Another for Beshalach:
13 Shevat, 5769 Vol. 10, No. 16 Parashas Beshalach
The Yalkut Shimoni continues to tell us that the descendants of Ephraim had excessive pride because of their royal lineage (Yosef, the royal viceroy, was their ancestor) and because they were great warriors. This hubris caused them to take their families and attempt to leave Egypt. The Egyptians gathered their troops, went to battle and killed the warriors of Ephraim and their families.
to escape? How could they endanger their families in such folly?
Pride has the ability to twist and distort the human mind. It can mislead even intelligent and great people into accepting completely baseless ideas. Even as the Ephraimites were being enslaved in total subjugation, their arrogance created the delusion that it was safe to escape. Lulled by this sense of invincibility,
they fooled themselves into believing a false prophet they normally would have rejected, who led them and their families on a path to total destruction.
Let us realize the dangers of arrogance, and protect ourselves against its insidious and pervasive influence, through the powerful and essential tool of daily mussar study. If we constantly work on our humility, we will not merely become better spouses, parents, neighbors or friends; we will also gain the clarity
of vision and judgement to know that our decisions will based on reality, sound reasoning and the eternal values of our Torah.