A Thought On Parshas BeShalach
A Thought On Parshas BeShalach
"...HaShem yimloch l'olam va'ed..."
"...HaShem shall rule for ever..." (14:18)
We have all recited, even yelled out, the words of the above verse. "HaShem will be King forever!" We have seen it phrased in past, present, then in this future tense, as we remember from the prayers of Rosh HaShanna, Yom Kippur and Simchas Torah - HaShem Melech, HaShem Moloch, HaShem Yimloch l'olam va'ed."
The words seem to be a proclamation of His sovereignty and majesty. Our nation called out after witnessing the miracles at the sea, "HaShem shall reign for all of eternity!" Only the G-d of eternity could bring about such wonders!
The Bechor Shor, however, understands the verse quite differently. This verse is not a declaration about what had happened at the Yam Suf. It is a prayer of hopefulness, looking forward rather than retrospectively. As the receding tides signaled our liberation from the slavery of Egypt, it dawned upon our small emerging nation that never would we want to be ruled by a foreign power. Rather, we accepted HaShem as out sole and permanent King!
The verse, explains the Bechor Shor, captured that hope and longing in a wishful prayer - We want only HaShem to rule over us forever! May HaShem Alone always be our King!
Each time that we come to this verse, then, we should consider reciting it as a request rather than as a statement. We want HaShem to remain our Sole and Sovereign King for all time.
Later in the parsha (15:4), when the nation asks for food, HaShem responds that He will "rain down bread from the Heavens." The Bechor Shor takes a related approach with that verse. When our faith seemed to waver, as if we had begun losing sight of our earlier plea that HaShem be our only King, the miracle of "bread from the Heavens" was in order to help us regain that feeling and longing.
Keeping the manna in the Heavens was a means of prompting us to once again turn to Him expectantly, acknowledging that only He is the source of all things, always. That prompt was a means of helping us recapture the earlier avowal that we seek HaShem Alone. Always.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
"...HaShem yimloch l'olam va'ed..."
"...HaShem shall rule for ever..." (14:18)
We have all recited, even yelled out, the words of the above verse. "HaShem will be King forever!" We have seen it phrased in past, present, then in this future tense, as we remember from the prayers of Rosh HaShanna, Yom Kippur and Simchas Torah - HaShem Melech, HaShem Moloch, HaShem Yimloch l'olam va'ed."
The words seem to be a proclamation of His sovereignty and majesty. Our nation called out after witnessing the miracles at the sea, "HaShem shall reign for all of eternity!" Only the G-d of eternity could bring about such wonders!
The Bechor Shor, however, understands the verse quite differently. This verse is not a declaration about what had happened at the Yam Suf. It is a prayer of hopefulness, looking forward rather than retrospectively. As the receding tides signaled our liberation from the slavery of Egypt, it dawned upon our small emerging nation that never would we want to be ruled by a foreign power. Rather, we accepted HaShem as out sole and permanent King!
The verse, explains the Bechor Shor, captured that hope and longing in a wishful prayer - We want only HaShem to rule over us forever! May HaShem Alone always be our King!
Each time that we come to this verse, then, we should consider reciting it as a request rather than as a statement. We want HaShem to remain our Sole and Sovereign King for all time.
Later in the parsha (15:4), when the nation asks for food, HaShem responds that He will "rain down bread from the Heavens." The Bechor Shor takes a related approach with that verse. When our faith seemed to waver, as if we had begun losing sight of our earlier plea that HaShem be our only King, the miracle of "bread from the Heavens" was in order to help us regain that feeling and longing.
Keeping the manna in the Heavens was a means of prompting us to once again turn to Him expectantly, acknowledging that only He is the source of all things, always. That prompt was a means of helping us recapture the earlier avowal that we seek HaShem Alone. Always.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 8:09 PM
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