출애굽기 14:15의 유대 사상

In fact, since according to our sages, Moses had been handed the keys to all G'ds treasure chambers, he is criticized when he resorts merely to prayer instead of action, deed. At the sea, when threatened by the Egyptians who were close on his heels, G'd says to him "why are you crying out to Me, tell the Jewish people to get going!" (Exodus 14,15) Not for nothing did G'd say to him "see I have made you Lord over Pharaoh." (Exodus 7,1) Moses was like a deity who would employ Aaron as his prophet to impose his will upon Pharaoh. The contrast with Bileam is striking. The latter, by his own admission, had no idea when G'd would respond to his requests, and was certainly quite powerless to act on his own and display supernatural powers. Every utterance made by Bileam in his capacity as seer, needed approval by G'd. He did not even have latitude to depart from his prepared text. (Numbers 22,38) His utter lack of vision is best demonstrated when he said to his she-ass "if I had a sword in my hand I would kill you now." (Numbers 22,29) The Midrash that stated that among the nations there did arise a prophet, did not mean to compare Bileam with Moses, but to point out the contrast between the two. Even when a prophet does arise among the gentiles, there is no comparison at all. In every vital matter, Moses was far superior to Bileam. (see Sifri on Deut. 34,10) In order to convey G'ds messages, Moses did not need to hear them spelled out, since he always found himself on the right wavelength. Bileam, on the other hand, had to stress that what he conveyed was the word of G'd. The meaning of the Sifri in Deut. 34,10, that Moses did not know who was going to talk to him, whereas Bileam knew, is, that Moses did not need to prepare himself for an encounter with G'd, whereas Bileam had to. Moses communicated with G'd from an upright position, Bileam only while he was prostrate. The fact that Bileam was uncircumcised was a further impediment to his receptiveness for Divine communication. Prior to circumcision, even an Abraham received the word of G'd only while falling down. Not until after the circumcision when G'd addressed him, (Genesis 18,1) do we find him remaining seated. The gentile is communicated with only at night, since he is compared to a mistress, someone whom one visits discreetly during the hours of darkness. Israel, however, is like a wife with whom one communicates openly during all hours of the day. When Bileam describes himself as "one who hears the words of G'd, receives visions of the Almighty, (Numbers 24,4) one forms the impression that he was indeed on very familiar terms with the Almighty. However, this is misleading. Whereas the chef in the king's kitchen must be familiar with every ingredient in the king's meal, the maitre D' does not have to concern himself with every detail. When the Midrash, in apparent inexactitude, states that whereas Moses did not know "what was talking, whereas Bileam knew "what was talking," the reference is to the subject matter. Bileam who knew that a specific topic would be discussed with him without preamble, needed advance knowledge of that subject. Similarly, he knew when this subject would come up. This is why he could tell Balak's messengers to stay overnight till he would get instructions. Moses needed no advance knowledge of the subject matter, nor did he ever have to wait for an opportune moment. As soon as he entered the tabernacle, "he would hear the voice of the Lord talk to him." (Numbers 7, 89.) The somewhat peculiarly worded Midrash (Sifri) mentioned, has yet another meaning. Since Bileam's mode of communication with G'd was not on the level of "face to face," he could identify the source of what was speaking to him, since "it" assumed a certain form. Moses, on the other hand, while on the level of "face to face" communication had also been told by G'd "you cannot see My face, you can only see My rear, i.e. in retrospect." (Exodus 33,20) At the actual moment of the communication, he never knew how close to the "face to face" level the emanation from which he heard the voice actually was. Bileam had a kind of visual contact machazeh. Not so Moses, to whom a completely disembodied voice would not present a conceptual problem. The thrust of the whole commentary on the verse "there did not arise another prophet etc." is not to minimise the accomplishments of an Elijah in reviving the dead, nor to belittle Joshua arresting the sun and moon in their respective orbits. The commentary wishes to underline that no one other than Moses performed such miracles except by their own initiative. None were as privy to G'ds intentions as had been Moses. For that very reason, namely that he was on such intimate terms with G'd, it would have been practically impossible for Moses to have produced a miracle on his own initiative. If the whole portion is written to demonstrate the inadequacy of the most brilliant of gentile prophets, then we can understand Rabbi Yitzchak's statement that commencing with the functioning of the tabernacle, no more prophetic powers were granted to the gentiles.

Shemot Rabbah 21 on Beshalach, states that human beings cannot judge their fellow men until they have listened to the arguments of either litigant. Not so the Almighty. Of Him it is said (Isaiah 65,24) "before they will call out, I shall respond; while they are still talking, I will already listen." This is also what G'd had said to Moses at the sea of reeds: "Why are you crying out to Me?" The purpose of prayer is not to inform G'd of our problems, but to prepare our hearts, to improve our ways before Him. Not sack and ashes cause our prayers to be heard, but repentance and good’ deeds. As the prophet Yoel proclaimed (Yoel 2,13) "tear out your hearts, not your clothes, and return to the Lord." Anyone who is not conscious of this requirement is as if he appeared before G'd offering counterfeit money. As David says in Psalms 145,18, "the Lord is close to all who call upon Him in truth." The substance of our daily prayers the amidah, the eighteen benedictions, is patterned after the Priestly blessings. There are three opening paragraphs, three closing paragraphs, and the "requests" in the middle. The priests, immediately after performing the service in the temple, recited the blessing. The temple service itself consisted of three elements, based on three kinds of service demanded from us and spelled out in the first paragraph of the keriyat shema. "Love the Lord your G'd with all your heart," i.e. service with our mental faculties, the heart being the seat of understanding. (Proverbs 14,33) "Wisdom resides in an understanding heart," or Exodus 31,6 " I have given an additional understanding in the heart of every wise person." The requirement to serve the Lord "with all your soul," refers to service with one's body. The Talmud Berachot 54, says that this may on occasion require our very life. The requirement to serve G'd "with all your might," refers to placing all our earthly possessions in the service of the Lord. When someone, be it an individual or a community, performs this service sincerely, he must convince himself first that the deity to whom he dedicates all his efforts is deserving of such service, and that no one else deserves such allegiance. Reflecting on this leads to proper concentration of one's heart. Again, without expenditure of funds for the upkeep of the temple and its furnishings, proper service is not feasible. Lastly, both the Levites and the Israelites, in addition to the Priests, perform physical tasks. In this manner, the community as a whole is represented in fulfilling the requirement stipulated in the first paragraph of the keriyat shema. Once all sectors of the nation have become involved in the "Service," those who have performed same should qualify for the triple blessing contained in the Priestly blessing described in Numbers 6, 24-27. The first blessing "may the Lord bless you and keep you,” refers to protection against errors of the mind and the heart. "May He bless you,” means "may He grant you additional insights.” The second blessing refers to material blessings; the third blessing discusses the result of total physical subservience to G'd, which results in the type of closeness to G'd that is the goal of all our strivings. This appears last, as it represents the attainment of our hishtalmut, our perfection. Whenever man offers prayer, he automatically engages in service with his possessions, since he takes time out from being gainfully occupied. He employs his body, by standing, bowing, prostrating himself etc. Lastly, he employs his mind by concentrating on the proper meaning of his devotion. For this reason our sages consider prayer as comparable to service in the holy Temple. He who prays properly, deserves to be rewarded with the promise contained in the last of the Priestly blessings, i.e. shalom, serenity, a feeling of closeness to the Creator.