5785 - "And Hashem said to Moshe, 'Go [bo] to Pharaoh'". Seemingly, it would have been more fitting to write "Go [lech] to Pharaoh"? A story of the Rav of Jerusalem, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld, who insisted on going…

00:02 Speaker 1 “And Hashem said”—“And Hashem said to Moshe: Come to Pharaoh.” The Zohar says: Rabbi Shimon opened with a question. Why does it say “Come to Pharaoh”? It should have said, “Go to Pharaoh.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu was sending Moshe Rabbeinu to Pharaoh, so it should have said “Go to Pharaoh.” Why does it say “Come to Pharaoh”? The Zohar explains, in the words of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, that Hakadosh Boruch Hu led Moshe from chamber to chamber, ever deeper, until they reached a chamber where the great serpent, Pharaoh, was found. This was such a powerful klipah that Moshe was afraid of it. Moshe Rabbeinu was afraid—afraid of such a klipah, “the great serpent lying in the midst of his rivers.” Moshe Rabbeinu was afraid to face him. Hakadosh Boruch Hu told him: “Come to Pharaoh. Come, I’m going with you. You don’t need to be afraid.” That is why it says “Come to Pharaoh,” not “Go to Pharaoh.” What is this like? There is a parable: A ship is sailing at sea, and the sea is stormy. The ship seems about to break apart, and the people aboard are agitated, shouting and doing everything they can to save it. Off to the side sits a little boy, playing. None of it seems to concern him. They ask him, “Aren’t you afraid?” He says, “Why should I be afraid? My father is here.” “Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” If Hakadosh Boruch Hu is with me, then, as King David says, even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I have nothing to fear. That is what happened with Moshe Rabbeinu when he had to enter Pharaoh’s chamber, the chamber of the great serpent, that great klipah. In this connection, there is an interesting story about the Rabbi of Jerusalem. It happened in 5689, when the pogrom took place in Chevron and, rachmana litzlan, so many Jews were murdered there. In fact, there was also supposed to

02:19 Speaker 1 be a pogrom in Jerusalem. The Arabs had already set out to attack the residents of a nearby neighborhood outside the walls. But there was a Jew there who had a pistol. He shot and killed the first Arab at the head of the procession, and they all fled. He saved everyone. But a pogrom had very nearly taken place in Jerusalem too. The situation was extremely tense. At just that time, a Jew needed to have a bris performed that day, and he asked the Rabbi of Jerusalem to come perform it. The Rabbi never refused a request to perform a bris. As he was about to leave, his family asked him not to go by way of Damascus Gate. It was very dangerous there; Arabs were sitting along the sides of the road. He should go by way of Jaffa Gate, where it was safer. He said, “No. I’m going by way of Damascus Gate.” He went through Damascus Gate, arrived and performed the bris. Afterward, as he was about to return home to the Old City, his son, who lived in the new neighborhood, again asked him, “Father, don’t go through Damascus Gate. It’s dangerous there. Go through Jaffa Gate.” He told him, “I’m going through Damascus Gate.” So his son went along to make sure he would at least not go alone. When they reached the Musrara neighborhood—which, for those who know the area, is just before Damascus Gate—the Rabbi turned to his son and said, “Yankel, you must not go on. It’s dangerous. I may go. Those on their way to perform a mitzvah are not harmed, either going or returning. I can go, but you cannot. Go back.” He would not let his son accompany him any farther. He went specifically through Damascus Gate, and eyewitnesses

04:21 Speaker 1 saw that as he passed through, all the Arabs sitting on either side of the road and at the entrances to their shops stood up, lowered their heads and bowed. They showed him great respect. Later, people asked him, “Why did you go specifically through Damascus Gate? It was dangerous, after all. Why did you put yourself at risk?” He said, “So that the Arabs wouldn’t even entertain the thought that they had somehow defeated us. They shouldn’t even think it.” This was a Jew with the pride of Yaakov. He had Jewish strength and was not intimidated by anything. May we have a good Shabbos, and with Hashem’s help, may we hear good news.

05:00 Speaker 2 Amen.