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Va’era: Overcoming Our Nature Like Frogs!

Malka Majer

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In Parshat Vaโ€™era, in their warning before Makkat Tzefardea, Moshe and Aharon tell Pharaoh: 

“:ื•ึฐืฉึธืืจึทึฃืฅ ื”ึทื™ึฐืึนืจึ˜ ืฆึฐืคึทืจึฐื“ึฐึผืขึดื™ืึ’ ื•ึฐืขึธืœื•ึผึ™ ื•ึผื‘ึธึฃืื•ึผ ื‘ึฐึผื‘ึตื™ืชึถึ”ืšึธ ื•ึผื‘ึทึฝื—ึฒื“ึทึฅืจ ืžึดืฉึฐืื›ึธึผึฝื‘ึฐืšึธึ– ื•ึฐืขึทืœึพืžึดื˜ึธึผืชึถึ‘ืšึธ ื•ึผื‘ึฐื‘ึตึคื™ืช ืขึฒื‘ึธื“ึถึจื™ืšึธึ™ ื•ึผื‘ึฐืขึทืžึถึผึ”ืšึธ ื•ึผื‘ึฐืชึทื ึผื•ึผืจึถึ–ื™ืšึธ ื•ึผื‘ึฐืžึดืฉึฐืืึฒืจื•ึนืชึถึฝื™ืšึธ”

โ€œAnd the Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will go up and come into your house and into your bedroom and upon your bed and into the house of your servants and into your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading troughs:โ€1

This pasuk is a warning to Pharaoh that the frogs will cover every inch of Mitzrayim. The description of bedrooms, beds, ovens, and kneading bowls seems, at first glance, like a poetic way of saying โ€œyour entire house.โ€ However, the specific choice of words is far more significant than a mere literary device. 

The specific choice of ovens and keading bowls isnโ€™t simply a reference to the kitchen. The Torah could just as easily have used a table and a plate to represent a kitchen, and any other room would seem to be appropriate as well. The Gemara in Pesachim2 explains that the reference to these items demonstrates the extent of the plagueโ€™s influence. It writes that the kneading bowls are generally placed next to the ovens, as is written in the pasuk, when one is about to place the dough in the oven, and the oven is hot. The frogs were absolutely everywhere – even leaping straight into a piping hot furnace and baking themselves into the bread. The Hadar Zekeinim3 adds that a miracle occurred, and these frogs survived in the ovens.

By nature, a frog is a cold blooded creature. It lives in the water and avoids hot, dry places, so under normal circumstances, it would not choose to put itself in an oven. However, the true nature of any creature is to do G-dโ€™s will. In this case, the oven was where Hashem wanted them, so that was where the frogs went. The frogs went against their natural, preprogrammed instinct for the sake of their Creator and true instinct4. The gemara in Pesachim continues, urging us to draw a comparison from this to ourselves. If the frogs, who have no direct commandment in Kiddush Hashem, can overcome their nature in such a way for Hashemโ€™s honor, we, who are commanded to bring honor to Hashem, must be ready to go to far greater lengths. This is the concept commonly known as Mesirut Nefesh.

The Midrash Rabba makes this comparison as well, saying that this comparison was called upon by Chabanya, Mishoel, and Azarya in Bavel, when they chose to throw themselves into a furnace rather than desecrate the name of Hashem. They drew inspiration from the complete devotion of the frogs, and devoted themselves completely – body and soul –  to their creator. Like the frogs, they were rewarded with a miracle and survived the inferno. 

On the major scale, we have women like Yehudit or Yael, who put their lives at risk for the safety of Am Yisrael, or Chana, who gave in her own life along with her seven sons to bring honor to her Creator. This attribute is not only reserved for the wise, famous women, either. It is even found in the young girls of our nation.

This trait of Mesirut Nefesh has always been a Jewish principle. It is ingrained in our genetic makeup, stemming directly from our ancestors. Avrohom had his own furnace in Ur Kasdim, and Yitzchak committed himself to the sacrificial fire of the Akeida as well. Continuing on through history, we find countless examples of this trait of Mesirut Nefesh filtering into the rest of the Jewish people, both on an epic and everyday scale. Often, Mesirat Nefesh does not mean giving up oneโ€™s life. Sometimes one can give up on oneโ€™s comfort, which may look like a minor sacrifice, but that does not mean it is less valuable. The concept of Mesirut Nefesh is devotion to the Master of the world in every aspect of our life – mind, body, and soul. 

Often, it is the women who demonstrate mastery of this trait. On the major scale, we have women like Yehudit or Yael, who put their lives at risk for the safety of Am Yisrael, or Chana, who gave in her own life along with her seven sons to bring honor to her Creator. This attribute is not only reserved for the wise, famous women, either. It is even found in the young girls of our nation. The gemara5 tells a story that is referenced in the kinnot of Tisha Bโ€™Av6, occurring during the Roman conquest of Eretz Yisrael and the Jewish people. The gemara relates that four hundred children were traveling to Rome by boat, having been taken as captives for immoral purposes. 

The children realized what their captorโ€™s intentions were, and debated taking their own lives before allowing those purposes to manifest. They learned from a pasuk in Tehillim7 that says โ€œI will bring them back from the depths of the sea,โ€ that Hashem will grant them a place in the world to come as ones who drowned for the sake of His name. Upon hearing this, the girls leapt into the sea, avoiding the terrible fate that awaited them and certifying their commitment to their Creator. The boys were moved by their strength of character and followed suit. Even as children, the girls of the Jewish nation carried an innate and total devotion to the service of Hashem.

This power of Mesirut Nefesh is prevalent in the everyday lives of Jewish women as well, not just in the epic moments. A famous story is told about the mother of the Ponovizher Rov on a cold winter morning, as she woke her children for school. Each of her children had a thirst to learn Torah, especially on that particular day, but they had only one pair of winter boots. Their mother, without making the children aware of her actions, woke each child one by one and walked them to school, ferrying the boots back and forth. She made this frigid, arduous trek five times, and then five more at the end of the day, so that each child would have boots to make the walk in the snow. This would have been no life-threatening situation if one, or even four children missed a day of learning, but such was her devotion to the mission of Torah and Avodat Hashem. 

Often, epic events are what bring about epic traits within us, but it is actually the everyday circumstances that show our true character. We all have this Jewish trait of Mesirat Nefesh within us, and it is our duty to learn from the frogs in Egypt, and the people who came before us, to truly devote ourselves to the service of Hashem.

  1. Shemot 7:28 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  2. 53b โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  3. Shemot 7:28 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  4. Torah Temima ibid โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  5. Gittin 57b โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  6. Kinna 16 (Nusach Ashkenaz) โ†ฉ๏ธŽ
  7. Tehillim 68:23 โ†ฉ๏ธŽ

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