Parsha Perspectives
Rabbi Z. Sklar
ולא נחם אלקים דרך ארץ פלשתים כי קרוב הוא כי אמר... פן ינחם העם בראתם מלחמה ושבו מצרימה
"G-d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, because it was near. For G-d said, 'Perhaps the people will reconsider when they see war, and they will return to Egypt' (Exodus 13:17).
How many of us have made New Year's resolutions that have long been forgotten? We pledged to go on a diet and finally lose those 20 extra pounds, or resolved to develop a better relationship with our spouse/child/co-worker/friend. Yet, after only a few short days, weeks, or (if we're lucky) months, our resolve is gone. Suddenly, we're back to eating the white flour and fatty foods. We again treat the ones close to us in a manner that is not always ideal. Are we really horrible people who don't want to change? No, we are the victims of habit. To change something intrinsic within ourselves, we need to do something drastic and break free from ingrained practices.
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A Question for the Rabbis By Rabbi Mordechai Becher
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kasher (Hatekufah Hagedolah), was asked if there is an obligation to thank G-d for miracles that He performs for us today (e.g. Six-Day War), and if so, what is the source for this obligation? Rabbi Kasher cites the Torah portion this week, when the Jewish people burst into a song of praise to G-d at the parting of the Red Sea. The verse states, "Then Moses and the Children of Israel sang this song to G-d, and they said, to say" (Exodus 15:1). The Jerusalem Talmud (Sotah 5:6) asks, what is the significance of the words "to say"? The Talmud answers that this teaches us that we should sing a song of praise to G-d not just for this miracle, but for every miracle that G-d performs for the Jews throughout the generations (Korban Haeidah, ad loc). He also quotes the Midrash Rabbah (Exodus 23:12): "They said, to say - that we should tell our children, and our children's children, that they should say before You a song like this, when You do miracles for them." |
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HEY, I never knew that!
By Rabbi Mordechai Becher
"And the Jewish people came out of Egypt armed - חמושים- chamushim."The word chamushim, although usually translated as "armed," is related to the word chamesh - five. Some commentaries say that only one in five Jews left Egypt, while the other four-fifths either died or assimilated (Rashi and Midrash). Targum Yonatan ben Uziel writes that each Jew left with five children. Rabbi Yosef Zundel Misalant combined all the interpretations together to explain that the four-fifths left behind were all adults, but their children did indeed come out of Egypt. Each family of the remaining one-fifth adopted four sets of children, so that each family came out not with five children, but with five sets of children, one of their own, and four adopted. According to Rabbi Yosef Zundel, the meaning of armed is that the Jews were "armed" with the tremendous merit of their kindness towards these children.
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Word of the Week
By Rabbi Mordechai Becher
מן
מן - mahn - manna is the name the Jews in the desert gave to the miraculous bread that descended from heaven. The verse states, "And each man said to his friend, 'It is mahn - מן because they didn't know what it was' " (Exodus 16:15). Targum Onkelos translates mahn as manah - מנא - "what is it?" Rashi understands it to mean "a food ingredient or preparation of food." Rashbam points out that mahn is actually the Egyptian term for "what." (According to Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, the Egyptian is ma nu, which sounds similar to the verse, "Man hu"). Radak (Sefer Hashorashim) relates it to the word manah - מנה, which means "a gift."
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Table Talk After witnessing the crumbling of his empire and the decimation of his people by G-d's plagues, the Torah states that "Pharaoh released the Jews." Upon leaving Egypt, G-d did not direct them in the most direct route to the Promised Land, but rather brought them via a more circuitous route. G-d's reasoning is clearly spelled out in the Torah: the people might see a battle while traveling through the land of the Philistines and regret their hasty departure from Egypt and seek to return there (Exodus 13:17). 1) Pharaoh only let the Jews go because of the terrible plagues G-d wrought, not from any altruistic motives. Why might the Torah credit Pharaoh for having sent the nation out, when clearly it was G-d's Divine hand that caused Pharaoh to release the Jews? 2)The reason given for why G-d took the Jews through a circuitous route is to avoid exposing them to the Philistines who were sure to engage them in battle. G-d could certainly have ensured their safe passage through the land of the Philistines. How then can we understand the explanation given for taking them the long way around? 3) G-d's reasoning is generally not spelled out in the Torah. Why might the Torah deviate here from the norm and specify why G-d chose the roundabout route? |
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