VAEIRA

Hashem hardened Pharoh's Heart!

PARSHA POINTS:

• Hashem sends Moshe and Aharon to go speak to Pharaoh again to let Bnei Yisrael go. When Moshe says that he has a speech impediment and can't talk, Hashem instructs him to use his brother Aharon as the speaker.

• The parsha lists all the heads of the tribal families.

• There are seven of the ten plagues in this week's parsha: blood, frogs, lice, wild animals, pestilence, boils and hail. 
• Every time Pharaoh asks Moshe to get rid of a plague, Pharaoh says he will release Bnei Yisrael. However, each time Moshe davens to Hashem to end the plague, Pharaoh changes his mind.

• Bnei Yisrael are not affected by the plagues .

PARSHA PUZZLE:   
In Parshat Vaeira, we all surely know,
That Moshe asked Pharaoh to “Let my people go!”
But Pharaoh was stubborn, again and again.
Then they received the Makot- how many? There were TEN!

The first one was blood, their water all turned red,
The second, the frogs- jumped all over their bed,
The third plague was itchy; they were covered with lice,
But Pharaoh was so stubborn, did not listen to their advice. 

Then came many wild animals for plague number four,    
Pharaoh found it difficult he could not take it anymore.
Once the plague had stopped Pharaoh surely lied,
So Hashem brought Plague five, where all the cattle died.
 
After that came boils and then down came the hail,
He did not let the Jews out, to no avail.
Who caused the first two plagues?Who was Hashem’s messenger?
And why not his brother? Do you know the answer?
 
 

PLAYING WITH THE PARSHA:
In this week’s parsha Hashem sends Moshe and Aharon to go speak to Pharoah again to let Bnei Yisrael go. When Moshe says that he has a speech impediment and can't talk, Hashem instructs him to use his brother Aharon as the speaker.

                                                              

Play the Taboo game or make up your own.  Think of a word- preferably from this week’s parsha and write down 5 words that the player cannot say.  For example if you are thinking about frogs then write down:  animal, plague, green, Kermit, jump.  The player has to describe the word without using any of the words written.  Teach the children what it is like to have a speech and language impediment.  Sometimes you don’t know how to express yourself or you are afraid to say certain words because they are pronounced incorrectly.  Explain and discuss how Moshe must have felt.

·         You can buy plastic frogs that jump and make a parsha game out of it.  Whenever you get the frog into the bucket you answer a Parsha question.

A TASTE OF THE PARSHA:

 Hashem-Hardened Pharaoh’s Heart

What you will need:

1.      Cookie dough

2.      Heart shaped cookie cutter

3.      Melted chocolate

4.      Aleph bet chocolate mold or cookie cutters

Make heart-shaped cookies.  Dip half of the heart in the melted chocolate and let it harden.  Voila- Hashem-hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

Make Red Jello to resemble the blood!

Staff turns into Serpent

Take a glass cup and place candy canes and gummy snakes into the cup – because Pharaoh’s magicians turned their staffs into snakes.  The kids will love this! 

The Seven Makot

What you will need:

      1.      7 cupcakes

2.      Frosting

3.      Red food coloring

4.      Candy frogs

5.      Coconut and black sprinkles

6.      Animal cookies

7.      Red Hots

8.      Round shaped candies

9.      Animal shaped gummy candies

·  Frost 6 of the cupcakes in white frosting.  Save a bit of the frosting for the seventh frosting. 

·  Put a few drops of red food coloring in the frosting.  Spread it over the first cupcake - for blood. 

·   Put candy frogs on the second cupcake. 

·   Sprinkle coconut and some black sprinkles for the third cupcake - lice.  

 SHABBAT IMABBA:

 Here is a great way for my father and I to learn a little bit of Parsha each week, even though we live far from each other. ( I like the play on words of Abba in the word Shabbat and Imabba meaning "with Abba" and Ima Abba written together!  Thanks Abba and Ima :-)!

       In this week's Parsha perek 6/3 it states: "And I Hashem
    (G-d), appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov." Rashi states that the three were the Avot.  We know that already, so what is Rashi trying to teach us?  Avot might be from the loshon of "eiva" which means to want. If a person wants to be close to G-d, He will be there for him.  Hashem is with you all the time and when you acknowledge Him he will always be there for you!

Thought of the week:

   The Torah in Parshat Vaera tells us that Hashem     hardened Pharoah's heart during the Ten Makkot so he would continue to enslave the Jews in Egypt. This raises an important theological question: How could Hashem harden Pharoah’s heart and at the same punish him and Egypt for not freeing the Jews?

    The Ramban answers that although Pharoah would have freed the Jews had Hashem not hardened his heart, it would have been to stop the plagues and not because he was repenting from his evil ways. In fact, during the first five plagues, the Torah doesn't even mention that Hashem hardened Pharoah's heart. This is because Pharoah’s evil heart was hard enough to ignore the first five plagues without any outside help.

    We on the other hand, can be comforted by the fact that Hashem is always ready to accept our earnest repentance. This concept is part of the Tefila of ונתנה תוקף that we say during the Yamim Noraim: "כי כשמך כן תהלתך, קשה לכעוס ונוח לרצות, כי לא תחפוץ במות המת, כי אם בשובו מדרכו וחיה, ועד יום מותו תחכה לו, אם ישוב מיד תקבלו"!

Have a wonderful and restful Shabbat!  I would love to hear from you!  Ruchie