Vaeira: 5785 - The first three plagues were not administered by Moshe himself; the message from our holy Torah: "gratitude", and the connection to 24 Teves, the Hilula of the Alter Rebbe. Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld,…

00:02 Show respect to your host. By Divine Providence, we’re broadcasting this class from across the sea, from distant France, in the Normandy region, where our children live. I came here for a happy occasion, thank G-d: a sweet new little shliach was born to them, and we came to celebrate with them. We dedicate this class in his honor. May he enter the covenant of Avraham Avinu at the proper time, and grow up to be a chossid, G-d-fearing and learned. In this week’s parsha, Parshas Vaeira, the Torah tells us about the first seven plagues that Hakadosh Boruch Hu brought upon Pharaoh and Egypt so that he would let the Jewish people leave Egypt. But the Torah teaches us something very interesting. The first three plagues were brought not by Moshe Rabbeinu, but specifically by Aharon. As Rashi brings from the Midrash, the plague of blood, the plague of frogs and the plague of lice were not brought by Moshe Rabbeinu. Why? Because of gratitude. The water of the Nile had protected Moshe Rabbeinu when he was placed in it. And likewise, the frogs that came up from the Nile were not brought by Moshe Rabbeinu, for the same reason. The plague of lice, which came from the dust of Egypt, was also not brought by Moshe Rabbeinu. Rather, “Aharon stretched out his hand.” Why? Because when Moshe Rabbeinu killed the Egyptian, “he hid him in the sand,” and the sand protected him. So, in gratitude for the help he received from the Nile and the sand, Moshe Rabbeinu did not strike to bring about the first three plagues. The Torah teaches us how important gratitude is, even when we’re speaking of something inanimate, like the Nile, or of living creatures, like the frogs or the lice. Since Moshe Rabbeinu benefited from them, he owed them gratitude. Similarly, since

02:45 today is 24 Teves, the yahrzeit of the Alter Rebbe, author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch, we see the same quality in him. After the Alter Rebbe was released from prison, they asked him where to take him. He asked to be brought to the home of one of the chassidim, named Mordechai of Liepli. By mistake, they brought him to that house, but living there was one of the opponents who had informed on the Alter Rebbe, and they brought him to this man’s home. When they brought him inside, that opponent, that informer, shut the door and began to rebuke him. For three hours he tormented him with all kinds of questions and harassed him: Why did you have to change the wording of the prayers? And other questions like that. The Alter Rebbe even said that those three hours were harder for him than all fifty-three days of his imprisonment. That is how difficult those three hours were. The chassidim went looking for the Alter Rebbe. They knew he had been released, but where was he? They couldn’t find him. Then they decided to try the home of that opponent; perhaps he knew something. When they arrived, they could hear the voices from outside, so they knocked on the door. He wouldn’t open it. They were about to break down the door, and then he opened it. They saw the Alter Rebbe sitting with his head in his hands, while the man stood over him, rebuking him and shouting at him. They wanted to go after the man and punish him. The Alter Rebbe told them, “Don’t touch him. Show respect to your host.” He had honored the Alter Rebbe with a cup of tea. So despite all the distress the Alter Rebbe had endured during those three hours: show respect to your host. Gratitude. He had benefited from him; the man had served him a cup of tea. So he warned the chassidim not to do

04:56 anything to him or touch him. We see this same quality in our Rebbeim: gratitude toward anyone who, in some way or another, brought them satisfaction. We also find a similar story about my grandfather, who was the rabbi of Jerusalem. In 5684, a group of rabbis traveled through all the settlements in Eretz Yisroel to strengthen the people in Torah and mitzvos, particularly the mitzvos connected with the Land of Israel. They went through the settlements and cities to strengthen their fellow Jews. On the way back, they traveled by ship from Haifa to Jaffa. Rabbi Kook, who had also taken part in the journey, lived in Jaffa. They were guests at his home before going up to Jerusalem. While they were sitting there, Rebbetzin Kook prepared tea for them, and my grandfather, the rabbi of Jerusalem, was about to sip his tea. His son, who had accompanied him, turned to him and said, “Grandpa, you’re fasting today.” There were certain days on which he fasted, and his son thought perhaps he had forgotten and was about to drink the tea without thinking. Afterward, he asked him, “Grandpa, I know you fast on this day. Why did you drink the tea?” He gave him the same answer: show respect to your host. She had gone to the trouble of preparing the tea, and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. He was willing to set aside his practice, even in the middle of a fast, rather than hurt her. We learn how important gratitude is.