Chasidut su Esodo 14:35
Kedushat Levi
Exodus 14,19. “The angel of G’d who had been traveling in front of the camp of the Israelites moved to their back and took up position behind them.”
It is a known fact that the angels are spiritually superior to Israel due to their inherent holiness. However, whenever G’d displays His love for His people, the Israelites become transported to a spiritually higher stature than the angels. At the time when G’d split the sea of reeds, the Israelites ascended to a higher level of holiness than even the highest ranking angels. This is the deeper meaning of the line that whereas at the beginning of the Israelites’ journey the angel traveled “ahead of them,” by the time they had reached the shores of the sea of reeds the angel of G’d took up his position behind them.
It is a known fact that the angels are spiritually superior to Israel due to their inherent holiness. However, whenever G’d displays His love for His people, the Israelites become transported to a spiritually higher stature than the angels. At the time when G’d split the sea of reeds, the Israelites ascended to a higher level of holiness than even the highest ranking angels. This is the deeper meaning of the line that whereas at the beginning of the Israelites’ journey the angel traveled “ahead of them,” by the time they had reached the shores of the sea of reeds the angel of G’d took up his position behind them.
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 18,1. “Yitro, the priest of Midian, heard all that G’d had done for Moses and His people Israel, etc.” What Yitro had “heard” was that what G’d had done to Egypt had not been triggered by the Egyptians having transgressed G’d’s will, but for what they had done to Moses and the Israelites. Proof of this is found in the words uttered by the Egyptians on the point of death (Exodus 14,25) אנוסה מפני ישראל כי ה' נלחם להם במצרים, “I will have to flee on account of Israel for Hashem is battling on their behalf against Egypt.”
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Kedushat Levi
Numbers 5,21. “may the Lord make you a curse and an imprecation among your people, as the Lord causes your thigh to sag, etc.;”
We need to pay close attention to the word יתן which normally means “he will give,” or “may he give,” being used here when introducing a curse. Moreover, the line יתן ה' אותך לאלה, “may Hashem make you a curse, etc.,” seems to contradict a fundamental principle in Judaism that nothing negative ever originates from Hashem, and here the priest appears to invoke precisely this!
We may have to look at the following in order to understand what is written here. When G’d exacts judgment from sinners this may take two forms. 1) By doing so, He at the same time sanctifies His holy name. 2) He is not concerned with sanctifying His holy name through the manner in which he executes this judgment. When G’d’s name becomes sanctified while He exacts retribution from the sinner, this is an act of Kindness on His part, as the victim of the judgment exacted simultaneously became the instrument through which G’d’s name was sanctified. The victim’s soul experiences a spiritual elevation as a result of having been instrumental in sanctifying G’d’s name.
We find an allusion to this in Exodus 14,31 where the Torah writes: וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה אשר עשה ה' במצרים, “Israel saw the great hand of the Lord that He brought to bear on Egypt, etc.;” the expression יד הגדולה, always is an allusion to G’d’s attribute of loving kindness. If you were to ask how we can possibly see G’d’s “kindness” when He is busy drowning the mighty armies of the Egyptians, the answer appears immediately afterwards where the Torah describes that as a result of witnessing G’d’s great hand the Israelites were in awe of G’d as never before, i.e. וייראו העם את ה' ויאמינו בה' ובמשה עבדו, so that “they feared the Lord and believed in Him as well as in His servant Moses.” Some of the “credit” for the Jewish people’s faith could be attributed to the Egyptians in their role as G’d’s victims, which resulted in His name being sanctified. G’d’s intervention in the affairs of the Sotah, and her jealous husband similarly is bound to result in the people observing the results having greater respect for G’d and His name.
We need to pay close attention to the word יתן which normally means “he will give,” or “may he give,” being used here when introducing a curse. Moreover, the line יתן ה' אותך לאלה, “may Hashem make you a curse, etc.,” seems to contradict a fundamental principle in Judaism that nothing negative ever originates from Hashem, and here the priest appears to invoke precisely this!
We may have to look at the following in order to understand what is written here. When G’d exacts judgment from sinners this may take two forms. 1) By doing so, He at the same time sanctifies His holy name. 2) He is not concerned with sanctifying His holy name through the manner in which he executes this judgment. When G’d’s name becomes sanctified while He exacts retribution from the sinner, this is an act of Kindness on His part, as the victim of the judgment exacted simultaneously became the instrument through which G’d’s name was sanctified. The victim’s soul experiences a spiritual elevation as a result of having been instrumental in sanctifying G’d’s name.
We find an allusion to this in Exodus 14,31 where the Torah writes: וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה אשר עשה ה' במצרים, “Israel saw the great hand of the Lord that He brought to bear on Egypt, etc.;” the expression יד הגדולה, always is an allusion to G’d’s attribute of loving kindness. If you were to ask how we can possibly see G’d’s “kindness” when He is busy drowning the mighty armies of the Egyptians, the answer appears immediately afterwards where the Torah describes that as a result of witnessing G’d’s great hand the Israelites were in awe of G’d as never before, i.e. וייראו העם את ה' ויאמינו בה' ובמשה עבדו, so that “they feared the Lord and believed in Him as well as in His servant Moses.” Some of the “credit” for the Jewish people’s faith could be attributed to the Egyptians in their role as G’d’s victims, which resulted in His name being sanctified. G’d’s intervention in the affairs of the Sotah, and her jealous husband similarly is bound to result in the people observing the results having greater respect for G’d and His name.
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 14,21. “Moses inclined his hand above the sea, etc;” there is a statement in Sh’mot Rabbah 21,6 according to which Moses commanded the sea in the name of G’d to divide itself so as to let the Israelites march through; the sea demurred, saying to him: “son of Amram, I am greater than you, etc.,’”
Naturally, the Midrash is an allegory, but we must understand what the author of the Midrash is trying to convey to us. G’d has assigned nature its tasks in broad outlines, and one of the rules by which the sea is governed is to perform its task loyally. In the course of the thousands of years that nature performs its task, which is mostly to act as an agent of G’d’s largesse for the benefit of mankind, nature tends to forget that what it does is no more than to carry out the will of the Creator, and it begins to think of itself as an independent, sovereign force. When the Creator becomes aware of this, He decides to remind nature that He is the “boss,” and that had it not been for Him, nature would be completely impotent. If at the time when Moses addressed the sea in the name of G’d, the sea would have responded immediately, it would not have had to humble itself beyond a minimum and have to be turned into dry land, as it did after having insisted that seeing it had been created on the third day of creation whereas man was only created on the sixth day, man had no authority to issue orders to it even in the name of the Creator.
[This commentary is presumably inspired by G’d having told Moses already in verse 16 to perform this miracle, whereas only in verse 22 does it begin to occur, and G’d Himself is involved, in addition to Moses‘ “hand.” Ed.]
According to the midrash, (Sh’mot Rabbah 23,14) the opening line in Moses’ שירת הים, Song of thanksgiving after the crossing of the sea, (Exodus 15,1) which contains the words: כי גאה גאה, “For He is highly exalted,” was inspired by the haughty response the sea had used to deny Moses’ initial command to divide its waters to permit the Israelites to cross. This is also alluded to in Exodus 14,21 ויולך ה' את הים ברוח קדים עזה כל הלילה וגו', “Hashem made the sea travel all night long driven by a strong easterly wind, etc;” this was the punishment for the sea that had boasted to Moses that it considered itself as greater than he. The expression עזה instead of חזק which would be the customary word used for a “strong” wind, suggests that the sea was being repaid measure for measure for its arrogance. Due to G’d making use of this strong easterly wind, the sea was forced not only to split, but to turn its bed into dry land. G’d wished to prove to the sea how quickly it could be turned into its very opposite. The “greater” something in this material world of ours, the easier and the more utterly can it be destroyed with one fell swoop.
Naturally, the Midrash is an allegory, but we must understand what the author of the Midrash is trying to convey to us. G’d has assigned nature its tasks in broad outlines, and one of the rules by which the sea is governed is to perform its task loyally. In the course of the thousands of years that nature performs its task, which is mostly to act as an agent of G’d’s largesse for the benefit of mankind, nature tends to forget that what it does is no more than to carry out the will of the Creator, and it begins to think of itself as an independent, sovereign force. When the Creator becomes aware of this, He decides to remind nature that He is the “boss,” and that had it not been for Him, nature would be completely impotent. If at the time when Moses addressed the sea in the name of G’d, the sea would have responded immediately, it would not have had to humble itself beyond a minimum and have to be turned into dry land, as it did after having insisted that seeing it had been created on the third day of creation whereas man was only created on the sixth day, man had no authority to issue orders to it even in the name of the Creator.
[This commentary is presumably inspired by G’d having told Moses already in verse 16 to perform this miracle, whereas only in verse 22 does it begin to occur, and G’d Himself is involved, in addition to Moses‘ “hand.” Ed.]
According to the midrash, (Sh’mot Rabbah 23,14) the opening line in Moses’ שירת הים, Song of thanksgiving after the crossing of the sea, (Exodus 15,1) which contains the words: כי גאה גאה, “For He is highly exalted,” was inspired by the haughty response the sea had used to deny Moses’ initial command to divide its waters to permit the Israelites to cross. This is also alluded to in Exodus 14,21 ויולך ה' את הים ברוח קדים עזה כל הלילה וגו', “Hashem made the sea travel all night long driven by a strong easterly wind, etc;” this was the punishment for the sea that had boasted to Moses that it considered itself as greater than he. The expression עזה instead of חזק which would be the customary word used for a “strong” wind, suggests that the sea was being repaid measure for measure for its arrogance. Due to G’d making use of this strong easterly wind, the sea was forced not only to split, but to turn its bed into dry land. G’d wished to prove to the sea how quickly it could be turned into its very opposite. The “greater” something in this material world of ours, the easier and the more utterly can it be destroyed with one fell swoop.
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Kedushat Levi
A word or two about the name of G’d containing 72 letters. We know that when G’d created the universe He related to it by “showering” it with His largesse. Another word for this “largesse” of G’d is אור ישר, “direct light,” as opposed to אור חוזר, “reflected light.” When the creatures (both the living and the inert) boast of serving their Creator, this is called אור חוזר. The term implies that the creatures, as an expression of gratitude to their Creator “pay back” with adulation for their Creator. They turn to their roots, origin, hence the expression חוזר, “return, reflect.” When the Torah writes three successive verses each containing 72 letters, the first verse commencing with the word ויסע, the second with the word ויבא, and the third with the word ויט, (Exodus 14,19-21) when these are written letter for letter above each other, the topmost verse from right to left, and the middle verse from left to right, the result will be 72 three lettered names of G’d. [The subject is dealt with in the prayer Book of the Ari’zal in connection with the קריאת שמע.] Accordingly, the first verse is to be understood as an activity initiated by G’d, or אור ישר. The second verse commencing with the word ויבא, represents the response of the recipient of the אור ישר, the אור חוזר, the response by the creature. This is why this verse is to be understood as having been written from left to right, i.e. using the alphabet backwards, or the sages phrase it, as תשרק. The third verse, read in the customary mode from right to left, represents אור ישר, again. In other words, when the creature has responded to G’d’s “direct light” positively, it qualifies for G’d’s performing supernatural miracles for such a creature or creatures. In this case, when the sea had responded appropriately, it was allowed to revert to its former, normal, state.
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Kedushat Levi
This is what the Midrash had in mind when it interpreted the opening words of our chapter ואברהם זקן בא בימים, to mean that prior to the existence of Avraham there had not been a concept on earth known as זקנה, “old age,” i.e. G’d’s largesse flowing directly, without detour through nature, to any human being. The reason was simple. No human being had accumulated the kind of merits that enabled G’d to direct this flow of largesse by bypassing normal channels. Avraham’s merits had opened new channels of communication between G’d and man.
At this point the author refers to a method of writing the 72-lettered “name” of Hashem in 9 columns of 8 three lettered words, using Exodus 14,19,20 and 21, respectively, (each verse having 72 letters) and consecutively, and the middle verse in by reading it from left to right, so that you get the diagram shown.
In that diagram you will note that in the top row the “name” spelled סיט appears in the column preceding the one commencing with a name consisting of עלמ.
[I am attaching the diagram so that you, the reader can better visualize what the author is speaking about. Ed.]
The word סיט occurs on several occasions in the Mishnah, throughout the section known as taharot as a vessel used in measuring. (Maimonides on Keylim 13,4, Orlah, 3,2 for instance) This “name” of G’d serves as symbol of Avraham’s ability to channel G’d’s largesse from the celestial domains to our regions. The next column in our diagram is headed by the letters עלמ, [alluding to our עולם, world] and symbolizes for our purposes, the manner of distribution of this largesse once it has entered the sphere of the material world. We refer to this in our daily amidah prayer when we recite the words: וזוכר חסדי אבות ומביא גואל לבני בניהם. “He (G’d) remembers the deeds of loving kindness of the patriarchs and brings the redeemer to their children’s children.” On the face of it, it is difficult to understand the words חסדי אבות, “the pious deeds performed by the patriarchs.” All the author of this paragraph had to mention was וזוכר אבות, that “G’d remembers the patriarchs.” Furthermore, why would the author of this paragraph refer to the redemption as being brought to the “children’s children” of the patriarchs? It would have sufficed to refer to their בניהם, “children.” When speaking of fathers, it is customary to relate to their children rather than to their grandchildren. However, when understanding the entire paragraph and what it teaches in light of what we have explained, both the word “חסדי” and the words “לבני בניהם” make perfect sense, as the author draws our attention to the manner in which G’d’s largesse is transmitted to the Jewish people and who we have to thank for this. The חסד of which the author speaks is an allusion to the “source” of the largesse, i.e. G’d Himself, (not nature) whereas the בני בניהם, is an allusion to the meritorious deeds of the patriarchs which paved the way for the Jewish people to receive G’d’s largesse directly, without detours.
When the paragraph above is introduced with the words: ואברהם זקן בא בימים וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, this is an allusion to Avraham, the first of the patriarchs having been able to open the sluices of G’d’s treasure chamber to enable the flow of its goodness to bypass regular channels and flow directly to His people. When G’d’s largesse flows to us in this manner, it is not limited in measure at all, as it would be if it had to reach us via nature.
This is the meaning of bereshit rabbah 59,5 where the author writes: Avraham would bless everybody. (Compare Genesis 12,3) To the question whence Avraham was able to do so, i.e. who had blessed him first? The answer is that G’d personally, had done so in His capacity of רצון as explained on page 118.
At this point the author refers to a method of writing the 72-lettered “name” of Hashem in 9 columns of 8 three lettered words, using Exodus 14,19,20 and 21, respectively, (each verse having 72 letters) and consecutively, and the middle verse in by reading it from left to right, so that you get the diagram shown.
In that diagram you will note that in the top row the “name” spelled סיט appears in the column preceding the one commencing with a name consisting of עלמ.
[I am attaching the diagram so that you, the reader can better visualize what the author is speaking about. Ed.]
The word סיט occurs on several occasions in the Mishnah, throughout the section known as taharot as a vessel used in measuring. (Maimonides on Keylim 13,4, Orlah, 3,2 for instance) This “name” of G’d serves as symbol of Avraham’s ability to channel G’d’s largesse from the celestial domains to our regions. The next column in our diagram is headed by the letters עלמ, [alluding to our עולם, world] and symbolizes for our purposes, the manner of distribution of this largesse once it has entered the sphere of the material world. We refer to this in our daily amidah prayer when we recite the words: וזוכר חסדי אבות ומביא גואל לבני בניהם. “He (G’d) remembers the deeds of loving kindness of the patriarchs and brings the redeemer to their children’s children.” On the face of it, it is difficult to understand the words חסדי אבות, “the pious deeds performed by the patriarchs.” All the author of this paragraph had to mention was וזוכר אבות, that “G’d remembers the patriarchs.” Furthermore, why would the author of this paragraph refer to the redemption as being brought to the “children’s children” of the patriarchs? It would have sufficed to refer to their בניהם, “children.” When speaking of fathers, it is customary to relate to their children rather than to their grandchildren. However, when understanding the entire paragraph and what it teaches in light of what we have explained, both the word “חסדי” and the words “לבני בניהם” make perfect sense, as the author draws our attention to the manner in which G’d’s largesse is transmitted to the Jewish people and who we have to thank for this. The חסד of which the author speaks is an allusion to the “source” of the largesse, i.e. G’d Himself, (not nature) whereas the בני בניהם, is an allusion to the meritorious deeds of the patriarchs which paved the way for the Jewish people to receive G’d’s largesse directly, without detours.
When the paragraph above is introduced with the words: ואברהם זקן בא בימים וה' ברך את אברהם בכל, this is an allusion to Avraham, the first of the patriarchs having been able to open the sluices of G’d’s treasure chamber to enable the flow of its goodness to bypass regular channels and flow directly to His people. When G’d’s largesse flows to us in this manner, it is not limited in measure at all, as it would be if it had to reach us via nature.
This is the meaning of bereshit rabbah 59,5 where the author writes: Avraham would bless everybody. (Compare Genesis 12,3) To the question whence Avraham was able to do so, i.e. who had blessed him first? The answer is that G’d personally, had done so in His capacity of רצון as explained on page 118.
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Kedushat Levi
Numbers 21,17. “then Israel sang this song: ‘come up, well sing to it- the well which chieftains dug which the nobles of the people started, etc;’” We need to understand why the song that the people under the leadership of Moses sang after the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea, were words that we could easily understand, whereas this song is shrouded in mystical allusions none of which are easy to decipher.
The answer to this question may lie in the fact that at the sea of Reeds, Moses had seen revelations by G’d in what is known as אספקלריא המאירה, “a clear vision” (compare Yevamot 49) so that he could announce his prophecies without having to resort to allusions.
The song we read here was not composed by Moses, but the Torah wrote: “then Israel sung, etc.” In other words, the people had been divinely inspired, but being only people, not Moses, they had seen prophetic insights only through the prism of אספקלריא שאיננה מאירה, a vision which was distorted through reflections. Rashi on 21,20 already asks the question why the name of Moses is not mentioned in this paragraph. He answers that the reason is that on account of this well, or rather its having failed after Miriam’s death having caused him to be punished, it would not have been fitting to associate his name when singing the praises of this well.
Let us now proceed to explain the allusions contained in this poetic song extolling the well.
Sometimes G’d will perform a miracle for the Israelites in response to their cry to Him for help, and this is the manner in which He responds to their outcry. The splitting of the sea of Reeds at the time was an example of G’d’s responding by means of an impressive miracle. We have read in Exodus 14,10: ויצעקו בני ישראל וגו', “the Israelites cried out, etc,” The splitting of the sea was G’d’s response to that outcry.
On other occasions G’d performs a miracle for the people without their being in need, i.e. according to their perception. The people had not even been aware at that time that deadly danger was near them. When wondering why G’d had performed a miracle for them, they investigated what danger could have lurked near them without their having been aware of it. This was the case in the paragraph above where the people only belatedly became aware of the Canaanites that G’d had killed.
We are entitled to ask what prompted G’d to reveal these details in the Torah which Rashi describes as the Canaanites having been hidden in clefts of rock overhanging the Arnon river that were invisible to people passing underneath along its banks. In the kedushah formula according to the Sefardi nussach which begins with the word: כתר, we encounter the line הן גאלתי אתכם אחרית כראשית, “see I will redeem you in the future just as I have redeemed you in the past.” At first glance this does not seem much of a promise; we had surely hoped that the ultimate redemption will be something far superior to the partial redemptions we have experienced from time to time! In light of that why would the author of this line link the final redemption to previous redemptions? Who has ever heard of the major event being linked to the minor event?
Did not our sages (Tannah de bey Eliyahu 14) state that the meaning of the opening word of the Torah, בראשית is בשביל ראשית, “on account of the people of Israel who are called ראשית, the Lord created heaven and earth?” If all parts of the universe were created on account of the Jewish people, this surely means that there is a constant injection of additional essence of life into the earth itself, on account of the pre-eminence of the Jewish people? It would follow that the earth is therefore obligated to conform to the expressed will of the Jewish people, since its very existence hinges on the well being of the Jewish people. Keeping the universe in a condition that ensures its continued existence, i.e. תקון העולם is the earth’s self interest.
It is true that only after the final stage of the universe’s creation had been revealed, i.e. the earth and its inhabitants, had it become clear what had been in the mind of the Creator from the moment He had contemplated creating a universe. At that time all could see that the intervening stages of creation had all been leading up to the creation of the Jewish people as the crowning achievement. This is what the author of the line we quoted from the kedushah had in mind when he wrote: אתכם אחרית כראשית, “you in the end as at the beginning.” Only after the final redemption will G’d’s plan for the Jewish people become revealed as having been His plan from the earliest moment of the creative process.
As long as Jewish history on this earth has not yet come to its successful conclusion (history in the sense of development) G’d’s original intentions could not have become manifest to one and all. During the period leading up to this point in Jewish history miracles have to be performed at the request of the Jewish people. Once that period has passed successfully, miracles will be performed by nature on behalf of the Jewish people without their having to ask for them. The day (not literally) prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai, when the design of G’d that the Jewish people are the objective of His creation of the universe had become manifest, this had not yet been common knowledge. This is why we read in Exodus 14,10 when Pharaoh had caught up with the Israelites, that ויצעקו בני ישראל, “the Children of Israel cried out,” i.e. asked to be saved by means of a miracle. Now at the time of or after the giving of the Torah when G’d’s original plan that His people would be the Jewish people had become well known, there was no need for them to cry out even if the enemy had lain in ambush. At this time and subsequently, the earth, for reasons of self preservation, would not allow fatal harm to befall Israel as it would suffer the consequences itself. Calling on the source of water to arise, i.e. to become manifest, was therefore a command directed at the earth rather than to G’d.
The Israelites reminded the earth of its self-interest in providing the Jewish people with a source of water for their needs in the desert. This is what Rashi had in mind when he commented on the words ענו לה, (verse 14-15) that the mountain addressed was part of Eretz Yisrael. The song was in recognition of what the earth had done, (performed miracles) on behalf of the Jewish people without having been asked to do so.
The answer to this question may lie in the fact that at the sea of Reeds, Moses had seen revelations by G’d in what is known as אספקלריא המאירה, “a clear vision” (compare Yevamot 49) so that he could announce his prophecies without having to resort to allusions.
The song we read here was not composed by Moses, but the Torah wrote: “then Israel sung, etc.” In other words, the people had been divinely inspired, but being only people, not Moses, they had seen prophetic insights only through the prism of אספקלריא שאיננה מאירה, a vision which was distorted through reflections. Rashi on 21,20 already asks the question why the name of Moses is not mentioned in this paragraph. He answers that the reason is that on account of this well, or rather its having failed after Miriam’s death having caused him to be punished, it would not have been fitting to associate his name when singing the praises of this well.
Let us now proceed to explain the allusions contained in this poetic song extolling the well.
Sometimes G’d will perform a miracle for the Israelites in response to their cry to Him for help, and this is the manner in which He responds to their outcry. The splitting of the sea of Reeds at the time was an example of G’d’s responding by means of an impressive miracle. We have read in Exodus 14,10: ויצעקו בני ישראל וגו', “the Israelites cried out, etc,” The splitting of the sea was G’d’s response to that outcry.
On other occasions G’d performs a miracle for the people without their being in need, i.e. according to their perception. The people had not even been aware at that time that deadly danger was near them. When wondering why G’d had performed a miracle for them, they investigated what danger could have lurked near them without their having been aware of it. This was the case in the paragraph above where the people only belatedly became aware of the Canaanites that G’d had killed.
We are entitled to ask what prompted G’d to reveal these details in the Torah which Rashi describes as the Canaanites having been hidden in clefts of rock overhanging the Arnon river that were invisible to people passing underneath along its banks. In the kedushah formula according to the Sefardi nussach which begins with the word: כתר, we encounter the line הן גאלתי אתכם אחרית כראשית, “see I will redeem you in the future just as I have redeemed you in the past.” At first glance this does not seem much of a promise; we had surely hoped that the ultimate redemption will be something far superior to the partial redemptions we have experienced from time to time! In light of that why would the author of this line link the final redemption to previous redemptions? Who has ever heard of the major event being linked to the minor event?
Did not our sages (Tannah de bey Eliyahu 14) state that the meaning of the opening word of the Torah, בראשית is בשביל ראשית, “on account of the people of Israel who are called ראשית, the Lord created heaven and earth?” If all parts of the universe were created on account of the Jewish people, this surely means that there is a constant injection of additional essence of life into the earth itself, on account of the pre-eminence of the Jewish people? It would follow that the earth is therefore obligated to conform to the expressed will of the Jewish people, since its very existence hinges on the well being of the Jewish people. Keeping the universe in a condition that ensures its continued existence, i.e. תקון העולם is the earth’s self interest.
It is true that only after the final stage of the universe’s creation had been revealed, i.e. the earth and its inhabitants, had it become clear what had been in the mind of the Creator from the moment He had contemplated creating a universe. At that time all could see that the intervening stages of creation had all been leading up to the creation of the Jewish people as the crowning achievement. This is what the author of the line we quoted from the kedushah had in mind when he wrote: אתכם אחרית כראשית, “you in the end as at the beginning.” Only after the final redemption will G’d’s plan for the Jewish people become revealed as having been His plan from the earliest moment of the creative process.
As long as Jewish history on this earth has not yet come to its successful conclusion (history in the sense of development) G’d’s original intentions could not have become manifest to one and all. During the period leading up to this point in Jewish history miracles have to be performed at the request of the Jewish people. Once that period has passed successfully, miracles will be performed by nature on behalf of the Jewish people without their having to ask for them. The day (not literally) prior to the revelation at Mount Sinai, when the design of G’d that the Jewish people are the objective of His creation of the universe had become manifest, this had not yet been common knowledge. This is why we read in Exodus 14,10 when Pharaoh had caught up with the Israelites, that ויצעקו בני ישראל, “the Children of Israel cried out,” i.e. asked to be saved by means of a miracle. Now at the time of or after the giving of the Torah when G’d’s original plan that His people would be the Jewish people had become well known, there was no need for them to cry out even if the enemy had lain in ambush. At this time and subsequently, the earth, for reasons of self preservation, would not allow fatal harm to befall Israel as it would suffer the consequences itself. Calling on the source of water to arise, i.e. to become manifest, was therefore a command directed at the earth rather than to G’d.
The Israelites reminded the earth of its self-interest in providing the Jewish people with a source of water for their needs in the desert. This is what Rashi had in mind when he commented on the words ענו לה, (verse 14-15) that the mountain addressed was part of Eretz Yisrael. The song was in recognition of what the earth had done, (performed miracles) on behalf of the Jewish people without having been asked to do so.
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 14,27. “towards morning the sea reverted to its permanent state.” Having seen how pleased its Creator had been with its having been split , something that had resulted in the Israelites breaking out in song of thanksgiving and admiration for Hashem, the sea had not wanted to turn into water again, believing that by remaining dry land the Israelites would regularly offer such songs of praises to their Creator. [The author views the word איתנו as a variant of the word תנאי, condition. Ed.]
The sea conditioned its resuming its natural state on only Moses being allowed to command it in the future. When we consider this exegesis, the question raised by the author of the Orach Chayim what was so special about the sea being split seeing that the Jordan has been split also, but not at the command of Moses but of Joshua, and according to the Talmud Chulin. 7, the river Ginnai split at the command of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair, is easily answered. Since the Jordan and the river Ginnai had already noticed how pleased G’d had been when the sea divided itself, they did not deserve special credit for their conduct. The sea of reeds, however, had been the first body of water that had negated its normal status in order to please the Lord, did deserve laudatory mention. When the sea split it had not yet been aware that its action would be so pleasing to its Creator.
The sea conditioned its resuming its natural state on only Moses being allowed to command it in the future. When we consider this exegesis, the question raised by the author of the Orach Chayim what was so special about the sea being split seeing that the Jordan has been split also, but not at the command of Moses but of Joshua, and according to the Talmud Chulin. 7, the river Ginnai split at the command of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair, is easily answered. Since the Jordan and the river Ginnai had already noticed how pleased G’d had been when the sea divided itself, they did not deserve special credit for their conduct. The sea of reeds, however, had been the first body of water that had negated its normal status in order to please the Lord, did deserve laudatory mention. When the sea split it had not yet been aware that its action would be so pleasing to its Creator.
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Mevo HaShearim
In the end of the Noam Elimelekh, in the ‘holy Epistle,’ it says that his son, the holy and righteous R. Elazar, inquired of him regarding the liturgical change which the hasidim made, from the Ashkenazic rite to that of the Sefaradim.456On this shift in liturgical rite, see Biale et al, 91 and 172. His father replied that the sefaradic rite is a lofty one, with a light so great the world is unfit to use it. Therefore, the Beit Yosef457R. Yosef Karo, in his commentary on the Arba Turim code. established the Ashkenazic rite in its stead, for it is equally usable by all of our stature. But certainly it was not his intention that the righteous who had washed themselves of their filth and were as punctilious with themselves as a thread of hair,458A talmudic idiom; see Talmud Bava Kamma 50a.cease from praying with this rite.459The Sephardic rite is therefore presented as the more authentic one, with the Ashkenazic rite an innovative, second-tier substitute for the average folk. Rather than themselves instituting a change in rite, as charged, the story casts the hasidism as the tradionalists, holding fast to the sacred and original Sephardic rite. Now, you might challenge me [by pointing out] that there are some people who are not on this level and yet pray with this rite. [I would retort that t]his is because they are connected to the lofty hasidim and thus they too are called hasidim. The Noam Elimelekh continues on to explain, citing the verse “and they believed in God and in Moses His servant,”460Exodus 14:31. that Moses had sanctified himself until the level of prophecy, and ascended Above and brought the Torah down to Israel. Yet all of Israel were unable to come to his level and receive the Torah from the level of prophecy; it was on account of their belief in Moses that they tied and bound themselves to him, and he caused the Holy Spirit to flow onto them so that it was as if they too were on this level. Thus, they were all able to receive the Torah, through their being united and bound to Moses.461Comparably, even the simple hasidism are capable of attaching themselves to the divine and to divine inspiration, via their connection with the rebbe. This is a summary of his words there.
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 14,30. “On that day Hashem delivered Israel from the hands of the Egyptians;” The author feels that the words: “on that day,” require further analysis. Seeing that, -as he has told us repeatedly,- the various universes have been created only for the sake of the Jewish people, as Rashi already commented on the opening words of the Torah, בראשית ברא, it follows that when, G’d forbid, hard times hit the Jewish people, the “days” themselves must come to the assistance of the Jewish people and point out good deeds of this people to G’d, as, if we were G’d forbid to disappear, so would these “days,” i.e. all of the world’s history would disappear with the Jewish people. The expression ביום ההוא, “on that day” in our verse, therefore refers to the “day” on which the collective soul of the universe praised the Jewish people to forestall its defeat at the hands of the Egyptians.
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Kedushat Levi
We may understand the word אתם better when comparing with Exodus 14,4 “I have reinforced Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue you, etc.” You will note that during the entire song of thanksgiving after the drowning of the Egyptians, in spite of frequent repetitions of the many aspects of this miracle, Moses did not for a single time refer to the fact that the Israelites had been saved, although he extols the annihilation of Egypt’s armed might. This was in spite of the fact that the major aspect of the miracle was the saving of the Israelites who had been between a “rock and a hard place,” completely helpless before that miracle.
The Talmud in Pessachim 118 is at pains to point out that the Israelites of that generation were very weak in their level of faith in G’d, so much so that they reasoned that just as they themselves had been able to climb out of the sea bed on one side, the Egyptians might have been able to do the same on the opposite side of the shore. Why would such a thought be justification to describe the Israelites as lacking in faith? Furthermore, what does the Talmud mean by the words: כשם שאנו עולים, “just as we climbed out, etc.?” How could they compare their situation to that of the Egyptians? Besides when had they posed a threat to the Egyptians? In order to understand this better we must remember that there are two different levels of faith. The first and highest level is called אמונה שלמה, “absolute unshakable faith.” It includes that one believes absolutely without reservation in the G’d of our forefathers, reveres Him and loves Him. The second level of “faith,” is not “self generated,” but is the result of experiencing mind-boggling events, such as the miracles the Israelites had experienced both in Egypt and in even greater measure at the sea of reeds. A look at what the Sifssey chachamim has to say on Rashi’s explanation of Yitro’s words in Exodus 18,11 עתה ידעתי כי גדול ה' מכל האלוקים, “now I know that Hashem is greater than any other deity.” Rashi had interpreted this line to mean that in the past Yitro had not left any religion untried until he had found it wanting. The Sifssey chachamim points out that Rashi had come to this conclusion from the apparent contradiction of the word עתה, ”now,” and the word ידעתי, “I was familiar with,” in the past tense. Yitro therefore meant that although in the past he had been familiar with every deity, by now he had convinced himself of Hashem’s absolute superiority.
However, the Egyptians, far from reacting positively to the performance of G’d’s miracles reacted negatively by becoming ever more obstinate. This is indicated clearly in Exodus 15,4 when Moses describes the choicest of the Egyptians’ captains being flung into the sea to drown. (15,4) The expression ובמבחר, “and from the choice(st)” instead of ומטוב “and from the best,” is a double entendre, and hints at the choice the Egyptians had made to rather drown than acknowledge the superiority of Hashem. Watching G’d perform miracles had left open the choice for them to do teshuvah even though G’d had performed one or two acts designed to give them confidence that they could defeat the Israelites and their G’d. The same miracles which had brought the Jewish people closer to G’d, had the opposite effect on the Egyptians, confirming them in the belief that their deity Baal Tzefon had proved superior to the Jewish G’d.
The Talmud in Pessachim 118 is at pains to point out that the Israelites of that generation were very weak in their level of faith in G’d, so much so that they reasoned that just as they themselves had been able to climb out of the sea bed on one side, the Egyptians might have been able to do the same on the opposite side of the shore. Why would such a thought be justification to describe the Israelites as lacking in faith? Furthermore, what does the Talmud mean by the words: כשם שאנו עולים, “just as we climbed out, etc.?” How could they compare their situation to that of the Egyptians? Besides when had they posed a threat to the Egyptians? In order to understand this better we must remember that there are two different levels of faith. The first and highest level is called אמונה שלמה, “absolute unshakable faith.” It includes that one believes absolutely without reservation in the G’d of our forefathers, reveres Him and loves Him. The second level of “faith,” is not “self generated,” but is the result of experiencing mind-boggling events, such as the miracles the Israelites had experienced both in Egypt and in even greater measure at the sea of reeds. A look at what the Sifssey chachamim has to say on Rashi’s explanation of Yitro’s words in Exodus 18,11 עתה ידעתי כי גדול ה' מכל האלוקים, “now I know that Hashem is greater than any other deity.” Rashi had interpreted this line to mean that in the past Yitro had not left any religion untried until he had found it wanting. The Sifssey chachamim points out that Rashi had come to this conclusion from the apparent contradiction of the word עתה, ”now,” and the word ידעתי, “I was familiar with,” in the past tense. Yitro therefore meant that although in the past he had been familiar with every deity, by now he had convinced himself of Hashem’s absolute superiority.
However, the Egyptians, far from reacting positively to the performance of G’d’s miracles reacted negatively by becoming ever more obstinate. This is indicated clearly in Exodus 15,4 when Moses describes the choicest of the Egyptians’ captains being flung into the sea to drown. (15,4) The expression ובמבחר, “and from the choice(st)” instead of ומטוב “and from the best,” is a double entendre, and hints at the choice the Egyptians had made to rather drown than acknowledge the superiority of Hashem. Watching G’d perform miracles had left open the choice for them to do teshuvah even though G’d had performed one or two acts designed to give them confidence that they could defeat the Israelites and their G’d. The same miracles which had brought the Jewish people closer to G’d, had the opposite effect on the Egyptians, confirming them in the belief that their deity Baal Tzefon had proved superior to the Jewish G’d.
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Hakhsharat HaAvrekhim
And now, since our desire is to follow on the heels of our holy masters and learn from their ways, we need to re-establish the chevraya. We find it written in the epistles at the end of the Noam Elimelech that when man travels to his Rebbe and cleaves to him, then he has only to simply lead his life in the service of Hashem in order to be considered a Chassid through the power of his Rebbe, even if he personally has not reached the level of a Chassid. The verse, “and they believed in Hashem and Moshe His servant,”222Shemos, 14:31 tells us that by means of the simple faith of the children of Israel and their connection to Moshe, it was as if they had ascended to a level of holiness that they alone were not worthy of attaining. It was not only the elite b’nei aliya who traveled to the Rebbes, but also the simple Chassidim, the ba’alei batttim and working men. But my dear Bachurim, Avreichim Chassidim, why be satisfied with being among the simple Chassidim and not among the elite?
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Kedushat Levi
The sages in Rosh Hashanah 12 alluded to this when they stated that “the Jewish people are in the habit of counting Biblical calendar dates as based on the view of Rabbi Eliezer when speaking of the deluge, (solar year), whereas they do so according to the view of Rabbi Joshua when counting the seasons the seasons of the year.” (lunar “year”). The Talmud adds that the astronomers of the gentile nations also count the deluge according to the opinion held by Rabbi Joshua. [The whole statement is extremely puzzling, our author contributing a novel interpretation by understanding it as relating to the mystical dimension of life on earth. Ed.]
Our author raises the question that seeing that the astronomers of the gentile nations adopt an opinion that is contrary to halachah, how can they be described as “sages of gentile nations?” We have a rule that anyone contradicting what is written in the Torah or recorded as wisdom by King Solomon is an absolute fool.
We need to explain above statement allegorically. We have already explained in connection with a statement in the Talmud Pessachim 118 that when Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yossi, (a sage of the fifth generation of the sages that belonged to the Mishnaic period) fell ill Rabbi Yehudah (hanassi?) sent to him asking him to tell them one or two Torah insights of his father that he had not previously revealed. He responded by offering an interpretation of a difficult passage in psalms 117,1 where the psalmist appears to invite the nations of the world to praise G’d, saying: הללו את ה' כל גויים שבחוהו כל האומים, “praise the Lord all you nations; extol Him all you peoples!” Seeing that the next verse describes the miracles G’d has performed on behalf of the Jewish people, what reason would the gentiles have to praise G’d for this? He answered that if the gentiles are required to praise the Lord for having been witnesses to miracles performed for the Israelites, how much more so must the Israelites be duty bound to praise Him on account of this! How much loving kindness have we experienced at the hands of G’d without having thanked Him adequately! Thereupon Rabbi asked for another pearl of wisdom that Rabbi Yossi had not yet revealed. He told them that at the time when the messiah would come, the gentiles would welcome him with gifts. It seems clear that the words שבחוהו, “praise Him,” in the psalm are not meant as acknowledgement of what G’d had done for the gentiles, but for what He had done for His people, the Israelites. It is the overriding duty of all of G’d’s creatures, including the beasts in the field to praise the Creator in accordance with the manner in which they are capable of doing this. This includes even the flora that appear tied to the place in which they grow, and which do not even enjoy the ability to move freely on G’d’s earth. How much more so must the more advanced forms of life on earth praise their Creator, seeing that they are able to enjoy so much more of the world they have been born into?
We may take a cue from the words of Rashi on Shabbat 50, “whatever G’d created, He created for the greater glory of His name.” When Jews are killed for the sanctification of the Lord’s name (having had the opportunity to save themselves by denying Judaism, as happened frequently during the crusades) they do so joyfully.
It is therefore not difficult to comprehend that the psalmist reminds the gentiles of their duty to praise the Lord as He has given them an opportunity to carry out His will. Miracles which G’d performed for the Israelites frequently were at the expense of the gentiles who had oppressed them. The psalmist warns these gentiles that they are obligated to praise the Lord for having been privileged to experience His greatness even while they perish in the process. The fact that they had been chosen to be G’d’s means of showing His might to the Israelites is something they have to acknowledge, not grudgingly, but joyfully. The fact that they deliberately try to blind themselves to such recognition, stamps them as utter fools. The perennial problem with fools is that they do not wish to be enlightened, believing that they are wise.
However, there will come a time, when G’d will open the eyes of the blind and all of them [those who have survived the cataclysmic events occurring first, Ed.] will turn into servants of the Lord.
At the time of the Exodus, when G’d performed miracles that enabled the Israelites to be redeemed, He revealed His power to the Egyptians at the same time, of course. However, the latter, almost until their last breath did not acknowledge that it was G’d Who was fighting them when the waves of the sea of reeds came crashing over them. (Exodus 14,25)
The Jews have not always been better, so that Isaiah 2,5 tells us that the time will come when –after the gentiles have already acknowledged all this in Isaiah 2,3 – they too will experienced the “light” of the Lord. In psalms 118 David foresees all this already hundreds of years before the prophet Isaiah.
Let us revert to the passage in the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 12, and the strange statement referring to the astronomers of the gentiles as “sages.” Traditionally, the month of Tishrey symbolizes that G’d’s attribute of Justice, sits in judgment of His creatures on the first day of that month. The month of Nissan, however symbolizes the attribute of Mercy, loving kindness, as it is the month during which the Jewish people, who had a minimum of merits to their credit, were redeemed after hundreds of years of persecution. When looked at from the perspective of the gentiles, the month of Nissan symbolizes the attribute of Justice, as during that month G’d brought retribution on the leading nation of the gentiles, reducing a world power, Egypt, to becoming a “banana republic,” practically overnight. The effect of this was so overwhelming that Rahab from Jericho, who harbored Joshua’s spies, was still in awe of that event. (Joshua 2,9-11).
Rabbi Eliezer correctly realized that for the gentiles what we perceive as unmitigated disaster, actually is the catalyst that brings them to recognize G’d in the end, by seeing in the month of Tishrey also a harbinger of the attribute of Mercy, seeing it is the gentiles’ last opportunity to change their ways and survive as servants of G’d.
The Talmud introduces a reference to the period during which the deluge occurred, i.e. in Marcheshvan, although neither Rabbi Joshua nor Rabbi Eliezer had made reference to that event at all. When the “sages” of the gentile nations are described as taking their cue from the deluge as being in accord with Rabbi Joshua, even when referring to the deluge, what the Talmud means is that these “gentile sages” recognized that the disasters that had struck them was also an outpouring of G’d’s love, as this enabled the survivors to recognize G’d as a G’d of love after all. [According to the Talmud there the gentile sages recognized what Yitro recognized later also, (Exodus 18,11) i.e. that when G’d brings on retribution He makes the punishment fit the crime. Ed.]
Our author raises the question that seeing that the astronomers of the gentile nations adopt an opinion that is contrary to halachah, how can they be described as “sages of gentile nations?” We have a rule that anyone contradicting what is written in the Torah or recorded as wisdom by King Solomon is an absolute fool.
We need to explain above statement allegorically. We have already explained in connection with a statement in the Talmud Pessachim 118 that when Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yossi, (a sage of the fifth generation of the sages that belonged to the Mishnaic period) fell ill Rabbi Yehudah (hanassi?) sent to him asking him to tell them one or two Torah insights of his father that he had not previously revealed. He responded by offering an interpretation of a difficult passage in psalms 117,1 where the psalmist appears to invite the nations of the world to praise G’d, saying: הללו את ה' כל גויים שבחוהו כל האומים, “praise the Lord all you nations; extol Him all you peoples!” Seeing that the next verse describes the miracles G’d has performed on behalf of the Jewish people, what reason would the gentiles have to praise G’d for this? He answered that if the gentiles are required to praise the Lord for having been witnesses to miracles performed for the Israelites, how much more so must the Israelites be duty bound to praise Him on account of this! How much loving kindness have we experienced at the hands of G’d without having thanked Him adequately! Thereupon Rabbi asked for another pearl of wisdom that Rabbi Yossi had not yet revealed. He told them that at the time when the messiah would come, the gentiles would welcome him with gifts. It seems clear that the words שבחוהו, “praise Him,” in the psalm are not meant as acknowledgement of what G’d had done for the gentiles, but for what He had done for His people, the Israelites. It is the overriding duty of all of G’d’s creatures, including the beasts in the field to praise the Creator in accordance with the manner in which they are capable of doing this. This includes even the flora that appear tied to the place in which they grow, and which do not even enjoy the ability to move freely on G’d’s earth. How much more so must the more advanced forms of life on earth praise their Creator, seeing that they are able to enjoy so much more of the world they have been born into?
We may take a cue from the words of Rashi on Shabbat 50, “whatever G’d created, He created for the greater glory of His name.” When Jews are killed for the sanctification of the Lord’s name (having had the opportunity to save themselves by denying Judaism, as happened frequently during the crusades) they do so joyfully.
It is therefore not difficult to comprehend that the psalmist reminds the gentiles of their duty to praise the Lord as He has given them an opportunity to carry out His will. Miracles which G’d performed for the Israelites frequently were at the expense of the gentiles who had oppressed them. The psalmist warns these gentiles that they are obligated to praise the Lord for having been privileged to experience His greatness even while they perish in the process. The fact that they had been chosen to be G’d’s means of showing His might to the Israelites is something they have to acknowledge, not grudgingly, but joyfully. The fact that they deliberately try to blind themselves to such recognition, stamps them as utter fools. The perennial problem with fools is that they do not wish to be enlightened, believing that they are wise.
However, there will come a time, when G’d will open the eyes of the blind and all of them [those who have survived the cataclysmic events occurring first, Ed.] will turn into servants of the Lord.
At the time of the Exodus, when G’d performed miracles that enabled the Israelites to be redeemed, He revealed His power to the Egyptians at the same time, of course. However, the latter, almost until their last breath did not acknowledge that it was G’d Who was fighting them when the waves of the sea of reeds came crashing over them. (Exodus 14,25)
The Jews have not always been better, so that Isaiah 2,5 tells us that the time will come when –after the gentiles have already acknowledged all this in Isaiah 2,3 – they too will experienced the “light” of the Lord. In psalms 118 David foresees all this already hundreds of years before the prophet Isaiah.
Let us revert to the passage in the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 12, and the strange statement referring to the astronomers of the gentiles as “sages.” Traditionally, the month of Tishrey symbolizes that G’d’s attribute of Justice, sits in judgment of His creatures on the first day of that month. The month of Nissan, however symbolizes the attribute of Mercy, loving kindness, as it is the month during which the Jewish people, who had a minimum of merits to their credit, were redeemed after hundreds of years of persecution. When looked at from the perspective of the gentiles, the month of Nissan symbolizes the attribute of Justice, as during that month G’d brought retribution on the leading nation of the gentiles, reducing a world power, Egypt, to becoming a “banana republic,” practically overnight. The effect of this was so overwhelming that Rahab from Jericho, who harbored Joshua’s spies, was still in awe of that event. (Joshua 2,9-11).
Rabbi Eliezer correctly realized that for the gentiles what we perceive as unmitigated disaster, actually is the catalyst that brings them to recognize G’d in the end, by seeing in the month of Tishrey also a harbinger of the attribute of Mercy, seeing it is the gentiles’ last opportunity to change their ways and survive as servants of G’d.
The Talmud introduces a reference to the period during which the deluge occurred, i.e. in Marcheshvan, although neither Rabbi Joshua nor Rabbi Eliezer had made reference to that event at all. When the “sages” of the gentile nations are described as taking their cue from the deluge as being in accord with Rabbi Joshua, even when referring to the deluge, what the Talmud means is that these “gentile sages” recognized that the disasters that had struck them was also an outpouring of G’d’s love, as this enabled the survivors to recognize G’d as a G’d of love after all. [According to the Talmud there the gentile sages recognized what Yitro recognized later also, (Exodus 18,11) i.e. that when G’d brings on retribution He makes the punishment fit the crime. Ed.]
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Kedushat Levi
14,20. “Hashem said: ‘I have forgiven according to your word.’” In his commentary on this verse Rashi amends the word דברך, “your word” (singular), to דבריך “your words.” He does so, in order that we understand that Moses’ “word” which G’d referred to would be understood clearly as the “words” מבלתי יכולת ה', “that G’d had killed His people because he was not able to make good on His promise to dispossess the Canaanites in their favour,” and surely G’d would not wish to create such an impression. At first glance we do not see what Rashi’s commentary added to the understanding of this verse.
I believe that what Rashi had in mind was that the principal concern in Moses’ prayer at this time was to avoid that the Israelites’ sin would result in a public desecration of G’d’s name, i.e. the impression being created that G’d was not omnipotent. Moses specifically pointed to the reaction the destruction of the Jewish people would cause in Egypt, the Egyptians being able to point out that the Israelites had been far better off while they had been slaving for them before their Exodus. Surely this is a very weak argument seeing that G’d is able to mislead human beings in the conclusions they draw when observing certain events.
[There comes to mind an example cited by the Torah itself in Exodus 14,2 when G’d commanded the Israelites to encamp at פי החירות for the express purpose of making the Egyptians think that they had lost their way. Ed.] Seeing that G’d is free to do this, Moses’ argument appears to be very feeble.
We must however remember that the mere words uttered by G’d make an indelible impression. [The author quotes Job 22,28 “You will decree and it will be fulfilled” in support of this. Ed.] It would follow from the above that the mere mention of the possibility of an act by G’d that would result in His name being desecrated worldwide, would undermine a subsequent reversal when the decree is not carried out.
I believe that what Rashi had in mind was that the principal concern in Moses’ prayer at this time was to avoid that the Israelites’ sin would result in a public desecration of G’d’s name, i.e. the impression being created that G’d was not omnipotent. Moses specifically pointed to the reaction the destruction of the Jewish people would cause in Egypt, the Egyptians being able to point out that the Israelites had been far better off while they had been slaving for them before their Exodus. Surely this is a very weak argument seeing that G’d is able to mislead human beings in the conclusions they draw when observing certain events.
[There comes to mind an example cited by the Torah itself in Exodus 14,2 when G’d commanded the Israelites to encamp at פי החירות for the express purpose of making the Egyptians think that they had lost their way. Ed.] Seeing that G’d is free to do this, Moses’ argument appears to be very feeble.
We must however remember that the mere words uttered by G’d make an indelible impression. [The author quotes Job 22,28 “You will decree and it will be fulfilled” in support of this. Ed.] It would follow from the above that the mere mention of the possibility of an act by G’d that would result in His name being desecrated worldwide, would undermine a subsequent reversal when the decree is not carried out.
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Sha'ar HaEmunah VeYesod HaChasidut
With the splitting of the Red Sea, it is written, “and [the people] believed in God and in Moshe, His servant.” This is as it is written in the Zohar (Beshalach, 53b): It is written, “and they believed in God and in Moshe, His servant.” Did they not believe in God until now? We find that when Moshe first told of the redemption to the children of Israel, the verse says (Shemot, 4:21), “And the people believed; and when they heard that the God had remembered the people of Israel… they bowed their heads and prayed.” Furthermore, they must have believed after witnessing all of the mighty acts God did in Egypt. If so, what does it mean when the Red Sea split that the Torah says, “and they believed?” [The difference is that here] God told them (Shemot, 14:13), “Do not fear, stand still, and see the salvation of the God which He will show to you today.” … Rabbi Yeisa asked, “It is written (ibid, 14:13), ‘Do not fear, stand still… for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall not see again forever (ad olam),’ and it is also written (ibid. 14:30), ‘And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.’”379In other words, there is a contradiction in the verses. In verse 14:13, Moshe promises the Jewish people that they will never see the Egyptians again, yet verse 14:30 states that they did see them again, albeit dead on the shore. (In the original Zohar passage, verse 30 is cited before verse 13. The order is reversed here for greater clarity.) Rabbi Yossi said, “In the second verse, they saw them dead.” Rabbi Yeisa said, “If so, the verse should have said, ‘you shall not see them again alive.’” Rabbi Abba said, “You have asked a good question, but come and see. It is written (Divrei HaYamim 1, 16:36), “Blessed is God forever and ever’ – ‘min ha-olam ve’ad ha-olam,’ which could also mean, ‘from the world to the world.’ On this we are taught, there is a world above, and a world below. ‘The world above,’ is the place from which the candle is first lit. ‘The world below,’ is the completion, which includes everything.380The “world below” refers to the sefirah of Malkhut (“Sovereignty”), which is the last of the ten sefirot. Positioned directly above our material world, Malkhut receives all the spiritual light and energy from the upper worlds, and transmits it to us. From ‘the world below,’ God’s mighty acts wake up for the denizens of the lower realm.381Malkhut, being feminine, is also a world of dinim – strict judgments. In this lower world, God does wonders for Israel, bringing about a miracle. When this [lower] world is aroused to perform miracles, it had the effect of drowning all of the Egyptians, and produced a miracle for Israel with the splitting of the Red Sea. For this reason it is said, you shall not see them again forever– ad olam. That is to say, “until the world which is below is aroused’382Thus, Rabbi Abba interprets the verse’s use of the word “forever” as an allusion to the upper words, reading ad olam – (“forever”) as ad d’itar hahu olam – “until that world (Malkhut) is aroused” to destroy the Egyptians. and they are delivered into the hands of its judgment. And since they are given over to it to be judged, it is written, ‘And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea shore’ as it is written “min ha-olam v’ad ha-olam” – from the time the lower world is awoken. This is the meaning of, ‘And they believed in God and in Moshe, his servant.’” The children of Israel believed, in the beginning of Moshe mission, as it is written, “and the people believed.”383Even though the statement “and they believed” refers to the Israelites immediately after the splitting of the sea, that Zohar also applies it retroactively to the belief of the Israelites after meeting Moses and learning of G-d’s intention to redeem them from Egypt (Mtok M’dvash). The faith was fixed in their hearts, and through their faith they connected to God. Their faith aroused God’s salvation in a place beyond all human understanding. This is the meaning of the statement in Parshat Beshalach, at the splitting of the Red Sea, “and they believed in God and in Moshe, His servant.”384This is an ironic rereading of the verses. The straightforward meaning is that the Jewish people believed more in G-d after they passed through the sea. According to R. Gershon Hanokh, it was their faith in G-d that actually caused the sea to split, as faith reaches a level above the laws of nature. This is as it is written in the passage in the Zohar above, that they clearly saw the revelation of the supernal light.385During the splitting of the sea. It was from this place that miracles happened for the Jews and defeat for the Egyptians, to the point where their entire redemption was miraculous. This is because miracles are the revelation of the Supernal light far above any revealed governance.386That is, the way G-d runs the world through the revealed elements of creation. This is as it is written in the Zohar (Beshalach, 54a): “Then Moshe and the children of Israel sang this song to God.” Rabbi Abba opened and said: I looked into all of the praises sung to God and saw that they all started with, “az (then).” “Az – Then Israel sang.” (Bamidbar, 21); “Az – Then Yehoshua spoke” (Yehoshua 10); “Az – Then Shlomo said” (Melachim 1, 8). Why is this? It is taught that with all of the miracles and mighty actions are performed for Israel, when the light of Atika Kadisha387Atika, or Atikia Kaddisha (the “Holy, Ancient One”) is one of the highest levels of reality, in the order of the supernal worlds. It lies at the interface between creation and transcendent Divinity. It is reflected in the consciousness by that which transcends all cognitive perception. When the light of Atika breaks into reality, it breaks the bonds of nature, causing miracles, and illuminates human consciousness with the ability to grasp that which is paradoxical and impossible. illuminated in its crowns, they are carved and inscribed with “Az – Then.” With aleph, and then aleph with zayin, pierces the darkness and illuminates all sides. When the two letters are joined, the illumination of the aleph reaches the zayin, … this is how miracles and mighty actions happen. When we say that miracles happen from a place that is above man’s ability to comprehend, we call this the light of “Atika Kadisha.” When this light illuminates and breaks through the border of man’s understanding and enclothes itself in a lower garment, then the governance of the supernal light is revealed in the world, and we can clearly see miracles.
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 19,9.“and they will also have enduring faith in you.” Rashi understands the word: וגם, “and also,” as referring to the people having faith in the prophets in future generations.
I believe, that this conforms to what Nachmanides has written in his commentary on Parshat Mishpatim on Exodus 23,20, commencing with:הנה אנכי שולח מלאך לפניך...ועשית כל אשר דבר אליך, “Here I shall send an angel ahead of you and you shall do all that I will tell you to do,” to tell us that “you must not listen and do what the angel (prophet) tells you unless it conforms to what I tell you,” i.e. you must not listen to prophets when they tell you to violate any of the commandments G’d has revealed in the Torah. The word בך “within you,” are the key to understanding this verse. [The difficulty appears to be also the word לעולם, which normally is understood to mean “forever,” but is a term that cannot be applied in that sense to mortal human beings. Ed.] The Torah hints that if and when future prophets will tell the people what to do and this conforms to what Moses during his lifetime had told them to do, then the people’s faith in such prophets will be not only justified but they are commanded to obey such prophets. Rashi hints at this with the word אחריך, “after you,” which in his commentary is not to be understood as a time frame, i.e. after Moses has died, but as a reference to prophets who would “take after you,” i.e. teach the same Torah without perverting any of it. The Israelites’ duty to have faith in prophets after Moses’ death, is contingent on the loyalty of these prophets to Moses’ Torah.
If we need to look for proof that this interpretation of the word אחריך, is linguistically correct, the Talmud B’rachot 61 refers us to Judges 13,11 וילך מנוח אחרי אשתו, normally translated as “Manoach walked behind his wife,” instead it translates it as “Manoach followed the advice of his wife.” Similarly, here, the Jewish people are to follow that advice of their outstanding leader Moses during all future generations, i.e. לעולם.
Incidentally, we find that in the Zohar the מצות are also referred to as עצות when the author speaks of עיתין דאורייתא, “the Torah’s suggestions.” [I have found עיטין in the Zohar 7 times, only as describing either good or bad advice, never as referring to the Torah. Ed.]
In Maimonides’ hilchot Temurah, near the end, the author the author refers to his having interpreted the word שלישים in Exodus 14,7, normally translated as “captains” to refer to advisors, experts, men who recognize the truth, מועצות. Prophets who do not hand down to their people their true tradition and urge them to abandon some of the laws of the Torah could certainly not qualify for the term “prophet.”
What we have written answers the question asked by many how a “prophet” who performs a miracle or more than one miracle to legitimize himself in the eyes of the people could have been allowed to do so by G’d? The answer is simple. The Torah commands us not to believe the “prophet” on the basis of any so-called miracles he performs unless he does not suggest that the people do anything that contradicts what is their collective tradition since the time of Moses.
The Torah repeats this theme in greater details in Deuteronomy 13,1-5.
The author proceeds now to explain the word לעולם according to a method of exegesis he calls: דרך חדוד אמת.
The Talmud Yevamot 90 states, and this is accepted as a halachically valid conclusion by Maimonides in his introduction to his monumental work Mishneh Torah in the section entitled yessodey hatorah, “fundamental principles of the Torah,” (chapter 9,2) that if a prophet commands violation of a negative Biblical commandment temporarily, when circumstance demand this, as for instance when the prophet Elijah offered sacrifices on Mount Carmel after repairing a defunct altar in violation of the commandment that the only place where this may be done is in the Temple in Jerusalem, the people are not only permitted to obey his command but are obligated to do so on pain of the death penalty. The same principle does not hold true when said prophet commands, even temporarily, to violate a positive commandment of the Torah. Positive commandments of the Torah are never to be abolished, not even temporarily. This is what G’d had in mind when He had Moses write in the Torah that the people would have faith in Moses as a prophet, לעולם, “forever,” (for want of a better word.).
I believe, that this conforms to what Nachmanides has written in his commentary on Parshat Mishpatim on Exodus 23,20, commencing with:הנה אנכי שולח מלאך לפניך...ועשית כל אשר דבר אליך, “Here I shall send an angel ahead of you and you shall do all that I will tell you to do,” to tell us that “you must not listen and do what the angel (prophet) tells you unless it conforms to what I tell you,” i.e. you must not listen to prophets when they tell you to violate any of the commandments G’d has revealed in the Torah. The word בך “within you,” are the key to understanding this verse. [The difficulty appears to be also the word לעולם, which normally is understood to mean “forever,” but is a term that cannot be applied in that sense to mortal human beings. Ed.] The Torah hints that if and when future prophets will tell the people what to do and this conforms to what Moses during his lifetime had told them to do, then the people’s faith in such prophets will be not only justified but they are commanded to obey such prophets. Rashi hints at this with the word אחריך, “after you,” which in his commentary is not to be understood as a time frame, i.e. after Moses has died, but as a reference to prophets who would “take after you,” i.e. teach the same Torah without perverting any of it. The Israelites’ duty to have faith in prophets after Moses’ death, is contingent on the loyalty of these prophets to Moses’ Torah.
If we need to look for proof that this interpretation of the word אחריך, is linguistically correct, the Talmud B’rachot 61 refers us to Judges 13,11 וילך מנוח אחרי אשתו, normally translated as “Manoach walked behind his wife,” instead it translates it as “Manoach followed the advice of his wife.” Similarly, here, the Jewish people are to follow that advice of their outstanding leader Moses during all future generations, i.e. לעולם.
Incidentally, we find that in the Zohar the מצות are also referred to as עצות when the author speaks of עיתין דאורייתא, “the Torah’s suggestions.” [I have found עיטין in the Zohar 7 times, only as describing either good or bad advice, never as referring to the Torah. Ed.]
In Maimonides’ hilchot Temurah, near the end, the author the author refers to his having interpreted the word שלישים in Exodus 14,7, normally translated as “captains” to refer to advisors, experts, men who recognize the truth, מועצות. Prophets who do not hand down to their people their true tradition and urge them to abandon some of the laws of the Torah could certainly not qualify for the term “prophet.”
What we have written answers the question asked by many how a “prophet” who performs a miracle or more than one miracle to legitimize himself in the eyes of the people could have been allowed to do so by G’d? The answer is simple. The Torah commands us not to believe the “prophet” on the basis of any so-called miracles he performs unless he does not suggest that the people do anything that contradicts what is their collective tradition since the time of Moses.
The Torah repeats this theme in greater details in Deuteronomy 13,1-5.
The author proceeds now to explain the word לעולם according to a method of exegesis he calls: דרך חדוד אמת.
The Talmud Yevamot 90 states, and this is accepted as a halachically valid conclusion by Maimonides in his introduction to his monumental work Mishneh Torah in the section entitled yessodey hatorah, “fundamental principles of the Torah,” (chapter 9,2) that if a prophet commands violation of a negative Biblical commandment temporarily, when circumstance demand this, as for instance when the prophet Elijah offered sacrifices on Mount Carmel after repairing a defunct altar in violation of the commandment that the only place where this may be done is in the Temple in Jerusalem, the people are not only permitted to obey his command but are obligated to do so on pain of the death penalty. The same principle does not hold true when said prophet commands, even temporarily, to violate a positive commandment of the Torah. Positive commandments of the Torah are never to be abolished, not even temporarily. This is what G’d had in mind when He had Moses write in the Torah that the people would have faith in Moses as a prophet, לעולם, “forever,” (for want of a better word.).
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Baal Shem Tov
"Make an opening (tzohar) in the ark (teivah)" (Genesis 6:16) --My grandfather, the Baal Shem Tov, may he rest in Eden, illuminated this passage. He said that teivah actually means 'word', and the meaning of making an opening for the word is that you should be careful to bring light into the words that come from your lips. The verse continues: "Make bottom and second and third floors." This seems to be what my grandfather related to me, saying that in every word are worlds, souls, and divinities. This is what is meant by teivah, speech, which also has at its most basic level worlds. The second level is also known as mishneh, secondary, which has the same letters as neshamah, soul - this is the level of souls. And the third level (shelishim) is divinities, which is hinted at in the verse (Exodus 14:7), "Officers (shalishim) [ruling] over all of them," like the Divine who rules over all things. All of these levels you should "Make" - the speech and the word coming out of your mouth should have this intention and be in complete faithfulness, knowing that in each act of speech there are bottom and second and third levels, the worlds, souls and divinities --- Understand this!
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Kedushat Levi
While the Israelites were in Egypt they had not attained more than the first virtue (attribute) i.e. אמונה, “faith,” as the Torah testifies in Exodus 4,31ויאמן העם, “The people possessed faith.”
We have already explained that the feet (legs) symbolize faith and that is why at the Exodus, (12,37) the Torah describes the Jewish people leaving Egypt by referring to them as כשש מאות אלף רגלי, “approximately 600,000 pairs of feet.” The other virtues that the Israelites did not yet possess at the time of the Exodus, they would acquire at the “foot” of Mount Sinai, seven weeks later, at the time when G’d gave them the Torah. This progress of the Israelites’ spiritual development is hinted at in the details with which the Torah describes the Passover offering. The sequence of the words: ראשו על כרעיו ועל קרבו, suggests that at that time the virtues other than faith, כרעיו, were still as hidden as are the entrails. When we keep this in mind, we can understand a statement in the Talmud Menachot 65, where the verse וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת, ”you shall count for yourselves starting from the day after the Sabbath,” is understood to refer to the day after the first day of the Passover festival. This contradicts the interpretation of the Sadducees who understood the word השבת in that verse as referring literally to the first Sabbath day during that festival.
We have already explained that the feet (legs) symbolize faith and that is why at the Exodus, (12,37) the Torah describes the Jewish people leaving Egypt by referring to them as כשש מאות אלף רגלי, “approximately 600,000 pairs of feet.” The other virtues that the Israelites did not yet possess at the time of the Exodus, they would acquire at the “foot” of Mount Sinai, seven weeks later, at the time when G’d gave them the Torah. This progress of the Israelites’ spiritual development is hinted at in the details with which the Torah describes the Passover offering. The sequence of the words: ראשו על כרעיו ועל קרבו, suggests that at that time the virtues other than faith, כרעיו, were still as hidden as are the entrails. When we keep this in mind, we can understand a statement in the Talmud Menachot 65, where the verse וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת, ”you shall count for yourselves starting from the day after the Sabbath,” is understood to refer to the day after the first day of the Passover festival. This contradicts the interpretation of the Sadducees who understood the word השבת in that verse as referring literally to the first Sabbath day during that festival.
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Kedushat Levi
We assume that the reader is familiar with how the sages explained psalms 114,2 היתה יהודה לקדשו ישראל ממשלותיו, “Yehudah became His holy one, Israel His dominion.” I mentioned earlier that the leader of the tribe of Yehudah, Nachshon ben Aminadav, earned this merit when he fearlessly entered the sea of reeds up to his neck before it split. At that time he appealed for help from G’d saying that the level of the water was about to cause him to drown therein.
Yehudah’s entering the sea may have been prompted by one of two considerations. 1) Seeing G’d had commanded Moses to order the Israelites to proceed forward, he felt that it was his duty to risk his life in order to fulfill G’d’s commandment. He knew that it was his duty to proceed even if it were to cost him his life. 2) His act was simply a demonstration of his faith in G’d; he jumped into the sea convinced that G’d would save him. He had absolutely no doubt that he would survive. He realized that it would take a miracle to save him, but he was convinced that G’d would perform such a miracle. He was also convinced that in response to this miracle that G’d was about to perform, the people would break out in a song of thanksgiving immediately after the event.
This latter facet of Yehudah’s action is in line with what Rashi, basing himself on the Mechilta, writes on 15,20: ותקח מרים אחות אהרן את התף בידה ותצאנה וגו', “Miriam, Aaron’s sister took the drum in her hand and led the women in song.” He writes that the righteous women in Miriam’s time were all convinced that G’d would perform miracles for them in their life time, and this is the reason why they burdened themselves with taking drums out of Egypt. They had already planned to use these drums when singing songs of thanksgiving to the Lord. On Samuel II 22,4 מהלל אקרא ה' ומאויבי אושע, Rashi explains that David too announced that he would praise the name of the Lord as soon as G’d would deliver him from his enemies. He understood that verse as David’s absolute faith that G’d would deliver him from his enemies. He was so certain that he already composed the song of thanksgiving before he had been delivered.
What occurred to the Israelites at the sea of reeds was similar to David’s experience related in Samuel II 22,4. The Israelites, and Nachshon ben Aminadav as a leader of the tribe of Yehudah, especially, were so convinced that G’d would split the sea for them and lead them across in complete safety, that they already prepared the song of thanksgiving in preparation to thanking Him for their salvation. This absolute confidence is reflected in the word ישיר in the future mode, at the beginning of Moses’ song, poem. Nachshon’s jumping into the sea reflected the faith of the collective Jewish soul. This is also reflected in Rashi’s commentary on Exodus 14,15 where G’d appears to chide Moses for crying out to Him for help when He said to Him: מה תצעק אלי? דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו, “why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Children of Israel to keep moving!”
Yehudah’s entering the sea may have been prompted by one of two considerations. 1) Seeing G’d had commanded Moses to order the Israelites to proceed forward, he felt that it was his duty to risk his life in order to fulfill G’d’s commandment. He knew that it was his duty to proceed even if it were to cost him his life. 2) His act was simply a demonstration of his faith in G’d; he jumped into the sea convinced that G’d would save him. He had absolutely no doubt that he would survive. He realized that it would take a miracle to save him, but he was convinced that G’d would perform such a miracle. He was also convinced that in response to this miracle that G’d was about to perform, the people would break out in a song of thanksgiving immediately after the event.
This latter facet of Yehudah’s action is in line with what Rashi, basing himself on the Mechilta, writes on 15,20: ותקח מרים אחות אהרן את התף בידה ותצאנה וגו', “Miriam, Aaron’s sister took the drum in her hand and led the women in song.” He writes that the righteous women in Miriam’s time were all convinced that G’d would perform miracles for them in their life time, and this is the reason why they burdened themselves with taking drums out of Egypt. They had already planned to use these drums when singing songs of thanksgiving to the Lord. On Samuel II 22,4 מהלל אקרא ה' ומאויבי אושע, Rashi explains that David too announced that he would praise the name of the Lord as soon as G’d would deliver him from his enemies. He understood that verse as David’s absolute faith that G’d would deliver him from his enemies. He was so certain that he already composed the song of thanksgiving before he had been delivered.
What occurred to the Israelites at the sea of reeds was similar to David’s experience related in Samuel II 22,4. The Israelites, and Nachshon ben Aminadav as a leader of the tribe of Yehudah, especially, were so convinced that G’d would split the sea for them and lead them across in complete safety, that they already prepared the song of thanksgiving in preparation to thanking Him for their salvation. This absolute confidence is reflected in the word ישיר in the future mode, at the beginning of Moses’ song, poem. Nachshon’s jumping into the sea reflected the faith of the collective Jewish soul. This is also reflected in Rashi’s commentary on Exodus 14,15 where G’d appears to chide Moses for crying out to Him for help when He said to Him: מה תצעק אלי? דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו, “why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Children of Israel to keep moving!”
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Flames of Faith
Baal Tzefon: An Egyptian idol that symbolized a hidden and intransigent opposition to Israel and Judaism (see Exod. 14:2).
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Kedushat Levi
The author of the central paragraph in the mussaph prayer on the Sabbath, which commences with the words: תכנת שבת ...צוית פירושיה עם סדורי נסכיה, refers to the fact that the Torah in the Sabbath legislation not only spelled out the commandment of how to observe this day with one’s body, by allowing the body to “rest” (constructively), but also spelled out how to observe it with our soul.
When referring to the creative acts that G’d abstained from on the seventh day of creation on account of which we are asked to sanctify the Sabbath, both in connection with the word: זכור in our portion, and again in Deuteronomy 5,12 in connection with the word: שמור, we must remember that the “light” which is described in the Torah as G’d’s first act of intervention in the condition of the “world” before G’d created order from chaos, was “direct” light, i.e. an emanation from the Creator, a light which expands in all directions of the universe, performing its function commensurate with the needs of the region or domain which it reaches. It then assumes a character germane to that region or domain. In other words, this אור ישר, will assume a different intensity in the regions inhabited by the highest ranking angels, the שרפים, from the intensity it assumes in the celestial regions inhabited by a lower ranking group of angels known as חיות. The same is true when this אור ישר, arrives in the regions of the terrestrial parts of the universe, the region known as עולם העשיה. At the same time arrival of this “light” also resulted, as an unavoidable consequence, in “reflected” light, a response by the creature who had received it from the Creator. [Compare pages 364/365 where this subject has been discussed previously. Ed.] Each region of the universe receives the amount and intensity of this אור הישר appropriate to its needs.
In kabbalistic parlance the nature of the אור החוזר, the “reflected light,” is perceived as the remnant of the original light which did not remain in the universe as the various universes were unable to ”digest” it so that they could not make use of it as it was too intense and would have destroyed these worlds. Upon the return of this “light” to the Creator, the אין סוף, it will be condensed, i.e. its power will be restrained, but in a manner that in the words of Michah 7,18 make it “digestible” only for the holy Jewish people-as described in connection with Exodus 14,21, see pages (364-366).-
Our sages in Rosh Hashanah 17 alluded to this idea when they explained the term לשארית נחלתו, “to the remnant of His inheritance,” (His own people) in Michah 7,18, as those Jews who transform themselves into truly G’d fearing personalities. Concerning these types of people my sainted teacher Dov Baer has said that the expression שארית נחלתו applies only to those צדיקים who spend almost all of their lives trying to elevate themselves to the level of sanctity of their Creator.
The root of the concept of sanctity, קדושה, holiness, sanctity, is found where the צמצום, the voluntary restriction G’d imposed upon His essence occurs, so that He would not be a destructive force in His own universe. [If we in our parlance, following Rashi, translate holiness as “something apart,” this is no contradiction, but a reflection of the difficulty of translating celestial terminology into language used in the terrestrial part of the universe, the part we humans inhabit. Ed.]
When the Jewish people sanctify themselves by means permitted to them, and in that process separate themselves from the pleasures of this terrestrial world, they do so because they are aware that the so-called pleasures of this terrestrial world are intrinsically worthless, so that they try to elevate themselves to a region outside the domain of the terrestrial, physical universe. These “regions” are beyond our ability to define and therefore we are unable to describe them adequately. Seeing that the nations of the world have none of them been found worthy of being שארית נחלתו “a residue of His inheritance,” it cannot be expected of them to show the least bit of understanding of this subject.
Suffice it to say that the subject matter we called אור חוזר is the unabsorbed part of the אור ישר, the “direct” light that had left the Essence of G’d and dispersed in different regions of His universes, any “excess,” making a “return journey” in preparation for further use by its Dispatcher, the Creator.
This inability of the nations of the world to comprehend the nature of the Sabbath is the reason that while they understand the concept of the Sabbath being a day that symbolizes that the Creator had refrained from overt creative activity, they selected for themselves on an arbitrary basis a different day of the week, one that had not been sanctified by the Creator for that purpose. When the Torah, both in our portion and in Deuteronomy, stresses the element of the sanctity of this “Day of rest,” for the Jewish people, it alludes to the unbroken connection between the Jewish people and the celestial regions, in spite of the fact that our bodies (and, temporarily our souls) inhabit the terrestrial part of the universe. [I have used some of my own wording in the foregoing, for reasons of simplicity. Ed.]
When referring to the creative acts that G’d abstained from on the seventh day of creation on account of which we are asked to sanctify the Sabbath, both in connection with the word: זכור in our portion, and again in Deuteronomy 5,12 in connection with the word: שמור, we must remember that the “light” which is described in the Torah as G’d’s first act of intervention in the condition of the “world” before G’d created order from chaos, was “direct” light, i.e. an emanation from the Creator, a light which expands in all directions of the universe, performing its function commensurate with the needs of the region or domain which it reaches. It then assumes a character germane to that region or domain. In other words, this אור ישר, will assume a different intensity in the regions inhabited by the highest ranking angels, the שרפים, from the intensity it assumes in the celestial regions inhabited by a lower ranking group of angels known as חיות. The same is true when this אור ישר, arrives in the regions of the terrestrial parts of the universe, the region known as עולם העשיה. At the same time arrival of this “light” also resulted, as an unavoidable consequence, in “reflected” light, a response by the creature who had received it from the Creator. [Compare pages 364/365 where this subject has been discussed previously. Ed.] Each region of the universe receives the amount and intensity of this אור הישר appropriate to its needs.
In kabbalistic parlance the nature of the אור החוזר, the “reflected light,” is perceived as the remnant of the original light which did not remain in the universe as the various universes were unable to ”digest” it so that they could not make use of it as it was too intense and would have destroyed these worlds. Upon the return of this “light” to the Creator, the אין סוף, it will be condensed, i.e. its power will be restrained, but in a manner that in the words of Michah 7,18 make it “digestible” only for the holy Jewish people-as described in connection with Exodus 14,21, see pages (364-366).-
Our sages in Rosh Hashanah 17 alluded to this idea when they explained the term לשארית נחלתו, “to the remnant of His inheritance,” (His own people) in Michah 7,18, as those Jews who transform themselves into truly G’d fearing personalities. Concerning these types of people my sainted teacher Dov Baer has said that the expression שארית נחלתו applies only to those צדיקים who spend almost all of their lives trying to elevate themselves to the level of sanctity of their Creator.
The root of the concept of sanctity, קדושה, holiness, sanctity, is found where the צמצום, the voluntary restriction G’d imposed upon His essence occurs, so that He would not be a destructive force in His own universe. [If we in our parlance, following Rashi, translate holiness as “something apart,” this is no contradiction, but a reflection of the difficulty of translating celestial terminology into language used in the terrestrial part of the universe, the part we humans inhabit. Ed.]
When the Jewish people sanctify themselves by means permitted to them, and in that process separate themselves from the pleasures of this terrestrial world, they do so because they are aware that the so-called pleasures of this terrestrial world are intrinsically worthless, so that they try to elevate themselves to a region outside the domain of the terrestrial, physical universe. These “regions” are beyond our ability to define and therefore we are unable to describe them adequately. Seeing that the nations of the world have none of them been found worthy of being שארית נחלתו “a residue of His inheritance,” it cannot be expected of them to show the least bit of understanding of this subject.
Suffice it to say that the subject matter we called אור חוזר is the unabsorbed part of the אור ישר, the “direct” light that had left the Essence of G’d and dispersed in different regions of His universes, any “excess,” making a “return journey” in preparation for further use by its Dispatcher, the Creator.
This inability of the nations of the world to comprehend the nature of the Sabbath is the reason that while they understand the concept of the Sabbath being a day that symbolizes that the Creator had refrained from overt creative activity, they selected for themselves on an arbitrary basis a different day of the week, one that had not been sanctified by the Creator for that purpose. When the Torah, both in our portion and in Deuteronomy, stresses the element of the sanctity of this “Day of rest,” for the Jewish people, it alludes to the unbroken connection between the Jewish people and the celestial regions, in spite of the fact that our bodies (and, temporarily our souls) inhabit the terrestrial part of the universe. [I have used some of my own wording in the foregoing, for reasons of simplicity. Ed.]
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Kedushat Levi
Exodus 16:1 “He flung horse and its rider high into the sea.” We need to understand why Moses described the “tossing” of the Egyptian cavalry into the sea by using a word referring to an upward motion of G’d’s arm, instead of simply writing הפיל בים, “He dropped them into the sea.” Besides, seeing that in verse 4 Moses describes Hashem as מרכבות פרעה וחילו ירה בים, “G’d threw (same word as “he shot,”) the chariots of Pharaoh and his army into the sea,” why did Moses choose the word רמה in verse 1? Since the only kind of shooting in those days was the shooting of arrows, it was mandatory that the trajectory first involve the rising of the arrow before it could descend and hit its target, so that there was no reason for Moses not to have used the customary word for “shooting.”
Our sages in the Mishnah Sanhedrin 6,4 describe the platform or the “house,” בית הסקילה, from which the penalty of stoning to death was carried out as being two stories (the height of two average sized persons) high. From that platform the criminal or sinner convicted to death by stoning would be pushed down. The “stoning” would commence after the fall if it had not been fatal. The wording in the Torah is: סקול יסקל או ירה יירה, “he will surely be stoned or shot,” (Exodus 19,13). The word ירה alone therefore might have been misleading.
Another expression which poses a difficulty in our verse is: ומבחר שלישיו טבעו בים, “and the choicest of his officers drowned in the sea.” It would have sufficed to state that “his officers drowned;” that would have included both the junior and the senior officers.
The answer to these questions may be gleaned from the words of the Midrash (Yalkut Reuveni, B’shalach) where the protective angel, שר, of the Egyptians is quoted as having complained that seeing that both the Israelites and the Egyptians had been idol worshippers, why would the Egyptians be singled out for such harsh punishment.
We further need to understand why G’d resorted to the stratagem of encouraging the Egyptians to pursue the Israelites through commanding the Israelites to turn back at Baal Tzefon (Exodus 14,2), after they had already left Egypt and both politically and economically, the Super Power Egypt had suffered a lethal blow. Had G’d not found an excuse that misled the Egyptians to believe that their deity had frightened the Israelites, the entire pursuit of the Israelites and the resultant drowning of the Egyptian army would never have taken place. We must therefore conclude that G’d paid heed to the complaint of the protective angel of the Egyptians, and had to show him that his protégées were totally wicked, having reneged on their not only having released the Israelites but having expelled them. (Exodus 12,33 and 39). The words רמה בים, may be understood as a reference to the illusion that the Egyptians harboured that they might succeed due to favourable astrological constellations at the sea where they had failed on land. Secondly, the word מבחר, instead of being a reference to the choicest of the Egyptian officers, is an allusion to the freedom of choice, בחירה, that G’d gave the Egyptians at that time, i.e. they had brought their death upon themselves by having made the wrong choice in pursuing the Israelites, even after witnessing that the G’d of the Israelites had split the sea for them. After having seen this, even the protective angel of the Egyptians no longer had any complaint against G’d.
Our sages in the Mishnah Sanhedrin 6,4 describe the platform or the “house,” בית הסקילה, from which the penalty of stoning to death was carried out as being two stories (the height of two average sized persons) high. From that platform the criminal or sinner convicted to death by stoning would be pushed down. The “stoning” would commence after the fall if it had not been fatal. The wording in the Torah is: סקול יסקל או ירה יירה, “he will surely be stoned or shot,” (Exodus 19,13). The word ירה alone therefore might have been misleading.
Another expression which poses a difficulty in our verse is: ומבחר שלישיו טבעו בים, “and the choicest of his officers drowned in the sea.” It would have sufficed to state that “his officers drowned;” that would have included both the junior and the senior officers.
The answer to these questions may be gleaned from the words of the Midrash (Yalkut Reuveni, B’shalach) where the protective angel, שר, of the Egyptians is quoted as having complained that seeing that both the Israelites and the Egyptians had been idol worshippers, why would the Egyptians be singled out for such harsh punishment.
We further need to understand why G’d resorted to the stratagem of encouraging the Egyptians to pursue the Israelites through commanding the Israelites to turn back at Baal Tzefon (Exodus 14,2), after they had already left Egypt and both politically and economically, the Super Power Egypt had suffered a lethal blow. Had G’d not found an excuse that misled the Egyptians to believe that their deity had frightened the Israelites, the entire pursuit of the Israelites and the resultant drowning of the Egyptian army would never have taken place. We must therefore conclude that G’d paid heed to the complaint of the protective angel of the Egyptians, and had to show him that his protégées were totally wicked, having reneged on their not only having released the Israelites but having expelled them. (Exodus 12,33 and 39). The words רמה בים, may be understood as a reference to the illusion that the Egyptians harboured that they might succeed due to favourable astrological constellations at the sea where they had failed on land. Secondly, the word מבחר, instead of being a reference to the choicest of the Egyptian officers, is an allusion to the freedom of choice, בחירה, that G’d gave the Egyptians at that time, i.e. they had brought their death upon themselves by having made the wrong choice in pursuing the Israelites, even after witnessing that the G’d of the Israelites had split the sea for them. After having seen this, even the protective angel of the Egyptians no longer had any complaint against G’d.
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