"

Friday, January 3, 2014 / ' "

Bo

Candle Lighting: 4:50 Havdala: 5:56

Note: The Halachic times listed here are from www.myzmanim.com.

Freedom and the Korban Pesach

By Sarah Pincus, 11 t h Grade
After Hashem told Moshe about the laws of Pesach, Moshe relayed the information to Ziknei Yisrael. In 12:21 Moshe said, Draw out and pick yourselves a lamb according to your families... Many mefarshim comment on the strange usage of - pick for yourselves. Some mefarshim understands it as a way to tell Bnei Yisrael that it needs to be done immediately. Rashi simply explains that it is telling people who do not have sheep, to buy a lamb. Rabbi Yossi HaGlili offers an interesting approach. He explains that - draw out means draw out your hands from idolatry, and - and take, means to accept the mitzvot. The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 16:2) strengthens this point by saying that Bnei Yisrael will not be redeemed until they stop worshipping Egyptian gods. When Bnei Yisrael left Egypt, they were not only free of enslavement to the Egyptians but they were also no longer enslaved to idol worship. The celebration of Pesach is a celebration of physical and spiritual freedom. The process of rejecting idol worship and recommitting to Torah is something that we are able to experience every year. During the time between Pesach and Shavuot, we have the ability to reconnect ourselves to Torah and mitzvot. When we celebrate Matan Torah on Shavuot we are in the proper mindset to rededicate our commitment. We have the privilege of being able to recommit ourselves to Torah every year, something that our ancestors were only able to do once. Pesach is not only a time of acknowledging our physical freedom but also our ability to freely practice observant Jewish lifestyles-something that unfortunately many of our ancestors were unable to do.

Page 1 of 4 A Fuchs Mizrachi Stark High School Publication

"

The Plagues as Units

By Yosef Coleman, 11 t h Grade
In the seder it says that Rabbi Yehuda grouped the plagues together as units of three with the acronyms Detzach, Adash, and Beachav. Why did Rabbi Yehuda think it was necessary to group them together? Was it just because he liked the way it sounded? I would like to suggest that the reason he grouped them is because each unit had a lesson to teach the world, and also had a specific pattern of how Paro and Egypt were warned. First, lets take a look at the warnings. In the 1st, 4th, and 7th plagues Moshe and Aharon are told to warn Paro in the morning. In Parshat Vaera Hashem command, (Shemot 7:15) - . In Shemot 8:16 by the plague of Arov He tells Moshe . Before the plague of Arbeh, in Shemot 9:13 Hashem instructs, , ,- , . In Plagues 2, 5, and 8 Moshe and Aharon are told to warn Paro, but are not given a specific time to do it. In Shemot 7:26, Hashem remarks to Moshe ... ; - ,- By the plague of Shchin in Shemot 9:1 Hashem says ; - ,- ... Finally, in Shemot 10:1 Hashem declares, - ,- ... For the 3rd, 6th, and 9th plagues there is no warning given to Egypt. These plagues hit Egypt unexpectedly. The 10th plague kind of stands alone, but Paro was warned, as it says in Shemot 11:4-5 , : , ,- . From the ultimate unit, Beachav, Hashem teaches that there is no one like Hashem in the entire country. - -- , - , -- , , . (Shemot 9:14). This is shown in plagues 7,8,9,10 The lesson for the second unit of Adash is to know that Hashem is the God in the midst of Egypt. He does not just rule over the world, but He rules over Egypt. He can choose where to strike his plague. If He wants to, Hashem can attack just a part of something. As it says in Shemot 8:18, , - , -- , - , . In these plagues Hashem is only smiting the Egyptian population and not the Jewish population. This shows that He can be very directive, can smite any part of the land, and is actively ruling over the land of Egypt. Each of the three units has its own lesson that Hashem wanted to teach the Egyptians and the rest of the world. Detzakh teaches that Hashem is God of the entire universe and rules over all of it. As it says in Shemot 7:17, , - : , , -- -. This lesson is in response to a prior event. Earlier, Moshe asked Paro to free the Jews, and Paro responded, Who is Hashem that I should let the Jews go?, : - , -- - , - . (Shemot 5:2). The first unit of blood, frogs, and lice display Hashems universal power, because in each plague He changes the laws of nature and smites the Egyptians.

Page 2 of 4 A Fuchs Mizrachi Stark High School Publication

because the hail, locusts, and darkness only affect Egypt.Then, the plague of the firstborn only strikes the firstborn. This leads Egypt to recognize that there indeed is no one like Hashem. At the end, When Paro tells the jews to go, he asks Moshe and Aharon to daven for him. ; ... , - , . (Shemot 12:31-32). This shows that

" Egypt finally recognized that there is one true God that rules directly over them, and that there is no one like Him in the entire world.

Rebirth of a Nation
By Rabbi Avery Joel
As the first "in the notes, it is in this weeks that we find the first given to , or sanctifying the new month. A question commonly asked is, why is this the first given to them? Would we have chosen the same one to be the initial charge to ? There are several approaches to this question. For example, the explains that this represents the future of the Jews of that generation. In the future, will not be slaves who have no control over their own time. Rather, they will have time in their hands, and will have the ability to determine their destiny and ultimately serve '. The , however, takes a different approach. He explains that the significance of is the concept of and , renewal. Our months revolve around the lunar calendar. With the rebirth, so to speak, of the moon we are reminded of the concept of renewal. What an important message for the Jews who were in !After having been slaves for so long, and after having fallen to the lowest depths of , of impurity, 'wanted to give them hope to ensure that they knew they now had the opportunity for rebirth. could now begin the transformation from a nation of slaves to a kingdom of priests. What a powerful message for us. No matter what our past, no matter what mistakes we may have made, we can always return. We should not get down on ourselves for our past or despair about our future. We should view every opportunity as a chance to right our wrongs, begin anew, and start a new narrative for us and

Page 3 of 4 A Fuchs Mizrachi Stark High School Publication

"

Shabbat Table Discussion Questions:

By Avi Hartstone, 10 t h Grade
1. Why must the Korban Pesach be completely roasted? (12:9) 2. Why was Paroah unwilling to let the Jews animals free with them? As slaves, why did Bnei Yisrael even have animals? (10:24) 3. How is it fair for Hashem to punish the lower class Egyptians who did not oppress the Jews and who had no control over what Paroah did? (11:5) 4. How could the Jews have slaves at this point if they were slaves themselves? (12: 44) 5. How can we call Paroah stubborn when he did not have free will? (13: 15)
Please e-mail us at FMSshemesh@gmail.com by Monday with your answers. We will choose our favorite one to publish every week!

Brought to you by: Staff: Editor in Chief- Ari Bar-Shain Associate Editors- Eli Meyers, Etan Soclof, and Yosef Coleman Layout Manager- Zev Karasik Faculty Consultant-Rav Rick Schindelheim Distribution Manager-Rivka Coleman Faculty Manager-Yael Blau Head Writers-Avi Hartstone and Zak Fleischman Student Writers: o Alan Soclof o Ami Shamir o Ben Jaffe o Bentzion Goldman o Ilan Senders o Jenna Fox o Jennifer Brenis o Joey Senders o Michael Brenis o Mordechai Blau o Sarah Pincus o Seth Weiss o Sonny Kugelman o Talya Engelhart o Yonah Bar-Shain o Zach Zlatin o Ziva Bibbins

!
Page 4 of 4 A Fuchs Mizrachi Stark High School Publication