Archive for the ‘16. Beshalach’ Category

Maidservants and Prophecies

In Az Yashir, sung after being saved when the Red Sea split, the declaration they cried was “זה קלי ואנוהו אלקי אבי וארוממנו  - This is my God, and I will glorify Him – the God of my father  - and I will exalt Him.” (15:2)

The Mechilta observes how any maidservants at the sea saw things that even Yechezkel, who had the most vivid prophecies, did not.

Who were theses maidservants exactly; and why would there be any servants among the Jews, a newly free people?

The commentaries wonder how Chazal derived their statement regarding the maidservant from the passuk. The Vilna Gaon, the Maharil Diskin and the Maskil L’David accept  the same view, with slight variations. Rashi writes that there are two parts to the passuk. The second half, that of “אלקי אבי וארוממנו”, is a reference to Hashem being the God of their fathers, illustrating a relationship begun earlier than those  saved at the Sea. The above commentaries explain that the word “זה” is used on both clauses, once for “זה קלי ואנוהו” and then for “זה אלקי אבי וארוממנו”. However, the Jews did not leave Egypt alone. Non-Jewish servants and maidservants, a.k.a. the Eirev Rav, came along in order to convert. Unable to refer to their relationship with Hashem as beginning with their forefathers, substituted “זה קלי ואנוהו” instead. Did the Jews say both statements? Maskil L’David says they did, whereas the Eirev Rav said only “זה קלי ואנוהו”. The Vilna Gaon and Maharil Diskin teach that this passuk was truly split; with the Jews saying”זה אלקי אבי וארוממנו” , and the non-Jewish servants and maidservants saying “זה קלי ואנוהו”.

The commentaries explain how Chazal understood that the maidservant saw “more” than Yechezkel. The word “זה” – “this here” – was used at the Sea to connote something concrete and direct, as opposed to the general “ואראה” – “I was shown” – used in the later prophesies. Chazal saw from this that even this maidservant, essentially any non-Jew who was there, was able to point and say “זה קלי ואנוהו”; and truly saw a greater revelation than even the greatest of the prophets; the Presence of Hashem was manifest in such a great way that one could simply point and say, “This is my G-d”.

Interestingly, there is discussion amongst the Rishonim regarding the nature of Hashem’s “revelation” at the Sea. Rabbeinu Bachayei writes that Chazal do not mean to say that the maaidservant had greater ability to grasp such things, nor were they wiser than Yechezkel. Hashem simply “showed” Himself more at the Sea than He ever did to Yechezkel. The Rambam disagrees; in describing the lofty levels reached by the Jews in the generation of the Exodus and the Desert travels, he writes: “The lowest of them was like Yechezkel, as Chazal say.”. This seems is an obvious reference to the statement of Chazal which is under discussion. Apparently Rambam understood this statement to be descriptive of the nation’s spiritual heights, which enabled them to have as remarkable a revelation as they did.

According to the Rambam, two insights would appear. Firstly, that even the “lowest” Jew at that time was indeed greater than Yechezkal. Secondly, it appears that we need not understand that the maidservant was at least originally non-Jewish. In context, the Rambam is discussing the great level of the Jewish nation at the time, and yet he uses this statement of Chazal as a proof. This leads one to surmise that the Rambam understood that the maidservant in question was Jewish. If this is the case, our original question returns; why is there a “maidservant” in this newly liberated nation?

The Gemara in Sota 11b tells the story of how the pregnant Jewish women in Egypt would go out to the fields to give birth, and would leave their newborns there. To take them home would mean their being captured and tossed into the Nile. Hashem took care of these newborns, sending angels to clean, feed and care for them. When the Egyptians found out about these children living in the fields, they came to kill them. A miracle occurred; the earth would swallow these children deep enough to protect them from Egyptian plows. After the Egyptians left, the children sprouted out of the ground like plants. When they grew up, herds of them would return to their homes. And when Hashem revealed Himself at the Sea, these children “recognized” Him first (having been raised in His presence – see Torah Temima כאן אות ז’), and said: “זה קלי ואנוהו”.  Clearly this Gemara understands that the Jews too said “זה קלי ואנוהו”. Now according to the Maskil L’David, that “זה קלי ואנוהו” was also said by the Jews, this Gemara can be congruent with the Mechilta. However, according to the Vilna Gaon and the others, this Gemara too needs reconciliation with the word usage of the Mechilta: “maidservant,”, and all we are left with is our very question.

וצ”ע.

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To Merit

וּפַרְעֹה הִקְרִיב וַיִּשְׂאוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת עֵינֵיהֶם וְהִנֵּה מִצְרַיִם נֹסֵעַ אַחֲרֵיהֶם וַיִּירְאוּ מְאֹד וַיִּצְעֲקוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל יְ־הֹוָ־ה:

10. Pharaoh drew near, and the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold! the Egyptians were advancing after them. They were very frightened, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. (14:10)

The Torah doesn’t say ’ – קרוב he came near’ i.e. that he and his army approached, but ’הקריב  - he brought near’. The Medrash says that what he “brought” was the Jews, closer to Hashem.

This is a pretty big merit to have – why is Pharaoh credited with it at all, and what is it he did which deserved such high recognition?

Prior to the Jews leaving Egypt, there was a debate in Heaven as to whether the Jews should be allowed to leave and have their redemption, but the mekatreig (prosecution) countered every argument put forward to absolve the Jews. (Just as the Jews believed in G-d, so did Pharaoh, as it says ‘Hashem hatzaddik v’ani v’ami harshaim’  - a clear recognition of Hashem – and so forth.)

The deciding factor in permitting Yetzias Mitzrayim to occur was when Moshe said “follow me” and they did – in the merit of following their leader faithfully, they were evacuated from Egypt.

Pharaoh sought to remove this merit -וּפַרְעֹה הִקְרִיב  (14:10) – and the result was 14:11:

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל מֹשֶׁה הַמִבְּלִי אֵין קְבָרִים בְּמִצְרַיִם לְקַחְתָּנוּ לָמוּת בַּמִּדְבָּר מַה זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָ לָּנוּ לְהוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם:

’They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us to die in the desert? What is this that you have done to us to take us out of Egypt?’

He severed their attachment to Moshe, and they cried out to Hashem directly but blamed Moshe for their troubles.

So Hashem replies in 14:15 –  מַה תִּצְעַק אֵלָי –  that the Jews have to have faith in Moshe Rabbeinu again, as that had been the deciding factor in their favor, without which there could be no salvation. What we see here is that Pharaoh bringing the Jews close to Hashem is no praiseworthy at all – his entire goal to bring the Jews close to G-d was at the exclusion of Moshe from the equation, surely dooming them.

So Hashem responds in 14:15:

וַיֹּאמֶר יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה מַה תִּצְעַק אֵלָי דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִסָּעוּ

15. The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel and let them travel.

Their salvation is not going to be based on Moshe’s prayers, as that wasn’t the problem.

There is a small side question here –   דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִסָּעוּ – what was the need for a dibbur, a speech, to tell them to go, why not just tell Moshe to lead them – rather than him being instructed to tell them that he is to lead them?

As we have established, the problem was that they weren’t interested in Moshe – so Hashem told him the solution דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִסָּעו – their salvation would be as it was on leaving Egypt – through following their leader.

As the Pasuk says upon their entering the Red Sea 14:31: וַיַּאֲמִינוּ בַּי־הֹוָ־ה וּבְמֹשֶׁה עַבְדּוֹ

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Appreciating Nature

One of the most incredible miracles of all times occurs, the Splitting of the Sea, and it’s conclusion happens the same way it began:

וַיֹּאמֶר ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה נְטֵה אֶת יָדְךָ עַל הַיָּם וְיָשֻׁבוּ הַמַּיִם עַל מִצְרַיִם עַל רִכְבּוֹ וְעַל פָּרָשָׁיו – Hashem said to Moshe; “Stretch your hand over the sea, and the water will crash back onto the Egyptians, their chariots, and their horseriders. (14:26)

R’ Shimshon Pinkus wonders why it was necessary for him to lift his hand to “close” the sea, as he did when it came to splitting it. Returning the sea to its normal natural state would seem to be something that just ought to “happen”.

R’ Shimshon Pinkus explains that Hashem was trying to teach the Jews an essential lesson about “natural” occurrences. Quite understandably, splitting the sea requires an action of some sort because it was a miracle; but the returning of the sea to its natural state is a miracle too!

We take the laws of nature and physics for granted – Hashem was expressing that we ought not to. There is no fundamental reason which causes things to happen; it is all Hashem. This was the underlying message of Hashem’s command for Moshe to stretch out his hand, in the same way, to both start and conclude the miracle.

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All over the place

This is courtesy of D. It is a bombardment of questions, with answers that tie and unify the themes of the questions.

The Orach Chaim asks at Shemos 3:5, when G-d reveals Himself to Moshe, why G-d waits until Moshe is on the mountain and at the burning bush (the bush was on Mt Sinai, this episode occurred there) to tell him he must take his shoes off as he is on sacred ground. But why not warn him before he climbs the mountain?

At 3:11, he asks “who am I take them out?”, and G-d responds (3:12) that “וַיֹּאמֶר כִּי אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ וְזֶה לְּךָ הָאוֹת כִּי אָנֹכִי שְׁלַחְתִּיךָ בְּהוֹצִיאֲךָ אֶת הָעָם מִמִּצְרַיִם תַּעַבְדוּן אֶת הָאֱ־לֹהִים עַל הָהָר הַזֶּה – And He said, “For I will be with you, and this is the sign for you that it was I Who sent you. When you take the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” “

The first question: how is this remotely helpful as a reply to a slave in Egpyt querying his would-be saviour’s legitimacy? It’s not a proof, it’s a statement about the future, but does not ascertain anything at the time the proof is warranted.

The second question, where does תַּעַבְדוּן – worship, enter the equation? Apart from their acceptance, weren’t the Jews entirely passive? What worship did they perform on Mt Sinai?

In Beshalach, 17:1, the pasuk informs us that when the Jews camped in Refidim, they had no water. 5 verses later, G-d tells Moses to strike a rock at Horeb (Mt Sinai). Refidim is far from Horeb, so what’s going on?

In Yisro, 19:12, instructions are issued to build a boundary around Mt Sinai, and the next pasuk specifies laws “לֹא תִגַּע בּוֹ יָד כִּי סָקוֹל יִסָּקֵל אוֹ יָרֹה יִיָּרֶה אִם בְּהֵמָה אִם אִישׁ לֹא יִחְיֶה בִּמְשֹׁךְ הַיֹּבֵל הֵמָּה יַעֲלוּ בָהָר – No hand shall touch it, for he shall be stoned or cast down; whether man or beast, he shall not live. When the ram’s horn (Shofar) sounds a long, drawn out blast, they may ascend the mountain.”

Why is it that no one, not even an animal, can stray into the mountain, nor were they even allowed to touch it 3 days before the Torah was given?

There is a concept with Kadshim (sacred items and laws) about there being a permit, a mattir, to use something something that was once Kodesh(sacred). Why is it that there is such a requirement here?

Lastly, after the Ten Commmandments, there is an instruction to build a Mizbeach Adama, an earthen altar (20:21). What is the connection between G-d giving us the Torah and building an altar there?

End of questions.

The Rambam (Maimonides) explains that all instance of G-d speaking to a person are through messengers/angels and the like. The only “face to face” meeting with G-d was with Moshe

To answer our question of why wait until he is there to tell him to remove the shoes, the answer is simple once pointed out; וַיֵּרָא מַלְאַךְ ה’ אֵלָיו בְּלַבַּת אֵשׁ מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה הַסְּנֶה בֹּעֵר בָּאֵשׁ וְהַסְּנֶה אֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל – An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within the thorn bush, and behold, the thorn bush was burning with fire, but the thorn bush was not being consumed.” (3:2)

Only at 3:4 does G-d appear – וַיַּרְא ה’ כִּי סָר לִרְאוֹת וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו אֱ־לֹהִים מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּנִי – The Lord saw that he had turned to see, and God called to him from within the thorn bush, and He said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am!”

So this explains why he was only warned once he was there; as he ascended, there was no prohibition, G-d wasn’t there, an angel was! Only once G-d appeared did the land become holy so he would need to take off his shoes.

Bearing in mind that the land itself, Mt Sinai, was already holy from that moment, we can further understand the “proof” that Moshe was meant to tell people, which Targum Yonasan ben Uziel explains at 19:5 that the mountain of G-d was the proof; that there was a place waiting for the Jews where the Torah would be given, and the Mishkan would be built, they were now a nation in waiting.

So it has been established that the land was holy before the Torah was given, and the Chizkuni explains that in Refidim, when they had no water, Moshe went to Horeb, and brought back a rock from there, and it was this rock from Mt Sinai that he struck to make water.

What about the permit/mattir to use the land? Where does that enter the equation? The Ibn Ezra quotes R’ Hai Gaon that the Shofar was blown when the command to build the Mishkan was given, and this Shofar, coupled with the sacrifices brought on the Mizbeach Adama (earthen altar), transferred the holiness from the mountain to the Mishkan .

So the mountain was forbidden and holy once G-d revealed Himself at the burning bush. In shachris (morning prayers), in the section regarding the sacrifices, we say “olas hatamid ka’asuya b’har sinai” that we bring the Tamid sacrifice like on Mt Sinai. So when did we bring sacrifices on Mt Sinai? At the time the Mishkan was consecrated for the first time, on Mt Sinai!

With this we can understand why the pasuk said תַּעַבְדוּן – worship. They did worship at Mt Sinai, when they consecrated the Mishkan by bringing the sacrifices, using the earthen altar and blowing the Shofar, which transferred the innate holiness of Mt Sinai that had been there since G-d had revealed himself to the Mishkan.

I think that ties up all the loose ends. :)

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Prayers… work!

The Torah tells of the Jews desperation and anguish when hope seemed lost:

וּפַרְעֹה הִקְרִיב וַיִּשְׂאוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת עֵינֵיהֶם וְהִנֵּה מִצְרַיִם נֹסֵעַ אַחֲרֵיהֶם וַיִּירְאוּ מְאֹד וַיִּצְעֲקוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל הֹ – Pharaoh drew near, and the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold! the Egyptians were advancing after them. They were very frightened, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. (14:10)

ויצעקו: תפשו אומנות אבותם. באברהם הוא אומר (בראשית יט כז) אל המקום אשר עמד שם, ביצחק (שם כד סג) לשוח בשדה, ביעקב (שם כח יא) ויפגע במקום: – cried out: They seized the craft of their ancestors [i.e., they prayed]. Concerning Abraham, it [Scripture] says: “to the place where he had stood before the Lord” (Gen. 19:27). 2 Concerning Isaac, [it is stated] “to pray in the field” (Gen. 24:63). Concerning Jacob, “And he entreated the Omnipresent” (Gen. 28:11).

The way this is first understood is as a wonderful praise of the Jews. No doubt some people this week will focus on the fact that the Jews turned to their heritage, lineage and values in their time of need, and they prayed for salvation. You’d assume that this Rashi is singing the praise of the Jews, that they were so righteous to have prayed as their forefathers had.

There is a problem with this. What is Rashi really saying to us? That prayer should be offered in the way our forefathers did? This is incorrect, as at 2:23 the pasuk says וַיְהִי בַיָּמִים הָרַבִּים הָהֵם, וַיָּמָת מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם, וַיֵּאָנְחוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל מִן-הָעֲבֹדָה, וַיִּזְעָקוּ; וַתַּעַל שַׁוְעָתָם אֶל-הָאֱלֹהִים, מִן-הָעֲבֹדָה – Now it came to pass in those many days that the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed from the labor, and they cried out, and their cry ascended to God from the labor.

Rashi does not explain that their cry was prayer (it obviously was), and does not explain the tradition of prayer that dates back to the Patriarchs. So what is our Rashi saying? To reinforce the question of what Rashi is trying to tell us by saying their fathers prayed, the very next pasuk is quite possible the most snide and sarcastic in Tanach: וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל מֹשֶׁה הַמִבְּלִי אֵין קְבָרִים בְּמִצְרַיִם לְקַחְתָּנוּ לָמוּת בַּמִּדְבָּר מַה זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָ לָּנוּ לְהוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם – They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us to die in the desert? What is this that you have done to us to take us out of Egypt? (14:11)

followed by

הֲלֹא זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְנוּ אֵלֶיךָ בְמִצְרַיִם לֵאמֹר חֲדַל מִמֶּנּוּ וְנַעַבְדָה אֶת מִצְרָיִם כִּי טוֹב לָנוּ עֲבֹד אֶת מִצְרַיִם מִמֻּתֵנוּ בַּמִּדְבָּר – Isn’t this the thing [about] which we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, Leave us alone, and we will serve the Egyptians, because we would rather serve the Egyptians than die in the desert (14:12)

These people are clearly not the most righteous people; they go from prayer to wishing themselves back into slavery and rejecting G-d and Moshe in a heartbeat.

That is the point Rashi is bringing out here.

They did not pray because it was what they felt they should have done, they prayed because it was what their fathers would have done.

If we re-analyze Rashi’s words, this is explicit, once we think about it from this angle; תפשו אומנות אבותם – They seized the craft of their ancestors? Their prayer was craftsmanship; it was work, not service!

R’ Yitzchok Hutner queries this; we say in morning prayers (in v’Charos, just before Az Yashir) how Hashem listened to our cries. But we have established that these cries were hardly the most noble, so what are we mentioning this for in our prayers?

He answers with a parable, about a king who has a good friend, whose son is close to the prince. One day, whilst visiting the prince in the royal palace, he bursts into the king’s chamber and starts running his mouth off about the area he comes from and things it needs. The king acquiesces, but it’s not because of what the prince’s friend said: it’s because his father is the king’s friend.

This also happens to be an explanation as to why we mention zchus avos in the opening paragraph of Shemona Esrei, that in spite of our lack of merit, our lineage should stand us in good stead.

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ראש חודש ניסן

This Weeks Parsha

Israel: Bechukosai

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