Thursday, January 26, 2017

CHOLESTEROL OF THE SOUL

Parashat Va’era
Torah Reading: Exodus 6:2 - 9:35
Maftir: Numbers 28:9-15
Haftarah: Isaiah 66:1-24 (Shabbat Rosh Chodesh)

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CHOLESTEROL OF THE SOUL

“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, ...” Exodus 7:3

The notion that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart raises great difficulty. What does this say about free will? Rabbi Yochanan asks, “Doesn’t this provide heretics with ground for arguing that he had no means of repenting?” If God caused Pharaoh to refuse to let the Israelites go, if he foreclosed Pharaoh from repentance, if everything is preordained, then how can anyone be held accountable for their actions? To paraphrase Abraham, how can God, the judge of all the world, then claim to be acting justly?

For the first five plagues, “Pharaoh’s heart hardened” - he chose to act as he did. But for the last five plagues, “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart”. In the Midrash, Resh Lakish says, “Let the mouths of the heretics be stopped up. ‘If to scorners, He will scorn.’ (Proverbs 3:34) When God warns a man once, twice, even three times, and still he does not repent, then God closes his heart against repentance so that He should exact vengeance from him for his sins.” Still, why does God harden Pharaoh’s heart at all? Or does God really do that?

Interestingly, in the Talmud, Resh Lakish gives a different and more satisfying answer. He says, “What is the meaning of ‘If to scorners, he will scorn; and to the meek he gives favor’? If he tries to defile himself, he is given an opening; if he tries to purify himself, he is helped.” Note the lower case here. Not God, but man. If we turn to scorners, we will scorn. If we turn to the meek, we give ourselves favor. We always have the choice to open our hearts and souls or harden them to the cries of others. If we choose evil, God passively leaves openings, which we can choose to enter - or not. If we choose time and again to harden our souls, it becomes more and more difficult for us to change our ways. But the difficult is not impossible. Because, says Resh Lakish, if we choose goodness, God affirmatively helps us.

Unclog the arteries of your soul, and heed the cries of those in need.

Shabbat Shalom v'Chodesh Tov.

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Congregation Beth Meier
Studio City, CA
Visit me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b
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Candle lighting: 5:00 pm

Friday – Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday – Religious School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew class – 10:00 am.
Tuesday – NO Lunch and Learn – Resume February 7.
Friday, 3 February – Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, 4 February – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday, 5 February – Religious School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew – 10:00 am.
Tuesday, 7 February – Lunch and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday, 10 February – Musical, Guitar-Accompanied Shabbat Service – 6:00 pm, followed by Shabbat Dinner – 7:00 pm. Dinner reservations required. Watch your mail for flyer!

This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Zehavah B’rakhah bat Leah, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, Sarah bat Devorah, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Beth Goldstein, Myra Goodman, Simon Hartman, Fouad Kay (Yehoshua ben Salima), Bonnie Kleiger, Philip Kovac, Tonya Kronzek, Toni Linder, Roy Miller, Carol Rosen (Tsharna Aliza bat Leah), Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), and Naomi Zimmermann (Naomi bat Yorma).

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