Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Beshalach: Can You See Me? Volume XVIII, No. 16 15 Shevat 5764 February 7, 2004 Sponsored by Irving and Arline Katz on the forthcoming marriage of Meir Belsh to Aliza Saltzman and on the yahrzeits of grandmother Henia Rachel bat Pinchas a"h (Tu B'Shevat), mother Fradel bat Yaakov Shalom a"h (19 Shevat), and father Chaim Eliezer ben Avigdor Moshe Hakohen a"h (21 Shevat) The Marwick family, in memory of Reba Sklaroff a"h Micheline and David Peller in memory of David's parents a"h Today's Learning: Parah 3:6-7 O.C. 160:10-12 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Chullin 15 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Ketubot 2 One highlight of this week's parashah is the splitting of the Yam Suf / Red (or Reed) Sea. In the psalm "Hodu la'Hashem ki tov" (Tehilim 136) which we recite every Shabbat and at the Pesach Seder, we read (verse 13), "[Give praise] to Him, Who divided the Yam Suf into parts." Why "parts" (plural)? We are taught in Pirkei Avot that Hashem performed ten miracles for our ancestors at the Yam Suf. One of these was that He split the sea into twelve channels, one for each tribe. However, lest each tribe think that only it was being saved, Hashem made the walls between the twelve channels transparent like glass so that the tribes could see each other passing through the sea alongside themselves. R' Yosef Gruenwald z"l (the Pupa Rav; died 1984) writes: The Magen Avraham (O.C. ch. 68) quotes the Kabbalists who teach that there are twelve "gates" in Heaven and each tribe's prayer passes through a different gate. If each of us knew from which tribe he was descended, he would recite the nussach / version of the prayers that corresponded to his tribe and his gate. Perhaps, suggests R' Gruenwald, this is alluded to by the fact that each tribe had its own path through the sea and out of Egypt. Nevertheless, R' Gruenwald cautions, we must remember that the walls between the paths were transparent. True, every person must stick to the path in the service of Hashem that is his particular tradition, but he must recognize that his is not the only legitimate path. There are other paths that lead to the same destination. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Va'yechi Yosef p. 277) ******** "Hashem went before them . . ." (13:21) R' Uri Feivel of Krystynopol z"l (died between 1804 and 1808) observes that the trop on the word "Hashem" is a "pazzer." This alludes to Chazal's teaching that the Shechinah goes into exile with the Jewish People, which is called (Yirmiyah 50:17), "Seh pezurah" / "a scattered sheep." Now, when the "seh pezurah" left Egypt, the Shechinah left with it. (Ohr Ha'chochmah) ******** "Bnei Yisrael went up from Egypt `chamushim'." (13:18) The midrash explains that the word `chamushim' comes from the root "chamesh" / "five." Only one-fifth (some say 1/500 or 1/5,000) of Bnei Yisrael left Egypt. Those who were rich and did not want to leave died during the plague of darkness. Another midrash says, "Why did Hashem appear to Moshe from a thornbush? Because just as the thornbush is the toughest of all trees, so the enslavement in Egypt was the toughest of all exiles." R' Yitzchak Arieli z"l (author of Einayim La'mishpat) observes: It would seem from these sources that only a small fraction of Bnei Yisrael were enslaved in Egypt. However, for those who were enslaved, the enslavement was bitter indeed. Those who led a good life in Egypt did not want to leave, and, therefore, they did not merit to leave. Those who suffered in Egypt and did want to leave, merited to leave. Even Datan and Aviram who had tried to get Moshe killed - after they lost their wealth [see Rashi to 4:19] and felt the pain of the exile, they wanted to leave and so they merited to leave. And so it is with every exile - those who want to be redeemed merit to return to Eretz Yisrael. (Midrash Ariel) ******** "The sea returned le'aitano / to its strength . . ." (14:27) Reversing the letters of "le'aitano" to spell "le'tenao," our Sages comment that the sea was carrying out the stipulation (tenai) that G-d had made with it at the time of creation: "When the Jewish people appear before you at the time of the Exodus, you will have to split for them." The Gemara (Pesachim 118a) teaches: "Man's sustenance is as difficult as the dividing of the Red Sea." What does this mean? Was it difficult for Hashem to split the sea? R' Yisrael Friedman z"l (1797-1850; the Rizhiner Rebbe) explains: When Bnei Yisrael left Egypt, their souls polluted by the hardships of slavery, the sea refused to split for them. It said, "The souls that were shown to me at the time of creation were radiant. These are not the souls for which I agreed to divide." G-d therefore had to order the sea to keep its promise. This was the "difficulty" that He encountered. Similarly, when man's soul descends to this world, its sustenance descends with it. Heaven shows the soul to the sustenance and says, "You belong to this soul." However, once on this earth, the soul sullies itself until the sustenance no longer recognizes it. The sustenance says, "This is not the soul that was shown to me." Again, therefore, force is necessary to bond the two together. (Quoted in The House of Rizhin p.211) ******** "This is my G-d and I will glorify Him; the G-d of my father and I will exalt Him." (15:2) Rashi comments: "I am not the beginning of holiness; rather, holiness and His Godliness are firmly established upon me from the days of my forefathers." R' Joseph B. Soloveitchik z"l explains: Every Jew has two types of holiness within him - one from being born a Jew, and the other through his own acceptance of G-d. This is why the Gemara says, on the one hand (Sanhedrin 44a), "A Jew, is still a Jew even after he has sinned," but, on the other hand (Chullin 5a), "An apostate has the legal status of a non-Jew." Due to the apostate's inheritance from the Patriarchs, he always remains a Jew; however, he loses his personal holiness. (Quoted in Nefesh Harav p.282) ******** "There He established for [the nation] a decree and an ordinance." (15:25) Rashi explains that in this place, called "Marah," Hashem commanded Bnei Yisrael regarding some of the mitzvot. Why? R' Eliezer Friedman shlita (of Montreal) answers: When a person is lacking in spirituality, all the riches in the world will not bring him lasting happiness. Marah took its name from the fact that the water there was bitter. Imagine! Bnei Yisrael had just gathered the riches which washed ashore at the Yam Suf / Red Sea, and they should have been on top of the world. If they were so unhappy with their lot that they could complain about the taste of the water, this was a sure sign that they needed the Torah. (Emunat Yirmiyahu) ******** Letters from Our Sages This week's letter was written by R' Yitzchak Hutner z"l (1904-1980; Rosh Yeshiva of Mesivta Chaim Berlin in Brooklyn) in response to a former student. The correspondent apparently had bemoaned the fact that he faced spiritual struggles; as quoted by R' Hutner, he had written: "I will never forget the desire that I once had to succeed and to climb 'from strength to strength,' but now, my hope is lost." This letter appears in Pachad Yitzchak: Igrot U'ketavim (No. 128). Your letter reached my hand, and your words touched my heart. Know, my friend, that your very letter belies the descriptions that it contains. Now, let me explain this statement. It is a terrible problem that when we discuss the greatness of our gedolim, we actually deal only with the end of their stories. We tell about their perfection, but we omit any mention of the inner battles which raged in their souls. The impression one gets is that they were created with their full stature. For example, everyone is impressed by the purity of the Chafetz Chaim's speech. [Ed. note: The Chafetz Chaim led an assault against lashon hara and is held up as the model of how a Jew should speak.] However, who knows about all the wars, the battles, the impediments, the downfalls, and the retreats that the Chafetz Chaim experienced in his fight with the evil inclination?! As a result [of this gap in our knowledge of gedolim], when a young man who is imbued with a [holy] spirit and with ambition experiences impediments and downfalls, he believes that he is not planted in the house of Hashem. This is because this young man thinks that being planted in Hashem's house means experiencing tranquility of the soul "in lush meadows beside tranquil waters" [Tehilim 23:2]. However, know my friend, that the key for your soul is not the tranquility of the yetzer hatov, but the war against the yetzer hara. Your letter testifies that you are a faithful warrior in the army of the yetzer hatov. In English there is a saying, "Lose the battle and win the war." You surely have stumbled and will stumble again, and you will be vanquished in many battles. However, I promise you that after you have lost those battles, you will emerge from the war with a victor's wreath on your head. The wisest of all men [King Shlomo] said [Mishlei 24:16], "The tzaddik will fall seven times and will rise." The unlearned think that this means, "Even though a tzaddik falls seven times, he will rise." The wise know well that the meaning is: "Because a tzaddik falls seven times, he will rise." On the verse [Bereishit 1:31], "And Elokim saw all that He had made and it was very good," the midrash comments, "'Good' refers to the yetzer hatov; 'Very good' refers to the yetzer hara." [In line with this midrash, R' Hutner continues:] If you had written to me of your mitzvot and good deeds, I would have said that it was a good letter. Now that you tell me of your falls and stumbles, I say that I have received a very good letter from you. Please, don't picture to yourself that a gadol and his yetzer hatov are one and the same; rather, imagine the gedolim at war with all types of base tendencies . . . I have seen fit to write these words to you so that you can refer to them from time to time. Regarding specific details, it is preferable to speak face-to-face. You are one who is planted in Hashem's house! Sharing in your suffering, Confident that you will prevail, Praying for your success, [Signed] Yitzchak Hutner. P.S. [From R' Hutner] Now you understand the opening sentence of the letter, i.e., that your very letter belies the description that it contains.