Parshas Beshalach Divrei Torah and Insights 5780

בּ"ה

Parshas Beshalach

We find it stressed in the Torah that we went out of Mitzraim in the Aviv, springtime (see, for example, 13:4). What is the significance of this?

HaRav Avigdor Miller zt”l quotes an explanation from the Alter of Slobodka, HaRav Nosson Tzvi Finkel zt”l: We clearly see that HaKadosh Baruch Hu wants to remind us that it was nice weather when we went out of Mitzraim.

Klal Yisroel were enslaved for so many years with bricks and mortar, and with backbreaking, harsh labor. For two hundred and ten years they couldn’t leave Egypt; and finally the time comes to go out -- so even if it was during a blizzard, what difference does it make, right? They would still walk out of Mitzraim singing in the blizzard! So are we going to stop and take note of the fact that it was a beautiful spring day as well?

Says the Alter zt”l; yes. Even in a mountain of kindness that someone is giving you, you shouldn’t overlook even one grain of kindness. And the fact that the redemption from Egypt took place on a beautiful spring day -- they were walking out and singing, and it was beautiful all around them; nature was blooming; it was Nissan -- that added to the great enjoyment.

(Toras Avigdor)

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‘And it was when Paroah sent out the People, and G-d did not lead them the way of the land of the Plishtim for it was close, for G-d said; “Lest the People will reconsider [leaving Egypt] when they see a war, and they will return to Egypt.”’ (Shemos 13:17)

Says Rabbeinu Bachya {ben Asher} zt”l: Rabbeinu Chananel zt”l writes that Hashem led them the way of the Wilderness to multiply His Signs and Wonders, because if He had led them the way of the land of the Plishtim -- the close one -- and He had put in the Plishtim’s hearts to give the Jews permission to cross over the way of their land, and not stop them at all, it would have been a lesser Sign. So therefore, Hashem’s Wisdom dictated to turn them to the way of the Wilderness to make the great and many Signs -- the Mon, the Slov, and the bringing of Water out from the Rock [all of which would help them to achieve faith in Him]. . .

And know, Rabbeinu Bachya explains, that all the matters of the Jews and their happenings in the Wilderness were a complete test in order to make their intellectual soul greater in the levels of Bitochon, which is the root of Emunah, so that they would be fit to receive the Torah: The Splitting of the Sea, the waters of Marah, the Mon -- which fell daily as much as was needed for each day, etc. All these things were a complete test, in order to root in their Souls the trait of Bitachon. . . for the trait of Bitachon is a great main thing (ikkar) and Foundation of the Torah.

[Originally, the Jews would have turned back if they had seen a war -- that, in a way, was a lack of faith in Hashem. With the proper trust in Him, however, they wouldn’t have been afraid. Hashem saw this in us, and He understood that He needed to lead us through the Wilderness in order to root Bitachon in our hearts.]

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‘And the Bnei Yisroel were going out with a high hand.’ (Shemos 14:8)

In any and every trouble and difficult situation that we may, Chas v’Shalom, find ourselves in, we are not alone. Hashem is there with us. And not only that, but He stretches down His Hand, so to speak, waiting for us to just reach a bit upwards and “grab onto it,” and let Him help to pull us out.

So it was in Egypt -- a very challenging and harsh time, where the Jews had also sunken to a low level. Hashem never abandoned us. Just the opposite: He “stretched down His Hand” for us to grab onto. And indeed, as the verse tells us, we went out with a ‘high hand,’ i.e. we did reach upwards and grab Hashem’s outstretched Hand. And He pulled us out of Egypt.

(Tal U’Matar)

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‘And they believed in Hashem, and in Moshe His servant.’ (Shemos 14:31)

Rebbe Tzadok HaKohen zt”l explains a beautiful message within this verse: Just as a person must believe in Hashem, so too, it is also important to believe in ourselves -- meaning that we must believe that Hashem personally involves Himself with us and desires in us, and what we do really does matter to Him a lot! ‘And they believed in Hashem, and in Moshe’ -- who, to a certain degree, represents all of Klal Yisroel!

(Tzidkas HaTzaddik; #154)

Another lesson: Chazal tell us that even a simple or lowly Jew gained a high level of perception of the Divine at Kriyas Yam Suf. When they saw that, says Rebbe Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev zt”l, Klal Yisroel believed that everyone has the potential to rise to a very high level, just like Moshe Rabbeinu did!

(Kedushas Levi al HaTorah, p. 42a)

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‘Then Moshe sang -- אז ישיר משה’ (Shemos 15:1)

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Rashi zt”l quotes from Chazal that we see from here a hint to Techiyas HaMeisim from the Torah itself.

Because, as Sifsei Chachamim HaShaleim elucidates, אז ישיר משה is actually in the future tense, meaning ‘then Moshe will sing’.

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The Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 23:3) comments that Moshe Rabbeinu recalled that he had erred using the word אז, when he voiced his displeasure to Hashem at how things were going after he had begun his mission, (5:23) ‘And since (מאז) I have come to Paroah, he has done bad to this people’, so now, he would rectify this and sing a song of praise to Hashem with that very word.

The Beis HaLevi zt”l delves deeper: Moshe Rabbeinu and Klal Yisroel were not just singing Shirah for the miracle that Hashem did for them by saving them from Egypt; they were also singing it for the enslavement itself, for now they realized and understood that without it, they would never have come to this incredible miracle of Kriyas Yam Suf, and all the amazing things that came with it!

And perhaps, he explains, this is what the Midrash means to say: Moshe Rabbeinu said ‘I sinned with the word אז’ -- i.e. because he had “complained” about how harsh and heavy the servitude had become, ‘and now I say Shirah with אז’ -- meaning, now he was saying a song of praise also on אז (then), i.e. the past servitude itself, just like the current redemption; because now he understood how they were both truly for the best.

(Beis HaLevi al HaTorah here)

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‘And the Bnei Yisroel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.’ (Shemos 15:19)

Says the Noam Elimelech {Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk zt”l}: People are inspired only when they see clear Miracles. They don’t understand, though, that “nature” is itself one big miracle in which we can regularly see the greatness of the Creator and be inspired from it.

However, when we see a clear miracle, we begin to believe that also just in “natural and simple life” there is a Supervision and Intervention from Above and wondrous miracles occur, but we are just used to them and so we don’t notice them.

Explains the Rebbe Reb Meilech zt”l; this is what the Torah is saying in the verse above: ‘And the Bnei Yisroel’ -- since the Jews saw a clear and revealed miracle, that they were walking on dry land in the middle of the sea, they came to an overall recognition that ‘they went on dry land in the midst of the sea’ -- that even when they are going on solid dry land like regular, this is a wondrous miracle, as if they are going in the middle of the sea.

(Quoted in Maayanah Shel Torah; Shemos p. 69)

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‘And they [the Jews] came to Marah, and they were not able to drink the water from Marah, because it was bitter (lit. ‘they were bitter’ -- כי מרים הם)’ (Shemos 15:23)

As we know, Moshe cried out to Hashem, and Hashem showed him a tree, which he then threw into the water, and they became sweet. The Mechilta points out that the tree was bitter, and so were the waters -- yet when the tree was thrown in, the waters became sweet!

This teaches us, says HaRav Yaakov Kamenetzky zt”l, that no matter what logic or “nature” might dictate, everything is in the hands of Hashem. He can change the regular course of nature at will.

(Emes L’Yaakov to Devarim 9:7)

Another message we can glean from this story: Torah is compared to water, and a person is compared to a tree, as Chazal tell us. If we just immerse ourselves in Torah, but ignore others, and do not show them respect or treat them properly -- that is bitter. However, when we throw in a tree, i.e. we do behave properly towards our fellow Jews and treat them kindly, then it all becomes sweet -- and yes, even if that person whom we are being kind to is a little bitter themselves. . .

(Tal U’Matar)

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In a different take on the verse, there is a very famous Chassidishe Vort on this (usually quoted in the name of the Baal Shem Tov zt”l, but I have seen it in the name of the Kotkzer Rebbe, HaRav Menachem Mendel of Kotzk zt”l):

What does it mean that ‘they were bitter’? That the Jews were bitter -- and that is why the waters tasted bitter. Because when a person is bitter, everything seems bitter to them.

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‘And it will be if you will surely listen to the voice of Hashem your G-d, and what is upright in His eyes you will do, and you will give ear to His Commandments, and you will guard all His Decrees, all the sickness that I placed in Egypt, I will not place upon you, for I am Hashem your Healer.’ (Shemos 15:26)

The Malbim and HaRav Yaakov of Lissa zt”l (among others) explain like this: The sicknesses and plagues that Hashem sent upon the Egyptians indeed served many purposes and were meant as messages and wake up calls -- but they were certainly intended also to cause them suffering as a punishment for the wickedness they were perpetrating. Those kinds of ailments Hashem will never bring upon us, because if He ever does, Chas v’Shalom, have to send any illness in us or punish us, it is only intended to heal and cleanse us (from some spiritual “sickness”, perhaps) -- ‘for I am Hashem your Healer’! It is just like a doctor who will sometimes have to perform a somewhat painful procedure on a patient, but only with the intent to heal them.

(HaTorah Vi’haMitzvah and Nachalas Yaakov here)

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‘And it will be on the sixth day, and they will prepare what they bring’ (Shemos 16:5)

Even though it is a mitzvah, says the Chofetz Chaim zt”l, to remember the Shabbos in some way throughout the entire week, it is especially a great mitzvah for certain to prepare for Shabbos on Erev Shabbos, like it is written in the above verse. And even if a person has many servants or attendants who do most of the housework, it is a mitzvah for them to try to make at least some preparations themself. Imagine that a royal dignitary was coming to lodge at our house, how very much we would prepare and tidy up everything! And certainly, we would not consider this a lowering of our esteem or beneath our dignity -- just the opposite; we would be thrilled to have this incredible opportunity! How much more so when the Shabbos Queen is “coming to visit”! As the Rambam zt”l writes, preparing things for Shabbos is an honor to us itself!

(Shem Olam, end of ch. 4)

Of course, aside from getting all the food, and the house prepared, it is also proper on Erev Shabbos to prepare oneself personally for Shabbos, with washing our bodies in warm water (Shulchan Aruch; Orach Chaim 260:1) -- taking care, of course, to not do this too dangerously close to the onset of Shabbos, and thus risk desecrating Shabbos thereby (Mishnah Berurah ibid.); by cutting our nails (Shulchan Aruch ibid.); and by, if possible, donning nicer clothing to wear on Shabbos (Ibid. 262:2). And also in a spiritual sense, as my Rebbe, HaRav Moshe Shulman shlit”a related to me in the name of one of the Chassidishe Rebbes, it is good for one to try to engage in teshuva before Shabbos, so that they come into the holy day clean.

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‘And it will be (והיה) on the sixth day, and they will prepare what they bring’ (Shemos 16:5)

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The Chiddushei HaRim zt”l expounds: As Chazal tell us, the word והיה can be an implication of joy. This is what the verse means to teach us: The joy, desire and longing for Shabbos is one of the very important preparations for it!

(Sfas Emes; Beshalach 5633)

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‘And Amalek came and it waged war with Yisroel in Rephidim.’ (Shemos 17:8)

Rashi zt”l brings from Mechilta and Gemara Sanhedrin 56b that the Bnei Yisroel were given in Marah three Rules to learn and keep. But when they were in Rephidim, they loosened their grip from the Torah which they received in Marah, and as a punishment for this, Amalek (YM”S) came and waged war on them. Because for the sin of wasting time instead of learning Torah (bitul Torah), troubles come to the world.

(Mechilta; Gemara Bechoros; quoted by Rabbeinu Bachya zt”l)

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The Torah tells us about how Amalek waged war upon us. And the Torah relates that when Moshe Rabbeinu would raise his hand up, the Jews would be stronger and overcome them -- but when he would lay his hand down, Amalek would be stronger.

Asks the Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 3:8); was it then Moshe Rabbeinu’s hands that made the Jews win or lose? Rather, the Mishnah explains, it is to teach you that when the Jews looked to On High and subjected their hearts to our Father in Heaven, they prevailed. And when not, they fell.

Numerous Gedolim tell us that Amalek represents the Yetzer Hara. We all have a personal war with Amalek, in our own lives. And in a more specific description of what kind of yetzer hara it represents, many Chassidishe Rebbes note that the Gematria (numerical value) of the word עמלק is the same as that of ספק, doubt. This teaches us, they explain, that Amalek tries to bring sfeikus, doubts, into our Emunah, Rachmana Litzlan. (There are other proofs for this brought, as well). Furthermore, many Rabbonim explain that another power of Amalek -- and thus, this particular yetzer hara -- is kerirus, coldness. They tried to bring coldness to the Jews (see Rashi zt”l and many later Commentators). And really, these two snares of Amalek/yetzer hara, are intertwined.

So what is the antidote and the way to triumph over our yetzer hara if it, Chas v’Shalom, attacks us and tries to drag us down into these things?

The advice comes from what we quoted above: The way to beat our yetzer hara (A.K.A. Amalek) and coldness and doubt is just to turn Upwards to our Father in Heaven. Connecting to Him -- and even just lifting our hands to Him, I might add -- helps us to overcome all wars we might encounter in our lives. Our Father is always there, ready to help us. Just turn to Him.

(Tal U’Matar)

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~ Maasim Tovim ~

‘For I am Hashem your Healer’ (Shemos 15:26)

A very ill chossid once came to Rebbe Mordechai of Neschiz zt”l. He had already consulted many doctors, but they hadn’t been able to help him -- and now he came to the Rebbe for a blessing and advice. The Rebbe told him to go to a special doctor in the town of Anipoli. He would be able to cure him.

It was a long and harsh trip, but the chossid undertook it, and, Baruch Hashem, made it there safely. And now he began to ask the villagers about the special doctor who lived there. But they told him that they didn’t even have a regular doctor there! The ill chossid, very sad, journeyed back to the Rebbe, and told him what had transpired.

Then what do these people do, Rebbe Mordechai asked, if, Chas v’Shalom, someone would fall sick? The chossid replied that, what could they do? They just would have to have faith in Hashem and ask Him to heal them.

This was exactly the thing which the Rebbe had wanted him to understand, and he told the chossid that He (Hashem) is the Doctor Whom he had been referring to. And He Who helps the people of Anipoli would heal him as well. And so it was.

(Related in Sippurei Chassidim)

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‘Behold, I am going to rain down for you bread from Heaven’ (Shemos 16:4)

One night, the Alter of Novhardok {HaRav Yosef Yozel Hurwitz zt”l} was sitting in his house of solitude in the forest, when his candle burned out. This wouldn’t have been a problem -- except that he didn’t have any other candles there at the time. He was very distressed about the fact that now he didn’t have the light to be able to learn Torah! But he had very strong Bitochon (trust in Hashem) that he would be helped speedily.

The Alter opened the door of the little house, and went outside. And at that very moment, someone -- most likely an Angel or Eliyahu HaNavi -- approached him, presented him a candle, and disappeared! Hashem had truly justified the Alter’s trust in Him, and now, the Alter was able to go back to his learning.

(HaMeoros HaGedolim)

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Gut and meaningful Shabbos to all!

Torah, Mussar, Chassidus, Stories, and More! - בּ"ה

Friday, February 7, 2020