The Word of God – a Priority for All!

Parshat Va'era

by Rabbi Avi Billet

There’s a phrase which appears in our parsha. דבר ה'. Dvar Hashem. 

 That formulation appears only 5 times in the Torah. Perhaps it can be translated as “The word of God.” The first two times it appears is in Parshas Lekh Lekha, in a conversation between Avraham and God that precedes the Covenant Between the Pieces (Bereshit 15:1,4). בראשית פרק טו

 (א) אַחַ֣ר׀ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה הָיָ֤ה דְבַר־יְקֹוָק֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם בַּֽמַּחֲזֶ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר אַל־תִּירָ֣א אַבְרָ֗ם אָנֹכִי֙ מָגֵ֣ן לָ֔ךְ שְׂכָרְךָ֖ הַרְבֵּ֥ה מְאֹֽד: 

(ב) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֗ם אֲדֹנָ֤י יֱקֹוִק֙ מַה־תִּתֶּן־לִ֔י וְאָנֹכִ֖י הוֹלֵ֣ךְ עֲרִירִ֑י וּבֶן־מֶ֣שֶׁק בֵּיתִ֔י ה֖וּא דַּמֶּ֥שֶׂק אֱלִיעֶֽזֶר:

(ג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֔ם הֵ֣ן לִ֔י לֹ֥א נָתַ֖תָּה זָ֑רַע וְהִנֵּ֥ה בֶן־בֵּיתִ֖י יוֹרֵ֥שׁ אֹתִֽי:

 (ד) וְהִנֵּ֨ה דְבַר־יְקֹוָ֤ק אֵלָיו֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹ֥א יִֽירָשְׁךָ֖ זֶ֑ה כִּי־אִם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֵצֵ֣א מִמֵּעֶ֔יךָ ה֖וּא יִֽירָשֶֽׁךָ: 

What is the Dvar Hashem? On the surface it seems to mean the words God was speaking to Avraham. The first time God is saying: Don’t worry, you have more merits. The second time: the guy you think will be inheriting will not, you will have a son who will inherit. 

It could be that the “Dvar Hashem” is the promise of having children, and that the goal of having children, certainly for Avraham, was the goal. This relates to a recent message I shared with my congregation, of sensitivity to those who do not have any children, or who might very well be struggling to have another child. I received an email from someone who was present, which included these three sentences: “I wanted to thank you for your speech on Saturday. My wife has had health issues that has prevented us from having a second child up to this point [note – he told me how many years, but I have removed that detail – AB]. This has led to such rude and appalling comments from friends and family members and community members…” That note alone should be a reminder that unless we know what someone is going through (and more often we do not) we should be very careful about what we say. Certainly when we know, we are very careful… kal va’chomer when we do not know! 

 That conversation with Avraham continues with God challenging Avraham to count the stars to see to what his descendants will be compared. And the interpretations go from a simple comparison of numbers to all kinds of metaphors surrounding how long the light of stars exist for, what a star’s role is in the cosmos. 

 The next two times we hear the phrase Dvar Hashem are in the buildup to the last plague in our Parsha, the plague of ברד, hail. (9:20-21) 

שמות פרק ט 

(כ) הַיָּרֵא֙ אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר יְקֹוָ֔ק מֵֽעַבְדֵ֖י פַּרְעֹ֑ה הֵנִ֛יס אֶת־עֲבָדָ֥יו וְאֶת־מִקְנֵ֖הוּ אֶל־הַבָּתִּֽים: 

(כא) וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־שָׂ֛ם לִבּ֖וֹ אֶל־דְּבַ֣ר יְקֹוָ֑ק וַֽיַּעֲזֹ֛ב אֶת־עֲבָדָ֥יו וְאֶת־מִקְנֵ֖הוּ בַּשָּׂדֶֽה: פ 

We have to remember that in Parshas Shmos, when Moshe first came before Pharaoh saying Hashem said Let My People Go, they were only planning for a 3-day “Shabbaton” in the wilderness. When Pharaoh said מי ה'? Who is Hashem? Who is this God of yours? That was a game-changer. And it is so clear.

Pharaoh could have said “Go for your Shabbaton. And come back.” But when he challenged God’s existence, the purpose of the plagues became למען תדע, למען תדעון, וידעו מצרים… what will they know? KI ANI HASHEM! KI AIN KaHASHEM ELOKAINU, Ki EIN KAMONI B’CHOL HAARETZ!I am God! There is no one like God at all! And none like Him in all of the world. 

And the lesson is quickly picked up! But it is not internalized by all, especially the king. His magicians quickly figure out what they’re up against. And Pharaoh gives in several times to let them go - 5 times before the 6th and final time. After Frogs, after beasts, after hail, before locusts and after locusts. Then after the final plague. Each time with a condition! Only the men! No children! No animals! 

Dvar Hashem is the word of God. Those who feared the word of God, in the Egyptian population, heeded the warnings and brought their servants and animals inside. (Though I wonder, were they Egyptian slaves? Israelite slaves? Unclear!) 

The final time the phrase דבר ה' appears in the Torah is in Parshas Shlach, in the context of describing someone who is to be punished for denigrating the דבר ה'. What is the דבר ה'? Rabbenu Bachaye says it is all of the Torah(!) because the person in question has turned to idolatry and a denial of God! 

What does this say about Avraham? Perhaps it is a support for the idea that Avraham was aware of and practiced all (or most) of the mitzvos of the Torah. After all, he received the Dvar Hashem! Perhaps, from a different vantage point, Dvar Hashem is simply a reminder to Avraham that if you do right by Me, God says, I promise I will do right for you. You will have children. You will become a nation. 

This would also indicate that the Egyptians who were spared in the plague of hail had come around to the reality that there is a God in the world. And if He warns us how to avoid trouble and injury, we should heed that warning. 

Of course, the only way to hear that word of God is from a prophet such as Moshe Rabbenu. In our times we may tend to avoid many risky behaviors that may lead to injury, and we follow advice from people we respect and admire when it comes to taking care of ourselves (Maimonideans look to Hilkhot De’ot chapter 4!). No matter what, in the end, as none of us are God, we do our best to take responsibility for our own well-being, and hopefully God will carry us the rest of the way.

Remember, the people in Egypt had every opportunity! Those who feared God were saved. Because they understood God’s ways. Those who felt they knew better than God suffered the consequences. 

 Prioritizing children, warnings of God to take care of yourselves, or being concerned with fulfilling all of the Torah – these are the Torah’s definitions of the דבר ה'. 

 May we be blessed to hear and experience the word of Hashem, and raise the bar on these priorities – for our own sake, and for the sake of the future of our people.