The Flip Flop Institute- Getting out of the school of second thoughts. VaEra

 The interaction between manand the **Nachash (serpent)** in the Garden of Eden is a pivotal moment in theTorah that introduces confusion and inconsistency into the world. Here's how itunfolds:     ### **The Temptation**  In Genesis 3, the Nachashtempts Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, despite God'scommand not to do so. The Nachash convinces Eve that eating the fruit will makeher like God, knowing good and evil.     ### **The Consequences**  When Eve eats the fruit andgives some to Adam, they both become aware of their nakedness and feel shame.This marks the introduction of **sin and moral confusion** into the world.Before this event, Adam and Eve lived in a state of innocence and clarity. The yetzerhara (evil inclination) now becomes internalized.      The Talmud and Midrashelaborate on the Nachash's role in introducing confusion. The **yetzer hara**is seen as a force that causes people to rationalize sinful behavior,convincing them that what is wrong is actually right. This inner conflict leadsto inconsistency in thoughts and actions.     In Kabbalistic thought, theNachash represents a cosmic force of chaos and deception. By tempting Eve, theNachash brings about a spiritual dissonance that affects all of humanity,leading to a struggle between good and evil within each person.  I would like to begin wherewe left of last week:     Chava's decision to eat fromthe Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, after being tempted by the Nachash,introduces confusion and moral ambiguity into the world. This act represents amoment of weakness and inconsistency, as she wavers from God's command.     - **Consequences**: Heractions lead to the introduction of sin and the yetzer hara (evil inclination)into humanity, resulting in a lasting struggle between good and evil withineach person.     The rabbis tell us that thisspiritual impurity of the Nachash became a part of her first child Kayin andextends into his prodigy.      As we read last week, Themidwives, Shifrah and Puah, defied Pharaoh's order to kill the Hebrew newborns,showing unwavering commitment to preserving life. Similarly, Batya, Pharaoh'sdaughter, defied her father's decree by rescuing and raising Moses, a Hebrewbaby.     - **Steadfastness**: Thesewomen exemplified moral clarity and steadfastness, choosing to act according totheir principles, even in the face of potential consequences. Their actionswere guided by a strong sense of justice and compassion.     We also mentioned that we seethis moral clarity embodied in Moshe in the first three stories      The Egyptian beating Datan  Datan and Aviram fighting  Rescuing the daughters ofYitro      While Chava's actions broughtabout moral confusion and an internal struggle, the actions of the midwives andBatya brought about clarity and righteousness. They acted with unwaveringcommitment to their beliefs, showcasing the power of steadfastness.     Chava's story reminds us ofthe potential consequences of wavering from moral clarity and succumbing totemptation. It highlights the importance of maintaining steadfastness in ourfaith and actions.     These contrasting narrativesoffer valuable lessons on the significance of consistency, moral clarity, andsteadfastness in our lives.     At the beginning of thismonth, we delved into the kavanot, the thoughts one should have transitioningfrom Kislev to this dark and cold month of Tevet and in attempting to bring thelight of Hanukah into the darkness of Esav’s month and into our lives     This Shabbat we will announceRosh Hodesh Shevat. Shevat is a very powerful month. Shevat is when wecommemorate the Yahrzeit of my Rabbi and my father. Three of my dad’s siblingspassed away in Shevat along with my uncle Hymie Gindi. But Shevat is powerfulas a transition for the Jewish people. Rosh Hodesh is next Thursday.      I recall that we used to sayjust as Tu BeAb breaks the judgement of the summer and brings us into theHoliday season, the same of Rosh Hodesh Shevat which breaks the din of thewinter and brings us into the Pesach Holiday season with something every twoweeks until summer      RH  Tu Bishvat  Rosh Hodesh  Purim or Purim Kattan in leapyear   RH  Pesach   Shevii  RH  Lag BaOmer   We can add Yom HaAtzmaut and   Yom Yerushalayim   RH  And Shavuot through 13th     Understand Rosh ChodeshShevat     We have discussed many timesthat the Kavana   The thought one must have inMUSAF   Each month different      Crucial   Mekadesh Yisrael ve RashaiChodashim  Must visualize Hashems name     And each month we visualize abit differently   We know the name of Hashem aswritten is four letters  A Yud and a Heh and a Vav anda Heh   We can make 12 differentpermutations of those letters and there is one for each month      We visualize and relate eachto a verse      So for Shevat  To have in mind tomorrow whenwe say the blessing  We must see the name ofHashem as      But Heh Yud Vav Heh   הָ יְ ו ה  reversing the Yud and the Heh      SEE VAYIKRA 27 for the source of the verse   לג לֹא יְבַקֵּרבֵּין-טוֹב לָרַע, וְלֹא יְמִירֶנּוּ; וְאִם-הָמֵר יְמִירֶנּוּ, וְהָיָה-הוּא וּתְמוּרָתוֹ יִהְיֶה-קֹּדֶשׁ לֹא יִגָּאֵל.  33. Heshall not inspect [a tithed animal] for a good or a bad one, nor shall he offera substitute for it. And if he does replace it, then [both] that one and itsreplacement are holy; it cannot be redeemed.     Someone makes donation   Take sacrifice  Then changes mind   Maybe he has a better animalto give or maybe he gets cheap and wants to switch it for one he wants to getrid of     Two sins  Double lashes  Because changed     What’s the big deal     We can understand if inferiorbut what if he just wants to do better and give something better   Let me switch   Whats the big deal  Not allowed to  Why not     If you do  Both old and new holy  Both are given away      You get double lashes  Why?  Decided to be better Jew andpunished?  No – not for that        Problem is   You changed your mind   What’s so bad about changingyour mind  How does it relate to thismonth and these especially these parshiot of Shovevim      This week we read VaErah   This Perasha is really acontinuation of last week’s perasha