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"A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know of Joseph" (Shemot 1:8).
Gemara Sotah 11a states: "Rab and Samuel differ in their interpretation; one said that the king was actually new, while the other said that his decrees were new. And what does it mean that he 'did not know of Joseph'? He was like one who did not know Joseph at all." How is it possible that Pharaoh, who recognized Joseph to be a G-dly person (Ish Elokim) and even gave him his ring, for Joseph to rule Egypt, could suddenly switch to destroy the Jewish people? We know that Pharaoh acknowledged that Joseph saved Egypt from annihilation. Even a fool would have some appreciation. How could Pharaoh stoop so low? There are potent and powerful forces within us which can take us from one extreme to the other. Within a short period of time a person can move from one who recognizes and appreciates holiness to one who wants to destroy it. These forces can take us from righteousness to wickedness in one fell swoop transforming us into someone we never thought we could be, G-d forbid. The positive side of this is that it can also work for the good. In an instant, we can rise into the light of life, leaving behind our jaded past. On this side of the story, our inner forces are even more powerful because they have help from above. Chazal tells us that if one wants to defile himself then "the way is open" but if one wants to purify himself, he "receives help from heaven"! We are foolish to think that we cannot change ourselves. This negative attitude actually stems from laziness and a heavy heart. If we would just shake ourselves for a moment to start over again we could literally shoot up to the heavens! The Midrash Rabbah Song of Songs 5:3 says: "The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: 'My sons, present to me an opening of repentance no bigger than the eye of a needle, and I will widen it into openings through which wagons and carriages can pass.' R. Judan and R. Levi said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: 'Let go your evil ways and practice repentance even for a flash (a blink) and know that I am G-d.' " Application: Ask yourself: In what areas do I need to purify myself? How can I reach new heights in my service to Hashem? Give 10 quick answers off the top of your head to these sentence stems: I have given up on... If I did not feel hopeless, I would... Based on the writings of Rav Yehuda Lev Chasman. If not now, when? |
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Shalom: with your permission Rav I would like to write some ideas originated by reading your commentaries.
I feel that evil oriented behaviour was established the same way people are open to good and kind feeling. Our Lord ( of Divine name ) knew, know and will know all behaviour within our body ( Ruaj ), as the light and the dark were separated into different momentuns the same way the evil and the holy were each given a place to fullfil The Creators will . If this is so then all souls( I Think so!) are given certain ruled conditions that are aim to be hired into "PARDES" different stations of receiving the will. I feel that one of a reason that it is so difficult to become a really tzedakim is that this jew needs to take the most profound identity to the holy and highest dimension of the covenant made at Mt Sinai. This might mean to put off all hired animal needs of body and soul orientating and serving Our Lord with Kindness and Love to make Tikkun Olam. I feel is a very difficult station to stop at but once the train is rolling the station gets closer and closer within reachable distance. I found a very good source " The Tanya " that explains very well the matter concerning evil and holiness. Thank you very much. Lej Leshalom |
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Dear Mrs. Hawke, The archaeologists say that the earth is billions of years old. Would that also be considered proof? We say, however, that it is only 5,766 years old, and no mmore. Moreover, as far as "kohl" is concerned, this is no more than the crushed silverish-grey antimony known as "stibium," and it is still widely used today by the Yemenite Jews in painting their eyelids. The Talmud (Tractate Berakhoth) says that it benefits a man's eyes until he reaches the age of forty. I personally knew a Yemenite man (Yoseph Saleh, shown in the Yemenite Photo Album on this forum) who painted his eye-lids with kohl (stibium), and he lived to reach one-hundred and eleven years! Obviously, he was not hindered by "lead poisoning!" Sincerely, David Ben-Abraham |
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B"H
Oh, by the way. The Yemenites also made use of litharge of silver in their eyes, in order to aid in curing eye-infections. It has the peculiar quality about it that it acts as an astringent, and can also be used as an anti-perspirant, similar to lead. I have actually tried it in my eyes, and it works wonders! David |
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GY Teacher |
Quote "Oh, come one, really! We have hebrews and egyptians both getting old and dying, the torah mentions the generations of the brothers and of their children getting old and dying, why would Pharaoh still be alive? The egyptians at that time lived shorter life spans due to lead poisoning from the lead they mixed into the kohl they traced around their eyes to prevent pink-eye from the moist environment on the Nile. This has been proved by archeologists. The Pharaoh of Moses' time wasn't the same Pharaoh of Joseph's time. "
Hawke, why is this more strange to you than the splitting of the sea? (BTW, archeologist have to piece together and do a lot of guess work, thus I would anyhow take what they say with a grain of salt, or even a whole salt shaker, ditto to all scientific work that deals with piecing together small fragments, that a lot of imagination is involved (excluding science that is provable, that can be reproduce many times in experiments) (notice the implication of how these things are written, that scientist "believe" that the X did Y, that they really have no conclusive proof.) ____________ http://limudtorah.jewishweb.org Please help the Global Yeshiva to continue spreading high quality Torah by sponsoring a Shiur in the "Understanding Mishna Brurah" forum. All sponsorships are tax deductible. |
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