Parsha summaries

#1	Hashem tells Moses to go to Pharoah, for he has hardened his heart, so that he may taunt Egypt. Moses and Aaron go to Pharoah and warn him that if he doesn’t let the Children of Israel go, locusts will come and cover the surface of the Earth, so many that one could not see the ground. They would destroy all that was left of the previous plague, the hail. Pharoah’s servants pleaded with him to end the plagues and let the Children of Israel go. So Pharoah brought Moses and Aaron back and asked them who will be leaving Egypt. Moses replied, "We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and our cattle, for it is a festival of Hashem". He said "A festival" because all Jews must participate in festivals. Pharoah refused, and allowed only the men to leave Egypt. He felt that by doing this he would drive the evil out and prevent the locusts from coming.lfil Hashem’s tasks, it’s not good enough.
#2	Hashem brought the 8^th plague, the locust-swarm, into the land of Egypt on a steady east wind all day and night. The locusts covered the entire surface of the land and ate up all the greenery that the hail had left over. Pharoah wished for the locusts to be gone before they ate the roots of the vegetation, which would cause more permanent damage. He summoned Moses and Aaron, confessed he had sinned, and begged them to make Hashem pardon his sin and remove the locusts. So Hashem drove the locusts into the sea with a west wind, so that not a single locust remained in Egypt. But Pharoah’s heart remained hardened. Commanded by Hashem, Moses stretched his hand towards the heavens, and for three days the Egyptians could not see even if they lit candles, and the darkness was so thick and tangible that for three days they could not move. But the Children of Israel had light and could move. While the Egyptians were in darkness, the Children of Israel could move, talk to each other and help each other. They were (as always) a community of people that were close together and worked with each other. The Egyptians were put into thick darkness because they were isolated from each other, and when an Egyptian was in distress his friend could not help him, even though he knew that his friend needed him. I have learnt from this that for a community to be separated is among the most severe punishments of all, and we should try very hard to avoid it from befalling us.
#3	Pharoah allowed the Children of Israel to leave Egypt, but he did not allow their livestock to go with them. Moses rejected the offer, saying that eventually Pharoah would be so sorry for his sins that he would sacrifice his own livestock to Hashem. He said that they must take their livestock with them, as it was their property and their wealth. Hashem still hardened Pharoah’s heart, and Pharoah warned Moses that should they meet again, he would surely die. Moses replied, saying that he would never see his face again. Hashem warned Moses of the coming of the tenth plague, and said that after this Pharoah will drive out the Children of Israel. He asked that all the Jews request gold & silver from their Egyptian neighbours. The Egyptians were willing to give gold & silver. Moses became a great & respected figure among Jews & Egyptians alike. From this I can learn that by listening to G-D’s word and following his commandments, as Moses did, we will be respected by friends and foes alike (and hopefully live to 120!).
#4	Moses warned Pharoah that at about midnight that night, all the firstborn in Egypt would die, from the firstborn of Pharoah to the firstborn of the Egyptian beasts. But as for the Children of Israel, no man or beast would be harmed. Pharoah did not heed Moses’ warning, which was the word of Hashem, and did not let the Children of Israel go. Hashem told Moses & Aaron that this month (Nissan) would be the first month of the year. This was the commandment of keeping Rosh Chodesh, and it was the first commandment that the Children of Israel received as a people. It is an especially important commandment, as observing the new moon and the new month is vital knowledge that we must have, for if we don’t know what month it is we don’t know when to celebrate our festivals. Hashem told Moses & Aaron to tell all the Jews to keep the commandment of the Pesach-offering. On the tenth of the month, there should be an unblemished lamb or kid for every father’s house. The blood of the animal must be smeared on the doorposts and the lintel of the house in which it was to be eaten. They must eat the flesh that night, with bitter herbs and matzos. They must eat all of it before morning, that which is left must be burnt in the fire. They should eat it in haste, with their loins girded, ready to go. Hashem himself (not an angel) would kill all the firstborn of Egypt that night, but the blood on the doorposts of the Israelites would be a sign for him to pass over our houses. He commanded the Children of Israel to keep the festival of Pesach in every generation, and to eat matzos for seven days during the festival. From this I can learn that the mitzvah of keeping Rosh Chodesh is very important, because if we did not know when to celebrate our festivals, we would not be able to celebrate them at all, and without our festivities we would not be the kind of people that we are now.
#5	Moses relayed Hashem’s instructions regarding the Pesach-offering, to all the Children of Israel. That is, he instructed them to smudge their lintels and doorposts with blood, and to stay inside their houses until morning. Further, he told them that if one day your son asks why the Pesach-offering is done, and what its meaning is, they would tell him that it is an offering to Hashem, who saved us when he killed the Egyptian firstborn. And the people bowed in gratitude, for they knew that they would soon be a free nation. They went and did as they were commanded. When your wicked son challenges the meaning of an offering to Hashem, he is trying to rebel, and not participate. We know that he is wicked because of the way he talks, asking why we even bother to celebrate the festival. We can prevent him from creating conflict by giving him a true and beneficial answer. This shows me that the wicked, who are always challenging the truth, can be purified (if not rebuked) with a true, g-dly answer. Even the evil can never succeed in finding fault in the words of Hashem.
#6	At midnight that night, Hashem killed every firstborn in the land (Excepting Israelites), From the firstborn of Pharoah to the firstborn of his beasts. There was a great outcry in Egypt; not one house was without a corpse. Only Pharoah himself was spared, so that he could live to praise Hashem and to tell the world of his greatness. Pharoah came to Moses, and pleaded that he leave. He made no conditions on who left, he allowed the Children of Israel to go with whatever they pleased, so long as he could be rid of them. All of Egypt begged for the Jews to leave in haste, so they could be gone and the suffering would end. The Jews left with their bread before it leavened, and as Moses told them to, they demanded gold and silver from the Egyptians, which they mercifully gave away. They travelled from Egypt, an estimated 3 million people. They baked their unleavened bread and ate it. The Jews had been in exile 430 years, and the very day that this period ended was the day of Exodus. Hashem had been waiting for the day 430 years earlier. A wicked and powerful man, Pharoah had his pride and arrogance torn to pieces by Moses and the plagues. Pharoah once had authority over Moses, but because of Pharoah’s evil and Moses’ faith in Hashem, Pharoah crawled to Moses and begged for the suffering to end. From this I can learn that when one has faith in Hashem, he can defeat all his enemies as Moses did.
#7	Hashem told Moses that every firstborn of man and beast is his, and must be redeemed when born. Moses spoke to the Children of Israel, and told them always to remember the Exodus by celebrating Pesach, and not to eat chametz for 7 days every year. Moses then told the Children of Israel that every firstborn male livestock is Hashem’s as well. And if ones son should ever ask why the firstborn males are redeemed, you should tell him that Hashem struck down the firstborn of Egypt, the first issue of man & beast. In return for this, Hashem receives our firstborn, and we redeem all our firstborn sons. You should have reminders between your eyes and on your arm, that Hashem removed us from exile. From this I can learn that we must always remember to wear tefillin, as they contain the Shema. This is a prayer that not only reminds us of our connection with Hashem, and the most basic principles of our religion, but also keeps in our mind that Hashem removed us from Egypt.