Parshas Va'eira: Rav Shimon Schwab - First Lesson, Happy Birthday To Moshe & Aharon
The Torah tells us that Moshe was 80 years old, and Aharon 83, when they stood before Paroh (Va'eira 7:7). Why is this so important to us?
Rav Shimon Schwab explains that Aharon was born at the time that Paroh told the midwives to kill all Jewish born baby boys. Moshe was born three years later when Paroh decreed that every male born child must be thrown in the river. Both these decrees were made to ward off the prediction of the star gazers who foresaw that the redeemer of the Jews would be born at that time.
Moshe and Aharon were sent to not only redeem Bnei Yisrael, but also to teach Paroh that Hashem controls the world and not him. For the first lesson Moshe asked Paroh to dig deep into his memory and recall the decrees of many decades ago. Then he proudly told him that he and Aharon were both children that should have never seen the light of day. Yet, because Hashem is in control, they both defied the decree and here they were alive and well... and ready to play the role of the redeemers that Paroh tried so desperately tried to kill.
US, 2012-01-21 18:13:55 Wouldn't this be considered putting themselves into a situation of pikuach nefesh ? Paroh could have said that they are therefore deserving to be killed on the spot. We saw by Shifra & Puah, that they answered Paroh in a clever way, by not saying that they had defied his decree, seemingly because, if they said the real reason it would have been pikuach nefesh. (This is a question in order to properly understand Rav Schwab's peirush - not to question it.)
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