Thursday, January 29, 2015

A Thought on Parshas Beshalach

"...va'ya'aminu ba'HaShem u'v'Moshe avdo..." "...and they believed in HaShem and in His servant Moshe..." (14:31) Our verse is a familiar one. We recite it daily near the close of our pesukei d'zimrah as we prepare to chant the Az Yashir itself. The idea of the Jewish people believing now in HaShem is an important one. Some of the commentaries address how it is that the Torah tells us this now, in that we would assume that the nation had believed in HaShem long before this moment, too. The second clause of our verse, however, is the more puzzling one. We can understand that the Jewish people, upon seeing the miracles at the Sea and the manner in which our enemies were vanquished, now had a vivid "confirmation" that Moshe had been right all along with his prophetic assurances that all would turn out well for them. His word had come true, so we can understand that they now "believed" in Moshe. What is puzzling nonetheless is the coupling of the two clauses. It is one thing to believe in HaShem. It is a separate thing to "believe" in a human being. These are different levels, different forms, of trust and belief. What is the message here? I might have written "the people's trust in Moshe was now strengthened. The people's belief in HaShem's miraculous dominion was now reinforced." By putting them into one verse as a single thought, it does seem that we are mixing confidence in Moshe's word with faith in HaShem's power to fulfill that word. What is the intended meaning of the verse, and the true link between the two clauses? The Gan offers an original perspective. He writes that the belief in HaShem is clearly and simply belief in HaShem alone. The "belief in Moshe" which follows means that they now believed that Moshe was HaShem's faithful servant. They now were secure in their understanding that all that Moshe did and all that Moshe had been telling the people was done in the service of HaShem, and that Moshe had all along been faithfully following exactly what HaShem had commanded him to say and to do. The verse does not say "va'ya'aminu ba'HaShem u'v'Moshe." It says that they believed in HaShem and in "Moshe avdo." It is meant to be understood as saying "and they believed in G-d and believed now that Moshe was HaShem's servant and messenger." As every thing fell into place at the shore of the Sea, they then recognized that everything that Moshe had heralded and promised had materialized, signifying that their leader Moshe was indeed a malach acting and speaking on behalf of HaShem Who had sent Him. Good Shabbos. D Fox

Friday, January 23, 2015

A Thought on Parshas Bo

"...choshech afeila...shloshes yamim...shloshes yamim..." "...intense darkness...for three days...three days..." (10:22-23) Our verses depict the six day duration of the plague of darkness. Earlier on (7:25) Rashi informed us that each of the ten plagues lasted "a quarter of a month" i.e. one week or seven days duration, based on the verse's clause "and it was a full seven days." The Gan poses the obvious question from our verses. If we read the words here, it seems clear that the darkness lasted a total of no more than six days. How can Rashi opine that "all" of the plagues endured for a week, if the darkness only occurred for six days? The Gan cites a discussion that he had with "HaRav Natronai, son of my uncle Rav Yaakov the sainted martyr (haKadosh zecher tzadik l'vracha) who told him that he found a midrash. Therein, Rav Levi asks "what happened to the seventh day?" The answer given was that although the darkness was formed for a seven day interval, the final day was put on hold until our fleeing nation reached the Yam Suf. In 14:2, which we will read next week iy"H, we learn that "there were clouds and darkness and light shining in the night" at the Sea. The Gan references the Targum on that verse which says "the people of Israel were given light to brighten the night and the Egyptians were enshrouded with thick darkness." That darkness at the Sea was none other than the residual choshech which had earlier cloaked the Egyptians, while the Jewish people were unaffected by that plague, and enjoyed the shining light which had filled all of their dwellings. Thus, each plague was created to be in effect for seven days. The last day of darkness, however, was introduced at a later point in time.(It occurs to me that this may fortify the words of the Pesach Hagadah which talks about the plagues of Egypt that proliferated at the Yam Suf. According to this midrashic thought shared by the Gan, the plague of darkness was introduced in Egypt and was later activated at the Sea). Wishing you all a good Shabbos. D Fox

Thursday, January 15, 2015

A Thought on Parshas Va'era

"...HaShem HaTzadik..." "...G-d is Just..." (9:27) HaShem has been very patient with Pharaoh and the Egyptians. He has had Moshe alert them about impending plagues. He has stopped the plagues when they have claimed that they cannot handle anymore, and when they have pledged to allow their Jewish slaves to go free. HaShem has watched them renege time and again on their promises. What happens here, in our verse, that leads Pharaoh to proclaim that he now concedes that HaShem is just and righteous? This is the same Pharaoh who has asserted that he does not "know" the G-d of the Hebrews. Now, somehow, Pharaoh has a different take on things. He has suffered the onset of excessive hail, thundering and fiery, smashing trees and devastating crops and striking people and livestock. He hales Moshe and Aaron and acknowledges that he and his people have been wrong, and that HaShem is the Tzadik! That is quite a leap he takes, conferring this title onto the same HaShem he had not known. The Gan writes that the key here is an earlier verse. Prior to the onset of this plague, Moshe was told by HaShem to alert the Egyptians to round up their cattle and shelter them, as a means of saving those animals. The Egyptians disregarded this, and in large part, they stood by as the fire and hail put an end to their ranches and livestock. This is what impressed Pharaoh. He now realized that HaShem had truly wanted to minimize the impact of the impending plague. Had they protected their animals, the effect of the hail would not have been as costly and damaging. This was the workings of "a Tzadik", one who seeks to do what is necessary but not to exceed boundaries and limits. This is the momentary insight which Pharaoh formulated, and he declared this. "HaShem is indeed Just and had tried to spare us from further loss." The Gan adds that there is a similar theme in next week's parsha: prior to the onset of the plague of locusts, the Egyptians were again warned that this danger was imminent. They could have taken preemptive steps to protect their possessions, but again ignored that helpful information. Only later, amidst the destruction, did Pharaoh recognize this, declaring "I have sinned against you and against HaShem" (10:16). This meant, says the Gan, "you tried to be kind by forewarning me, and I did not reciprocate that kindness". At times, it is only after-the-fact that we have the clarity of seeing the many loving signs that HaShem gave us along the way that, had we heeded them, would have made our journey an easier one. HaShem HaTzadik! Good Shabbos. D Fox