A thought on Parshas B'shalach

"...l'man anas'enu ha'yelech b'torasi im lo..."
"...in order to test them: will they follow My Torah or not..." (16:4)

HaShem explains to Moshe that the challenges which come our way from Above are for a purpose. Will we follow the ways of Torah or will we neglect and forsake them when facing adversity?

The Rambam (Moreh HaNevuchim 2:31, 3:24,32) writes that challenges and struggles are not given to us in order that we act, or react, correctly. The goal is not to provoke behavior on our part, as valuable as that action may seem. Rather, the goal which we should aim for when responding to a challenge is both intellectual and spiritual. HaShem designs our challenges in order that we learn from them, and in order that we grow from them.

The learning which we are expected to accomplish involves our increased understanding of our role in this world and how a Jew must conduct him or herself in times of strife and uncertainty. The spiritual growth is that we should challenge ourselves to accept that no matter what seems to beset us, there is a Divine plan and an appropriate choice for us to make.

At Marah (14:25), the Torah writes that HaShem gave us chok u'mishpat - a statute and a rule. The Rambam explains that these represent those same two levels of focus. Chazal have told us that the "statute" refers to observing the Shabbos. The "rule" refers to following laws of justice.

These are the symbols for the "intellectual learning" expected of us, and the "spiritual growth" as well. Allegiance to integrity and justice of behavior is not just for its own sake. It is in order that we learn that HaShem wants us to set as our cognitive priority the importance of removing evil from the world. The Shabbos is not observed only for its own sake. Rather, Shabbos symbolizes that there is a Divine Presence to whom we have utter allegiance and devotion. This then governs our spiritual priority of living by our faith and our belief.

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"...na'chisa b'chasdecha am zu go'alta nihalta b'uzecha..." (15:13)
"...You guided the nation You redeemed with kindness and led them with power..."

The Rosh presents parallel concepts with a somewhat mystical spin. He notes that Chazal have taught that the universe is founded on three principles: Torah, Service and Kindness. HaShem wants us to adhere to the Torah, to serve only Him, and to bestow charitable and loving acts unto others.

He writes that each of these principles has a Divine basis, alluded to in our verse. "You guided with kindness" refers to acts of gemilus chasadim. "You led with power" refers to Torah, which is called "oz" as we see in Tehillim 29:11. Our verse closes by saying that HaShem guided and led us to "ne'vea kodshecha" - His Holy Shrine. This alludes to the Great Temple in Jerusalem where our highest form of worship was undertaken.

The actions which we undertake in this world have a higher source. They are anchored to the Divine teachings of living according to Torah law, devoting ourselves faithfully to HaShem and emulating His values or attributes by taking care of others and abolishing evil and cruelty.

The Rambam deduces this from HaShem's formal teachings to us. The Rosh deduces this from the Heaven-sent events we witnessed during times of miraculous wonder.

Good Shabbos from Jerusalem, karta d'shufraya. D. Fox

A thought on פרשת בא

"...u'v'kol elohea Mitzraim e'eseh shefatim..."
"...I will make judgements against all of Egypt's gods..." (12:12)

HaShem announces that as the Egyptians are humbled again and again for their oppression of our people, there will be judgements against their gods. Now, obviously, the plural word "gods" represents the fact that they worshipped many idols. What is less clear is the plural word "judgements." It would seem to suffice if HaShem would dispell their illusion that their 'gods' had any power, and that this would be a single act of judgement. What is the word shefatim telling us?

The Rambam (Biur Shemos Kodesh v'Chol) brings three ideas, which cumulatively may explain the use of the word in plural, as well as the significace of the word "gods". The first he brings in the name of Chazal (the source is obscure to us) that the Egyptians reacted to their disasters, in the wake of the plagues, by feeling enraged towards their deities, and they then demolished their "holy places." They lost hope. This was the first level of judgement.

The second idea he brings in the name of the "masters of homiletics" (the source can be found in the Targum Yonasan ben Uziel and in some midrashim) that at some point, the idols and shrines just disintegrated, the wooden ones rotting and the metal ones decaying. This was the second judgement against the Egyptian gods.

The third ideas he attributes to the "Baa'lei Kaballah". The "gods of Egypt" refers to sar shel Mitzrayim, the heavenly representation of Egypt which symbolizes their presence on Earth. In Shomayim, the relative merits and iniquities of the Egyptian people were weighed. They failed the Divine test, and the Heavenly decree came forth that it was time for them to reap the results of their centuries of causing pain to others. This was the third level of judgement.

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The Rosh offers a contrasting thought. We know that our tradition tells us that during the plague of darkness, those Jews who had failed to maintain their Jewish identity and those who had been drawn into the evils and decadence of Egyptian life perished. They disappeared and never made it out of exile. They were not among us during the Exodus.

Now, we also have a tradition that Dasan and Aviram, the two men who were fighting earlier in parshas Shmos, and whom Moshe referred to as rasha, bad, made it out of Egypt. They continued to torment Moshe and to defy his word later in the Bible. One must ask, if they were in fact deemed "bad" and they continue to be a biblical image of rebellious and negative people, how is it that they merited to go out during the Exodus? Why did they not die with the other renegades during the plague of darkness?

The Rosh writes that apparently, they were not "fully evil" (rasha'im g'murim). How so? He explains that despite their misdeeds and their foul play, they never gave up on the idea of redemption. They always accepted that sooner or later, despite the problems in Egypt and despite the suffering, HaShem would come through and fulfill His promised word that the Jews would be redeemed and saved. In the merit of that belief, Dasan and Aviram were not considered "rotten to the core." They deserved to join the Exodus.

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We contrast the Egyptian reaction to suffering, per the Rambam, of giving up on their gods, with the Jewish reaction per the Rosh, of not losing hope and keeping the faith. Perhaps this has helped our people survive through our many trials and exiles. I was in a taxi the other day here in Jerusalem, and as is my custom, I opened up a conversation with the driver, a secular Jew. I asked him if there was any news in the world beyond that of the disasters in Haiti. He responded sadly that yes, there was sad news in the world. I asked him to explain and he said, there was a traffic accident in the south of Israel and four Jewish people were badly hurt. That too felt like world news.

Yesterday the rain was pouring here and today, I asked a modern young Jewish man if he knew today's forecast. "It is going to rain!", he said with a big smile. I asked him if he thought it was going to be as heavy as yesterday's thunderstorms and he said, "That is what we pray for!"

The best times are when we Jews maintain perspective and unity. We care when HaShem takes care of us, whether or not there may be some inconvenience to us. We care when there is sadness among us r'l. But we do not give up or give in. We maintain the firm view that this is HaShem's world and He watches over us, regardless of what seems to be going on. Bless our people.

Good Shabbos from Jerusalem. D. Fox

A thought on Parshas Va'era

A Thought on Parshas Va'era

"...l'man tei'da ki la'HaShem ha'aretz..."
"...so that you will know that the Earth is HaShem's..." (9:29)

As Moshe forewarns Pharaoh of the onset of yet another plague, he patiently explains that a purpose behind these Divine decrees of destruction is that the people understand that this world is HaShem's.

The Rambam (Moreh HaNevuchim 3:29, 54) explains how the appearance of wondrous events, including the plagues which struck the Egyptians, can lead people to understand and accept Divine omnipotence. Many people somehow find it possible to accept that there is Majesty in the universe. They look to the sky and spy planets and stars coursing the heavens. This is a humbling moment for some, since we clearly recognize that there are vast luminary and celestial bodies which are "under control" and operate in an orderly way.

A Power, a Source, a Cause has created and choreographed the heavens and there can be nothing stronger, greater or unitary as the Creator. We cannot begin to control the skies, and can accept that the stars and planets and cosmic forces are under the precise hashgacha which is required for them to exist and to operate.

The appearance of extreme earthly events, moments when the earthly order is altered and the lives of mortal and other creatures are directly impacted, is also wondrous and miraculous, even when the toll is devastating. At those moments, there are those who can understand and accept that there is an event of Divine craft occurring. The wise person concludes that just as the heavens get the Divine directed hashgacha which they require, so does the world below get the directed hashgacha which it requires at that moment, as the earthly order is altered and impacts humanity.

Until that event, the complacency of routine order is present, and there are many who have no cognizance of HaShem. When the world changes, momentarily or for a set interval, that change must be Divinely ordained. It has to be intended and calculated. The same power which orchestrates the events on high is apparent. When HaShem's majesty is manifest on the Earth below. explained Moshe, people must concede that we live in HaShem's world and are but a part of His vast universe.

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The Rosh takes the same concept but illustrates it in reverse. We note that the "magicians" of Egypt seemed to replicate some of the signs and wonders which Moshe had facilitated. After a certain point, however, the magicians gave up and were unable to imitate the Heaven-sent events.

A magician, writes the Rosh, may be able to perform his deceptions and manipulate an object or a person's perception only of the tangible and mundane. The skies and heavens, the higher realm, cannot be accessed by those "arts." The skies and the galaxies, the wind and the climate, are the exclusive messengers of HaShem.

One might conclude that the material world operates on its own power and that HaShem is limited to the cosmic realm. When wondrous signs are brought about in the material world as well as in the skies above, this demonstrates that HaShem is indivisible. HaShem alone empowers all events and circumstances. Human beings are limited and the Earth is HaShem's.

Good Shabbos. D Fox

A thought on Parshas Shmos

A Thought on Parshas Shmos

"...va'yigarshum va'yokam Moshe va'yoshian..."
"...and they chased them away but Moshe got up and saved them..." (2:17)

The incident at the well is intriguing. Fugitive Moshe stopped near a well where the seven daughters of Yisro hoped to water their sheep. Rival shepherds came and chased them away but Moshe protected them and helped the girls tend to their flock.

The Rambam (Moreh HaNevuchim 2:45 and Sanhedrin 2:7) writes that the path to Divine insight and to prophecy begins with a person feeling impelled within himself, on his own, to act with zeal and consciousness in doing what is right and good. "Rescuing the pious from the plot of the wicked, protecting a great person, bestowing positive influence on the many, and being alert to worthy and noble causes through which to actualize one's self constitutes "a heavenly spirit" driving a person to do good. Moshe Rabbeinu displayed this early on when he stopped the Egyptian taskmaster, when he admonished the Jew who struck his friend...even when Moshe was a fugitive and a frightened stranger passing through Midian, he could not tolerate others oppressing the weak. He could not restrain himself from doing what is right."

A person needs to do what is right because it is right. There are situations when we are in the minority or are newcomers or are outnumbered by belligerent others. The value of doing what is right is not, according to the Rambam, a matter of being foolhardy or of needing to "make a point" or of being compulsive and unemotional in behaving according to standard. The spiritual ideal is in one having a perspective that when someone is in trouble or in need then we cannot tolerate the presence of oppression and cruelty. We act with zeal because that constitutes goodness and embodies a Divine-like attribute.

An example of this may be the Talmudic adage (Yevamos 79a) that a Jew can be identified by three qualities: we are compassionate, we are modest and we are kind. There are poskim who write that this is not merely a "nice saying" or an ideal, but is rather a halachic axiom. If a stranger appears and claims to be a Jew but has no evidence to prove it, the local rabbi might put him under "surveillance" and observe how he adapts as he visits the community. A Jew, even a stranger, will not allow an opportunity to do good "slip by." Even though he may be only passing through town, he will do what is right when the need arises.

Many years ago, my family was in Israel for the summer and I was here alone. I still marvel at how a newcomer to the area, a rebbe in one of the yeshivos, met me and although he had just moved in himself in order to take a job at the school, he invited me for a Shabbos meal. I observed to him at the time that this was an illustration of that gemara's essence. He was a stranger in town yet the chance to be machnis orech, to invite a guest, was a chance that he jumped at. That is the path of Enlightenment.

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The Rosh is interested in the grammar in our verse. Va'yigarshum. And they drove them away. While seemingly this refers to the rival shepherds chasing away Yisro's daughters, the word is written in the masculine. Just as the later word va'yoshian "and he saved them" is in the feminine form, our word here should say va'yigarshun. The Rosh writes that his father taught him that the word takes on a very different meaning. It does not mean that "they chased them away" but it means "the well waters were obstructed" (compare Yeshaya 57:20). The shepherds blocked access to the well so that the girls could not use the water.

When Moshe approached the well, the waters rose and spilled over that boundary. Foiled, the shepherds then pursued the girls to harass them but again Moshe arose and fought them off. It was this report - that Moshe did not hesitate to do what was right and that his deeds seemed accompanied by Divine grace and intervention - that convinced Yisro that this was no ordinary man. This was a person who was a descendant of Yakov who was always prepared to do what was right. The "pious spirit" is escorted by Divine providence and those who protect others are protected by HaShem.

With HaShem's help, my next three parsha emails will be sent from Jerusalem. Good Shabbos. D Fox