THE SEVENTH DAY OF PASSOVER

 THE SEVENTH DAY OF PASSOVER, EXODUS 13:17-15:26

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The seventh day of Passover is a festival day and this year it falls on Shabbat. While we would normally read the Shemini Torah portion from the Book of Leviticus, this year we go back to the Book of Exodus starting at 13:17 and ending at 15:26.

Among other things we learn in the Torah portion:

       1. Pharaoh chases after us, and we are trapped at the Sea of Reeds.

       2. The sea is split for us, and we pass through on to dry land.

       3. The pursuing Egyptians are drowned.

       4. The "Song at the Sea" and "Miriam’s Song" are sung by the people upon their deliverance

       5. We are thirsty and the only water that Moshe is able to find is bitter, but Hashem helps him to sweeten the bitter waters

        6. We are given some Torah laws and are tested on them.

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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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 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 becomes a time to stand up and take a 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!

Anyone living outside the Land of Israel, you too should consider  taking the plunge.  Come on home.

It is all part of your journey.

וְיִסָּעוּ is translated as “journey”, meaning traveling from one place to another.  But since the journey turned out to be a long arduous one, and largely on foot, “trek” would have been a better choice.

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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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At 15:22 the Israelites have traveled on in the wilderness for three days without encountering water. We are thirsty.  We complain.  Then we arrive at Marah, where there is water—but bitter water.  With Hashem's help Moses miraculously sweetens the bitter water.

Then directly after, the Torah as part of verse 25 says:

שָׂ֥ם ל֛וֹ חֹ֥ק וּמִשְׁפָּ֖ט וְשָׁ֥ם נִסָּֽהוּ

“There He gave them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them.”

It would appear that prior to the revelation at Mt. Sinai we were give some Torah laws and that we were tested on them.

What laws do you think were given?

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The Haftorah portion for the 7^th day of Passover is from 2 Samuel 22:1-51.  The wording is almost identical to Psalm 18.

It is called the “Song of David”. It is a song of gratitude and praise.  Its major theme is David's unwavering belief that Hashem is his protector, savior, and source of comfort. Whatever successes David may have achieved is all due to Hashem's help.