Ta Shma R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Va'Era: What is Slavery?
Jan 14, 2026
This discussion dives into the profound impact of slavery as highlighted in Parashat Va’Era. Explore how Pharaoh’s success stripped the Israelites of their ability to listen and reflect. God’s promise to Moses offers hope amidst despair. Classical commentaries reveal that labor and fear create psychological paralysis, narrowing vision and eliminating possibilities for the future. The conversation draws parallels to modern issues like burnout, urging listeners to recognize and combat contemporary forms of oppression.
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Slavery Silences The Ability To Listen
- Slavery erodes the human capacity to listen by crushing inner space and attention.
- Rabbi Avital Hochstein links Israelites' inability to hear Moses to narrowed capacity under bondage.
Exhaustion And Supervision Block Reception
- Physical exhaustion and constant supervision block people from reflecting or receiving news.
- Hochstein cites Malbim and Ramban to show labor and taskmasters destroy attention.
Fear And Despair Freeze Receptivity
- Psychological states like fear or longing for death can paralyze one's ability to hear hope.
- Hochstein uses Chizkuni and Rabbeinu Bechaye to show trauma freezes cognition and receptivity.