We are currently in the Shovavim (שובבי״ם) period of the Jewish year. A time for introspection and change. The acronym comes from the first letter of the six parshios covering our enslavement in Mitzrayim through receiving the Torah. In these parshios, Paroh receives warning after warning from HaShem via His prophet Moshe Rabeinu. Paroh seems to just not get it. What is his problem? Why didn't he listen?
Let's punctuate the answer to that question with a couple of fun stories.
I moved to Chicago with my family just a few years before the turn of the century. (It was 1993 CE, actually, but "turn of the century" sounds way cooler!) We moved here -- as newly Orthodox Jews -- to find a Jewish community that would nurture and support our continued growth in Torah and avodas HaShem. I was discussing how happy we are that we moved to Chicago with a good friend of mine who grew up in Chicago. He had a great way of summarizing what we have found: Chicago has everything New York has; but it has two or three of each instead of 20.
When it comes to great Torah personalities, however, Chicago has a disproportionately large representation. Not only that, but they are so accessible and down to earth. One personality is R' Elisha Klausner, who -- among other community responsibilities -- is the Vaad Hatzedakos Coordinator at Agudath Israel of Illinois. That includes the "green cards", which carries enormous responsibility ensuring that those in need are helped and those few who seek to deceive are blocked. To give you a little perspective, I learn many hours for Shas for Shidduchiam each year. It is exhausting and exhilarating. This year, near the end of the day, I saw R' Klausner. At that point he was helping finish blatt that had fallen through the cracks -- due to others either overestimating their capability or other unforeseen circumstances. I noticed a copy of masechta Bava Basra -- which contains that most blatt of any masechta in Shas. I stammered, "R' Klausner... you did all of Bava Basra?!" The rabbi replied with his very warm and ever present smile, "No, I didn't do Bava Basra; I learned it."
A few weeks ago, R' Klausner was sitting shiva for his sister (an interesting woman in her own right) and I was able to get there on the last day to be m'nachem avel. Rav Shmuel Yeshaya Keller, a Telshe rosh yeshiva (and also a gadol b'Torah) was also there.
R' Klausner (who gave me permission to tell over the following story) said that he had been born in America (yes, New York) and his father had moved them to Eretz Yisrael when he was a young bachur. They moved to a community of Amshinov chassidim. (His father told would say, "We are not moving to Eretz Yisrael to live as expat Americans!") When R' Klausner became bar mitzvah, he asked the rebbi to please talk to his father -- who still dressed like an American -- about putting on the appropriate לבוש/chassidic garb. The rebbi first gave him a pahtch, then told him, "It's just clothes." The budding R' Klausner responded, "But the rebbi told יענעם/so-and-so to put on the לבוש!" "Ah... Yes, he had a TV in his house. I knew that he would not feel comfortable watching TV while wearing the לבוש, and now he has gotten rid of his TV."
R' Keller had his own story along those lines. Someone had, a few years prior, donated a Sefer Torah to Telshe. It was an older sefer, and they asked the family how they came to have it and why they were donating it. It seems they had inherited the sefer and had it in their living room for a couple of months. "But," they said, "It just didn't seem right having a Sefer Torah and TV in the same room, so we are getting rid of the Sefer Torah." Nebbich.
Paroh received message after message and warning after warning from HaShem. Why in the world didn't he listen. How could he have been so dense? Oh... he listened. He even heard. He even hearkened to the messages. He wasn't dense at all. He heard the messages loud and clear... and he made his decision. There were his decisions and his alone. (Regarding the last five plagues and the hardening of Paroh's heart... it is a very interesting discussion among the Rishonim. None of which affects the conclusion that these decisions reflected what Paroh really, really wanted.)
We don't have a Moshe Rabeinu delivering messages to us, but we certainly get messages. HaShem knows what He is doing... He makes sure that we get the message loud and clear. What He does not ensure -- and, in fact, removes His hand completely -- is our response. Our response is wholly and only ours.
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