Musar su Esodo 14:35

And from this, we will understand very well what has disappeared from the eyes of researchers in what they have examined regarding, heaven forbid, a change in God's will. The Almighty decrees a decree and then repentance, prayer and charity can change that to the better; and sometimes it changes from good to bad. But they walk in darkness because there can be no change, heaven forbid. Rather all is one and is only a matter of one desire. That is to say this inquiry is a matter of faith. I will also copy what I wrote as a child in my pamphlet, even though it is a little different. In any event, it all goes together in one place. These are my words. Written in section of Godliness in the gate of unity. And the whole faith of unity is complete; as there is no body nor strength of the body, nor a separate mind, and will not change from thought to thought or from action to action or from one leader to another. It is a complete intellect and simple and unique in all parts of His names and in all attributes. And a change in actions on the part of the leadership only exists from the side of the recipients. Because the one who walks in innocence and straightness, and keeps a good home, receives goodness derived from God Almighty. And he who perverts his path and distances himself, is distanced from the good derived from God and the opposite is derived from Him.

ויקח שש מאות רכב בחור וכל רכב מצרים. The Zohar asks if the 600 choice chariots were not also part of Egypt's cavalry that the Torah had to add the words "and all the chariots of Egypt?" The Zohar answers that the subject in this verse is Samael who took the chariots of other nations with him in the pursuit of the Israelites. G–d paid those people back when Sisera lost all his iron chariots in the battle against Barak and Deborah (Judges 5,20-21).

ויקח שש מאות רכב בחור וכל רכב מצרים. The Zohar asks if the 600 choice chariots were not also part of Egypt's cavalry that the Torah had to add the words "and all the chariots of Egypt?" The Zohar answers that the subject in this verse is Samael who took the chariots of other nations with him in the pursuit of the Israelites. G–d paid those people back when Sisera lost all his iron chariots in the battle against Barak and Deborah (Judges 5,20-21).

We learn from this that whenever Israel finds itself in trouble, parties that have no quarrel with Israel also gang up on it. We must therefore realise how important it is at such times to do repentance, since during such critical times all our past deeds and actions are examined in minute detail to see if our enemies are justified in their attack upon us. The Zohar quotes a Rabbi Yossi on 14,10 as saying that the unusual construction of ופרעה הקריב, instead of ופרעה קרב for "Pharaoh approached," is an allusion to the sentiments of repentance that the approach of Pharaoh evoked in many Israelites. The word הקריב must be understood as "he brought them close to their father in Heaven."

The Torah (14,15) quotes G–d as saying to Moses before the crossing of the sea: מה תצעק אלי, דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו "Why do you cry out to Me, speak to the children of Israel, and they will start moving!" Rashi, quoting ancient sources, says that this verse teaches that while G–d spoke to him thusly Moses was engaged in lengthy prayer. G–d reprimanded Moses for spending all this time in prayer at a time when the Jewish people were in distress. This seems exceedingly strange. The Psalmist tells us in 86,7: ביום צרתי אקראך כי תענני, "On the day of my distress I call upon You, so that You will answer me." Had it not been for Rashi's comment on 14,15, we would not have experienced any difficulty. We would simply have understood G–d as telling Moses that there was no need for prayer since G–d had already assured Israel of His help when He said: ואכבדה במצרים ובכל חילו, "I shall deal severely with Pharaoh and his entire army" in 14,4. All Moses had to ask was how best to go about defeating Pharaoh. Nachmanides follows this approach in his commentary.

The Torah (14,15) quotes G–d as saying to Moses before the crossing of the sea: מה תצעק אלי, דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו "Why do you cry out to Me, speak to the children of Israel, and they will start moving!" Rashi, quoting ancient sources, says that this verse teaches that while G–d spoke to him thusly Moses was engaged in lengthy prayer. G–d reprimanded Moses for spending all this time in prayer at a time when the Jewish people were in distress. This seems exceedingly strange. The Psalmist tells us in 86,7: ביום צרתי אקראך כי תענני, "On the day of my distress I call upon You, so that You will answer me." Had it not been for Rashi's comment on 14,15, we would not have experienced any difficulty. We would simply have understood G–d as telling Moses that there was no need for prayer since G–d had already assured Israel of His help when He said: ואכבדה במצרים ובכל חילו, "I shall deal severely with Pharaoh and his entire army" in 14,4. All Moses had to ask was how best to go about defeating Pharaoh. Nachmanides follows this approach in his commentary.

If we are to explain the plain meaning of the text we must keep in mind the preceding verses and pay close attention to them. Our sages in the מכילתא comment on the expression: "The children of Israel cried out to G–d," in 14,10, that they did the same time-honoured thing their ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had done when in trouble. The Talmud adds that there were four different groups of Israelites, each of whom reacted differently to the problem they faced.

Another peculiarity is the wording of 14,25, where G–d is described as removing the wheels from the chariots of the Egyptians. The Torah writes: ויסר את אופן מרכבותיו, "He removed or locked the wheel (sing.) of their chariots." If the Torah refers to the chariot of Pharaoh it should have said the "wheel of his chariot." If the chariots of the army are meant, the Torah should have spoken about the 'wheels' of their chariots." Why this peculiar phrasing? We must say that the שר של מצרים who is an extremely powerful שר had assembled many other chariots of חצוניים, "external" forces as explained by the Zohar we have quoted earlier. The word אופן which is often used for angels, is used here as a description of Pharaoh's שר. When G–d detached this שר, all of the chariots of the Egyptians came apart, which in turn caused the confusion of the Egyptians described in the Torah. When this happened all the אלופי אדום, and the אילי מואב as well as the inhabitants of Canaan were seized with fright, as described in 15,15.

And concerning Moses, it is written : "In all my house he is faithful" (Num. 12:7). And it is said in the Midrash : "Great is faith before the Holy One, Blessed is He, for because of the merit of the faith that our fathers believed there dwelt upon them the Holy Spirit and they uttered song as it is said : 'And they believed in the Lord and in Moses His servent. Then Moses and the Children of Israel sang' " (Exod. 14:31, 15:1, Exodus Rabbah 22-23).

Jacob's descendants merited the same advantages in due course. They experienced that the sea was split for their sake, and they witnessed the "great hand" of G–d at work (Exodus 14, 31). Israel merited the “רקיע” when G–d descended to Mount Sinai traversing all seven Heavenly Regions each known as a different רקיע at the time He gave them the Torah, commencing His revelation with the words: "I am the Lord your G–d who has taken you out of Egypt" (Midrash Hagadol Exodus 19, 20 – slightly different wording). Israel's relationship with G–d's throne is alluded to in Jeremiah 17, 12: כסא כבוד מרום מראשון מקם מקדשנו, "O Throne of Glory exalted from of old, our sacred Shrine". The "throne" mentioned is the throne of G–d in His Heaven. The same prophet wrote in Lamentations 2, 1: (after the destruction of the Temple) ‘השליך משמים ארץ תפארת ישראל, "He cast down from Heaven to Earth the majesty of Israel." Our sages in Eicha Rabbah 2,2 commented on this verse: G–d said: "The only reason you have the audacity to annoy Me is the fact that Jacob's features are engraved on My throne; Here I fling it down in your faces!" At that point in time, the letter כ in the ירך of Jacob became dislocated. The three letters in the word ירך, thigh, are the respective first letters of the words ים, רקיע, כסא. The dislocation of Jacob's thigh joint is an allusion to the dislocation of G–d's throne. The numerical value of the word כף in the expression כף ירך יעקב, is 100. It is an allusion to the letter ק which is written smaller in Rebeccah's exclamation קצתי בחיי, in Genesis 27, 46. We had explained previously that that was an allusion to the destruction of the Temple as foreseen by Rebeccah. Allegorically speaking, if one removes the letter ק from Jacob's name, one is left only with יעב, meaning a cloud which blocks out the sun and the daylight. This is the deeper meaning of Jeremiah in Lamentations 2, 1: איכה יעיב באפו א-דני את בת ציון, "How has the Lord shamed (brought dark clouds) the daughter of Zion in His wrath." The prophet refers to the former distinction of Israel having been flung to earth.

They did not yet know that G–d was going to split the sea, save them and drown the Egyptian army in it. As a result of all this, they were beset by doubts as to whether it had been G–d or Moses who had orchestrated the Exodus. They thought that G–d perhaps had only wanted them to travel three days' journey into the desert, after which they were to return to Egypt, though not as slaves. They believed that Moses had over-stepped his authority and decided by himself that Israel should not return to Egypt at all. They believed that Moses had done so in the belief that G–d carries out the wishes of His prophets. This is why they cried out to G–d to demonstrate that He was a living G–d in their midst just as He had demonstrated this at the time He slew the first-born. They were angry at Moses, and this is why they accused him of taking them into the desert to die. The letter ה in the word המבלי, is one denoting a permanent question such as in הלבן מאה שנה יולד, "Can a hundred year-old man expect to sire children" (Genesis 17,17), or: הנגלה נגלתי "Was I in the habit of revealing Myself" (Samuel I 2,27)? The Israelites referred to their assumption that the שר של מצרים had been killed by basing themselves on their having seen the Egyptians bury their dead. They now doubted what their eyes had seen and implied that possibly the interment they believed they had witnessed did not prove that the first-born Egyptians were really in their graves. If so, instead of G–d having taken the Jews out of Egypt, "you Moses have taken us, לקחתנו, acquired us instead of G–d!" The word לקחתנו is used in contrast with G–d's והצלתי אתכם מעבודתם ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם. Those words had implied that Israel would be saved from the שר של מצרים who represented their deity i.e. עבודתם. When the children of Israel said: מה זאת עשית לנו, they merely paraphrased Pharaoh in 14,6 who had said: מה זאת עשינו כי שלחנו את ישראל מעבדנו. The word מעבדנו means that Pharaoh regretted allowing Israel to serve their own deity instead of that of the שר של מצרים.

They did not yet know that G–d was going to split the sea, save them and drown the Egyptian army in it. As a result of all this, they were beset by doubts as to whether it had been G–d or Moses who had orchestrated the Exodus. They thought that G–d perhaps had only wanted them to travel three days' journey into the desert, after which they were to return to Egypt, though not as slaves. They believed that Moses had over-stepped his authority and decided by himself that Israel should not return to Egypt at all. They believed that Moses had done so in the belief that G–d carries out the wishes of His prophets. This is why they cried out to G–d to demonstrate that He was a living G–d in their midst just as He had demonstrated this at the time He slew the first-born. They were angry at Moses, and this is why they accused him of taking them into the desert to die. The letter ה in the word המבלי, is one denoting a permanent question such as in הלבן מאה שנה יולד, "Can a hundred year-old man expect to sire children" (Genesis 17,17), or: הנגלה נגלתי "Was I in the habit of revealing Myself" (Samuel I 2,27)? The Israelites referred to their assumption that the שר של מצרים had been killed by basing themselves on their having seen the Egyptians bury their dead. They now doubted what their eyes had seen and implied that possibly the interment they believed they had witnessed did not prove that the first-born Egyptians were really in their graves. If so, instead of G–d having taken the Jews out of Egypt, "you Moses have taken us, לקחתנו, acquired us instead of G–d!" The word לקחתנו is used in contrast with G–d's והצלתי אתכם מעבודתם ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם. Those words had implied that Israel would be saved from the שר של מצרים who represented their deity i.e. עבודתם. When the children of Israel said: מה זאת עשית לנו, they merely paraphrased Pharaoh in 14,6 who had said: מה זאת עשינו כי שלחנו את ישראל מעבדנו. The word מעבדנו means that Pharaoh regretted allowing Israel to serve their own deity instead of that of the שר של מצרים.

You may well ask whence Earth knew all this, seeing that the original light was not hidden until after the first Sabbath, whereas Earth withheld part of her services already on the third day of creation? We must assume that G–d had certainly revealed this secret to Earth. Anyone who grants a gift planning to withdraw it later must inform the recipient of the gift that it is subject to recall at the time the gift is first granted. Bereshit Rabbah 5,5 states that G–d made a condition with the Ocean that when the Israelites would approach the Sea of Reeds in order to cross it, it would split and let the Israelites pass. The scriptural allusion is found in the words וישב הים…לאיתנו, "the sea returned to its contract" (Exodus 14,27). The word איתנ contains the same letters as the Hebrew word for "condition, contract" i.e. תנאי. We have numerous similar statements throughout the Midrash, all of which refer to G–d having imposed such "conditions" on different elements of the universe in order to have the right to interfere with the laws of nature through the performance of miracles whenever the need arises.

The focal point of these camps is the holy ark containing the tablets. We find here an allusion to the "great" name of G–d, the one that contains seventy-two letters or words respectively [when the letters are spelled as words Ed.]. This appears three times, i.e. 216 (72 times 3) corresponding to the fact that the ark was really three arks, an outer ark made of gold, which encased the wooden ark which in turn was covered by an inner ark of gold. The tablets were six tefachim long, six tefachim wide and six tefachim high. If you multiply these measurements by one another you get 216. [Actually the author proceeds in the reverse order dividing 216 by six and then again by 6.] The Zohar on Parshat Behaalotcha explains that though the 72 lettered name of G–d is rooted in the emanation חסד, and חסד=72, it is actually composed of a combination of חסד, גבורה and תפארת. The Pardes Rimonim, in the chapter dealing with details of names, chapter 5, discusses this at length. [In order to appreciate the following, it is necessary to understand the system of tzerufim, or permutations. By transposing the letters in a given word, numerous combinations of the same letters can be achieved. In the case of a four-letter word, such as the Ineffable Name of G–d, 12 permutations are possible. This number is increased considerably when the letters in question are spelled out as words, i.e. the letter “י” as "יוד". In addition to this, such letters as "ה” for instance, could be spelled out as "הי", "הא”, or "הה”. By combining either the number of letters obtained by such spellings, or by adding the numerical value of each of such letters when this milu-im system is used, Kabbalists arrive at amazing relationships in key concepts.] You will find the number 72 hinted at in the passage about the Levites, since the Torah writes “והיו לי” (Numbers 8,14) referring to G–d claiming the Levites as His. By reading these two words as והי ולי, you have the first 2 of the 72 worded name of G–d. By combining 72 with the numerical value of ישראל=541, you get 613. In other words, Israel and the "great" name of G–d correspond to the whole of Torah. Viewed differently: The three camps כהונה, לויה, ישראל, that are 72 times 3, surround the core i.e. the tablets, which in turn are 3 times 72=216. Whenever the Jewish people broke camp, the flag of the camp of Yehudah featuring אריה=216, was the first to start marching.

Keeping this in mind it is easy to understand that the Ten Commandments contain within them the whole Torah in "capsule form." The Ten Commandments consist of 620 letters, corresponding to כתר תורה. 613 of these letters represent the 613 commandments of the Torah that are addressed to the Jewish people, whereas the other 7 letters represent the 7 Noachide laws addressed to all of mankind It is fairly obvious then that the Ten Commandments more than any other part of the Torah contain the mystical dimension of the Ineffable Name. The shape and size of the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were engraved allude to the letters of the Ineffable Name. The number 10 corresponds to the letter י of that name, the 5 Commandments engraved on either one of the tablets correspond to the two letters ה of the Ineffable Name; the letter ו is represented by the height, width and thickness of the tablets, i.e. 6 טפחים, handbreadths each. When we "cube" the dimensions of the tablets, 6 by 6 by 6, we obtain 216 cubic טפחים. This number equals the mystical dimension of the Ineffable Name when we spell the letters as words, using the method involving the letter י. This is how it appears: 15=הי + ;22=ויו + ;15=הי + ;20=יוד; the total you obtain is 72. Viewing this number in the three dimensions of the tablets, you arrive at three times 72=216. This number corresponds to the number of letters (three times 72 in each verse) in the three successive verses in Exodus 14: 19,20,21, describing the interposition of G–d's angel between the camp of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians. The author of גינת אגוז comments that the Ineffable Name (spelled in letters) amounts to 26, and that this number equals the numerical value of the Ten Commandments, [no explanation is offered as to how that number is arrived at. Ed.] The author adds that there are 620 letters in the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the numerical value of the word כתר.

Keeping this in mind it is easy to understand that the Ten Commandments contain within them the whole Torah in "capsule form." The Ten Commandments consist of 620 letters, corresponding to כתר תורה. 613 of these letters represent the 613 commandments of the Torah that are addressed to the Jewish people, whereas the other 7 letters represent the 7 Noachide laws addressed to all of mankind It is fairly obvious then that the Ten Commandments more than any other part of the Torah contain the mystical dimension of the Ineffable Name. The shape and size of the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were engraved allude to the letters of the Ineffable Name. The number 10 corresponds to the letter י of that name, the 5 Commandments engraved on either one of the tablets correspond to the two letters ה of the Ineffable Name; the letter ו is represented by the height, width and thickness of the tablets, i.e. 6 טפחים, handbreadths each. When we "cube" the dimensions of the tablets, 6 by 6 by 6, we obtain 216 cubic טפחים. This number equals the mystical dimension of the Ineffable Name when we spell the letters as words, using the method involving the letter י. This is how it appears: 15=הי + ;22=ויו + ;15=הי + ;20=יוד; the total you obtain is 72. Viewing this number in the three dimensions of the tablets, you arrive at three times 72=216. This number corresponds to the number of letters (three times 72 in each verse) in the three successive verses in Exodus 14: 19,20,21, describing the interposition of G–d's angel between the camp of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians. The author of גינת אגוז comments that the Ineffable Name (spelled in letters) amounts to 26, and that this number equals the numerical value of the Ten Commandments, [no explanation is offered as to how that number is arrived at. Ed.] The author adds that there are 620 letters in the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the numerical value of the word כתר.

The Midrash's question "By what merit did Israel sing the שירה,” is itself difficult to comprehend! It is the practice of the צדיקים to give thanks to G–d immediately upon receipt of the promise of a forthcoming event. The צדיק does not wait until the promise has been fulfilled. The expression of his gratitude is no more than a true reflection of his abiding faith in G–d. If Moses, nonetheless had delayed his song of thanksgiving until after the miracle promised had actually materialised, this was but due to his lack of confidence in Israel's faith. This is why the Torah waited to report that Israel believed both in G–d and in Moses His servant until after the successful crossing of the sea and the drowning of the Egyptians in it (14,31). Only then was Moses able to break out in song. I have found this answer to the query raised in the introduction of a book called ברכת אברהם.

When we keep this in mind we can understand the Midrash Rabbah 3,1 on Song of Songs 3,9 אפריון עשה לו המלך שלמה, that "King Solomon made for himself a canopy," as referring to the construction of the Tabernacle. Rabbi Yehudah bar Ulla explains this by means of the following parable: A king had a young daughter. As long as she did not reach the age of puberty, he would meet her in public and speak with her both in public and private. Once she reached the age of puberty the king said to himself that it was no longer seemly that he should converse with his daughter in public. He therefore constructed a pavilion for her so that whenever he felt the need to converse with his daughter he could do so within this pavilion. We find an allusion to this in Hoseah 11,1: "For when Israel was still a child I fell in love with Israel." As long as the people of Israel were in their national infancy in Egypt, they saw manifestations of G–d all around them such as when G–d smote the Egyptians both in Egypt and later on when He drowned them in the sea. This was a public manifestation as testified to in Exodus 14,31: "Israel saw the great hand of the Lord and what He did to Egypt". Even infants would point with their fingers declaring "This is my G–d I shall glorify Him" (Exodus 15,2). At Sinai they beheld G–d "face to face," as we know from Deuteronomy 33,2: "He (Moses) said The Lord came from Sinai, He shone upon them from Se-ir; He appeared from Mount Paran." At that point Israel received the Torah and declared כל אשר דבר ה' נעשה ונשמע, "All that the Lord has said, we shall do and hear." As a consequence Israel became G–d's nation in the fullest meaning of the word. G–d next said Himself that it was no longer seemly that He should speak to them in public, without the benefit of privacy, so He instructed them to build a Tabernacle so that whenever He wished to speak to them, He would do so from the interior of the Tabernacle. This is the meaning of Numbers 7,89: "Whenever Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he would hear the voice of G–d addressing him from above the cover that was on top of the Ark of the Covenant between the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him." Thus far the statement of Rabbi Yehudah bar Ulla.

Hillel was known for his humility and modesty, a character-trait he shared with Moses who was known as the most humble man on earth. Hillel was able to prove this modesty because he held high office, was the elected prince of Israel during his time, just as Moses had been in earlier times. When you examine Exodus 14, 19-21 [the three verses containing 72 letters each which traditionally form the "great" name of G–d, Ed.], you will find that the letters of the name משה and הלל appear next to one another. [In his commentary the Tzror Hamor explains this in detail, as well as the three times 72=216 equals אריה, the force G–d used. The three verses 19,20,21 are placed one under the other so that they are divided into 72 three lettered units. Take the ו from ויסע; next take the first letter of the last word in the next verse, i.e. ה, and the first letter of the last verse in the regular sequence, i.e. the letter ו. Your first threesome then is והו. When you repeat this with the respective second letters following the same system you will get ילי. By proceeding along these lines you will find that the letters of the name משה i.e. מהש will appear next to the letters of the name הלל, i.e. ללה]. This is an allusion to the fact that Hillel in his age represented what Moses had represented in his time. This is also why Hillel lived to be 120 years old. The respective first letters in the words לקחת לוחות האבנים also spell הלל.

כי בי-ה ה' צור עולמים

On that subject, the Zohar (Sullam edition Lech-Lecha page 44) comments on 12,11: ויהי כאשר הקריב אברם לבא מצרימה, "It was when Abram came close to arriving in Egypt," that the word the Torah should have used for approaching is קרב. Why then did the Torah use the word הקריב? The answer is that the Torah used an expression it uses about Pharaoh in Exodus 14, 10 when the latter was in hot pursuit of the Israelites. Pharaoh caused Israel to become ready to repent when they realised the immediate danger Pharaoh's pursuit posed for them. This is the meaning of the causative form הקריב. In Abraham's case too, his experiences in Egypt brought him closer to G–d, seeing that all his calculations about protecting himself and Sarah had not prevented her from being taken to the King's palace to become his concubine. Abraham took a closer look at the inadequacies of the Egyptian culture and separated himself from that culture.

To return to the subject which we touched upon earlier of how the שר can don the "mantle" of the שכינה. Although this is a tremendous display of power for such a שר, it will boomerang and become the cause of his downfall as we mentioned earlier. This procedure is alluded to in the words of our פרשה in 10,2, where the Torah says: "how I have made a mockery of the Egyptians." Rashi explains that the word התעללתי במצרים, means "I have toyed with them." We need to understand the meaning of this שחוק, game, that G–d played. When we consider the august position of the שר של מצרים as we have described, we realise that when he was at the height of his power, this שר gave no thought to his eventual demise, and that the higher he would rise, the greater would be his eventual fall into a deep pit. The very "mantle" of the שכינה which he wore would become the cause of his downfall. At that time, G–d in Heaven, who is aware of the exact moment in time when events would cause the שר של מצרים to fall, would smile. The timing of these events is alluded to in Moses' words to Pharaoh in 10,3: "How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?" Humbling oneself means to turn from being evil to being good. We have a prime example of this when Samael, who had been Jacob's arch-enemy, changed direction and accorded Jacob his blessing, his recognition (Genesis 32,29).

There are five בתי אבות, family-sources, which have to be viewed as "above" the concept of land distribution. They are the three patriarchs, to whom the land was promised, but who never took possession of it even though they pined for it and were buried in it. Then there is Joseph, who is described as the direct continuation of Jacob in Genesis 37,2: אלה תולדות יעקב, יוסף. [there was no other reason for the Torah to tell us this fact which we all knew. Ed.] Joseph expressed an ardent desire to be buried in the land of Israel, and made his brothers swear an oath that they would take his bones with them at the time of the redemption from Egypt (Genesis 50,24). There is also Levi, whose descendants did not share in the land, for the Torah describes G–d Himself as their inheritance (Deut. 18,1). We must realize that these five people (or groups of people) were on a spiritual level where they did not need their share of land on earth in order to have their share of the land of Israel in the Celestial Domain. That region is the root of the terrestrial ארץ ישראל. The letter ה in the words במקום ה-זה, alludes to these five categories of people who spiritually outranked the other twelve, i.e. 12 =זה. There is also a special significance in the number five when we consider the five manifestations of G–d's Presence that were missing during the time of the second Temple. This means that there was a residual presence of חרב, i.e. חורבן, destruction, during the entire period of the second Temple. Our sages expressed this in terms of the missing letter ה, in the word ואכבד in Chagai 1,8, where the word should have been the same as in Exodus 14,4, ואכבדה בפרעה (cf. Rashi on that verse in חגי). In the future (third Temple) these five manifestations of G–d's שכינה will be restored. Not only will they be restored, but such a future will herald new spiritual heights when the original light that permeated the universe immediately after the Creation will also be restored. It is the time described in Isaiah 25,9 as: זה ה' קוינו לו, "This is the Lord whom we have hoped for." At that time the promise in Leviticus 26,12: והתהלכתי בתוככם, "I will be walking among you," will also be fulfilled.

It is well known that in order to rehabilitate oneself spiritually one must exercise תשובה, תפלה וצדקה, repentance, prayer and the performance of charitable deeds. All of these three factors of man's rehabilitation depend on his mouth. Prayer and the reciting of G–d's praises are, of course, functions of the mouth. We know that repentance has to include verbalizing one's confession and one's resolution not to sin again. The Torah in 30,14 mentions that Torah is easy of access, i.e. בפיך ובלבבך לעשות. Rabbi Yitzchak says (Eruvin 54) that the Torah is easy to fulfill, לעשות, once one has repented both by mouth and in one's heart. Confession of one's sins with a broken heart is the principal ingredient of repentance. Charity, too, involves the mouth. Our sages (Baba Batra 9b) say that anyone who gives charity acquires six blessings; if someone also tries to make the recipient feel better by kind and encouraging words he will qualify for eleven blessings. Interestingly enough we have three words which symbolize three aspects of repentance, i.e. צום, קול, ממון, each one of which has a numerical value of 136. This suggests that all three aspects of תשובה are of equal importance. Stated differently, תשובה, צדקה, and תפלה equal קול. The very first part of our פרשה alludes to all the three ingredients of repentance. The Torah speaks about going to war, the plain meaning of which refers, of course, to actual warfare and battles with the enemy. Over and beyond this, however, the paragraph refers to the ongoing battle between man and his evil urge. Many of our commentators are at pains to point this out in their commentary on the relevant section in פרשת שופטים when they comment on the verse discussing the siege laid to a city (20,19). In actual fact, the war with his evil urge is the greatest battle man has to fight in this life. The matter is illustrated in the Talmud by the story of the elderly sage who met soldiers of the army of Alexander the Great at the time of his victorious return from a major battle. These soldiers were in a very exuberant frame of mind. The sage, while he congratulated them on their victory, pointed out that the victory they had won was minor, and that they had to get ready for the battle of their lives against the evil urge. This is what the sages meant when they described the whole paragraph of the יפת תואר as an illustration of man's ongoing battle against his baser instincts (Kidushin 21). By extending this allegory a little further we may come to understand the whole reason why a מלחמת רשות, a war which is expansionary, is allowed: We are always permitted to conduct aggressive action against our evil urges. We can be sure of G–d's ongoing support in that undertaking once we make the first move in the struggle against the evil urge. Our sages point out that we would be unable to subdue the יצר הרע without G–d's active assistance, but that we have G–d's promise: ונתנו בידו, "He will deliver him (the evil urge) into your hand" (21,10). It is significant that the Torah here employs the singular whereas in פרשת שופטים it speaks in the plural (20,2—20,3--20,4). This may be a reminder that the fight against the evil urge can only be fought on a person-to-person basis. We have a tradition that a nation neither succumbs to another nation nor to the Jewish people unless its protective spirit in the Celestial Regions had first suffered defeat. We have pointed out examples of this such as Israel observing "Egypt" instead of "Egyptians" "dead on the beaches of the sea" (Exodus 14,30). We learn from all this that our enemy (the evil urge), assumes many guises, i.e. attacks us in the plural, and this is why the Torah always describes our enemy in the plural (אויביכם, אל תערצו מפניהם). We have to battle all these manifold "enemies" because each transgression we commit creates a negative force in the world which comes back to haunt us. All of these negative forces created by our very selves are presided over and directed against us by Samael/Satan/Angel of Death, etc. The Torah describes victory over this multifaceted but essentially single force with the words: ונתנו ה' אלוקיך בידך ושבית שביו, "The Lord your G–d will deliver him into your hand and you will take him captive." Taking this enemy prisoner is possible only with the help of Torah study and מצוה observance. David describes this victory over the evil works in Psalms 68,19: He speaks about: עלית למרום שבית שבי, "You went up to the heights, having taken captives."

קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה' אלהיכם. (Leviticus 19,2) "Be holy for I the Lord your G–d am holy;" Basing themselves on this verse, the prophets and sages drew a comparison between G–d and the Exodus experience of כנסת ישראל as being similar to the relationship between groom and bride. The entire book of Song of Songs is based on this concept. Most of the liturgical poetry in our prayer-books deals with this concept extolling this relationship between Israel and G–d. It is spelled out more clearly in Deuteronomy 26,17-18: את ה' האמרת היום להיות לך לאלוקים … וה' האמירך היום להיות לו לעם סגולה.. "You have affirmed this day that the Lord is your G–d…and the Lord affirmed this day that you are His treasured people." The relationship is mutual.

Let us now concentrate on the meaning of the last words in that verse. We will then understand how Joseph's mission resulted in the development of Jacob as a clan into a nation. Joseph meant that G–d had appointed him to be Pharaoh's "father" in the sense of being his שר, spiritual representative. This is the significance of Joseph riding in the מרכבת המשנה, the "second chariot." We have described Egypt as the "naked area" of the earth. Since Joseph was loyal to the Holy Covenant with G–d because he should have been the issue of his father's first ever drop of semen, he was meant to be the ruler there and he was supposed to take the place of the שרו של מצרים. Joseph was first sold as a slave to the Egyptians, this in turn made an imprint on the Jewish people's future, and they too became slaves in Egypt. Later on they left Egypt as free men. G–d executed judgments on the gods of Egypt, i.e. their spiritual representative in Heaven, their שר. Israel saw their שר dead on the beaches of the sea (Exodus 14,30). Had this not occurred, we might still be enslaved to the Egyptians.