Holy Jewish Women - Parashat Vaera

0:03Inside the parasha, when we pay attention to a little bit more of the details of what's happening in the parasha, we actually see that the Chachamim say that the reason why Hashem saved Am Yisrael from Mitzrayim was not because of the exceptional men, but rather because of the special women. the special tzaddikot of Am Yisrael. He saved Am Yisrael from Egypt because of the tzaddikot. He will save Am Yisrael with the Mashiach at the end of times because of the tzaddikot of that generation. The same thing that happened will happen again. But it's not easy to be a tzaddikah.

1:05So in this parasha, in between the words, in between the stories, we see the divine hand at work. There are a few women that are mentioned inside this parasha. And each one will give us a little bit of an understanding of the ways of Hashem. In chapter six, verse 15, in this section, it talks about how the lineage of the heads of Am Yisrael, the tribe of Reuven and his sons, the tribe of Shimon and his sons, the tribe of Levi and his sons, to show you where Moshe and Aharon came from. Where Moshe and Aharon came from. It talks about the lineage of the heads of Am Yisrael: the tribe of Reuven and his sons, the tribe of Shimon and his sons, and the tribe of Levi and his sons, to show you where Moshe and Aharon came from. This genealogy establishes the background and significance of Moshe and Aharon's leadership.

2:07At the end of the section in verse 30, it reminds us, or in verse 26 again, it says that this is Aaron and Moshe. Which Aaron and Moshe? This is Aaron and Moshe whom Hashem said to them, take the children of Israel out of the land of Mitzrayim according to their legions. And then later on it says, this was Moshe and Aharon. Meaning it repeats multiple times, this is the same Moshe and Aharon. There weren't two Moshe and Aharon. There's one Moshe and Aharon. This whole lineage that we just went through is where Moshe and Aharon came from. Now, in between that whole story of how we go from the tribe of Reuven and how his descendants and Shimon and his descendants and Levi and his descendants all the way to Moshe and Aharon, we see the first woman in this parasha. Who is this first woman? Canaanite. Without a name? No, she was a Canaanite. Canaanite, meaning she was a Canaanite. It's the first woman that's mentioned. Who is this woman? It says when it talks about the sons of Shimon, the sons of Shimon, or Bnei Shimon, were Yemuel, Yamin, Oad, Yachin, Tzokhar, and Shaul, son of the Canaanite woman.

3:24...among these sons. Then, there was this name of one son. That's the son of the Canaanite woman. Another woman mentioned later on is Yocheved, but another woman I noticed is also very interesting. It says in verse 23 alone... took Elisheva, the daughter of Aminadav, the sister of Nachshon, as a wife, and she bore him Nadav, Avihu, Elazar, and Itamar. Before that, it also mentions Yocheved, the mother of Aaron and Moshe, the wife of Amram. So we have another couple of women here. We have Yocheved, who had the merit of... Not only marrying the Gadol Hador Amram, but also having three children, all prophets: Aharon, Moshe, and Miriam. After that, it talks about Elisheva. Elisheva married Aharon. Who is Elisheva? Elisheva was the daughter of Amminadav, the sister of Nachshon.

4:52And then lastly, in verse 25, one of the sons of Aharon, Elazar, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as a wife. Who is Putiel? Yitro, Jethro. It's another one of his names. I believe he had seven names. He took one of the daughters of Putiel as a wife, and she bore him who? Pinchas. So here we have four different women, four different women that are mentioned. The first one is the Canaanite woman. The second one is Yocheved. The third one is Elisheva. And the last one is the daughter of Putiel. These are the women that are highlighted in the Torah. If they're highlighted in the Torah, that means it carries significance, as many women lived. Millions and millions of women lived. Millions and millions of women were part of Am Yisrael. They're not mentioned. These women are mentioned. It means there's something special. What's so special about them to be mentioned in a Torah that's eternal? Hashem is trying to teach you, teach us His ways. What can we learn from these women in the times of Yetziat Mitzrayim? There is an eternal message here, one that transcends time and speaks to us today. These women had a unique merit, a particular greatness, that allowed them to be singled out amidst the vastness of history.

6:17The exodus of Yetziat Mitzrayim. And how can we apply it today? How is it relevant today? First and foremost, Shaul ben ha’Kena'anit. Who is the Kena'anit? The overwhelming majority of the sages say the Kena'anit is another name for Dinah. Dinah, the daughter of Yaakov. Why was she called the Kena'anit? Why was she called the Kena'anit? Because if you rewind all the way back to Genesis chapter 34, you will see the horrible event that happened with Dinah. Dinah got raped by Shechem, and she was embarrassed from that moment on. all the way back to Genesis chapter 34, you will see the horrible event that happened with Dinah. Dinah was raped by Shechem. And she was embarrassed from that moment on. And she refused to continue living her life. She fell into depression. So Yaakov Avinu figured out a solution: You can't be constantly looking at your own depression, being reminded of what happened, and get over it. It's very difficult. So, first of all, the child that came out of it, send her to a different family.

7:39Send her to a different family. It's going to raise her. And I'll make sure that I'll pray and I'll give a medallion to know who she is and so on, to ensure she is recognized as one of our descendants. According to Chazal, they ended up giving that daughter up. To whom? To Potiphar. That daughter's name was Osnat. Fast forward a little over 20 years, she marries Yosef HaTzadik. When Yosef became the viceroy of Egypt, all the women finally saw his beauty. They all wanted to marry him. And in some cases, they even threw their undergarments at him. Truly, he was so beautiful that they all just wanted to gaze upon him. However, Yosef HaTzadik, being a righteous man, kept his eyes on the ground. Until one woman threw a medallion that hit the floor. He noticed there were Hebrew writings and engravings on the medallion. No one in Egypt knew Hebrew, only he did. He looked at it and said, this Osnat... granddaughter of Yaakov. Oh, I want to marry her. So much prophecy. Hashem's divine hand runs the world. The daughter of Dinah ends up being the only one that Yosef HaTzadik can actually marry in Egypt. And that's what happens. But now Dinah still can't continue with her life because she remembers what happened, and so on and so forth. So Chazal say that until Shimon married her,

9:08She couldn't get over the embarrassment of what happened. To know that at least if he marries me, that I'm still acceptable. I'm still acceptable, so Shimon married her. Now, why did this whole thing happen to Dinah? Why is her name mentioned? Why is it Canaanite? The Canaanite? Because this is a form of divine rebuke. This is a form of divine rebuke. Dinah came from the seed of Yaakov, came from a Kodesh Hakodashim, and had all the opportunities in the world to be one of the most righteous women that ever lived. But in chapter 34 of Sefer Bereshit, Genesis, it says, "Now Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Yaakov." went out to look over the daughters of the land. She went out, she went out to see what other people do. The sages explain that this contradicts the code of modesty. Why do you want to know what the goyim are doing?

10:29Why do you want to know what the other daughters in the world are doing? Why don't you stay with your own family? Why don't you stay with your own kind? Why do you care what the goyim are doing? Why do you care that the goyim wear wigs? Why do you care that the goyim wear miniskirts? Why do you care if the goyim do this, this, and that? Why? Do you want to be like them? Okay. She got punished. How punished? Severely. One of those goyim committed a sin with her. And this is something she had to live with, but not just then, eternally. So much so that the Torah itself calls her the Canaanite woman. Why? Because the Canaanite raped her. This also shows the authenticity of the Torah itself, that it's not hiding anything that's embarrassing, like some of the other books in the world that are from different religions. If anything, it highlights it. The Torah presents truths even when they are difficult or uncomfortable, serving as a guide for understanding the profound responsibilities and challenges of being a chosen Jew. It's a very hard punishment. Why? You're not supposed to be like the Goyim. To understand the significance of being a chosen Jew, a chosen Ben Ubat Yisrael, is one of the most important missions you have in your life. If you misunderstand it, you could literally lose your life. Dinah had an opportunity of a lifetime, and for a moment she peaked.

11:51She didn't go, she didn't marry, she didn't do anything, she peaked. He said, that's already too much. That's already too much. You care what they look like, what they do, where they shop, what they eat, what they won't eat. Why? Isn't it enough, what you have? Isn't it enough to know that you're the daughter of Yaakov Avinu? Isn't it enough to know that you're the daughter of HaKadosh Baruch Hu himself? It's not enough. God says, you are My daughter. God Himself. God said, you're My daughter. You are My daughter. You're My princess. No one is above you. The whole world was created for you, My daughter. It's not enough? You want more? The whole world, all of the galaxies, all the planets, all the stars, all of everything was created just for you, My special daughter. It's not enough? You still want to know what the other goyim are doing? Why? Why? It's very rude. It's very rude behavior. As we talked about in the beginning of the shiur, all Hashem wants to do is give you good. He made an investment worth 500 zillion dollars just for you. He built a whole world for you.

13:10with planets, stars, suns, and little cute bugs, or sometimes they're ugly, but for you, they're cute, maybe. There are flowers that smell good and have different colors, there is light and shade, air and water, fish of different types, and animals, some of which have strange appearances but are still cute. There are children, and even though you sometimes want to discipline them, they're so cute you don't want to because they're yours, along with all these wonderful things. He created all of it for you. My precious daughter, He created it for you. And what do you say? No, I'm busy. I want to see what the non-Jews are doing. I want to act like them. It's rude, to say the least. So, Dinah, she stayed with the Am Yisrael, Baruch Hashem, but her stature changed. She stayed with the Am Yisrael; she is still mentioned in the Torah. I'll buy a letter to be mentioned in the Torah. But nonetheless, we see here clearly, Chazal teach, if it wasn't written, we wouldn't be allowed to say it. We see the stature change. The fact that you're looking elsewhere means you don't know what you have at home. The fact that you're still looking at other women means you don't appreciate your wife. It's not your wife's fault; it's your fault.

14:31Strong lectures, similar and different to the one that you heard tonight, that are simply full of sources, honesty that's brutal but effective. Tikun HaBrit, it helped countless people get closer to Hashem because, for the first time in their lives, they heard that there are serious ramifications for their bad actions, whatever those bad actions are.