Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Beshalach Volume 22, No. 16 12 Shevat 5768 January 19, 2008 Sponsored by Irving and Arline Katz on the yahrzeits of grandmother Henia Rachel bat Pinchas a"h (Tu B'Shevat) and mother Fradel bat Yaakov Shalom a"h (19 Shevat) The Marwick family, in memory of Reba Sklaroff a"h Micheline and David Peller in memory of his parents Hinda bat Yisroel Mechel a"h and Efraim Fishel Peller a"h Today's Learning: Eduyot 5:4-5 O.C. 66:0-67:1 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Nedarim 29 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Chagigah 8 In this week's parashah, we read of the miracle of the splitting of the Yam Suf and of the song of praise and thanksgiving that Moshe and Bnei Yisrael sang after they were saved from the Egyptians. A midrash states: "From the day that G-d created man until that day, no one had sung in praise of Him. He created Adam, but Adam did not sing. He saved Avraham from the furnace, but Avraham did not sing, etc." Why, in fact, did the Patriarchs not sing in praise of Hashem when He performed miracles for them? R' Yehoshua Segal Deutsch z"l (rabbi of the Katamon neighborhood of Yerushalayim) explains as follows in the name of R' Yoel Teitelbaum (1888-1979; the Satmar Rav): We read in the haftarah to this parashah, "When the people dedicate themselves [to Him] -- bless Hashem." The Talmud Yerushalmi comments on this verse, "The heads of the nation dedicate themselves to bless Hashem." The word used in the verse and in the Yerushalmi for "dedicate" comes from the root "Nun-dalet-vet," which means to make a voluntary offering. In other words, if the heads of the nation, i.e., the righteous, sing to Hashem, it is a voluntary offering. They have no obligation to sing to Hashem because they have earned whatever good He gives them. In contrast, Bnei Yisrael did not deserve to be saved from the Egyptians. To the contrary, our Sages relate that the angels argued before Hashem, "How are these [Bnei Yisrael] different from these [the Egyptians]? They are all idolators!" Thus, Bnei Yisrael were obligated to sing when they were saved. The question still remains: Why did the Patriarchs not offer voluntary songs of praise (as the Yerushalmi suggests later generations of tzaddikim did)? The answer is that one is not permitted to offer a voluntary prayer or song unless he is capable of doing his subject justice. Precisely because the Patriarchs had a greater appreciation of G-d's awesomeness, they were afraid to attempt to offer a voluntary song. (Haggadah Shel Pesach Kol Yeshuah p. 154) ******** "It was when Pharaoh sent out the people that G-d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines . . . for G-d said, `Perhaps the people will reconsider when they see a war, and they will return to Egypt'." (13:17) How was Hashem's intention fulfilled? Even on the route that they took, Bnei Yisrael were chased by Pharaoh's army and they panicked, just as Hashem had been "concerned" they would! R' Shlomo Goren z"l (1918-1994; first Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces, later Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel) explains: When Pharaoh chased Bnei Yisrael, and Bnei Yisrael cried out in fear, Moshe comforted them (Shmot 14:14), "Hashem shall do battle for you, and you shall remain silent." However, this statement could not have been made if Bnei Yisrael had traveled through the land of the Philistines, on the border of Eretz Yisrael, and panicked at the prospect of war there. Rambam z"l (Hil. Melachim 7:15) writes regarding a milchemet mitzvah / an obligatory war such as the war to conquer Eretz Yisrael that one must trust in Hashem and "take his life in the palm of his hands," and one who does not do so has the blood of his fellow soldiers on his hands. This means that one may not sit back and wait for a miraculous victory in a milchemet mitzvah; rather, one is obligated to actively participate in the war. This, Bnei Yisrael were not yet ready for. (Torat Ha'Shabbat V'ha'moed pp. 148 & 304) ******** "Bnei Yisrael went up from Egypt `chamushim' / armed." (13:18) An anonymous 17th century work (attributed by some to the noted kabbalist R' Binyamin Halevi z"l) states: We are told that the Greco-Syrian king Antiochus outlawed three mitzvot. They were: Rosh Chodesh, circumcision, and Shabbat. The root "chet-mem-shin" is the acronym for these three observances (chodesh, milah, Shabbat). These three mitzvot preserved Bnei Yisrael in their exile in Egypt. Indeed, we read in Bereishit (41:34) that Yosef advised Pharaoh to appoint an individual and "he shall prepare the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance." The word used for "prepare" is "cheemesh," an allusion to Yosef's preparing the way by practicing these mitzvot. The midrash relates that Bnei Yisrael rested on Shabbat in Egypt. And, before the Exodus, Hashem gave Moshe the commandment to observe Rosh Chodesh (Shmot 12:2), a commandment He chose to highlight because Bnei Yisrael were already practicing it. Thus, Bnei Yisrael left Egypt "chamushim" / "armed" with these mitzvot. (Chemdat Hayamim: Chanukah ch.1) ******** "You will bring them and implant them on the mountain of Your heritage, the foundation of Your dwelling-place that You, Hashem, have made -- the Sanctuary, my Master, that Your hands established." (Shmot 15:17) The midrash Eichah Rabbah states: "Had you merited, you would have recited the verse [quoted above]. Now that you have not merited, you recite (Eichah 1:22), "May all their evil come before you." Both of the cited verses contain verbs with the root "tav-bet-aleph" ("bring" and "come"), but surely the midrash is making more than a word play. R' Yaakov Kranz z"l (1747-1805; the Dubno Maggid) explains: The Gemara (Berachot 3a) teaches that when Jews recite the prayer "Yehei shmei rabbah . . . ," G-d shakes his head (so-to-speak) and says, "Fortunate is a king whose children praise him in this manner! Woe to the father who has exiled his children!" This teaches that G-d is "pained" by our exile. If we appreciated this fact, our prayers would be very different than they are. Instead of praying that our exile end because Jews are oppressed around the world, we would pray that G-d redeem us in order to end his own "pain." [Ed. Note: The idea of G-d feeling pain refers to His "disappointment" over the fact that His design for the world has been frustrated by our sins.] This is what the midrash means. If we were worthy, we would pray for the rebuilding of the Bet Hamikdash because that is G-d's plan. Instead, all we pray for is that He see our suffering at the hands of our evil enemies. (Kol Bochim / Voice of Weepers p.126) ******** "He called the place Massah U'merivah, because of the contentiousness of Bnei Yisrael and because of their test of Hashem, saying, `Is Hashem among us or not?'" (Shmot 17:7) The Zohar asks: Were they fools? Did not the simplest maidservant witness a greater revelation at the Yam Suf than even the prophet Yechezkel was destined to see? Did they not see the clouds of glory that surrounded them? How could they even entertain the idea that Hashem was not among them? R' Shlomo Eliassof z"l (early 20th century kabbalist; grandfather of the contemporary halachic authority R' Yosef Shalom Elyashiv shlita) explains that Bnei Yisrael arose not from a spirit of blasphemy but from their fear. "How will we retain the lofty spiritual accomplishments that we have achieved? Is it really possible that Hashem is still among us?" If so, why were they punished for asking this question? (Their punishment -- the attack by Amalek -- is described in the next verse.) Because they would not have asked the question if they did not already feel distanced from Hashem. The fact that they challenged Moshe in the previous verses regarding the availability of water is further evidence of a change in their level of closeness to and trust in Hashem. (Haggadah Shel Pesach R' Elyashiv p.95) ******** Shemittah Much of the land in Israel, even land that is privately controlled or that is farmed by kibbutzim and moshavim, is in fact owned by an organization called the Keren Ha'kayemet L'Yisrael / Jewish National Fund ("JNF"). Many American Jews know the JNF as the organization through which one can plant trees in Israel, a popular form of support for Israel around this time of year, when Tu B'Shevat falls. The question arises: Is land owned by the JNF subject to the laws of shemittah? Why not? R' Yechiel Michel Tikochinski z"l explains the basis for this question as follows: The halachic midrash known as Sifrei teaches that the agricultural laws (terumah, ma'aser, shemittah, etc.) did not take effect when Bnei Yisrael first entered the Land of Canaan. Only after the Land was divided among the tribes and subdivided into family and individual parcels did those laws take effect. There are two ways to understand this midrash. (R' Tikochinski attributes these two competing interpretations to a Jewish Agency official, R' S.Z. Shragai.) One interpretation is that the midrash is simply telling us when the laws took effect, i.e., after the division of the Land was complete. The alternative interpretation is that the midrash is identifying a prerequisite to the application of these laws, i.e., private ownership of land. If the latter interpretation is correct, then land owned by the JNF would not be subject to the laws of shemittah. Also, if the latter interpretation is correct, the shemittah would not apply in Yerushalayim, which was not divided among the Tribes. R' Tikochinski's scholarly discussion of this subject is beyond the scope of this publication. As a practical matter, he concludes that the lands of the JNF and of Yerushalayim are subject to all of the agricultural laws of the Torah.