This week we begin the book of Shemot.

The children of Israel multiply in Egypt. Threatened by their growing numbers, Pharaoh enslaves them and orders the Hebrew midwives, Shifrah and Puah, to kill all male babies at birth. When they do not comply, he commands his people to cast the babies into the Nile.

Yocheved gives birth to a baby boy and places him in a basket on the river, while his sister, Miriam, stands watch from afar. Pharaoh’s daughter discovers the boy, raises him as her son, and names him Moshe. As a young man, Moses leaves the palace and discovers the hardship of his brethren. He travels to Midyan where he rescues Yitro’s daughters, marries Tziporah, and becomes a shepherd.

Hashem appears to him in a burning bush and instructs him to go to Pharaoh and demand him to free the Jews. Moshe's brother, Aaron, comes with him. In Egypt, they try to speak with Pharaoh, but he refuses to let them go and even intensifies the suffering of Israel.

Hashem promises that the redemption is close at hand.

The Alter Rebbe passed away on the 24th of Teves 5573 (1812), while fleeing from the onslaught of Napoleon, whom he opposed bitterly. His resting place is in the Russian town of Haditch.

Now, on the day of a person’s passing, and especially so regarding the passing on of a tzaddik, whatever that person did in his life, and whatever he worked for, from the moment of his birth until the point of the departure of his soul from his body, becomes revealed and illuminates the world from Above in a tremendous burst of light.

Obviously the greater the person, and the more he did in his life, the greater is the light now of his departure. So, it’s a very special moment. The death of a person is a special part of his life. And from that time on, every year on the day of his death we again recall that person and what he meant for the world, and in this way his light shines even more brightly.

By instructing his people to “let every girl live,” Pharaoh meant that the Jewish girls should be raised as Egyptians. He thus decreed that the boys be killed physically and the girls be killed spiritually. The decree to throw the boys into the Nile also alludes to immersing the Jews in Egyptian culture, for the Egyptians worshipped the Nile as the source of their livelihood and culture.

Egypt is the prototype of all exiles. In all exiles, the ruling culture urges us to raise our children in its ways, promising that this is the path to attain material and social success. As in Egypt, resisting these promises and ensuring that our children grow up cherishing the Torah’s values is what will guarantee their material, social, and spiritual happiness, as well as their freedom from the bonds of exile.

Even though the Jews had sunk to a dangerously low spiritual state, even serving idols, G‑d did not tell Moses to rebuke them or to warn them that if they do not mend their ways their exile will continue. Rather, G‑d instructed him to remind them of the merit of their forbears and to announce that in this merit and in the merit of their suffering they were about to be redeemed. Only much later, when he had an alternative for them – a commandment for them to fulfill – did Moses tell the Jews to stop serving idols.

Similarly, the most effective way to draw the hearts of our fellow Jews closer to G‑d is by first showing them the beauty of their heritage and uplifting them with the promise of the Redemption.

It was a hectic Friday afternoon in the home of my great-grandparents. It was the early 1900s, and my great-grandmother was in the midst of her Shabbat preparations.

Delicious smells of challah, fish, and soup filled the air as she bustled about her Brooklyn kitchen. Suddenly, she was interrupted by an urgent knocking at the door. She hurried to see who was there. The couple was known to have an open-door policy when it came to helping people.

On the other side of the door stood a bedraggled young woman holding a bag. She seemed ill at ease and appeared to tremble under her layers of clothes. “Mrs. Jacobson, your butcher said I should come here. I need help. Can you help me?”

My great-grandmother ushered her in. The details didn’t matter to her; at her door was someone in need and she would not hesitate to help. The woman had come to the right address!

She quickly instructed the maid to draw a hot bath for the guest, and she led her to a private room with a comfortable bed, clean clothes, and soft towels. She insisted that the woman bathe and rest, all the while still not knowing who she was or why she had come.

After some time had passed, the guest returned to the kitchen looking better. Sarah Kayla sat her down and served her a full meal. Finally, smiling warmly, she inquired how she could help.

The woman hesitated and then haltingly began to speak. She reached into her bag and pulled out a wicked-looking metal pipe that had been hidden inside.

In a rush of words, she revealed a shocking story: This woman belonged to a gang of criminals, and she had come to infiltrate the home, beat my grandmother to death, and steal her diamond jewelry and other valuables.

She had planned to kill my great-grandmother but had been met with such kindness from the moment the door was opened, that she simply could not bring herself to lift a finger against her hostess. After confessing the truth, she dropped the pipe and ran out of the house.

Rochel Leah Fuchs