Edited and adapted from Ari’s Grill & Torah D’var Torah given over on Jan. 12, 2018.
Parshat Va’eira introduces one of the most dramatic confrontations in the Torah: the clash between truth and falsehood, between Divine reality and human denial. At its core, this parsha forces us to confront a difficult but essential question: what does it mean to fight for truth, and what happens when people choose lies instead?
At the beginning of Sefer Shemot, Bnei Yisrael descend into Egypt and fall into slavery. Moshe Rabbeinu arrives with a message of redemption, and immediately everything intensifies. Pharaoh is struck with plagues, his country begins to collapse, and yet he refuses to let the Israelites go.
You have to ask the obvious question: is Pharaoh insane?
Pharaoh, Magic, and Willful Denial
Moshe throws down his staff and it turns into a snake. Pharaoh’s magicians replicate the act—but they know they are faking it. They know they are doing sleight of hand. So how does Pharaoh convince himself that Moshe’s miracle is meaningless?
This is what it means to live by lies. When someone’s entire worldview is built on falsehood, they will reinterpret reality—no matter how blatant—to protect that lie.
The plagues escalate. Water turns to blood, destroying Egypt’s lifeline. Frogs overrun the land. Still nothing shakes Pharaoh. But then something fascinating happens.
It is lice—tiny, humiliating lice—that finally break the illusion for Pharaoh’s own magicians. Only then do they say, “This is the finger of God.” Blood didn’t do it. Frogs didn’t do it. But when something small invades every corner of your life, denial becomes impossible.
Later comes hail, a miracle inside a miracle. Fire and ice exist together in the same hailstones, openly defying nature. Pharaoh finally admits: “Hashem is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.” The hail stops—and immediately Pharaoh takes it back.
He’s not crazy. He’s trapped. When lies rule your life, you will chase them even if your life depends on it.
Work as a Weapon Against Truth
When Moshe first tells Pharaoh to let the people go, Pharaoh responds with contempt. He accuses Moshe of distracting the slaves with fairy tales about God and orders their labor intensified.
His philosophy is clear: if people have time to think about God, they have too much time.
So Pharaoh increases the workload. He withholds materials. He crushes the people physically so they will never have the emotional or spiritual space to ask meaningful questions.
This is the mindset of living to work, not working to live.
Judaism never rejected work. We’re not meant to live in caves. But work is a means—not the purpose of life. Nobody is remembered on their gravestone as a “great CEO” or “brilliant accountant.” And yet people live as if career is the most important thing in the world.
I’ll make this painfully practical. If I had unlimited wealth—if I never had to worry about parnassah—I would not spend my days in an office. I would spend them with my family, learning Torah, giving charity, and doing what actually matters. Not because work is bad—but because work is not the point.
Would anyone sell their children for a million dollars? Ten million? A hundred million? Of course not. And yet people routinely trade time with their children for money they don’t actually need. Pharaoh turned that distortion into national policy.
Lies Masquerading as Concern
Even among Bnei Yisrael, confusion spreads. Datan and Aviram confront Moshe and accuse him of harming the people. They speak as if they care deeply about Israel—but it’s fake concern. They want control, not redemption.
Moshe, by contrast, wants no power at all. He refuses leadership repeatedly. He does this only because God commands him.
They judge truth by immediate outcomes: If things get worse, you must be wrong. But redemption is a process, not a magic trick.
“They Did Not Listen”: A Crisis of Worth
The Torah says Bnei Yisrael did not listen to Moshe me’kotzer ruach. Literally, from shortness of breath. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov explains this as a lack of spiritual confidence.
They’re saying: Moshe, this can’t be real. Look at us. We’re too impure. We’re too broken. We don’t deserve redemption.
And Moshe’s message is the opposite: you don’t understand your own value.
I tell people this all the time: the day you were born is the day God decided the world is not worth keeping unless you’re in it. Depression and despair come from forgetting that truth.
Truth Does Not Compromise
As the plagues worsen, Pharaoh starts negotiating. Worship God—but stay in Egypt. Don’t go far. Only the men. Leave the children. Leave the animals.
Moshe refuses every offer.
Truth does not negotiate with lies. When it comes to subjective things—money, contracts, logistics—compromise makes sense. But when it comes to truth, compromise is surrender.
That’s why Israel made a catastrophic mistake in 1993. We didn’t just negotiate with Arafat—we accepted a false narrative. There is no peace built on lies. Once you accept a lie, you become part of it.
Passion Is Not Proof of Truth
People confuse passion with righteousness. Look at Islamic terrorists. They’re deeply committed. They’re willing to kill and die for their beliefs. That’s real loyalty—but it’s loyalty to a lie.
Emotion, sacrifice, and intensity prove nothing. Only truth matters.
There’s no such thing as “my truth” and “your truth.” Everyone has a right to an opinion—but you can’t have two opposing truths.
Miracles, Soldiers, and God’s Role
Take Israel’s wars. Of course we have brave soldiers—extraordinarily brave soldiers. But we consistently win wars we should lose, against impossible odds, outnumbered by millions.
If you think that’s just human effort, you’re missing God entirely. Judaism demands effort—but it also demands that we recognize where victory really comes from.
Sinai, Revelation, and Responsibility
Judaism is unique. We’re the only religion that claims national revelation. We are the only nation in the world where our Torah, our Bible says everybody heard God. Nobody else has that claim.
At Mount Sinai, the entire nation, 600,000 people heard God speak. Not a prophet claiming revelation—everyone.
I can convince you that I heard God, but I can’t convince you that you heard God. A nation does not invent a collective memory like that.
And yet, even after Sinai—even after hearing God directly—the very next day the people build the Golden Calf. They had good intentions. They wanted to get connected to God.
Miracles can excite you emotionally. But emotion without truth leads to disaster.
Why the Suffering Was Necessary
Egypt was training. The desert was training. Like Olympic athletes, the suffering forged meaning. Without pain, there’s no gold medal. Without struggle, truth stays shallow.
The Land of Israel demands truth. It does not tolerate sustained falsehood. It does not accept speaking evil about Medinat Israel, the state of Israel, the land of Israel, the people in Israel. So watch your tongue!
That’s why this education was necessary. It was building us up.
The Final Lessons of Va’eira
Parshat Va’eira leaves us with two enduring lessons:
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Fight for truth—but define it clearly.
Passion without truth is dangerous. Compromise with lies is betrayal. -
Never underestimate human value.
Not your own. Not anyone else’s. And certainly not that of Am Yisrael, the Jewish nation.
Shabbat Shalom to everyone. Signing off from the stunning rolling hills of Judea, Israel. Don’t forget to share.