VAYERA 1983

In the Torah portion Vayera we learn how G-d hardened the heart of Pharaoh and He sent many more plagues on Egypt.  Up to the fifth plague it does not say that G-d hardened Pharaoh's heart, but afterwards it does.  

The Rabbis explain that this does not mean that G-d took away Pharaoh's freedom of choice.  What if means is that He gave him the power to resist the plagues so that he would now only send the Jewish people out of Egypt if he was convinced that this was the thing to do.  In the Inquisition when they put people on the racks and got them to say all sorts of things, everyone knew that they did not say these things because they believed them.  They said these things because they did not have the strength and courage to resist the pain.  Pharaoh was to let the Jewish people go not because of the pain, but because he now saw that it was the wrong thing to do.  Pharaoh, the Rabbis tell us, was an egotist.  He was always concerned about I, I, I.  

In the Haftorah we learn about Pharaoh, how Pharaoh would say, "My river is mine and I made it for myself."  He was concerned only for himself.  His motto was always me, me, me, I, I, I.  In this week's Torah portion when we learn about the genealogy of Moshe and Aaron it says "and these are Aaron and Moshe who G-d said to them, 'Bring out the Children of Israel from the land of Egypt.'"  

The Rabbis learn from this that Aaron was Moshe's equal.  Most of the time the Torah mentions Moshe first, but here the Torah mentions Aaron first.  The Medrash says that Moshe and Aaron are "Shekulim," that they have equal weight.  Of course, how can Rashi and the Medrashim say this?  After all, it was Moshe who went up Mount Sinai to get the Ten Commandments.  It was Moshe who had a vision of G-d which no one else had.  Aaron, on the other hand, presided over the golden calf, and Aaron never beheld G-d as Moshe did.  How can the Torah say that they are Shekulim?  Aaron, of course, had a different mission than Moshe.  As many times happens with oppressed people, many of the Jewish people did not want to try to go out of Egypt.  They were afraid that Moshe and Aaron's agitation would make matters worse.  Aaron's job was to get the Jewish people to go out of Egypt.  Moshe's job was to get Pharaoh to let them go.  After they left Egypt Aaron's job was to make sure that society functioned in a friendly and loving way while Moshe's job was to get the Egyptian attitudes out of the Jewish people.  The tasks were not identical.  They were complimentary.  They each needed each other and one could not be complete without the other.  

This is what actually the word "Shekulim" in Hebrew means.  The word "Shekel" comes from the same root.  Shekel means something weighs a certain amount.  In the old days money had intrinsic value not like today where our paper money really has no intrinsic value.  They would weight a Shekel on a scale with a known Shekel on one side and a purported Shekel on the other.  If it balanced out you had a true Shekel.  However, it is possible that on one side of the scale you could have iron and on the other a lot of feathers and they would weigh the same.  Things do not have to be identical to have equal worth.  Unfortunately, in our day and age there are too many people who believe that if another person's views are not identical with theirs these views have no worth.  We see that many times in institutions when people say it either has to be my way or no way, rule or ruin, and if a person's views are not identical with theirs they have no worth.  In Judaism we see that two and more are very important numbers.  A court in order to be valid, must have at least three judges.  Two would really suffice except in case of a tie you need a tiebreaker.  We light a minimum of two candles on Shabbos and holidays.  The only time we would light one candle is when a person is dead.  We need the views of others.  They have equal worth even if they are not identical to ours.  This same idea is emphasized again in the Torah portion when G-d tells Moshe and Aaron that "Pharaoh will speak to you and he will say, 'Give for yourselves a sing.'"  He will not say, "Give me a sign, show me a wonder."  He will say, "Show yourselves a wonder."  This, of course, means that a person has to be enthusiastic about his own enterprises if he is to impress anybody else, but there is also another lesson here.  The word "yourself," "show yourself a wonder," is plural.  Aaron and Moshe had to impress each other.  They had to be impressed with each other's ideas.  After all, what was Pharaoh doing wrong then if he subjugated other people to his ideas?  He was I, I, I, and everyone had to listen to him.  If Aaron treated Moshe this way or Moshe treated Aaron this way then they were, in effect, enslaving each other.  What was Pharaoh doing wrong?  Pharaoh had to have demonstrated to him that Moshe and Aaron were treating each other with respect.  Unfortunately, many times in families and institutions people are not treated with respect.  Their views are not considered worth anything if they are not identical with other's views.  Some people are treated with disdain because they are too young or too old, others because they have too little education, others because they have too much education.  This is all wrong.  We must always realize that other views have worth even though they are not identical with our own.  

The story about a woman who took her 16 year old son to see a doctor.  She turned to the doctor and asked, "Doctor, can a 16 year old boy perform an appendectomy?"  The doctor said, "Of course not!  A young man would first have to go to college and then to medical school, then do his internship and residency, and only then do an appendectomy."  The mother turned to her son and said, "See, Shlomy, I told you so.  Now go put it back."  We must learn how to treat other's views with respect otherwise we are acting just like Pharaoh.