that way, and saw that there was no man."

When Moses saw an Egyptian taskmaster beating an Israelite slave, he looked around before striking the Egyptian down. This passage is usually understood to mean that he wanted to be sure that he would not be seen when he slew the Egyptian.

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