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Why does Moshe say "when I leave the city" only by Makas Barad, and why does he use the phrase "efros kapai"? The shiur develops a fundamental distinction between two types of prayer: ordinary tefillah where man partners with God, and "haramas yadayim" (raising hands) where man completely surrenders, recognizing God alone acts without human partnership.
The shiur opens with a textual difficulty in Parshas Bo. When Moshe prays to remove Makas Barad, he says "when I leave the city, I will spread my hands to Hashem (ה׳)." Rashi (רש"י) explains that Moshe could not pray within the city because it was full of idolatry. The Mishnah (משנה) Berurah applies this to contemporary situations, saying one should find a corner away from inappropriate objects when praying. The question arises: Moshe prayed three times during the plagues—after Tzfarde'a, Arov, and Barad. Why does the Torah (תורה) only mention "leaving the city" by Barad? Furthermore, by Tzfarde'a and Arov the prayers were delayed until "tomorrow," but by Barad the prayer appears to have been immediate. Rabbi Zweig introduces another question from the Be'er Sheva, who asks why we no longer pray with "nesiat kapayim" (raising hands), given that we find Moshe doing so, Avrohom doing so, and Moshe at the battle with Amalek. The Be'er Sheva suggests it's because non-Jews adopted this practice, so we discontinued it. Rabbi Zweig finds this explanation halachically insufficient, since the principle of "v'chukoseihem lo seileichu" (don't follow their practices) only applies to practices initiated by non-Jews, not practices they adopted from us.
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Shemos 9:29-33 (Parshas Bo - Makas Barad)
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