Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Plight of the Jews Worsens

The elders whom Moshe and Aaron gathered feared approaching Pharaoh so one by one they slipped away so that when Moshe and Aaron arrived at Pharaoh, there was no one else with them. As a consequence of this, later at the giving of the Torah, the elders were kept at a distance from Mount Sinai.

So Moshe and Aaron approach Pharaoh and tell him that Hashem was requesting that Pharaoh send out the Israelites so that they can worship Him in the desert.

Pharaoh replies, “Who is Hashem that I should listen to Him and send out Israel? I do not know Hashem and I will not send out Israel.”

Moshe and Aaron again make a plea to Pharaoh, asking to be allowed to leave for three days to worship G-d and warn that if Pharaoh doesn’t listen then he will be stricken with the plague or sword (out of respect for royalty they word it as that “they will be stricken”).

Pharaoh says to Moshe and Aaron, “Why are you trying to disturb the Israelites from doing their work? Go attend to your own needs.” Moshe and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi. Every nation at that time had a scholarly class that served as educators for the rest of the people. For the Jews at this time, this class were the Levites, and thus they were excempt from the physical labor the rest of the Israelites endured.

Pharaoh continues, saying that the Israelites were so numerous, that if they stopped working, it would make a huge impact.

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