Parashat Vaeira
Four wine cups at the top represent the Four Terms of Redemption from the beginning of the sedra. (Do you know any other "explanation" of the 4 cups? Hint: Take a look at the Wine Steward's dream.) Below the cups are Davka graphics of the Egyptian Plagues, specifically the first seven which are presented in Parshat Va'eira. The +BO has a double meaning: [1] plus the rest of the Makot in Parshat Bo, and [2] the word BO has a numeric value of three, the number of plagues in that Sedra. The wizard at the top right stands for the wizards, magicians, or whatever they were, of Par'o. They were able to duplicate the first couple of plagues, but failed after that; this led to their recognition of G-d's supremacy. The oven is one of the unusual locations of the frogs during the second plague. Commentaries point out the unnatural (supernatural) aspects of the plagues. In this case - would frogs voluntarily go into an oven? The heart with the barbells refers to Par'o's strengthened and hardened heart. The repeated references to G-d hardening Par'o's heart prompt commentaries to ask about the APPARENT loss of free will to Par'o. And in the middle is a staff, representing the special staff of Moshe Rabeinu, the one that triggered many miracles in Egypt and in the Wilderness. [The ParshaPix Index][The Vaeira Homepage]
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