출애굽기 17:26의 Musar

First of all, the episode of the serpent, who spoke lashon hara of the Holy One Blessed be He and thereby brought death to the world. And (Bereshith 29:20): "If G-d will be with me and guard me," concerning which Chazal have said: "if He will guard me against lashon hara." And the episode of Joseph (Ibid. 37:2): "And Joseph brought their evil talk to their father," this being the catalyst of the descent of the Jews to Egypt. And (Shemoth 2:14): "In truth, the thing has become known" (see Rashi there and what we shall write below). There, too, (4:1) Moses our teacher, may peace be upon him, says: "But they will not believe me," and the Blessed L-rd counters (Ibid. 2): "What is this in your hand?" … (3) …and it became a serpent." Also there (6): "And, behold, his hand was leprous as snow." And (Ibid. 17:2): "And the people quarreled with Moses… (7) …over the quarrel of the children of Israel, etc." followed by (8): "And Amalek came and warred with Israel, etc." And (Ibid. 23:1): "You shall not bear a false report, which applies to both the speaker and the receiver [of lashon hara] (as we find in Makkoth 23a), followed by (2): "Do not be after many to do evil." And, in reference to the me'il [the outer robe of the ephod] (Ibid. 28:32): "A border shall there be to its mouth roundabout," and the entire section. And (35): "And its sound will be heard when he comes to the sanctuary, etc." And the entire section of Tazria and Metzora: the plague-spots of houses, the plague-spots of clothing, the plague-spots of men, (Vayikra 13:46): "Solitary shall he sit"— even outside of the camp of Israel. And his atonement— "chirping" birds. And (Ibid. 19:16): "Do not go talebearing among your people," (Ibid. 17): "Reprove, shall you reprove your neighbor, but you shall not bear sin because of him." And (Ibid. 25:17): "You shall not wrong, one man, his fellow," which relates to verbal wronging, which is also in the category of evil speech. And (Bamidbar 5:1): "And they shall send out of the camp every leper"— even if he were as great in Torah as Doeg. And (Ibid. 12:1): "And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses, etc." And the entire section of Shelach Lecha, which speaks about the spies. And (Ibid. 21:5): "And the people spoke against G-d and against Moses." And (Devarim 23:10): "When you go out as a camp against your foes, guard yourself against every evil thing [davar ra]," concerning which Chazal have said: "davar ra" may be read as "dibbur ra" [evil speech]. And in Tetze, the "giving out of an evil name [motzi shem ra]," and (Ibid. 24:9): "Remember what the L-rd your G-d did to Miriam, etc." And (Ibid. 27:24): "Cursed be he who smites his friend in secret," which refers to lashon hara. And it is known that all of the "cursings" were preceded by blessings; and they opened with blessing, saying: "Blessed is he who does not smite"— whence we derive that one who is heedful in this is blessed.

And (Shemoth 17:1): "And they journeyed … and they encamped in Refidim," after which it is written (Ibid. 8): "And Amalek came." This is expounded by Chazal as: [Amalek attacked them] because their hand "weakened" ["rafu yedeihem" (like "refidim")] in Torah.

וימסרו מאלפי ישראל . "Thousands of Israelites were handed over, etc." (31,5); Rashi comments that "the Torah here informs you how beloved Israel's leaders were by their charges. As long as Israel had not heard that their leader Moses was about to die, they themselves sometimes assumed such a threatening posture that Moses said to G–d: "They are close to stoning me!" (Exodus 17,4) Now that they had been told that Moses was to die after the punitive expedition against Midian, they refused to undertake that expedition and had to be forced." Why does Rashi include the former statement of Moses "they are about to stone me!," as part of the praise Israel is entitled to?

What is required in addition to remorse, is the forsaking of evil and the performance of good deeds. One needs to hold on to the pillar of Torah which is the banner of true freedom, i.e. freedom from the evil urge. We are capable of performing mighty deeds as long as we embrace Torah with our right hand, paraphrasing the words of Moses describing G–d's mighty deeds: ימינך ה' נאדרי בכח ימינך ה' תרעץ אויב. Our sages (Midrash Hagadol) in commenting on Genesis 27,22: הקול קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, whereas the hands are the hands of Esau," interpret this phrase to mean that as long as the voice is the voice of Jacob, the hands of Esau are powerless against us.

Come and see how great is the power of peace. For in the beginning of the creation of the universe the Holy One Blessed be He employed Himself in the creation of an instrument of peace, as it is written (Bereshith 1:3): "And G-d said: 'Let there be light' — and there was light." And how do we know that light is peace? For it is written (Isaiah 45:7): "He fashions light and creates darkness; He makes peace and creates evil." On this basis, our teachers of blessed memory ruled (Shabbath 23b): "As between a candle for his house and wine for kiddush, to sanctify the Sabbath [if he can afford only one], a candle for his house takes precedence because of the peace of his household." What is more, our sages enacted many ordinances in pursuit of the paths of peace, viz. (Gittin 59a): "They declared the following in pursuit of the paths of peace: 'The Cohein reads first [in the Torah], then the Levite, then the Israelite, because of "the paths of peace."'" An eruv [a halachic enabling device] is placed in an old house, because of "the paths of peace." The pit nearest the irrigation canal is filled first because of "the paths of peace."'" And so is it written (Proverbs 3;17): "Its [Torah's] ways are ways of pleasantness and all of its paths are peace." And thus did our sages of blessed memory say in the aggadah (Bamidbar Rabbah 15:13, Tanchuma Beha'alothecha 11): "There are thirteen things that the Holy One Blessed be He loved, and of all of them, He "doubled" [in profusion of love], only "peace." They [(the thirteen)] are: Cohanim, Levites, Israel, Sanhedrin [the high court], the first-born, the offerings of the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the oil of anointment, the Land of Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple, the kingdom of the house of David, and the silver and the gold. The Cohanim — (Shemoth 28:41): "And they shall be priests unto Me." the Levites (Numbers 3:41): "And I shall take the Levites unto Me." Israel — (Shemoth 19:6): "And you [Israel] shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests." Sanhedrin — (Numbers 11:16): "Gather unto Me seventy men." The first-born — (Shemoth 13:2) "Sanctify unto Me every first-born." The offerings of the tabernacle — (Ibid. 25:2): "And they shall take unto Me an offering." The sacrifices — (Numbers 28:2): "You shall heed to sacrifice unto Me in its appointed time." The oil of anointment — (Shemoth 30:31): "The holy oil of anointment shall this be unto Me for your generations." The Land of Israel — (Ibid. 19:5): "For unto Me is all the land." Jerusalem — (I Kings 11:36): "The city that I have chosen unto Me." The Temple — (I Chronicles 17:12): "He shall build unto Me a habitation." The kingdom of the house of David — (I Samuel 16:1): "For I have seen in his sons a king unto Me." The silver and the gold — (Chaggai 2:8): "Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold." But, of all of these, none was doubled [in profusion of love] but "peace," as it is written (Isaiah 27:5): "Or let him take hold of My strength. He shall make peace unto Me; peace shall he make unto Me." Great is peace, which takes precedence to praise of the Blessed One Himself. For when Yithro came to Moses, immediately (Exodus 18:7): "And each made inquiry of the other's peace," whereas only afterwards (Ibid. 8): "And Moses related to his father-in-law all of the miracles that the Holy One Blessed be He had wrought for Israel." What is more, for all of the mitzvoth that the wicked perform in this world, the Holy One Blessed be He gives them their reward in this world — such as wealth, property, years, honor, and the like — except peace, which He does not give them, as it is written (Isaiah 57:21): "There is no peace, says my G-d, for the wicked." And, what is more, the Holy One Blessed be He gives peace as a reward to the righteous, as it is written (Ibid. 32:17): "And the reward for righteousness shall be peace…" What is more, it is with peace that He draws near to Him converts and penitents, as it is written (Ibid. 57:19): "He creates the utterance of the lips: 'Peace, Peace,' for the far and the near, says the L-rd, and I will heal him." Great is peace, for in regard to all of the journeyings in the desert it is written "And they journeyed and they rested," journeying in strife and resting in strife. But when they came to Mount Sinai, they made one great "resting," as it is written (Shemoth 19:2): "And Israel rested there, before the mountain." (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): "The Holy One Blessed be He said: 'The time has now arrived for Me to give Torah to My children.'" For as long as they are at peace with one another, the Shechinah is among them. And thus is it said (Devarim 33:5): "And He was a King in Yeshurun when the heads of the people were gathered, together with the tribes of Israel." When does the kingdom and the Shechinah of the Blessed One abide in Israel? When they are all gathered together as one. Come and see how great is the power of peace; for it is through the power of peace that the world endures. For thus have our sages of blessed memory said (Avoth 1:18): "On three things does the world stand: on judgment, on truth, and on peace, as it is written (Zechariah 8:16): 'Truth and a judgment of peace shall you judge in your gates.'" What is more, when there is peace among men, there is blessing in their fruits, as it is written (Ibid. 12): "For as the seed of peace, the vine shall give its fruit, and the earth shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give its dew, and I shall bequeath all of these to the remnant of this people." And thus is it written (Psalms 147:14): "He makes peace on your borders and sates you with the fatness of wheat." Our sages have said (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): "Great is peace, for if one erases one letter of G-d's name, he transgresses a negative commandment, as it is written (Devarim 12:3): 'And you shall wipe out their [the idols'] name from that place,' followed by (Ibid. 4): 'You shall not do so to the L-rd your G-d.' Yet to make peace between a man and his wife, the Torah says (Numbers 5:23): 'And the Cohein shall write these curses [containing G-d's name] in a book and erase them into the bitter waters.' The Holy One Blessed be He says: 'Let My name, which was written in holiness, be erased by the waters.'" And Chazal have said further (Vayikrah Rabbah 9:9): "Great is peace, for all of the goodly blessings and consolations that the Holy One Blessed be He convokes upon Israel conclude with "peace." The Shema — "He spreads a canopy of peace." The Amidah — "He makes peace." The priestly blessing — "And He shall repose peace upon you." "Therefore, my sons, be circumspect in this trait — to love peace and to pursue peace. For there is no end to the reward for loving peace and pursuing peace." Until here, the language of Ma'aloth Hamiddoth.

Commandment 424 forbids us to put G–d to the test; the Torah (6,16) writes: לא תנסו את ה' אלוקיכם. What is meant is that one must not make exorbitant demands on G–d to prove Himself, such as demanding miracles from prophets who have rebuked us for our sins and who have previously legitimised themselves as prophets. The Torah quotes an example from the incident at מסה, where the people had demanded proof from Moses that G–d was in their midst (Exodus 17,7). We must not put the onus of proof on a prophet to show that G–d punishes the sinners and rewards the righteous.

בחר לנו אנשים. Rashi sees in the word לנו proof that Moses equated Joshua with himself in this task. The Rabbis deduced from this a rule that a teacher should always be as concerned with the honour of his student as with his own. The honour of someone of equal status to oneself, however, should be placed on a par with the honour of one's teacher. The source for this is found in Numbers 12,11 where Aaron, Moses' older brother, addresses him with the words: בי אדוני, "Please my lord!" The honour of one's teacher should be treated as equivalent to the honour of G–d Himself. We derive this from Numbers 11,28 where Joshua pleads with Moses to kill Eldod and Meydod for prophesying the death of Moses. The words used are: אדוני משה כלאם. Joshua felt that insubordination against his teacher Moses deserved the same penalty as insubordination against G–d Himself. We can now understand why we are taught in Avot 4,1: "Who is truly honoured? He who honours G–d's creatures."

(Ibid. 17:7): "And he called the name of the place Massah and Merivah because of the "quarrel" (riv) of the children of Israel and because of their "proving" (nasotham) the L-rd, saying: 'Is the L-rd in our midst or not?'" This is followed by (8): "And Amalek came and warred, etc." From the juxtaposition of the verses we learn that the sin of Merivah also contributed to bringing Amalek upon them. The same holds true for other idolatries — wherefore one must take great care to avoid merivah (quarreling).

They commenced sinning by considering their personal standing in the community. What concerned them was that Joshua was among those who had been selected to be spies. We know of Joshua that he never moved from the tent of Moses, was his personal valet, etc. (compare Exodus 24,13, and 33,11). The spies reasoned that his inclusion could only be because he would lead Israel in battle to conquer the Holy Land, and that on account of this Moses had also sent him on this mission. G–d had done something similar when He had told Abraham to traverse the land of Canaan (Genesis 13,17), since it would be given to his descendants. Abraham was to be a model for his children, etc. This thought had occurred to the spies only after they had heard Eldad and Meidad prophesy about Moses dying and Joshua leading the Jewish people. This is the reason this portion follows the report of the selection of the seventy elders without an introduction about Israel having requested this mission, as reported in Deuteronomy. Rashi had pointed out already in Exodus 17,14, when G–d instructs Moses to “put it in the ears of Joshua,” that there will be an ongoing war between G–d and Amalaek, but that G–d will wipe out every vestige of Amalek. The reason it was necessary for Joshua to know all this first hand, was a hint to Moses that Joshua would one day become the leader. The eventual mission of the spies was already being prepared at that time.

When G–d said to Moses שלח לך, send for you, it meant that just as G–d's intention had been constructive, so also Moses was guided by constructive ideas when he consented to arrange this mission. The meaning of וישלח אותם על פי ה', means with the consent of G–d, and not because of the demand of the spies or the people. Moses understood part of this allusion, and though he did not foresee how these spies would report individually, he did have a notion of how the horoscope they were born under might influence them. This is why the Torah reports Moses as studying the individual names of these people for clues to their character. This is why the Torah repeats in 13,17: "these are the names of the men whom Moses sent out, etc." The Talmud in Sotah 34, says that we have a tradition that their names reflected their deeds, however, according to Rabbi Yitzchak, only in the case of the prince of Asher סתור בן מיכאל, does the Talmud manage to elaborate. Rabbi Yochanan also provides such a rationale in the case of the prince of Naftali, נחבי בן ופסי, claiming that the name means he hid from G–d, or that he cleverly hid his true intentions. His father's name ופסי is an allusion to פסע, skipping, i.e. reporting G–d's words only out of context, not completely. When Moses began to suspect that possibly these people harbored unworthy thoughts, seeing their names could be so construed, he renamed Hoshea, calling him Joshua, the implication being that G–d should assist him not to adopt the counsel of the other spies (Bamidbar Rabbah 16,9, on 13,16). The reason Moses employed the two-lettered name of G–d in doing so was that it had been employed when describing G–d's struggle against Amalek, at which time Joshua's eventual role had first been hinted at. The reason Caleb was the one who silenced the spies in the middle of their report, was that Joshua was afraid to say עלה נעלה, we can certainly ascend," i.e. conquer the land (13,30), since this might be construed as Joshua's personal ambition to lead the people.

The spies commenced their report very deviously by referring to Amalek, whom they described as inhabiting the South of the land (13,29), thereby hinting at the role promised Joshua at the time he had led the battle against Amalek. What they meant to convey was that since Moses was alive and well, it was clear that the time to attempt to dislodge Amalek had not yet come, since that was to be Joshua's task only after Moses had died. Another reason they did so was that the very name of Amalek conjured up the time Israel had sinned when they had questioned G–d's presence in their midst, as a result of which Amalek had attacked them (see Rashi on Exodus 17,8). By mentioning Amalek they hinted that Israel was too enmeshed in sin to emerge victorious at this time from an encounter with Amalek. Concerning the Canaanites themselves the spies reported that they were אנשי מדות, i.e. people of considerable virtues, as we shall explain. Since G–d had told the people that the conquest of the land would not be on account of Israel's superior virtues, but on account of the inhabitants' moral inferiority, it was clear that the sin of the Emorite which was the precondition of successful battle against them had not yet reached the desired measure (comp. Genesis 15,16, and Deut. 9,5).

Other Rabbis in that Midrash add that the "ox" is a reference to Joseph, that the "donkey" is a reference to Issachar who is described in terms of a patient and hard working donkey in Jacob's blessings in Genesis 49,14. Joshua, a direct descendant of Joseph, would defeat Amalek in battle. The sons of Issachar, steeped in Torah study, know how G–d rules His universe. This is why the emissaries they sent to attend the crowning of King David are referred to as יודעי בינה לעתים, (Chronicles I 12, 33) "who know how to interpret the signs of the times." At that point in history they knew what was required from the people of Israel. The עבד and שפחה may allude to David and Abigail. A Biblical allusion is also cited for this. Thus far the Midrash.

We must remember that though the redemption from Egypt was indeed a great redemption, it was not an ultimate redemption. Such a redemption will occur only in the future when the Messiah comes, at which time the impact of the remaining two letters in G–d's Ineffable Name will also be felt. The fact that during the episode of the Exodus only the first two letters of G–d's Ineffable Name had manifested themselves is alluded to in Exodus 17,16: כי יד על כס י-ה מלחמה לה' בעמלק, which alerts us to the fact that only the first two letters in G–d's Ineffable name carry on the war against Amalek. Our sages have confirmed this when they point to the שירה חדשה, song in the feminine gender, that the Jewish people sung in appreciation of G–d's salvation at that time. This song will be replaced by a שיר חדש, song in the masculine gender, which will be composed and sung by the Jewish people in the future when the final redemption will occur. The redemption from Egypt was rooted in the עולם הנקבות, the "female" world. We read in Jeremiah 31,21 (22) where the prophet speaks about the ultimate redemption, that: ברא השם חדשה בארץ נקבה תסובב גבר, "For the Lord has created something new on earth; a woman courts a man!" This is an allusion to the type of redemption that still awaits us. I have elaborated on this theme in my commentary on the הגדה של פסח. The time of the redemption is the time when all the letters in the Ineffable Name combine and form the dual-faced, male-female Name, i.e. the concept that prevailed at the time the prototype of אדם -who was created male and female combined- was conceived. The prevalent name then was masculine, as is clear from the word אדם as opposed to אדמה.

The Torah provides a strong hint of the perfection of such a future world when it describes Abraham as "standing over the angels under the tree while they ate" (18,8). We read in Kohelet 11,3 מקום שיפול העץ שם יהוא, "wherever the tree will fall, there it remains." [The following is based on the word יהוא meaning יהיה-הו. At least this is the spelling of the word in that verse adopted by Avodah Zara 31. Ed.] In this instance Abraham is described as והוא עומד as opposed to having fallen. We find in Zachariah 14,9: ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד ושמו אחד, "on that day G–d will be One and His name will be One; this is an allusion to a perfect world when G–d's name will be complete, not as in our imperfect world where G–d appears only with half His name as we are told in Exodus 17,16 כי יד על כס י-ה מלחמה לה' בעמלך, "that as long as G–d has to make war against Amalek, a hand is raised against His throne which is described as כס instead of as כסא. Also, His name is only י-ה, instead of י-ה-ו-ה. We have explained that the first two letters in G–d's Ineffable Name represent more of the attribute of Mercy than the last two letters. In the future as described in Zachariah not only will G–d's name be complete, but the last two letters will equal the first two letters. The name will then be as if it were spelled יהיה. This is the real meaning of "on that day G–d and His name will be One."

Although the salvation from Amalek in the days of Mordechai was great, it does not compare to the extent of the salvation in the future when the messianic age will be ushered in. As a result of this future battle between the forces of Amalek and G–d, G–d's name will emerge restored to its full glory, i.e. not י-ה, but י-ה-ו-ה. According to Manot ha-Levi this is the reason that the name of G–d is not mentioned at all in the Megillah. The absence of G–d's name is meant to bring home to us how incomplete the salvation of Purim was compared to what will occur in the future. We have to read פרשת זכור before Purim. This is equivalent to praying for the annihilation of Amalek, reminding ourselves that, all other evidence notwithstanding, the forces of Amalek are still around. One normally is asked to first think about what one hopes to accomplish before launching a project, in this case the final extinction of Amalek.

If we take this Midrash at face value, the meaning of it is that "kicking at the true judge and releasing prisoners," means that the palace guard released the guilty. "Stoning the image of the king," means rebelling against the judge who is called אלוהים by the Torah, and who has been created in the image of G–d. The word אלוהים at the very least means that the judge is the representative of the Ultimate Judge, i.e. G–d Himself, even when the term is applied to a human being. The judge, after all, represents Heavenly Justice. The reason Moses was called איש האלוהים was only because he had been delegated by G–d to be the judge of His people. Moses in turn, had conferred that authority on Joshua, who in due course conferred it on the judges.When Moses had told G–d in Exodus 17,4, עוד מעט וסקלוני, that Israel was almost at the point of stoning him who was G–d's representative, he meant that Israel was about to curse G–d by stoning him (Moses). The word שלטון, ruler, in the Midrash refers to the most distinguished judge.