English translation — וארא ג

Talk 3<pg>34</pg>

A.

In the verse<sup>1</sup>

"And seven days were fulfilled after the Lord had smitten the river" Rashi explains: And the count of seven days was fulfilled<sup>2</sup>,

that the river did not return to its former state,

that the plague lasted a quarter of a month and three parts he warned and admonished them<sup>3</sup>.

Rashi's intention simply is

(as is written in the commentators)

:

a)

To explain the phrase "vayimalei" — singular form,

that "vayimale'u"

(seven days)

it should have said"<sup>4</sup>

[And if "seven days" means "a week of days"<sup>5</sup>

(in Rashi's language in many places<sup>6</sup>

— "a week of days")

— it should have said "vatimalei",

because "sheva'at" is a name for a week in the feminine gender"<sup>7</sup>]

; therefore Rashi adds the word "number",

that is,

that it is as if it were written in the verse "vayimalei number of seven days".

b)

to settle the wording "vayimalei"

(regarding counting of days),

for at first glance this wording is not appropriate in our case — "for⁸

malei applies only to something that has a measure

(fixed)

like vayimle'u yameha laledet⁹,

malei shavua zot vehem shiv'at yemei hamishteh¹⁰

— therefore he said that also in this matter the plague was..

serves a quarter of the month and has a measure that it should be filled".

But still needs explanation at length of Rashi's wording:

If his intention is only to inform us that there was a set measure for each and every plague

(therefore the expression "and it filled" is appropriate for this),

it would have been sufficient to say "seven days,

that the plague lasted a quarter of a month" — and why does Rashi elaborate and add:

(a)

"that the river did not return to its former state" — and especially since at first glance there is no novelty in this beyond what is explicit in the verse.

[And also if you say that his intention is to detail the subject of the plague that is discussed in this verse — he should have shortened and written "seven days,

the smiting of the Nile"<sup>11</sup>

(and like the language of the verse here "after the Lord had smitten the Nile"),

why does he lengthen to describe it in a language of negation "the Nile did not return to its former state"<sup>12</sup>?].

<pg>35</pg>

(b)

"And three parts he would warn and admonish them" — "warn and admonish" who mentioned them and what is the relevance here

(in what is discussed in the verse regarding the time of the smiting of the Nile)?

! And further: from where does Rashi know in the plain sense of the verse that the warning and the admonition lasted<sup>13</sup>

an exact and limited time of three parts of a month<sup>14</sup>

(and Rashi does not bring this in the name of the midrash — that is to say,

that the necessity for this is from the plain sense of the verses themselves)?

Also tz"e"b the precise wording of Rashi "was etc. a quarter of the month and three parts etc.": In the Midrashim of Chazal that this matter is brought¹⁵

— the wording is: "24¹⁶

days He warned them..

and seven days the plague would last etc." and the like — and why did Rashi deviate from this wording¹⁷?

2.

And one can say the explanation of all this:

The phrase "וימלא" indicates that at this time the matter came to its fullness and completion¹⁸,

and beforehand it is still lacking.

And so in our matter: before all seven days passed, the measure of the plague was still lacking and its action was not completed,

and only after the count of a week of days "its measure was filled".

However, in this matter

(that the completion of the plague is only after its entire time)

the plague of blood differs from the other plagues: the action of the other plagues

(which lasted a quarter of a month¹⁹)

was in a manner,

that each and every day the action of the plague was renewed²⁰

[like the plague of frogs,

that during seven days — each day<pg>36</pg>

They were swarming throughout all the borders of Egypt; with the plague of lice — they went and crawled on man and on beast every single day,

And so too with the other plagues²¹]

— therefore the expression "and it filled" is appropriate for them,

that is,

the "measure" of the plague's action "was filled" during the seven days that this plague was "serving" — acting and continuing

(And until then the action of the plague was not yet finished

(not — its results))

:

But not so with the plague of blood,

behold, in the very first moment of the plague were turned "all the waters that were in the Nile..

and the blood was throughout all the land of Egypt"²².

as explained in the verse: And seven days were fulfilled after the Lord had smitten the river.

And even though during all the seven days after the smiting of the river new waters entered the river²³

— behold there was no need for the action of the plague of blood anew so that also these waters would turn into blood,

for from the wording of the verse "all the waters which are in the river" and from the wording "he smote their fear"²⁴

it is understood that the plague of blood was in the entire river

(the Nile river)

and in every place where "their fear" is found — also outside the borders of Egypt²⁵

; and perhaps one may add,

that only a small quantity of the new waters that entered the source of the river reached the

(part)

river that is in the land of Egypt and was nullified in its minority,

and in general — each first part is nullified;

And since the action of the plague "the striking of the Nile" was already finished in the first moment,

it is no longer applicable, seemingly, to say that during the seven days the plague continued in action until "its measure was filled" in seven days²⁶.

[In the Midrash it says²⁷

that "an Egyptian and an Israelite in one house and a barrel full of water and the Egyptian..

draws out [a barrel] full of blood and the Israelite drinks water..

and the Egyptian says to him give me in your hand a little water and he gives him and it becomes blood"

(and only "when he would take from the Israelite with money he would drink water"),

and according to this it is found that also in the plague of blood the action of the plague continued all seven days,

for when the water reached from the hand of the Israelite to the hand of the Egyptian it was then turned into blood.

But in Rashi there is no mention at all of this miracle,

And the reason — because there is no hint at all to this miracle in the plain sense of the verse&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;.

And on the contrary: in the verse it is explicit&lt;sup&gt;29&lt;/sup&gt;

"And all Egypt dug around&lt;pg&gt;37&lt;/pg&gt;

the river for water to drink, for they could not drink from the waters of the river",

its explanation

(according to the plain sense)

is,

that the water from these diggings was fit for drinking and they drank it&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;

(for the plague was only on the water of the river,

and not on the water that they dug "around the river"&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;),

that is, that these waters were not turned into blood].

And therefore Rashi explains — "that the river did not return to its former state",

that is,

also this plague

("the plague was active" —)

was during all seven days,

except that it was not through an action,

but rather in a negative manner — "that the river did not return to its former state".

And the explanation: a)

It is explicit in the verse,

as above,

that "the striking of the river" — was before the "seven days",

and thus the action of the plague ended then.

b)

On the other hand,

we do not find that after the conclusion of the plague of blood there would be an action to return the blood to water.

And simply — "the river returned to its former state" in a spontaneous manner&lt;sup&gt;32&lt;/sup&gt;,

and thus the plague "was active" all seven days

(that the river should not return to its former state).

And therefore also regarding this plague the phrase "and were fulfilled" is appropriate

(the number)

seven days" — that the measure of the plague was "fulfilled".

3.

And nevertheless Rashi is not satisfied with this,

because still the sequence of the verses here is not well settled — "And it came to pass etc. after the smiting etc. And the Lord said to Moses: Come to Pharaoh and say to him etc.",

For the language implies somewhat,

that the verse "And it came to pass etc." is

(also)

an introduction to the warning in the verse after this,

that when "And seven days were fulfilled etc." then the Lord said to Moses that he should go and warn Pharaoh about the plague of frogs³³.

For the intention of the verse is only to inform us how many days the plague lasted — it should have said "and the plague was seven days"

(and the like)

; and from the fact that the verse is precise to say "and seven days were fulfilled etc."

(namely the time of the conclusion and completion of the plague)

it implies somewhat,

that this verse is an introduction to what follows after the conclusion of this plague.

But on the other hand,

if "and seven days were fulfilled etc." is only an introduction to the verse that follows — it should have said "and it was after the plague"

(and the like).

And since the verse informs in this introduction also the measure of time of the plague's duration

("and seven days were fulfilled")

it implies,

that also this measure pertains to the continuation in the verse that follows regarding the warning.

And this is what Rashi writes — "that the plague&lt;pg&gt;38&lt;/pg&gt;

lasted a quarter of a month and three parts he would warn and admonish them",

that is: also the warning was connected with a measure and a set time,

and furthermore — the two aspects in each plague

(the duration of the plague and its warning)

and their measure,

are parts of one complete measure&lt;sup&gt;*33&lt;/sup&gt;

including the entirety of the plague: the complete and fixed measure of the entirety of the plague was a month&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;

(complete)&lt;sup&gt;*34&lt;/sup&gt;,

and the month was divided into two: one part

(a quarter of the month&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;)

was the measure of the plague itself,

and three parts — the measure of the warning.

4.

And it can be said that this is the intent of Rashi — that he prefaces "that the plague was in effect" to "he would warn and admonish them"

[the opposite of their order in the plain sense,

for first comes the warning and the admonition and afterwards the plague³⁶]

:

The source for this order is the order of the verse,

that "And seven days were fulfilled"

(which teaches us the measure of time that the plague was in effect)

comes as an introduction to "And the Lord said to Moses: Come to Pharaoh and say to him, etc." — the warning about the subsequent plague.

And on this basis is Rashi's commentary,

that the period of days that was set for each and every plague is divided in a manner,

that the first quarter "the plague was in effect..

and three parts

(the subsequent ones)

he would warn and admonish them" about the subsequent plague.

But superficially it is a puzzling thing — how does it fit to say that the measure of time of the plague is divided in such a way that at first the plague comes and afterwards the warning for the subsequent plague — after all, the entire matter of the warning is preparation and introduction to the plague

(that will come specifically afterwards)

!

5.

And one can say the explanation of this:

The intention of the warnings to Pharaoh was not

(only)

in the ordinary sense of a warning,

preparation for the subsequent plague —

(but rather)

in order to threaten and influence Pharaoh to finally send Bnei Yisrael from his land,

for the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses immediately at the beginning of his mission to Pharaoh, "And I will harden the heart of Pharaoh, etc., and he will not listen to you, Pharaoh, etc."³⁷

—

The warnings were

(also)

a matter of "plague" — in order to "subdue him..

with sufferings"³⁸,

that is,

to cause him pain and suffering,

the words that were<pg>39</pg>

Moshe speaks to Pharaoh king of Egypt in a style of warning etc. during all the aforementioned time,

this is pain and suffering for Pharaoh.

And based on this it is understood that the warning is a continuation of the preceding plague,

and especially that the intention of the warnings — "to subdue him..

with sufferings" — is carried out with greater force when the warnings come in proximity to the plagues

(in practice³⁹)

: when the river has just returned to its normal state — and immediately Moses comes to Pharaoh with a warning about the next plague — this continues and increases the use and striking of the previous plague.

And it can be said that also for this reason,

the warning about the first plague came

(blood)

in continuation

(and immediately)

of the wonder of the staff — for after the wonder before Pharaoh that Aaron's staff became a serpent etc. and swallowed etc. their staffs⁴⁰

G‑d commanded Moses: "Go⁴¹

to Pharaoh etc. and the staff which was turned into a serpent take in your hand,

and you shall say to him etc."

(the warning about the plague of blood)

— for through this the warning affected Pharaoh with greater intensity.

6.

Based on this, another precision in Rashi's language is resolved: in the Midrashim¹⁵

the phrase "he would warn" and Rashi adds "he would testify and warn"

(and further — he precedes testify before and warn)

:

The distinction between testify and warn is⁴²

: testifying

(term of testimony⁴³)

its meaning — to inform and reveal a matter that occurred in the past or that will certainly happen in the future; whereas warning means,

to caution that the coming of the matter depends on the conduct of the one being warned — that if he does repentance

(or does not sin)

it will not come,

and if not, it will come.

And similarly in Moses' words to Pharaoh there were two types: the warnings are announcements that he will be punished

(certainly)

for not sending the people of Israel,

and the admonitions about the future — "If you refuse to send, etc."⁴⁴

(after this admonition)

a certain plague will come upon him.

And according to what was explained above regarding the purpose of the admonitions, the reason is understood why Rashi precedes "warns" to "admonishes"⁴⁵

— because the admonitions were a matter of "warning",

for although they were said in the language of admonition — "And if you refuse, etc." — nevertheless,

since "Pharaoh will not listen to you",

they are

(also)

a warning,

and Moses

(who is the speaker to Pharaoh)

knew that the plague would certainly come.

7.

Shabbos Parshas Va'eira Chala

(in most years⁴⁶)

on Shabbos Mevarchim month of Shevat or

(as in this year⁴⁷)

Shabbos Rosh Chodesh Shevat — on the tenth of this month is the yahrtzeit of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe.

<pg>40</pg>

And one may say a hint and lesson in the service of G-d from the above

(in the manner of the warnings to Pharaoh

(to the opponent),

that their main purpose was to "strike him",

"to subdue him..

with sufferings")

— based on what is explained in the discourses of the yahrtzeit⁴⁸,

regarding the attribute of Netzach — that there is a special matter in war to break and defeat the opponent,

Which⁴⁹

The matter of victory

(The attribute of Netzach)

Is planted and rooted in the essence of the soul,

Therefore for the sake of victory in war the king opens the sealed and hidden treasures from generation to generation,

And likewise in spirituality,

That for the sake of victory over those who oppose holiness,

Over everything connected to the Holy One, blessed be He, and Israel

(His children of the Omnipresent)

And Torah and commandments,

Behold the Holy One, blessed be He, reveals the most sublime spiritual treasures in order to win this war,

And so it is regarding Egypt,

And as it brings in the discourse

(In the chapter pertaining to this year⁵⁰)

From what is stated⁵¹

"He brings forth wind from His treasures, that smote the firstborn of Egypt",

"That in order to smite the firstborn of Egypt..

(That)

They are the strength and might of the husk,

And for this He brings forth wind from His treasures".

And from this the lesson also to us,

in our generation,

the generation of the heels of Mashiach,

that without looking at the greatness of the darkness doubled and redoubled in the world,

upon us to know that for the sake of waging this spiritual war,

were given to us all the forces necessary for it,

from the "hidden treasures" of the Holy One, blessed be He⁵²,

And by means of this that they stand strong with great might and strengthen themselves in the occupation of Torah and service and the commandments,

we will merit soon to victory,

to the true victory,

that the children of Israel will go out from the exile with an upraised hand,

in the true and complete redemption through Mashiach our righteous one,

speedily in our days, literally.

(From the sicha of Shabbos Parshas Va'eira 5735)