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Why was Moshe forbidden from striking the Nile or the earth to bring the plagues, owing "gratitude" to inanimate objects that once protected him? The shiur reframes hakoras hatov entirely: showing appreciation is not about repaying the giver, but about recognizing how deeply you are loved. The person who fails to appreciate loses most—they deny themselves the knowledge that they are cared for.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a halacha (הלכה) from Parshas Vaeira that appears perplexing: Hashem (ה׳) commands Aharon, not Moshe, to initiate the first three plagues (blood, frogs, lice). Rashi (רש"י) explains that Moshe could not strike the Nile because it protected him when he was placed in the water as an infant, nor could he strike the earth because it protected him when he buried the Egyptian. The principle is "bor shesisa mimenu al tizrok bo even"—do not throw stones into a well from which you drank. But how can one owe gratitude to inanimate objects with no feelings? What message does Chazal intend here? The Midrash Tanchuma deepens the puzzle with a startling illustration: a man bitten by a scorpion races to water (the cure, per ancient practice), finds a drowning child, and saves him. The Midrash says the child's father owes gratitude—to the scorpion! The scorpion's bite orchestrated the救命rescue. The Midrash applies this logic to last week's parsha: when Yisro's daughters tell their father "Ish Mitzri hitzilanu," the Midrash reads "the Egyptian man" not as Moshe's appearance, but as the Egyptian taskmaster Moshe killed—because killing that Egyptian forced Moshe to flee to Midian, where he saved the daughters. Thus, gratitude is owed to the Egyptian oppressor. This seems absurd.
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Shemos 8:1 (Vaeira), Rashi
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Why does the Torah give a detailed accounting of silver and copper but not gold in Parshas Pekudei? The three metals represent three types of givers: those who give selflessly (gold), those seeking a two-way benefit (silver), and those buying honor (copper). The Midrash's three groups suspecting or praising Moshe reveal more about themselves than about Moshe—we judge others by our own standards.
