Parasha Thoughts
By Rabbi Shemuel Akhamzadeh
רבות מחשבות בלב ×יש ועצת ×”×©× ×”×™× ×ª×§×•×
…וילך ×יש מבית לוי ויקח ×ת בת לוי
In this week’s Parasha, we hear of Pharaoh’s decree to throw every newborn boy into the Nile River. The Midrash tells us Amram the father of Moshe decided to separate from his wife after he heard of the nature of the decree, but Miriam dissuaded him from doing so, and Moshe was born soon after.
R. Yaakov Kanievsky explains that Pharaoh’s decree was rooted in his fear of what he heard from his stargazers. They told Pharaoh that a man will arise and will save the Jews from bondage and he will destroy Pharaoh’s kingdom.
The purpose of the decree was to destroy Moshe the savior of the Jews, however the decree itself brought Moshe to the palace and if that is not enough Moshe was even raised by Pharaoh’s own daughter Batyah, in Pharaoh’s palace. As the Midrash tells us, Pharaoh himself was involved in raising Moshe. Moshe learned how to be a leader during this stage of his life, under the guidance of Pharaoh.
During the winter of 1901, the Russian government decreed that The Great Yeshiva of Volozhin could not continue operating unless the Yeshiva agreed to include secular studies as part of the Yeshiva’s curriculum. After much debate amongst the Torah leaders of the generation and the Rosh Yeshiva Haneziv zl, the sad decision was made to close down the Yeshiva. They decided it was essential not to bow to every whim of the Russian government and not to allow the status of the Torah to be brought to the level of natural sciences ( Lhavdil).
Even though many people felt this would be the end of Torah in Europe, Hashem had other plans and as the Yeshiva closed down and the Torah scholars scattered all over Europe, many other Torah institutions and Yeshivot started operating.
Closing down the Yeshiva itself became a source of continuity for the Torah, as Hashem had planned. Realizing that our job is to make right decisions in the face of every hardship no matter what seems to be the outcome is what Hashem wants from us. The outcome is in the hands of Hashem. Just as Moshe was raised in the home of his enemy, the Torah’s continuity was guaranteed through the closing of one of the greatest Yeshivot. So too, Hashem will bring a good ending to every situation.
Shabbat Shalom