Drash Cards for Vaiera (5772)

by Marc Mangel

•The three great minds in Orthodoxy in the 20th century were Moshe Feinstein (Reb Moshe, 1895-1986) the master of Halacha, Joseph Solevetchik (The Rav, 1903-1993) the master of Talmud, and Menachem Mendel Schneerson (The Rebbe, 1902-1994), master of Chasidut.

• Today they are all three here to edify us.

• The Rav said that we mainly live in Vaeira moments — neither fully oppressed nor fully redeemed.

•He builds on Rashi from Ch 6, v 26-27: “This is Aaron and Moses”/”This is Moses and Aaron” — and said “They are of equal significance”. A leader must mix the characteristics of Moshe (the strict law is immutable; we seek truth and righteousness) and Aaron (seeking kindess and peace)

• The axis of leadership runs from Law/Din to Compassion/Rachamim and be at neither extreme

• The Rebbe in Nurturing Faith tells us how to lead building on Ch 7, v 19-20 (read it). There is a Moses in every generation.  Mordecai is the moses of his generation.  The axis of leadership runs from fully public (Moses) to behind the scenes (Mordecai).

• We can create the leadership plane with one axis running from Din to Rachamim and the other from behind the scenes to fully public.

• What is our job if we are not leading?  Reb Moshe wrote that when we do mitzvot it should be our desire to do them that’s what God wants. That is, we should not intellectualize the reason for the mitzvot

• We were redeemed to worship God. We do not worship God because we were redeemed.