BESHALACH 13:17-17:16
This week's Parshah is Beshalach.
Among other things we learn:
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Pharaoh chases after us, and we are trapped at the Sea of
Reeds.
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The sea is split and we pass on through.
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Songs of praise and gratitude are sung.
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Moshe sweetens the bitter waters; we get manna; we get
quail.
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We rest on Shabbat.
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Moshe produces water by striking a rock.
- · Someone forgot to post a rearguard and we are attacked by the Amalekites.
In Parshat Beshalach Hashem
says (14:4): "And I will harden
Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them".
וְחִזַּקְתִּ֣י אֶת־לֵֽב־פַּרְעֹה֘ וְרָדַ֣ף אַֽחֲרֵיהֶם֒
Instead of "harden" substitute the word "strengthen" because the root of ְחִזַּקְתִּ֣י is חַזֵק which means strengthen.
And if "heart" means the intellect, then Hashem is causing Pharaoh to mentally focus on losing million of his slaves who for 100's of years have supported the Egyptian economy and are now leaving with the wealth of Egypt.
Slaves are property; they are
things, not human beings. And Pharaoh wants to take back his “property” which he believes belongs to him. It could be that this system of national
servitude started 100’s of years before, during the famine years. This was the time when starving Egyptians sold
everything they had in order to buy grain from Pharaoh. Perhaps, some sold themselves into
slavery.
Did Joseph have a role in
this?
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This Wednesday evening we celebrate Tu B’Shevat. Tu B’Shevat is the time that helped Jewish farmers establish exactly when they should bring their fourth-year produce of fruit from recently planted trees to the Temple as first-fruit offerings.
The Kabbalists in 16th century Tzfat gave a prominent place to almonds in their Tu B’Shevat seder. Almond trees were believed to be the first of all trees in Israel to blossom. Carob, also known as bokser or St. John’s bread, is another popular fruit to eat on Tu B’Shevat. Carob could survive the long trip from Israel to Jewish communities in Europe where its popularity began. It is still true today. “Bokser” comes from the German Bockshornbaum, which means “ram’s horn tree.” Bokser is a seed pod that resembles a dark horn. It is a favorite of mine.
Once, many years ago I had reason to visit a coal mining operation in Harlan County, Kentucky. For this visit I stayed at a Holiday Inn in nearby Middlesboro and bought my food at the local Kroger’s super market. While making my selections I was amazed to see a bunch of bokser and I purchased a handful. The clerk at the check-out wanted to know what this strange looking item was and I filled her in. This part of Kentucky was not what one would call “Jew-Acres”. You would have to travel hours to Louisville or Lexington to find a substantial Jewish population. For me finding bokser in Middleboro served as a reminder that Hashem was looking out for me, no matter where events would take me.
Reb Yitz has commented on the various characteristics of fruits that are
eaten on Tu B’Shevat. He prefaced his remarks by saying that the
Kabbalists of Tzfat envisioned four (or more) spiritual worlds. The four
lowest worlds in descending order are: Atzilut, Beriah,
Yetzirah and Asiyah.
These four
worlds are spiritual domains, Heavenly realms in a descending chain. The lowest
world, Asiyah, is both physical and spiritual. The terms
"higher" and "lower" are metaphors for closer and further
from the Infinite Divine.
Atzilut is the
world of Emanation. Because Atzilut is close to the Infinite,
it is far removed from any realm of impurity. Atzilut is represented by
those fruits which are wholly edible such as figs and berries.
Beriah, the world
of Creation is lower down, is a lesser level of purity, and is
represented by those fruits of which all is eaten except for a pit on the
inside such as dates.
Yetzirah, the world
of Formation, is yet further down, the realm of angels. It is
represented by fruits that have a hard shell, but a soft center such as nuts.
Asiyah, the world
of Action is the realm that we experience, in which evil
exerts a powerful attraction. It is represented by those fruits which are
enclosed in a totally inedible shell and have a pit in the center, such as an
avocado.
These four
worlds are represented in the holy letters yud-kay-vav-kay and the ten
sephirot, which are the attributes of Hashem.
On this Wednesday evening, enjoy a festive celebration that can take you out of this world.
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In Parshat Beshalach we are entering into a new phase for the Jewish people. We are on our way to becoming a tribal nation. We are becoming conscious of our autonomy, unity, and our exclusive attachment to Hashem, the one God. I think Rav Kook some would say that as individuals and as a nation we are acquiring a spiritual, national soul. We are already in possession of a rich legacy of memories and hopefully the desire to live together.
But in order to be truly free, there is a time to stand up and take that first step:
Trapped at the Sea of Reeds, with the Egyptian Calvary breathing down our necks, Hashem orders us to stand up for ourselves, and go forward. This is a lesson for Jews for all time and all places.
At 14:15:
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, מַה-תִּצְעַק אֵלָי; דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיִסָּעוּ.
“Hashem says to Moshe: Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel and let them journey”.
And
so we took the plunge!
In the Parshah at 15:20-21 we find Miriam,
leading all the Jewish women:
וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן,
אֶת-הַתֹּף--בְּיָדָהּ; וַתֵּצֶאןָ כָל-הַנָּשִׁים אַחֲרֶיהָ, בְּתֻפִּים
וּבִמְחֹלֹת.
"And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbral in her hand; and all the women went out following her with timbrals and with dances."
Is there some significance to the verse “and
all the women went out following her…” in the sense of emphasizing that
all the Jewish women went out from Egypt...that is leaving idolatry behind, but
maybe not all the men doing so?
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THE REASON WHY JERUSALEM WAS DESTROYED
When we were slaves in Egypt, Hashem heard our cry and
started a lengthy process whereby Pharaoh would release his Hebrew slaves from
slavery. And it worked!
However, a thousand years later when the Babylonians were
breathing down our neck, we were asked by Hashem to free our Hebrew
slaves. We went into Hashem’s House, His
Temple, the Bais HaMikdash and pledged before Him that we would give our Hebrew
slaves their freedom. Then, fools that we
were, we reneged on our promise. What do
you then think Hashem said and did? (Jeremiah 34:8-17):
“Therefore, so says the Lord: You have not listened
to Me to proclaim freedom, everyone to his brother and everyone to his
neighbor; behold I proclaim freedom to you, says the Lord, to the sword, to the
pestilence, and to the famine, and I will make you an object of horror to all
the kingdoms of the earth.”
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On January 27th International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel is a on day on which government officials, diplomats and ambassadors visit Yad Vashem. Every year, as part of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs presents the annual report on antisemitism before the Israeli government. The report reviews the main trends and incidents of the last year, in terms of antisemitism and combating antisemitism.
Any guesses regarding the past year’s
scorecard?
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The Haftarah portion comes from the
Book of Judges, Chapters 4 and 5. It is
the story of Deborah. She is the only woman
called a Judge, שופטת and also the only Judge to be called a
Prophet. For the most part a Judge was a
military leader. Judges were chosen by
God to rescue the people of Israel from their enemies and to establish justice.
As per 4:5, Deborah also settled
disputes:
וַיַּעֲלוּ אֵלֶיהָ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, לַמִּשְׁפָּט
“And the children of Israel went up to her for judgment”.
Deborah is described as אֵשֶׁת לַפִּידוֹת, translated as a “woman of torches” or a “fiery woman” or if you are a misogynist and cannot stomach having a woman with an independent value of her own then make her “a wife of a man named Lapidot”. This is the take of someone none other than Rashi.
Deborah is a case in point of how a woman is often treated in male dominated society. Instead of praising her prowess in co-commanding 10,000 warriors from the Tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun, a Midrash relegates the fiery Deborah to making candle wicks for the Sanctuary in Shilo.
I prefer to see this amazing
woman as a catalyst an enabler for Barak her partner in destroying Israel’s
enemies. She lit his fire.
Deborah sings a song regarding the heroics of Yael who slays Sisera. As to Yael: She is not an Israelite. Yael is a Kenite. They live in the south of Canaan. Her husband Heber, who is not at home, is an ally of the northern Canaanites. Because the Israelites give chase to the Canaanites who are fleeing northward, Sisera is able to cover his escape by fleeing southward seeking shelter in the tent of an ally, and well out of the fray. Why Yael murders him is another question: what was in it for her?
It is interesting to note that
the Israelites were low tech, no chariots for them in this tale or for that
matter in the Book of Joshua at Chapter 11.
Joshua not only burns captured chariots, but cripples all the
captured horses. Is the lesson here not to put your trust in horses, and not to
ascribe victory to your own strength,
but wholly to God, whose power alone enables you to subdue your enemy?
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