From: JoshHoff@aol.com
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 2:39 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort:parshas Vaeira, 5768
Noise Pollution
By Rabbi Joshua (noisily known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
In this week's parsha, God brings seven of the ten plagues upon Pharaoh
and the Egyptians. Various midrashim give reasons for the different plagues,
showing how they constituted examples of God's practice of meting out
punishment commensurate to the crime, or measure for measure - midah kineged
midah. In the case of the plague of tzefardeia, which is explained by
some commentators as frogs, and by others, notably Rabbeinu Chananel and
Abarbanel, as crocodiles, we find different reasons for it given by different
midrashim. A number of midrashim point out that worse than any tangible
physical harm done to the Egyptians by the tzfardeia was the mental harm they
did, through the incessant noise that they emitted. Another midrash tells us
that since the tzfardea came from the water, they were used to punish the
Egyptians, who tried to destroy the Israelites who would receive the Torah,
which is compared to water. While the first midrash does relate something
specific about the plague of tzefardeia to the sin that generated it, the second
midrash does not, on its face, seem to point to anything specific about the
plague, other than where the tzefardeia came from, that reflected anything the
Egyptians did to deserve it. Moreover, these two midrashim seem to give two
totally different, unrelated reasons for the plague of tzefardia. I would like
to suggest a connection between the nature of the plague of tzefardeia and the
acceptance of the Torah, on the one hand, and a consequent connection between
the two reasons given for the plague in these midrashim, on the
other.
Why was the noise made by the tzefardia such a nuisance for the
Egyptians? Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein, in a taped shiur given several years ago,
suggested that the constant croaking of the frogs did not give the Egyptians a
chance to think. Although he does not mention this, such a condition is
reminiscent of the Ramban's description of the effect of the hard work to which
the Torah attributes the failure of the slaves to take heed to Moshe's message
of deliverance to them. The Torah, in the beginning of our parsha, tells
us," They did not heed Moshe out of shortness of spirit and hard
work" (Shemos 6:9). Ramban, in his commentary to that verse, explains that
the pressure of the hard work that the taskmasters imposed upon them did not
allow them to hear any idea or reflect upon it. This comment, in turn, is
reminiscent of Pharaoh's reaction to Moshe's demand that he release the slaves.
He said that the slaves were becoming lazy, and as a result were demanding to
be allowed to leave for the wilderness and bring offerings to their God
(Shemos, 5:8). Therefore, said Pharaoh, "Let the work be heavier
upon the men and let them engage in it ; and let them not engage in false words
(Shemos 5:9). The midrash there relates that the slaves used to be free from
work on Shabbos, at which time they read from scrolls that had been passed down
to them, speaking of their future redeemer. After Moshe's request for the
release of the slaves, Pharaoh canceled their day of rest and increased their work
load. Thus, when Moshe delivered God's message of redemption to them, they were
unable to pay any attention to what he said, because of the constant pressure
of their work load. We can now go back to the midrashim we saw and explain the
connection between the plague of tzefardeia and the nation's acceptance of the
Torah, and the connection between the two reasons given for the plague, as
well.
During Moshe's initial encounter with God at Mt. Sinai, God told him,
"When you take the people out of Egypt you will serve God on this mountain
(Shemos 3:12). Thus, the ultimate purpose of the redemption was to be the
nation's acceptance of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. Pharaoh had the taskmasters
increase the work load of the slaves for the specific purpose of preventing
them from speaking of redemption. As a result, their release was delayed, and
so, too, was their acceptance of the Torah. As a result, God sent the
tzefardeia, which made a constant, disturbing noise, which did not allow the
Egyptians to stop and think about what was happening in front of their eyes.
Interestingly, after the next plague, that of kinim, or lice, Pharaoh's
magicians declared that it was the finger of God (Shemos 8:15). Rabbi Boruch
Sorotzkin, in his HaBinah VeHaBeracha, explains the image of the finger of God
as referring to an isolated moment, unconnected to what preceded or what would
follow. The magicians recognized that the plague of lice was something they
could not replicate, and that pointed to a higher power, but they failed to
relate it to the rest of the process that was unfolding before them. This
inability to reflect on the wider message of this plague would seem to
indicate that the Egyptians were suffering from the residual effects of the
plague of tzefardeia, whose constant noise did not give them a chance to
stop and think, just as Pharaoh worked the slaves so hard that they did not
have a chance to stop and reflect. The plague, in turn, taught the slaves
something about God's providence, thus further readying them for their
redemption, and, ultimately, their acceptance of the Torah.
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