Hello [nickname_else_first_name],
PARACHAT VA’ERA ; 28 JANVIER 2017/ 1 CHEBAT 5777 CHABBAT : DEBUT: 4:36 PM ET FIN: 5:43 pm CHABBAT ROCH HODECH CHEBAT
PARASHA IN BRIEF:
Hashem reveals Himself to Moshe . Employing the “four expressions of redemption,” He promises to take out the Children of Israel from Egypt, deliver them from their enslavement, redeem them, and acquire them as His own chosen people at Mount Sinai; He will then bring them to the land He promised to the Patriarchs as their eternal heritage.Moshe and Aaron repeatedly come before Pharaoh to demand in the name of G‑d, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness.” Pharaoh repeatedly refuses. Aaron’s staff turns into a snake and swallows the magic sticks of the Egyptian sorcerers. G‑d then sends a series of plagues upon the Egyptians.The waters of the Nile turn to blood; swarms of frogs overrun the land; lice infest all men and beasts. Hordes of wild animals invade the cities; a pestilence kills the domestic animals; painful boils afflict the Egyptians. For the seventh plague, fire and ice combine to descend from the skies as a devastating hail. Still, “the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and he would not let the children of Israel go, as G‑d had said to Moshe”
ROCH HODECH CHEBAT:
La nation juive est souvent comparée à la lune. Tout au long de l’histoire, notre lumière a connu des hauts et des bas. Mais, même dans l’obscurité la plus totale, elle ne s’est jamais éteinte. C’est la raison pour laquelle, lorsque la nouvelle lune apparaît dans le ciel de la nuit, nous célébrons.Roch ‘Hodech qui signifie « la tête de la nouvelle [lune] », et c’est effectivement un jour – ou deux – de célébration marquant le début d’un nouveau mois lunaire.
Les mois juifs, indexés sur le cycle de la lune, ont soit 29, soit 30 jours. À la fin d’un mois de 30 jours, le 30ème jour du mois sortant et le premier jour du nouveau mois sont tous deux Roch ‘Hodech. Après un mois de 29 jours, seul le premier du nouveau mois est Roch ‘Hodech. Comme tous les jours du calendrier juif, Roch ‘Hodech commence à la tombée de la nuit du jour précédent. Le mois de chevat, quatrième à partir de tichri, et dixième à partir de nissan, est placé sous le signe du Verseau (en latin Aquarius), c’est-à-dire du porteur d’eau.
C’est en ce mois-là que tombent les pluies les plus abondantes et les plus bienfaisantes, et ce, nous apprend le Midrach, par le mérite de Moché qui, après avoir puisé de l’eau et en avoir abreuvé le bétail de Yitro (Chemoth 2, 19), a « puisé » de même la Tora depuis sa source et en a « abreuvé » Israël. C’est ce même mérite de Moïse qui, selon le Midrach (Yalqout Chim‘oni Esther), a retenu Haman de s’attaquer aux Juifs en ce mois-là.Le nom de chevat, d’origine araméenne (« chavtou » ou « pluie »), apparaît une fois et une seule dans le Tanakh :
Questions and Answers
All references are to the verses and Rashi’s commentary, unless otherwise stated.
What cause did the forefathers have to question G-d?
6:9 -- Although G-d swore to give them the land, they never actually had control over it.
· Who was Aharon's wife? Who was her father? Who was her brother?
6:23 - Elisheva, daughter of Aminadav, sister of Nachshon.
· After which plague did G-d begin to "harden Pharaoh's heart"?
7:3 - After the sixth plague -- shechin .
· Why did Pharaoh go to the Nile every morning?
7:15 - To relieve himself. Pharaoh pretended to be a god who did not need to attend to his bodily functions. Therefore, he secretly used the Nile for this purpose.
· Give two reasons why the blood was chosen as the first plague.
(a) 7:17 - Because the Nile was an Egyptian god.
(b) 8:17 - Because an invading army first attacks the enemy's water supply, and G-d did the same.
· How long did the plague of blood last?
7:25 - Seven days.
· Why did the frogs affect Pharaoh's house first?
7:28 - Pharaoh himself advised the enslavement of the Jewish People.
. · What did Moshe mean when he told Pharaoh that the frogs would be "in you and in your nation"?
7:29 - He warned that the frogs would enter their intestines and croak.
· Why didn't Moshe strike the dust to initiate the plague of lice?
8:12 - Because the dust protected Moshe by hiding the body of the Egyptian that Moshe killed.
· What were the Egyptians likely to do if they saw the Jews slaughtering lambs?
8:22 - Stone the Jews.
· What was miraculous about the way the hail stopped falling?
9:33 - The hailstones stopped in mid-air and didn't fall to the ground.
JEWISH PROVERBS:
You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play it better than anyone else.
Who loves money will never be content with it.
Man enters the world with closed hands, as if to say, “The world is mine”; he leaves with open hands, as if to say, “I take nothing with me
Heaven is wonderful, but getting there is most of the fun.
Surrounding yourself with dwarfs does not make you a giant
Who respects the elderly is as if he respects the Lord
To seek wisdom in old age is like a mark in the sand; to seek wisdom in youth is like an inscription on stone."
If you believe all gossip around you, you will be left without one good friend
A man’s first knowledge should be to know himself
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TOU BICHBAT CHABBAT BECHALLAH, LE 11 FEVRIER
