הרב אלון שליט"א
שיעורי הרב מרדכי אלון שליט"א
The taste of Shabbat – Vaera 5777
The taste of Shabbat -Vaera 5777
Rav Mordechai Elon
We will begin our study of the ten plagues with a quotation from the Sfat Emet, written by the Gerer Rebbe, Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, who's yahrzeit falls next Wednesday (5 Shevat)
My grandfather and teacher of blessed memory would say that the ten plagues are connected to the ten sayings with which the world was created and they brought the Ten Commandments into the world.
This is a very fundamental idea and we must examine each plague and it's source in the sayings that created the world. Only by understanding the link can we see the connection with the specific commandment that we received at Sinai.
First, an introduction to the ten plagues. The Torah isn’t archeology or just a historical story. Every letter, word and sentence are infinite. Each story, especially the exodus has an everlasting message relevant for us today. The exodus happens every day as in a spiritual sense we must every day leave )Hebrew מצרים Egypt means constraints too , S( . When we read the ten plagues we should remember that they, and the ten stages they represent, broke the arrogance of Pharaoh who had declared
לִ֥י יְאֹרִ֖י וַאֲנִ֥י עֲשִׂיתִֽנִי.
The river is mine, and I created it