VaEirah Excerpts

וארא

Shabbat Shalom

After Ahron's staff eats the staffs of Paro's sorcerers, he is still not amazed. What does it take to amaze this guy? Right away, the plague of the blood is upon Egypt, and Paro also didn't take this to heart (7:23). Why? Because his sorcerers could also do it. Eating staffs is not enough for these people? What do you have to witness to be impressed? Just like when we brought in the weightlifters in the name of Gd. Nobody was impressed. Nobody said that it was feet of strength...The fire eater guy at the Bar Mitzvah? The Cohens walked out and called it heresy...Incantation? It was a trick.

Just because you can juggle, Chaim, doesn't mean you are also talented. I think that is the lesson we learn from Paro's sorcerers.

The staff was an act of Gd. You people have to be amazed to do the littlest thing. The only time I have ever seen our Sunday School students listen was when our visiting rabbi pulled a rabbit out of his hat...

A rabbit has to pop out of thin air for you to believe there is a Gd. I mean, to follow his mitzvot. I mean, to do anything that takes effort.

The fact that you see rabbits all the time means nothing. This world means nothing to you. Like Paro (7:22), your hearts are hardened. The hardened heart. The words used over and over again, throughout the Parsha. You don't give...You have no soul.

Who here has a hardened heart. We all know Mrs. Willis has a hardened heart. She gave a pop quiz to the seventh grade yesterday. Shame...

Because his sorcerers also had the ability to mess up water and make it non-drinkable. That is the excuse. Paro had his excuse. Just as the Cohens. Just as Shirley sneezed and didn't use a tissue, because she had no pockets to put the tissues in. It is still disgusting...

Is it that Paro didn't believe? We have a lot of non-believers in this congregation who it is going to be hard to find heaven for. The real issue is, you are lazy. You look for excuses. The Chesed (kindness) Committee...Do you even know what it is Bernie?...Visiting the Sick. You do not go out of your way. You are lazy. The Eisenfelds still haven't paid dues. Shirley sneezes at the sight of the sick.

(8:3) And Paro's sorcerers also made frogs come forth. Again, he is not amazed.

But why does he prove that all is good by making things worse for himself, bringing forth frogs, making more water bloody?...Just like the Mirfold family, he lives to prove that there is nothing greater than himself.

If there is nothing greater than the Mirfold family, we have problems... Michael Mirfold couldn't even make the school checkers team...

Paro gives in (8:4). His sorcerers didn't remove the frogs. They just brought more. Even he acknowledges Gd. He notices that it is not good to have more frogs. There is only so much lack of amazement that we can suffer as people, before we acknowledge Gd. Before we decide to stop looking for excuses. When the Hefingfeld kid did a back flip.Was that not amazing?...Do we have to get Shirley to sneeze on you to see H's goodness.

It is at this point that Paro says for the first time, 'I shall send out your people...just get rid of the frogs.'

It is here that Moshe uses the chance to praise H' (8::6) 'That you should know that there is none like our Gd.'

Gloating. And it is at this time that we gloat, here, at congregation Beis Emes Sefilah...The Sappaports have left Kansas. They are moving. They are taking their children with them. B"H.

***These are excerpts from the sermon. For the sermon in its entirety, come see David Kilimnick perform at the Off The Wall Comedy Basement, in downtown Jerusalem.
David also tours as a Maggid around the world, with very few stories.

Shabbat Shalom