You have to make those victims your י≈חָּבַט י≈ב¿ּ„ ‡ָיזƒע and learn yiras Hashem.
Part III. Fear in Egypt
The Egyptian Goats
And so we come back now to the words of Rashi on our possuk, that ‡ּהו¿ךּרוָּב ֹׁ̆ו„ַָּ̃ה ל∆ׁ̆ ֹו ָּ̇„ƒמ ן≈כ – this is the way of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. ֹ̇וּמֻ‡ָה לַﬠ ּ̇נוָﬠ¿רֻּפ ‡יƒב≈מ – He brings misfortune on the nations,ּעו¿מ¿ׁ̆ƒּי∆ׁ̆ י≈„¿ּכּו‡ָירƒי¿ו ל≈‡ָר¿ׂ̆ƒי – so that Yisroel should listen, – and be afraid. And we understand that the makkos were intended primarily for us, for the Bnei Yisroel, only that the Mitzrim were the fat goats in the slaughterhouse. It means that the entire story, the whole sedrah of Vaeira, is an example of י≈חָּבַט י≈ב¿ּ„ ‡ָיזƒע יƒ‡ָּנƒמ ‡ָינ≈מ¿ׁ̆ – “Go to the goat in the slaughterhouse that is fatter than I am.” The Mitzrim had been fattened up with sins anyhow and so, let them be butchered.
Now you might say that ‘the fat goat is better than me’ implies we should have gotten the makkos; that the Mitzrim were serving as a replacement for the difficulties that were meant to come on the Bnei Yisroel. And actually, that’s exactly what it means. You hear that chiddush gadol? The Bnei Yisroel in Mitzrayim should have received the makkos!
Actually we don’t hear it so much. It’s a very queer thing because we were the innocent ones, the victims. So what does it mean that we needed the makkos and Pharaoh is a fat goat instead of us?
The Beneficiaries
The answer is this: The Bnei Yisroel were the ones who would benefit most. Pharaoh doesn’t get any benefit; he won’t get better anyhow. The Bnei Yisroel however, they would get better from seeing the Hand of Hashem; they are the ones who would respond best to treatment. And therefore they should get the treatment. Let’s say if somebody is sick, chalilah and he needs chemotherapy treatment. Will he send his brother-in-law or his employee to get the treatment? He needs it, not his brother-in-law, not his employee. So Hakadosh Baruch Hu should have sent the chemotherapy upon the Bnei Yisroel.
Oh yes, if they had suffered all these makkos, they would have gotten better. They’d know what to do. They’d daven. They’d discuss the reasons. They’d learn lessons and become better, absolutely. They’d have kinnusim, meetings about doing teshuvah. Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon Hakohen would speak — Miriam would speak to the women — and there would be a revolution of teshuvah, of becoming better.
And that’s the truth. Absolutely, they’d get very much better. But Hakadosh Baruch Hu, why should He do it that way? There’s a fat goat anyway who is waiting in the slaughterhouse. Let that goat be a kaparah. If the Bnei Yisroel will look and study what they see by the fat goats, they’ll become better that way. I’ll save My children in that way.
Kaparos with Goats
And that’s what it says in Yeshaya; it’s a possuk we have to study. ך∆יﬠƒֹׁ̆מו ל≈‡ָר¿ׂ̆ƒי ֹׁ̆ו„¿ָ̃יך∆ֹ̃ל¡‡ 'ה יƒנֲ‡ יƒּכ – I am Hashem, the Holy One of Yisroel, and I am your Helper. How am I your Moshia? םƒיַר¿ˆƒמָך¿ר¿פָכ יƒַָּ̇̇נ – I have given as your redemption Mitzrayim; they are your kaparah.
The Navi is telling us that Hakadosh Baruch Hu, because He is the Moshia, the Savior of Yisroel, He makes the gentile nations the atonement for us. It means He brings upon them things for our benefit. He wants to stir our hearts to think about Him and to be afraid of Him, but instead of sending things upon us to awaken the yiras Hashem, He substitutes Mitzrayim instead of Yisroel. A kofer means they’re a substitute for Yisroel. And from the troubles that come upon the Mitzrim, the Bnei Yisroel should learn to fear Hashem.
So now you can sit home in your houses and you’re talking about the news of the day, “You hear what happened? The Nile turned into blood. Hashem punishes. He means business!”
And when the land became covered with frogs that were everywhere underfoot, it came into the Egyptian bedrooms, into their bake rooms, every place, their kitchens, so the Bnei Yisroel saw the yad Hashem and they trembled. And they became great. They became great as a result of seeing these things.
Kriyas HaTorah Thoughts
And so, when you’re listening to the baal korei on Shabbos, think, “Ay yah yay! Kinnim!” You know what kinnim means? Kinnim is one of the most terrible things. The word kinnim comes from the word ken; ken means ‘it is so’. And it comes from the word konen, to establish. And so kinnim means the lice were established; entrenched. They put their claws into the Egyptian and you couldn’t move them. Lice sometimes get embedded in the body, you know. When they’re entrenched in the head, you can’t do anything. You have to shave off all the hair and then you have to boil the head constantly because they’re set in place.
הָמ≈ה¿ּבַבּו םָ„ָ‡ָּב םָּנƒּכַה יƒה¿ַּ̇ו – They were firmly established in their bodies and all the Egyptians, from the top to bottom, were scratching all day long. And they’re all bleeding from the scratching. The wealthy ones lay all day long with their heads in the laps of their servants and their servants are pulling them out of their hair, pulling lice out of their hair all day long. But there was no end to it. Their garments were so full of lice that even though they boiled their garments constantly, they couldn’t get rid of them.
And then disease began to spread. Kinnim bring sickness. Sometimes when there is an infection of lice, some armies lose as much as 70% of the soldiers as the result of diseases caused by kinnim. And so the Egyptians were dying like flies because of the plague.
But among the Bnei Yisroel, they didn’t have any infection of kinnim and they were enjoying it to no end—why not? Their persecutors were being persecuted finally. But they were supposed to not only enjoy it, they were supposed to be afraid! And they were afraid. Because how did they know it wouldn’t spread to them? After all, the kinah doesn’t know anything. It’ll keep on going. It might come into our homes too. And they were waiting all the time, how long will it take before it comes to us? But it didn’t come to them. It stopped. So now they were supposed to fulfill, יƒ‡¿ירƒּ̇¿ךַ‡ – that they would be afraid of Me, רָסּמו יƒח¿̃ƒּ̇ – and take mussar (Rashi ibid., Tzefania 3:7).
A Fearful Nation
And they did. Don’t think they weren’t afraid. They fulfilled their side of the deal and they learned and they learned. That’s why you find later in the Torah, in the tochachah, when Hashem is threatening to bring misfortune in case the Am Yisroel would disobey the Torah, He says “םƒיַר¿ˆƒמ ה≈ו¿„ַמ לָּכ̇≈‡ָך¿ּב יבƒׁ̆≈ה¿ו ם∆יה≈נ¿ּפƒמָּ̇¿רֹ‚ָי ר∆ֲׁ̆‡ – I will bring upon you all the diseases of Mitzrayim that you were afraid of” (Devarim 28:60).
You hear that? It says openly, ָּ̇¿רֹ‚ָי ר∆ֲׁ̆‡ – you were afraid. They didn’t just sit there and talk about it and enjoy what happened to Egypt. They were afraid.
Oh, you’re afraid? That’s wonderful! That’s a fulfillment of the purpose, to learn to be afraid of Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
And if not, יƒר∆̃ יƒּמƒעּכו¿ל≈ּ̇ םƒ‡ – if you don’t come back to Me in teshuvah, then םƒיַר¿ˆƒמ יןƒח¿ׁ̆ƒּב 'ה הָכ¿ּכַי – Hashem will smite you with the shchin of Mitzrayim, the boils that you saw in Mitzrayim (ibid. 28:27). So you’ll say, what’s it got to do with us, ‘shchin Mitzrayim’? The answer is, why didn’t you look at the shchin in Mitzrayim and learn from it so it should never happen to you. And if you’re going to be careless with the Torah, םƒיַר¿ˆƒמ יןƒח¿ׁ̆ƒּב 'ה הָכ¿ּכַי – from not learning from the shchin Mitzrayim, it’ll come upon you.
Not only the makkos in Mitzrayim. ל∆ׁ̆ ֹו ָּ̇„ƒמ ן≈כ¿ו ‡ּהו¿ךּרוָּב ֹׁ̆ו„ַָּ̃ה – This is the way of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. ֹ̇וּמֻ‡ָה לַﬠ ּ̇נוָﬠ¿רֻּפ ‡יƒב≈מ – He brings misfortune on the nations, ל≈‡ָר¿ׂ̆ƒיּעו¿מ¿ׁ̆ƒּי∆ׁ̆ י≈„¿ּכ – so that Yisroel should listen,ּו‡ָירƒי¿ו – and be afraid. And so not onlyָך¿ר¿פָכ יƒַָּ̇̇נ םƒיַר¿ˆƒמ butָיך∆ּ̇¿חַּ̇ ‡ָב¿סּו ּׁ̆וּכ. I made Kush, Ethiopia and Svah, another gentile country — we call it Sudan — instead of you. Even today you can take a look at Sudan and Ethiopia and see what’s doing there. It should be a kaparah instead of Yisroel. And if we look and are afraid it will be.
Current Events
Therefore, even today if you see that two gentile nations are battling against each other, don’t just ignore it. People are dying. Many people are suffering as a result. Invasions. Kuwait was occupied by Iraq. Lawlessness, murder. They do whatever they want. They’re wicked people and their victims are certainly suffering. Probably they deserve it too. But we shouldn’t let that incident go lost. I’m sure there are many purposes why Hashem does it, but one of the most important of all purposes is that we should learn yirah.
And that’s the plan of Hakadosh Baruch Hu; from the troubles that come upon all nations, we should learn to be afraid of Him. And therefore, when we see how the nations were destroyed all the time – the Huns came and destroyed Rome. They slaughtered all the Patricians and took away their wives and took away their property. And Greece was destroyed. And Bavel was destroyed. And so we learn from them to be afraid of Hashem.
History Lessons
That’s what life is for. Everything in life is for the purpose of recognizing Hakadosh Baruch Hu. All history — when you read what happened to Carthage, Carthage was a very wealthy city in the days of old; a powerful city. It conquered the nations around. It was full of wealth and luxury and palaces. And then Rome came and conquered and destroyed Carthage; they made a churban of Carthage.
Now, the churban of Carthage should have been a preview of the churban Beis Hamikdash. They should have thought, “If Carthage can be destroyed, the Beis Hamikdash can also be destroyed.” But they didn’t learn. They were thinking that it’s a far away story, that it can’t happen here. They missed the point, the whole purpose of churban Carthage.
They were thinking like all of us here are thinking that it’s nothing to worry about when you see in Bosnia all the trouble there. Or in Columbia when there was a big mudslide and thousands of people were killed. Chas v’shalom. We should be afraid! If an entire nation could be destroyed, who said America is forever? You have to be afraid!
Now that’s far from our thoughts because yiras Shamayim in general is a subject that has to be learned. But that’s what Hakadosh Baruch Hu expects of us and that’s why He makes it happen that we see others who don’t have these gifts, it’s sent upon them as a kaparah for you. That’s the great lesson we’re talking about.
The Secret Formula
And therefore, we come back to the little formula. It’s easy to remember: יƒ‡ָּנƒמ ‡ָינ≈מ¿ׁ̆ י≈חָּבַט י≈ב¿ּ„ ‡ָיזƒע. Memorize that; five words only. ‡ָינ≈מ¿ׁ̆ י≈חָּבַט י≈ב¿ּ„ ‡ָיזƒע יƒ‡ָּנƒמ. It’s a good tefillah. “The goat that’s in the slaughterhouse is fatter than I am.” Say it like this, “Hakadosh Baruch Hu, whatever you want to send on me, send on these reshaim and let me see from what happened to them and I’ll become better as a result.”
And when you do see it — when you see or you hear about a rasha or reshaim that got it in the head or in the leg, or whatever it is, make sure to fulfill your side of the deal and remember Hashem.
Of course, don’t forget the other ways too. Shema is a very good reminder! All the time, try to remind yourself about Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad. Sometimes you can י≈„יƒמ¿רַּ‚ עַּב¿רַ‡ּה≈ּ̇¿כֻּ„ƒמ ףֹׁ̆¿נƒל – move away from where you’re standing, to remind yourself that you’re only a visitor in this world.
And so there are ways and means of encouraging yourself in remembering Hashem and a good frum Jew can make use of all of them. But never forget the third prescription too: There are Pharaohs and Hitlers and Arafats — there are a lot others too; I won’t say their names because maybe some people who listen to these tapes will get upset — who are fat goats and so we ask Hashem to have rachmanus on us and send it instead on them. They deserve it anyhow, and we’ll do our part by being more and more afraid of Him. To be afraid of Hashem and become better and better, that’s what He wants most from us in this world.
Have a Wonderful Shabbos
