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‫פרשת וארא‬
‫ וידבר משה לפני‬.‫ בא דבר אל פרעה מלך מצרים וישלח את בני ישראל מארצו‬.‫וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר‬
) ‫יב‬- ‫ (פרק ו' י‬.‫ הן בני ישראל לא שמעו אלי ואיך ישמעני אלי פרעה ואני ערל שפתים‬,‫ה' לאמר‬
Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying, “Come speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, that he send the
Children of Israel from his land. Moshe said before Hashem, saying, “Behold the Children of
Israel have not listened to me, so how will Pharaoh listen to me? And I have sealed lips!”
‫ ויאמר משה‬.‫ דבר אל פרעה מלך מצרים את כל אשר אני דבר אליך‬,'‫ אני ה‬,‫וידבר ה' אל משה לאמר‬
‫ ויאמר ה' אל משה ראה נתתיך אלקים לפרעה ואהרן‬.‫ הן אני ערל שפתים ואיך ישמע אלי פרעה‬,' ‫לפני ה‬
) ‫ פרק ז' א‬,‫ל‬- ‫ (פרק ו' כט‬.‫אחיך יהיה נביאך‬
Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying, “I am Hashem. Speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, everything
that I spoke to you.” Moshe said before Hashem, “Behold! I have sealed lips, so how shall
Pharaoh heed me?” Hashem said to Moshe, “See, I have made you a master over Pharaoh, and
Aharon your brother shall be your spokesperson.”
Rashi explains that ‫ פסוק כט‬is the very same statement made earlier in ‫פסוק יא‬, but because the
Torah interrupted the narrative (with a fifteen pasukim parsha) to trace the ancestry of Moshe
and Aharon, it repeated the matter here to begin the storyline anew. Similarly, Rashi tells us,
‫ פסוק ל‬is a repetition of ‫פסוק יב‬: ”This is the pattern in which the Torah is written; like a person
who says, ‘Let us go back over the initial points.’” According to Rashi then, nothing new is being
reported in these last two pasukim; they are simply a stylistic addition.
Never quite satisfied with a “blasé” explanation to any of the Torah, Rav Meir Simcha feels that
there are additional insights that can be culled from these pasukim, which make them “alive
and fresh” and he sets about, in his own unique way, to present them to us. He explains that
we read in ‫ פסוק יב‬that Moshe presented to Hashem two reasons for his fear that he was not
the right person to speak to Pharaoh. Firstly, he says, ‫הן בני ישראל לא שמעו אלי ואיך ישמעני אלי‬
‫פרעה‬/Behold the Children of Israel have not listened to me, so how will Pharaoh listen to me?
Rashi informs us that this is one of ten ‫קל וחומר‬- a fortiori arguments that appear in all of the
Torah. In addition, Moshe tells Hashem, ‫ואני ערל שפתים‬/And I have sealed lips! Rav Meir Simcha
explains that in the later pasukim, Hashem will address Moshe’s arguments. He points out that
Hashem begins by telling Moshe, '‫אני ה‬/I am Hashem, not found in the early pasuk. What did
Hashem mean to add? According to the Meshech Chochma, Hashem is answering Moshe’s
earlier ‫ קל וחומ ר‬by explaining to him that the ‫ בני ישראל‬have ‫“ בחירה חפשית‬and they can
decide to accept your words or not. Pharaoh, on the other hand, as king of Egypt, has lost his
free will.” This refers to the words of ‫שלמה המלך‬, who writes in ‫משלי כא' כ‬: ‫פלגי מים לב מלך‬
‫ על כל אשר יחפץ יטנו‬,'‫ ביד ה‬/A king’s heart is like rivulets of water in Hashem’s hand; wherever
He wishes, He turns it. And as Malbim there explains: The Torah distinguishes between the
heart of a private citizen and the heart of a king. Whereas a private citizen has free choice to do
as he wishes, a king-who can wreak destruction upon the populace-is under G-d’s control.
Leaders who arrogantly persecute Israel have confidence in their own prowess, but in truth
they are merely Hashem’s tools. Back to our pasukim: When Hashem tells Moshe, '‫אני ה‬, He is
saying to him, “Moshe, your ‫ קל וחומר‬falls by the wayside for I am Hashem and can manipulate
the heart of the king to acquiesce to your requests. Your other argument, ‫ הן אני ערל שפתים‬is a
correct one and for that My answer is ‫ואהרן אחיך יהיה נביאך‬." So that according to the Meshech
Chochma, these latter pasukim are a new dialogue between HKBH and Moshe.
Finally, the Meshech Chochma comments on the phrase used in our pasukim, '‫לפני ה‬, which he
tells us is a unique expression in all of Torah and found only in these pasukim. He elaborates:
Moshe understood the enormity of the moment-that he will be exposed to a level of ‫ נבואה‬that
no human, before or after, will ever achieve. This required ‫הכנה‬, a preparation, to be worthy to
stand before Hashem. Rav Meir Simcha parallels this to the present day preparation required
of us before presenting ourselves to Hashem in ‫תפלה‬. In fact, he believes that '‫ לפני ה‬is the
source of a relevant ‫ הלכה‬that is developed in .‫ברכות לד‬: “The Rabbis taught: “‘One who is
asked to lead the prayer service should refuse at first (as if to say he is unworthy of the honor).
If he does not decline, but accepts immediately, then he resembles cooked food without salt. If
he overdoes his reluctance and refuses too much then he resembles cooked food that has been
oversalted. Rather, how should he behave? The first time he is asked, he should refuse. The
second time he should bestir himself, as if to rise, and finally, the third time he is asked he
should extend his feet, rise…and lead the congregation in prayer.’” Notice Moshe’s two
responses when he is '‫לפני ה‬: The first time Hashem speaks to him about his mission for the
‫צבור‬, he outright refuses-“if the Jewish people did not listen to me, Pharaoh surely would not.”
The second time he tells Hashem, ‫הן אני ערל שפתים‬- ‫ הן‬as a form of ‫הנני‬, i.e. “Hashem, I am
ready to do Your ‫ שליחות‬but I have a speech impediment.” This was not an outright refusal but
rather an explanation for his hesitation. Once HKBH persisted, he consented. And this is exactly
how the ruling is presented by the ‫ מחבר‬in ‫ אורח חיים נג' טז‬: One who is not a permanent
(prayer) leader must hesitate a bit before he goes before the ark, but not too much; rather, the
first time he should hesitate, and when they ask him again he should ready himself as if he
wants to (lead), and on the third time he should go before the ark. He ends this ‫ הלכה‬with a
modifier: However, if a great man told him that he should go before the ark, he should not
hesitate at all. Mogen Avraham counters, based on Tosafos in ‫פסחים‬, that if the request
pertains to accepting a position of authority (which can lead to haughtiness), one may refuse
even a great person. Once again, according to the Meshech Chochma, the source is our
pasukim, where we see Moshe Rabbeinu not hesitating to refuse a request from none other
than Hashem, because it involved being elevated to a position of ‫שררה‬, and as per Mogen
Avraham, this falls into “the right of initial refusal”!
‫לזכר נשמת אבי מורי ישראל מנחם בן שלום ז"ל‬
‫ולזכר נשמת הרב יהודה בן אברהם שמחה (קופרמן) זצ"ל‬