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Why did Aharon's staff swallow Pharaoh's magicians' staffs as a stick rather than as a snake? The Midrash's mashal of the lion, fox, and donkey reveals that Pharaoh misunderstood his role: he thought enslavement itself was the goal of the Bris Bein HaBesarim, when the real purpose was to reveal Hashem (ה׳) as Creator. The nes besoch nes taught that miracles aren't about power—they're about showing the world has a Borei.
The shiur analyzes a Midrash from Yalkut Shimoni on Parshas Vaeira that addresses the miracle of Aharon's staff. The Midrash presents a mashal involving a lion (representing Hashem (ה׳)), a fox (Moshe Rabbeinu), and a donkey (Pharaoh) traveling on a boat. When the donkey port master attempts to collect taxes, the fox offers to take the money and return it to the king's treasury. The lion becomes furious, kills the donkey, and orders the fox to butcher it. When the fox eats the heart and the lion asks where it is, the fox responds that if the donkey had a heart (understanding), he would never have tried to collect taxes from the king. Rabbi Zweig raises several fundamental questions about this Midrash. First, how does this mashal explain "kavod lifnei Pharaoh"? Second, how does it connect to the concept of nes besoch nes (a miracle within a miracle) mentioned earlier in the Midrash? Third, the Gemara (גמרא) in Sukkos (סוכות) states that even kings must pay taxes when passing through jurisdictions—so why would the lion be angry at the donkey for doing what kings are supposed to do? Fourth, the entire framing seems strange—the fox's offer to redirect the money back to the king's treasury sounds more like rebellion than service.
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Why does the Midrash connect Pharaoh's expulsion of the Jews to the mitzvah of shiluach hakan? The shiur develops a chiddush that Pharaoh's sin wasn't only drowning the children, but the insensitivity of expelling the parents afterward. The deeper analysis reveals that Pharaoh may have valued the Jews greatly and wanted to control them—making his expulsion an act of tremendous cruelty, not liberation.
Why does Moshe respond to the splitting of the sea with shirah rather than praise or thanksgiving? Rashi's use of "al libo" reveals that shirah is an emotional expression—a response of love to love. When Hashem shows personal care, the only adequate response is "I love You too," not mere gratitude or praise, and this principle applies to all relationships.
Parshas Vaeira (Aharon's staff); Yalkut Shimoni; Gemara Sukkos
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