The Netivot Shalom on Beshalach

It's been a while since I've posted. I've been sick and traveling, and also slogging through a section of the Talmud that is fairly technical and lacking juicy bits to share here. I'm almost done with that section, though.

I'm giving a short class this weekend at synagogue. Below is my source sheet. It's a commentary by my favorite chassidic source, the Netivot Shalom. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholom_Noach_Berezovsky

For reference, the term 'k'lipa' that I don't translate below literally means 'shell.' It is a mystical term for the negative forces that have a parasitic relationship with the divine sparks that permeate our universe. That's an imperfect definition, but given my very beginner-level of mysticism its the best I can do for now.

Exodus:

“And it happened when Pharaoh sent the nation, and G-d did not lead the nation by the Philistine road because it was close, for He said, ‘Lest the nation feel regret when then see war and return to Egypt.’”

Netivot Shalom on Parshat Beshalach

This is problematic, why does Scripture use the word, ‘And it happened’, which signifies sorrow in a situation of glee and rejoicing. Furthermore the language And it happened when Pharaoh sent the nation is problematic. The matter did not depend on Pharaoh, but rather on the Lord of Creation, for He brought us out of Egypt, as it is written G-d brought them out of Egypt. Furthermore it is necessary to explain G-d did not lead the nation by the Philistine road because it was close, for He said, ‘Lest the nation feel regret when then see war and return to Egypt. Why was it necessary to take a long road because of fear of the nation changing its mind? Is G-d not capable of anything, and thus fully capable of making sure that the people could not change their minds upon seeing war?

We can understand this matter as pertaining to our service of G-d. There are two kinds of wars against the evil inclination. In one case, a Jew implores and pleads G-d for salvation from the evil inclination, and by means of the prayers or his ancestors’ merits the Holy One Praised be G-d helps the person and saves him from the evil inclination. This kind of salvation is limited to an awakening from above, and only works to save a person from that particular situation from the evil inclination. It does nothing to break or humble the evil inclination; the evil inclination remains in the same condition as it was.

Other times, a Jew overcomes the evil inclination through an awakening from below. In such a case, the evil inclination is totally humbled, and its strength is broken. Such a salvation is not limited to the particular situation, but rather is a complete salvation, where the evil inclination is completely subordinated under the person’s power.

Thus And it happened when Pharaoh sent the nation was by means of an awakening from above, as it is said in the Be’er Avraham by our holy teacher of Slonim of blessed memory, that in Egypt the Israelites were in such a low moral state, to the point where from their total lack of spirituality they could not awaken any aspect of divine action. The exodus had no connection to an awakening from below, and thus while they were saved the power of the Egypt-k’lipa was not broken. Thus once again Egypt changed its mind and pursued them, every soldier, horse and chariot of Egypt, for all of the impure strength of Egypt still existed and pursued the Jews to overwhelm them and conquer them. For a redemption that is purely an awakening from above cannot break the k’lipa’s strength, and complete redemption only comes from an awakening from below.

Thus it was the complete purpose of the Divine to bring complete redemption through the splitting of the Sea of Reeds When the Jews jumped into the sea, giving themselves over completely, (mesirat nefesh) the k’lipa was broken with an awakening from below and the Jews achieved complete redemption. This is why the Holy One Praised be G-d arranged that Pharaoh sent the nation, as it is written And it happened when Pharaoh sent the nation with a language of sending/mission. Couldn’t the Holy One Praised be G-d bring the Jews from Egypt against Pharaoh’s will? Why was it necessary to get Pharaoh’s agreement, and to lay waste to all natural order through the Ten Plagues? The reason was that there was still no awakening from below, which completes redemption.

It was G-d’s will to bring the Jews to such a situation where there would be an awakening from below at the splitting of the sea, and thus it was divinely arranged that Pharaoh would think that it was his own idea to send away the nation. As it was Pharaoh’s decision, it was within Pharaoh’s power to change his mind. As it is written in the Midrash (Shemot Raba, 20:2) that the nobles said to Pharaoh, ‘What did you do? If they only had loot, good enough, but how many rich people were among them, how many wise men, how many craftspeople, how many men, women and children!’ At that moment, Pharaoh began to cry out, ‘Oy! Oy!’ Thus it is written And it happened when Pharaoh sent the nation.

All of this was divine will, that the Egyptians thought that they could change their minds and pursue after the Jews to bring them back to Egypt. All of this was to bring the Jews to the splitting of the sea for then the k’lipa of Egypt would be destroyed by the strength of an awakening from below. Thus it is written, ‘Speak to the Children of Israel that they should travel, ‘ that they should jump in the sea, giving themselves over completely.

Until the splitting of the sea, the harsh judgment of Egypt was still fully powerful, as it is written, ‘The children of Israel lifted up their eyes and saw Egypt pursuing them.’ Rashi interprets that they saw Egypt’s divine power, that is the embodiment of Egypt’s impure power was still complete. It was only through the splitting of the sea which was accomplished through an awakening from below by means of that they should travel that complete redemption came through the power of giving themselves over, an awakening from below. Thus the strength of Egypt’s impure k’lipa was subjugated, as it is written The wheels of his chariots were turned for the chariot/embodiment of Egypt’s power was broken. Thus it is said Egypt that you see today you will never see again, even unto eternity, and not one of them was left for the k’lipa was completely shattered.

This is why scripture uses words And it happened, a language of sorrow, for at the beginning of the story all of Egypt’s k’lipa was still whole, and it was that power that sent Israel away and redemption was not yet complete.

Say it now, say it loud! Mishna Berrua 619:2

The second line of the "Shm'a," the basic Jewish declaration of faith, is said in a whisper 364 days of the year. On Yom Kippur, we say it aloud. The Chofetz Chaim, author of the Mishna Berrua, explains why.

Shulchan Aruch: On the evening of Yom Kippur and through the next day, we say 'Baruch Shem Cavod Machulto' in a loud voice.

Mishna Berrua: This is because 'Baruch Shem' is the angels' song, and on Yom Kippur the people Israel are like angels.

Dangerous Secrets: Yoma 54a

The Rabbis debate whether the Holy Ark, which contains the second set of tablets received by Moses at Sinai, were hidden at the site of the Temple in Jerusalem or taken with the Jews into exile. The following story supports the idea that the Ark stayed in Jerusalem.

A priest was passing the time idly, and saw a part of the floor in the Temple was different than the surrounding floor. The priest went to tell his friend, but died suddenly before he was able to finish the story. They realized that the priest had stumbled on the Ark's hiding place. How had the priest been passing the time? Rabbi Chelbo taught, 'The priest was playing with his hatchet.'

It was taught in the Rabbi Ishmael's study hall: Two priests whose wounds had made them unfit for the main Temple service were working with the woodpile, and one of their axes slipped away and fell in the same spot [as in the other priest's story]. Fire came out and devoured the ax.

Prayer, Rain, and Egoism: Yoma 53a

Rabbi Channina Ben Dosa was traveling on the road, and it started raining. He said, 'Master of the Universe, should the entire world be happy [since the rain benefits crops] and Channia unhappy [since he had to travel in the rain, and had no land that would benefit from the rain.]

The rain stopped.

Channina arrived home, and said, 'Master of the Universe, should the entire world be unhappy and Channina happy?

The rain started.

Hiding the Ark: Yoma 52b

Moses put the second set of tablets from Mt. Sinai in the Holy Ark, which was at the center of the Tabernacle and its successor the Temple in Jerusalem. It was hidden away, and has yet to be found. The Talmud discusses its concealment in this passage.

When the Ark was hidden away, hidden with it were the bottle of Manna (which Moses put aside as a reminder of G-d's gift of sustenance during the Jew's wanderings in the desert), a flask of the anointing oil (which was used in the dedication of the Tabernacle), Aaron's staff with its almonds and blossoms (the staff miraculously grew almond blossoms as a sign of divine favor for Aaron's priestly line), and the chest of gold which the Philistines dedicated to the L-rd of Israel (the Philistines took the Ark captive during a war. They found that whatever village kept the ark was afflicted with hemorrhoids, and then decided to return it along with gifts to the Jews.)

Who hid the Ark? King Josiah hid it. Why? He saw it was written (Deuteronomy 28:36 JPS Translation) 'The L-rd will drive you and the king you have sent over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers, where you shall serve other gods, of wood and stone," and was aroused to hide the ark.

I find the second passage fascinating. King Josiah was a great leader in Judaism. Before his time, people had even stopped observing the Passover sacrifice. He restored it and many other important rituals. I'm amazed at how he was able to restore the people's connection to tradition in the shadow of such awful portents.

Spit and Modesty: Yoma 47a

Rabbi Ishmael the son of Kimchit, a high priest during the Second Temple period, was famous for his enormous hands. He also is featured in this very strange story:

Once Rabbi Ishmael the son of Kimchit was speaking with an Arab in the marketplace. Some spittle flew out of the Arab's mouth and landed on the Rabbi's clothes [rendering him unfit for service in the Temple that day.] Y'shevav, Rabbi Ishmael's brother, performed the ritual duties in Rabbi Ishmael's place. Thus, their mother saw two of her sons serve as High Priest on a single day. It is also told that once Rabbi Ishmael the son of Kimchit was speaking with a foreign king in the marketplace, and some spittle flew out of the king's mouth and landed on Rabbi Ishmael's clothing [again rendering him unfit for service in the Temple for a day.] Rabbi Ishmael's brother Joseph served in the Temple in his place, and thus their mother again saw two of her sons serve as High Priest on a single day.

Our Rabbis teach that Kimchit [Rabbi Ishmael's mother] had seven sons, and all of them served as High Priest. The Sages asked Kimchit, 'What have you done to merit such an honor?' She replied, 'The roof of my house never saw my braids.' [That is, she was extremely careful about keeping her hair covered at all times.] The Sages replied to Kimchit, 'Many others have done this, but without the same result.'

We Love Fat Priests: Yoma 47b

As part of many ritual sacrifices in the Temple, a priest would take a handful of flour and sacrifice it on the altar. The Talmud, being the Talmud, wants to know exactly what a 'handful' is. A problematic question is whether any flour left between the fingers after a priest scoops up the flour with his hands is actually part of the handful or something extra. Our sages were unable to determine the status of such flour. Therefore they mandated that, whenever possible, fat priests, whose fingers are chubby enough that no flour gets caught between them, should perform this sacrifice.