Parashat Va’era
Tevet 28, 5786 / January 16-17, 2026
Torah Reading : Exodus 6:2 - 9:35
Haftarah: Ezekiel 28:25 - 29:21
Mevarkhim Hachodesh
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This d'var torah is offered in memory of my beloved mother, Annabelle Flom, whose yahrzeit falls this Tuesday, Shevat 4 (January 22). We still hear the music. Y'hi zekherah liv'rakhah - Her memory is a blessing.
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Monday, January 19 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Now more than ever we must remember his lessons and put them into action. Raise your flag, read or listen to Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech:
and then, take the sort of action that would make him proud. God knows we need it.
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Lunch and Learn meets Tuesdays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. NOTE: NO LUNCH AND LEARN ON JANUARY 19.
On January 26, we'll continue our learning about Passover at BT Pesachim 99b, - "... עֶרֶב פְּסָחִים סָמוּךְ לַמִּנְחָה" - "On the eve of Passover, adjacent to mincha time ...
The link to our reading is at:
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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?
"Moses Speaks to Pharaoh" - James Tissot, ca 1896-1902
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 (Rabbi Shimon ben 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, DD (HC)
Rabbi Emeritus
Temple B'nai Hayim
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b
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Temple B'nai Hayim
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT Yevamot 87b
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Cyber Torah list management (no salesman will call!):
To subscribe to Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Subscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
Send requests for dedications of Cyber Torah in honor of a simchah, in memory of a loved one or for a refuah shleimah to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
To unsubscribe from Cyber Torah, send an e-mail with the subject heading “Unsubscribe Cyber Torah” to: ravflom@sbcglobal.net
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