Comentários de Citação sobre Números 15:41

בין ויאמר לאמת ויציב לא יפסיק – As it is written, “But the LORD is truly God.” (Jeremiah 10:10). Therefore, we do not interrupt between [the words] “I the LORD your God” (Numbers 15:41) and “truth” and this is the Halakha.

However, if he is able to rise above human nature and becomes an Israelite through whom God, may He be blessed, becomes glorified, His Providence in return transcends the nature of the world, and [He] will cause His glorious arm to march at his right hand.¹⁹See Isa. 63:12, “Who made His glorious arm march at the right hand of Moshe.” This matter is further elaborated in my compilation, Ha’amek Davar, on the Torah passage of Yisro,²⁰See Ex. 19:4–6: “You have seen what I did to Egypt, and that I have borne you on the wings of eagles and brought you to Me. And now, if you hearken well to Me and observe My covenant, you shall be to Me the most beloved treasure of all peoples, for Mine is the entire world. You shall be to Me a kingdom of ministers and a holy nation.” To paraphrase the Netziv’s interpretation of these verses: “You have seen what I have done to Egypt for your sake, and how I have sustained you in a manner that transcends nature. From now on, Divine Providence will be in accordance with your acts. If you study the Torah well and serve Me, you will merit these rewards. From now on, the nations of the world can only achieve this spiritual goal if they join the Jewish nation, a beloved treasure collected of all different peoples who dwell upon My earth. If you serve me properly, Divine Providence will govern as a kingdom of ministers, in a favorable manner consistent with nature. However, if you perform the mitzvos for the sake of Heaven, you will be treated as a holy and distinctive nation in which Divine Providence shall manifest in a manner that transcends nature.” where I explain that God communicated this concept to Israel at the gathering [around Mount Sinai] prior to the giving of the Torah, with Moshe reiterating this at the giving of the Second Tablets. I also discussed these two ways of performing the Commandments and their respective ways of Providence on the Torah portion dealing with tzitzis [fringes], read daily [in the shema].²¹The Netziv writes in Num. 15:38–41 that the azure threads of the tzitzis represent the Divine Throne, while the white ones represent man’s involvement in the world. Some Jews are similar to the white threads, being constantly involved in worldly affairs, while those who are immersed in the Torah and in spiritual affairs are represented by the purple threads. We read the shema daily in order to understand that regardless of whether we comprise the Merkavah de-Shechinah or are immersed in day-to-day affairs, we cannot ignore the daily performance of mitzvos and we must perform them at their proper time, even if they appear to interrupt our financial or spiritual growth. Verse 41 states: “I am the Lord your God Who took you from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.” The phrase “I am the Lord your God” is repeated twice to represent the two forms of Divine Providence: once for those who are involved in worldly affairs, is to perform the mitzvos that they received upon leaving Egypt, and again for those who are the Merkava de-Shechina, who existed both before and after the exodus from Egypt. This subject is quite involved and it will be explained there [in Ha’amek Davar] as God decrees that it should be so, and may He assist me in that task. [However, I am not delving into this concept of Providence] here, I am only touching on this subject to clarify and answer the question at hand.

In the morning they chanted the shirah and that was the seventh day of Pesach. . . You might ask: Did not Rashi say in Bamidbar 15:41 that they chanted the shirah on the eighth day? The answer is: [It is the eighth day] if you count from Erev Pesach, which is when the korbon Pesach was slaughtered and its blood sprinkled on the lintel and doorposts. [True,] Erev Pesach is not a complete day, for the night had already passed before the slaughtering, and is not counted with the day. Nevertheless, it is considered a full day regarding sacrifices. This is because for sacrifices, the night following is considered part of the day. So when counting from the day of slaughtering, the seventh day of Pesach is actually the eighth day. In Bamidbar, Rashi is counting from the day of slaughtering, and here he is not. But Re”m explains: Perhaps R. Moshe Hadarshan, who said it was the eighth day, disagrees with the Aggadah [cited here] which says they chanted the shirah on the seventh day.