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Tuesday, February 4, 2020

QUESTIONS FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE PARSHAT BESHALACH, EXODUS 13:17-17:16


QUESTIONS FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE
PARSHAT BESHALACH, EXODUS 13:17-17:16


In this week’s Torah reading we learn about Miriam, Deborah and Jael, three heroic Jewish women, and role models for us all.
In the Parsha at 15:20-21 we find Miriam, leading all the Jewish women:
וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן, אֶת-הַתֹּף--בְּיָדָהּ; וַתֵּצֶאןָ כָל-הַנָּשִׁים אַחֲרֶיהָ, 
"And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbral in her hand; and all the women went out following her…”
Miriam is a prophet; as such she does the will of God.  Like her two brothers, Miriam is also a leader.  All the women follow her.  In the Haftorah portion from the Book of Judges (4:4 - 5:31) we learn about Deborah, a Prophet, a Judge and a military leader.  As for Jael: The commander of the Canaanite army has fled the field of battle and is in need of a place to rest and to hide.  He comes to the tent of Jael.  At her own peril Jael kills him.
In Israel today, there is no shortage of equally capable women, B”H.



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 mean strengthen.

And if "heart" refers to the intellect, then Hashem is causing Pharaoh to mentally focus on losing millions of his slaves who for 100's of years have supported the Egyptian economy, and are now leaving with the wealth of Egypt.

For an instant, Hashem's metaphysical ability to act outside of nature is pushed back into a corner.  Pharaoh wants to take back his “property” which he believes belongs to him.  I think a comeuppance is in order; don’t you?


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 would say that as individuals and as a nation we were acquiring a spiritual, national soul.  We were 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 “Hashem says to Moshe:  Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel and let them journey”.
 וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, מַה-תִּצְעַק אֵלָי; דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיִסָּעוּ.  

And so we took the plunge!
Shabbat Shalom!



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