Exodus 10,1. “G’d said to Moses: ‘come to Pharaoh for I have hardened his heart, etc.;’” It is appropriate to examine why in this case G’d tells Moses to בא אל פרעה, “come to Pharaoh,” whereas elsewhere He told him; לך אל פרעה, ”go to Pharaoh.” Another change in nuance which has caught our attention is that in conjunction with the plague of locusts G’d describes Himself as “I have hardened the heart of Pharaoh.”
In order to account for these expressions, we need to remember that there are two classes of miracles. One reason for G’d having to perform miracles is in order to punish those who have been persecuting His people, and to persuade them to refrain from doing that. The second class of miracles is intended to bring about a complete change of heart among those who persecute us, and to encourage them to deal kindly with us instead.When we examine the Purim story we are struck by the fact that whereas Haman was punished, Achashverosh was not punished, but that G’d caused his heart to undergo a revolutionary change and he became friendly to the Jews.
According to Sh’mot Rabbah 9,12, we find an allusion to this in the Torah where we are told that each of the plagues [except the killing of the firstborn, of course, Ed.] lasted for a month of 31 days including one week after the warning which gave the people a chance to repent. The plague of the killing of the firstborn occurred in the middle of the month of Nissan, so that the plague of hail occurred in the first half of the month of Sh’vat, a month before Purim.
This is alluded to in the words כי אני הכבדתי את לבו, i.e. that “Achashverosh’s heart had become captive to Me.” According to the Talmud Sotah 11, based on the previous Mishnah, G’d repays sinners in a manner that corresponds to their sins, whereas He rewards people who have done something good in a measure that even exceeds merits earned for the good they have done. If Achasheverosh had been dealing kindly with the Jewish people, then G’d, as an act of compensation would also cause his ministers and servants to display a positive attitude towards the Jews. Since Jews are in the habit of studying the commandments and rules pertaining to the proper observance of the Passover festival for 30 days prior to the festival itself, (Pessachim 6) G’d will compensate them for this generously.
If G’d could turn a stubborn King’s heart, He could do so more easily with the hearts of his servants and ministers. When we consider the words of the Midrash both in Sh’mot Rabba and in the Talmud in Sotah quoted above, we will understand how it is that G’d commanded Moses to “come” to the wicked Pharaoh, i.e. not confrontationally, but as giving him a chance to turn over a new leaf and to redeem himself.
If he were to ask how it was possible for a self-confessed sinner like himself to redeem himself, he was to quote to him G’d’s words: כי אני הכבדתי את לב פרעה, “for I, Myself, have made the first move in bringing Pharaoh’s heart closer to Me.” Another matter that was included in the use of the expression בא instead the word לך on this occasion, is hinted at by the fact that the letters in the word בא which are arranged in the reverse order to the alphabet, a method usually used when the attribute of Justice is about to be invoked.
This message has been reinforced when G’d adds the words למען שתי אותותי אלה בקרבו, “in order for me to orchestrate these My miracles within its midst.”It is also possible that the reference in this verse not only to the heart of Pharaoh but also to the hearts of his servants and ministers as a prologue to G’d displaying His great miracles, is intended to show the reader that Pharaoh’s hardness of heart was what enabled G’d to complete the 10 plagues familiar to us by the acronym דצ'ך עד'ש באח'ב.
This is the approach taken by Tanna de bey Eliyahu where it is demonstrated how each of these ten plagues represented a “tit for tat” retribution for specific sins committed by the Egyptians against the Jewish people. [I did not find this paragraph in the Tanna de bey Eliyahu, but the Maha’ral from Prague discusses this at length, as can be found in his commentary on the Haggadah shel Pessach. Ed.]Going back to our first interpretation of the word בא, G’d may have used the word in order to answer the Egyptians who might have felt that seeing that they were being punished by decrees initiated by Moses rather than G’d, they would use this as an excuse to claim not having been aware that these plagues had been initiated by G’d Himself.
G’d documents here that once Pharaoh had rejected the existence of the attribute Hashem, insisting that the only “Jewish” G’d he had heard of was the elokim quoted by Joseph to a former Pharaoh, he had committed a basic sin, so that he had no complaints about any phase of retribution G’d subjected him to after that. When G’d “hardened” Pharaoh’s heart this was part of that retribution, the reason being to enable G’d to complete His timetable for the progress of the redemption of His people. Once we take this into consideration we can understand a question raised by a member of our congregation regarding a statement in the Talmud Ketuvot 111.On that folio we find a surprising statement by Rav Yehudah, that G’d had demanded three oaths from the exiled Jews one of which was that they would not return to the land of Israel by force of arms, (not having waited for the arrival of the Messiah) and that anyone doing so violated a positive commandment in his opinion.Although the countries hosting Jewish exiles are complying with G’d’s will Who has not sent them a redeemer, nonetheless G’d also demanded an oath from the rulers of these host countries not to make the lives of the exiled Jews intolerable.
The Talmud uses the expression בהן, “against them,” i.e. against the Jews under their control. According to the questioner this word is superfluous. When you consider what I have written above you will realize that the word בהן in the Talmud is not superfluous at all. The meaning of the word is reflexive, i.e. the gentile rulers of the host countries in which the Jews live are not to make the Jews’ lives difficult for their own benefit, but only to the extent that they fulfill G’d’s will that they remain in exile.
As long as the gentile rulers adhere to that oath they will not be punished by G’d for preventing the Jews from returning to their ancestral land.We have explained this in a parable of the servant of a king who inflicts painful physical punishment on the king’s son out of love for his King. Such a servant of the king experiences pain himself when disciplining the king’s son. The pain he feels himself acts as a restraint against his becoming too cruel when administering the punishment to the king’s son, (who had obviously deserved punishment for his misconduct). בהן The meaning of the word in the Talmud there is the same as when we speak of להם, “for them,” or “for themselves,” when using the word conversationally.
We find this word (בהן) used in the sense that we suggested in the Tikkuney Hazohar where the letters in the word בראשית have been rearranged to read: ירא בשת, implying that the gentiles are to maintain a degree of shame when facing Jews, and must not be overeager to become G’d’s helpers in deepening their suffering in exile. Our author, referring the reader to Nachmanides’ commentary on Genesis 13,14 sees in G’d’s promise to Avraham that He will punish the people who have enslaved and tortured his descendant, in due course, a hint that once they overstep the boundary of G’d’s decree by performing persecution of the Jews enthusiastically, they will not only be punished for their excesses but also for keeping the Jews prisoners in their land at all.
The experience of the Israelites in Egypt reflected the excesses that reflected that when maltreating the Israelites the last thing that they had in mind was to fulfill G’d’s decree revealed to Avraham in chapter 15 of Genesis. This is also how we must understand Exodus 3,7 where G’d tells Moses: “I have marked well the plight of My people in Egypt and have heeded their outcry because of their taskmasters, yes, I am mindful of their sufferings.”At first glance this verse is difficult to comprehend, why did G’d insert the line about “I have heard their complaints about their taskmasters;” this line appears to add little to the Israelites’ basic problem.
G’d’s Mercy was activated on account of the basic plight of His people in Egypt, not because of their taskmasters. Moreover, the word ידעתי, “I am aware (now)” is a word that is usually used when something that had up until then been concealed, hidden, had suddenly become revealed, known. When something had been known to all but had been ignored, the word ראיה “seeing,” is the appropriate way of introduce a new attitude to conditions which had been ignored for so long.Nonetheless, according to what we have said, the fact that G’d “listened” to the outcry of the Israelites is hard to understand seeing that their condition corresponded to something that G’d had already decreed in Genesis 15 when He told Avraham about his future.
In order to answer this question, G’d added the words: מפני נוגשיו, “on account of its taskmasters.” Slavery for the Israelites had indeed been decreed, but the inhuman treatment that they experienced at the hands of their taskmasters had not been part of that decree; this enabled G’d to intervene in the Israelites’ fate at that time without going back on His decree. The excesses committed by the Egyptians were not part of their fulfilling a decree that G’d had formulated hundreds of years earlier.
G’d was now able to bring upon the Egyptians the ten plagues and to thereby demonstrate to the whole civilised world of that time His power, as attested to by Rahav to the spies sent out 40 years later by Joshua (Joshua 2,9-11) The Egyptians’ behaviour had provided G’d with an opportunity to display His miracles. He could now take pleasure in redeeming His people from slavery to freedom. Exodus10,2 “and in order that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your grandson, etc.” “how I have made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I have displayed My signs among them., in order that you may know that I am Hashem.”
We need to analyse not only the peculiar phraseology in this paragraph but also why G’d addresses the words: וידעתם כי אני ה', “you will know that I am Hashem to the Israelites instead of to the Egyptians, by writing: “:וידעו כי אני ה' “so that they will know that I am Hashem.”It appears that the gentile nations do not have access to G’d through His regular activities, i.e. nature, but only though supernatural events, miracles within the framework of known natural events which have been upset.
The plagues that occurred in Egypt were of that category. Matters that are altogether beyond nature are not accessible to the gentile nations. This explains why the Talmud in Sanhedrin 58 states that when a gentile observes the Sabbath Day as does a Jew, i.e. the day on which G’d rested, and is to be emulated as such, he not only does not earn credits for this, but is guilty of the death penalty as he breached the command to earn his livelihood by the sweat of his brow, (without break).
G’d’s message to the Jewish people, in the verses above, is a hint at the different nature of the gentile nations, even at the time when the Sabbath as basic legislation for the Jewish people had not yet been legally formulated. [The reader is reminded of the Midrashim that credit Moses with having secured the Sabbath as a day of rest from labour by Pharaoh, not for religious reasons, but to enable the Jews to perform better work for the Egyptians by recharging their physical batteries on that day.” Ed.] Exodus 10,21. “stretch out your hand in the direction of the sky and there will be darkness in the land of Egypt; Moses did so, and there was palpable darkness in Egypt, whereas in all the dwellings of the Israelites there was light.”
Rashi already concentrates on the meaning of the words וימש חושך, “the darkness was tangible,” we also need to examine why the Torah emphasized that all the dwellings of the Israelites continued to enjoy normal daylight. Why did the Torah not merely write that the Israelites were not struck by darkness?The phraseology used by the Torah may become clear when we read Sh’mot Rabbah 14,2 where the Midrash examines whence this darkness originated.
Rabbi Yehudah there claims that the “darkness” originated in the celestial regions, quoting psalms 18,12 as proof that such a phenomenon exists. The psalmist says there (referring to G’d) ישת חשך סתרו סביבותיו, “He makes darkness be His screen.” We need to understand why the darkness decreed in Egypt had to be of the kind mentioned in psalms. This “darkness” is an allusion to a hidden kind of light.
We must now understand the concept underlying this “concealed light.” The Talmud in Shabbat 34 deals with an incident when a great Talmudic scholar killed an outstanding student for having violated a basic rule of not revealing discussions that had occurred within the walls of academy. The method of killing that student is described as “he set his eye upon him and he turned into a heap of bones.”What precisely does the Talmud mean when it refers to נתן עיניו בו, “He set his eyes on him?”
Moreover, in light of Proverbs 17,26 גם ענוש לצדיק לא טוב, “also it is not good to punish the righteous,” [meaning that when a judge takes an especially harsh line with a person reputed to be a tzaddik, as he should have served as a model for the community, this, in Solomon’s view is not an appropriate approach. Ed.], how could the teacher of the student in Shabbat 34 have been so harshIn order to understand all this we must remember that the brightness surrounding the Creator was so overpowering that in order to create a universe in which the creatures could live without dying from exposure to so much light, He had to impose limitations not only on Himself, but also on the brightness surrounding Him.
This “light” had to be adjusted in accordance with the ability of the creatures in the universe to tolerate it without coming to harm thereby. Various regions of the universe therefore were provided with light of differing degrees of intensity, tolerable for beasts, inert objects, etc., so that even in the regions populated by angels the light that was the norm there was not of the intensity of the light that had surrounded the Almighty prior to His creating the universe.
Different categories of angels lived in different celestial regions, each of which was illuminated in a manner that corresponded to their ability to tolerate that light’s intensity. These angels have not been allowed to glimpse “higher” regions in the celestial spheres than those inhabited by them, so as not to blind them through exposure to overpowering brightness. Similarly, they were not allowed to look into regions that were less brightly illuminated.
These details of what goes on in the celestial regions have been referred to in Isaiah’s vision (Isaiah 6,2) where the prophet describes the angels as using two of their six wings to cover their faces with the words: בשתים יכסה פניו ובשתים יכסה רגליו יעופף “and with two he would cover his feet, and with two he would fly.” [Covering his feet, presumably is an allusion to not looking into lower regions beneath his habitat.
Ed.] Israelites, as distinct from the angels, due to having been given the Torah and the commandments it contains, are able to use these very commandments as protective “clothing” so that they can be at home in different regions, exposed to different intensities of light. On the other hand, the wicked people on this earth, i.e. the overwhelming majority of the gentile nations, if and when they become exposed to an intensity of light that they are not accustomed to, will be blinded by it and will die. The Talmud alludes to this when saying that someone “set his eyes on him,” [in that case the teacher, Ed.] as a result of which the person concerned died from overexposure to light of an intensity for which he had not been prepared.When the Torah, in describing the impact of the plague of darkness on the Egyptians, speaks of וימש חשך the word ימש was used in the sense of ”a removal,” withdrawal, of the protective screen we humans enjoy against overpowering brilliant light. [The word ימש will be familiar to the reader in that sense from Exodus 33,11 where Joshua’s not departing from Moses’ tent is described as יהושע בן נון נער לא ימיש מתוך האוהל, as well as from Joshua 1,8 where Joshua is commanded never to be without a Torah scroll with the words: לא ימיש ספר התורה הזאת מפיך והגית בו יומם ולילה, “this Book of the Torah must not be removed from your lips, but you shall recite from it daily, etc.” Ed.]
We can now understand why the Talmud describes the result of the protective screen consisting of his Torah knowledge, etc. being withdrawn from the student mentioned in the Talmud, being that this student turned into a heap of bones, his body having been burned in a flash from the excessive brightness to which he had become exposed. In light of what we have just explained it is also easy to understand why the Torah chose to describe the situation of the Israelites during the period of this plague as being one that enjoyed light in their dwellings.
They continued being protected by the screen against excessive light that people who deserve the appellation בני ישראל, “Children of Israel,” are entitled to by their birthright, by being descended from the patriarchs.These considerations also help us understand a statement in נדרים 8, לעתיד לבא יוציא הקב'ה את חמה מנרתיקה צדיקים מתרפאים בה ורשעים נדונין בה, “in the future (messianic or post messianic times) G’d will take the sun out of is usual orbit, as a result of which the righteous (who are sick) will be healed, whereas the wicked will be judged by this (burned to death)." The word נרתיק in the Talmud there is an allusion to the protective screening against excess light/heat that G’d had provided when He created the universe. Exodus 11,4.
“Moses said: ‘thus has the Lord said, etc.;’” we have to understand why the expression כה was used here to introduce Moses’ prophecy when we had learned that whereas all the other prophets introduced their prophecies with this word, Moses prophesied by using the vision he referred to as זה, “this,” i.e. as a clear vision.We gain the impression from this preamble to the prophecy of the plague of the death of the firstborn that Moses had not been granted to see this vision as clearly as he had seen other visions, and that he had attained the level of seeing visions described as זה, only at the revelation at Mount Sinai.
In Exodus 19,1 we read ביום הזה באו מדבר סיני, “on this day (first of Sivan) they arrived in the desert of Sinai.”The words of that verse help us understand the formulation of the question in Deuteronomy 6,20, attributed in the Haggadah shel Pessach to the “smart” son, מה העדות והחוקים והמשפטים, “what are the testimonies, the statutes and the social laws, etc.?” The Torah there should have written: על מה, i.e.” why were these laws given,” not “what are these laws”, seeing that the questioner had demonstrated that he was familiar with these laws already!Looking at this verse purely from the p’shat,, the “smart” son appears to enquire for the reasons underlying these various types of commandments in the Torah.
He does not address the commandments themselves. Seeing that this is so, he should have asked: על מה, “why or what for”, did G’d command these different observances? Not only do we find the formulation of the questions difficult to understand, but, at least in the Haggadah shel Pessach, [as opposed to the answer given in the written Torah, Ed.] how does the answer of אין מפטירין אחר הפסח אפיקומן, “one must not eat a dessert after having consumed the meat of the Passover offering,” answer the question?The proper answer to the smart son’s question is that G’d took us out of Egypt using all kinds of supernatural miracles in doing so, and that this redemption was not a temporary redemption subject to being reversed, but that it made of the Jewish people a free people, a people never again to become enslaved collectively. Not only did the Egyptians “let us go,” but they tried to “expel” us out of fear that more of their number would die if we stayed on their soil a minute longer.
The answer that the author of the Haggadah shel Pessach suggests that the father give to this “smart” son seems to leave out the principal reasons for the legislation by concentrating on something of secondary or even still lesser significance. In order to understand this we must once more fall back on a concept that we have dealt with repeatedly, i.e. the two different categories of serving G’d.
One reason for serving the Lord is that when we experience miracles we realize that there is a Power beyond the laws of nature with which we are all more or less familiar. This power demonstrates through performance of miracles that it is not only independent of the laws of nature, but is able to make the laws of nature do its bidding. It becomes clear to us that instead of “serving” certain phenomena which clearly exert a great deal of influence on our daily lives, we will do much better to serve the Master under whose direction these phenomena, i.e. sun, moon, fire, water etc., perform their duties.The second category of serving Hashem is based on our recognizing the Creator directly, without our having to arrive at His existence by such detours as reflecting on the limitations of the laws of nature.
We recognize that He is the source of everything that exists and can be perceived by any or all of our senses. To someone who is aware that this Creator, because He created the physical universe, is obviously Himself not part of the physical domain, and therefore able to change the order of things at will, it does not seem strange when he sees that the Creator has decided to make changes in the order of things.
This type of individual did not acquire the insights he possesses about the Creator because He saw Him perform miracles, but he arrives at this logically, realizing that the Creator is absolutely free from external pressures and having created this universe has voluntarily given up some of His freedom of action in order for His subjects to possess a feeling of self-worth, human dignity.Going back to the question of the “smart” son.
He wishes to know why G’d had to perform all these miracles seeing that even someone like himself is fully convinced of G’d’s stature and supremacy, and so have been his forefathers. In response to this question, the author of the Haggadah shel pessach advises the father of the questioning son to tell him the halachah concerning the need for the eating of the Passover lamb to be the last item on the menu on that evening.
The father is to emphasize that the halachah wishes to impress upon us that when recognition of G’d and His power and His relationship to the Jewish people is the result of having experienced G’d’s miracles, such recognition of G’d will endure forever, whereas when it is merely the result of reason, there is no guarantee that at one time or another someone will not be able to “prove” that the belief in G’d, even when attained after sanctifying themselves, is liable to be shaken by arguments to the contrary.
The sages in the Talmud Pessachim 119 phrased it thus: “It is imperative that at the end of the seder we retain the “taste” of the matzah in our mouths when going to bed. [This halachah, of course applies only when we do not have a Passover lamb due to being in exile. Ed.] All these steps of the Passover ritual are necessary in order that we retain these impressions firmly engraved on our consciousness.
These impressions are valid for every Jew, whereas the recognition of G’d and all He stands for without the ritual, prompted by one’s mind only, is something reserved for very few elitist Jews only. The importance of remembering G’d’s miracles is also at the root of the commandment that the King must have a Sefer Torah with him at all times, from which he can refresh his memory of all the miracles G’d has performed.
This also answers the question why the Torah did not have the “smart” son preface his question with the words: על מה, “what for,” but has him ask מה, ”what,” i.e. what is the intrinsic value of this ritual year after year?By reliving what our forefathers had experienced at the time of the Exodus, and what had brought them to a level of seeing the greatness of the Creator and His relationship to us by the miracles He performed for us, we hope to prevent these lofty feelings from fading into oblivion.
Rabban Gamliel had therefore said that even people who serve G’d on a “higher” level, must perform the three basic mitzvoth on the Seder night by both mouth (words) and deed (eating). The aforementioned considerations also solve the problem raised in Brachot 9 where the Talmud questions why G’d used the formulation of: דבר נא באזני העם, “please speak in the hearing of the people, etc.” (Exodus 11,2) In that verse G’d appeals to Moses to have the people “borrow” valuables from their Egyptian neighbours, ostensibly to help them worship their G’d in the desert in a festive manner.
The Talmud understands the word נא there as a plea, G’d explaining to Moses that it was important that the Israelites leave their land of slavery with riches, as He had promised this to Avraham 430 years earlier, since He did not want Avraham to say to Him that He only fulfilled part of His promise to him. We must ask, that surely G’d is expected to keep all His promises regardless of whether Avraham would complain or not!Before answering this question we need to preface the answer by referring to the halachah that מעשה נסים אסורים בהנאה, that the direct proceeds of miracles must not be used for mundane personal comfort or profit.” (Taanit 24). [If I understand Rashi there correctly, this is not a direct prohibition, but a call to us to refrain as much as possible to take advantage of proceeds from miracles for mundane purposes.
Ed.]Let us first examine why it was essential for the Israelites to leave Egypt with “loot,” and again after the Egyptians drowned in the sea, to strip them of their belongings? Are not the proceeds of miracles forbidden for mundane use?The fact is that the prohibition to make mundane use of the proceeds of miracles applies only to people who do not recognize the Creator as G’d unless He identified Himself to them through performing miracles.
Seeing that such people put G’d to the trouble to perform these miracles, they are not entitled to use the proceeds for their own comfort or welfare. Sadly, the spiritual immaturity of the Israelites at the time of the ten plagues, or a week later when they were despairing on account of the Egyptian army pursuing them, was such that they did not take the Creator’s status for granted without being constantly reminded of it by His miracles performed on their behalf.
It was therefore forbidden for them to make mundane use of the proceeds of these miracles.We can now understand why G’d had to plead with Moses to ask the people for the “loan” of their precious garments and silver and golden trinkets, as he could not understand why they had to burden themselves with such loot that they could not make use of. G’d therefore had to explain to Moses that in order to fulfill His promise to Avraham, He had to give these instructions, regardless of whether these riches were useful to the recipients.
Avraham’s relationship to G’d was most certainly not built on his expecting miracles to convince him that G’d was still looking after him; therefore there was no reason why he should not take advantage of material blessings that had come his way through G’d’s intervention in the laws of nature. If, therefore, the Israelites were redeemed from Egypt largely because of a promise made by G’d to Avraham, everything connected with the Exodus was result of Avraham’s close relationship with G’d, and his descendants were entitled to make mundane use of the loot they took out of Egypt with them.
The miracles G’d performed in Egypt, although performed for the Israelites, were orchestrated by G’d only because the people of Israel were direct descendants of the three patriarchs. This also answers the question of the “smart” son מה העדות, “what are the “Testimonies,” the miracles by means of which G’d “legitimizes” Himself. This is how Maimonides defines the word עדות, as “miracles,” as they testify to the presence and power of the invisible G’d [I have not been able to find this in Maimonides, but the Seforno on Deut. 6,20, mentions this aspect of the word.
Ed.] An alternative exegesis on the use of the expression by Moses of the formula: כה אמר ה' כחצי הלילה אני יוצא בתוך מצרים, “thus has said Hashem: ‘at around midnight I shall go forth within Egypt, etc.’” We know that all the prophets with the exception of Moses introduced their prophecies with the introductory word: כה, “thus,” whereas Moses introduced his prophetic announcements with the word: זה, “this.” (Compare Sifri Mattot 2) In this verse too the question arises why Moses did not use the formula involving זה, but used only the formula used by other prophets, i.e. כה?We will try and explain this by referring to Exodus 6,6: “therefore say to the Children of Israel: ‘I am Hashem, I and I will take you out of Egypt from under the סבלות of Egypt and I will save you from labouring for them; I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments and I will take you to be My people and I will be your G’d.”
You will note that the Torah describes the redemption in stages, commencing with the promise to take the people out from the yoke of the Egyptians, מתחת סבלות, “from the yoke, etc.”; and culminating in וגאלתי אתכם בזרע נטויה “orchestrating the redemption with an outstretched arm.” At that point we would have expected the Torah to have written: אני ה' אלוקיכם אשר גאלתי אתכם בזרוע נטויה וגו', “I am the Lord your G’d Who has redeemed you (past tense) with an outstretched arm, etc.;” we also need to understanding precisely what is meant by the word: סבלות.We must keep in mind that for the Jewish people the Torah and its commandments constitute something from which they derive pleasure and a joy of living; for the gentiles, on the other hand, pleasure and joy of living revolves around the consumption of despicable foods, such as pigs, shellfish, etc. When a gentile or a Jew who had become an apostate converts or does teshuvah, he realizes that he had previously taken a delight in things which are abominations in the eyes of the Lord. Keeping such considerations in mind, we can understand the comment in the Talmud Beytzah 16 that with the onset of the Sabbath the Jew enjoys the presence within him of an additional “soul.”
This additional soul is taken away again at the end of the Sabbath. The Talmud bases itself on the word וינפש in Exodus 31,17, where G’d’s state of mind on the first Sabbath after the six days of creation has been described as וינפש, “He was endowed with a soul.” Since G’d most likely had a “soul” during the six days of creation also, this word must refer to an additional soul. [Rashi (in his commentary there on the Talmud as opposed to his commentary on the Torah) understands the word as the regret experienced at the departure of the additional “soul.”
Ed.] It is peculiar that according to the text in the Talmud, the sense of loss felt by the soul on the Sabbath was due to its owner observing rest on the Sabbath, whereas in fact this sense of loss surely was due to the loss of the additional soul at the end of the Sabbath? We must therefore resolve this puzzle by falling back on the Talmud in Shabbat 118 where we are told that if only the Israelites were to observe two consecutive Sabbaths in all its details the messiah would come immediately.
In another place we are told if only all Israelites had observed the first Sabbath [in the desert at Marah (Exodus 17,20)] they would have been redeemed at once. In order to reconcile these two statements we must remember that the meaning of the word שבת is not only “to rest,” but it also means “to return, i.e. to repent.” The three root letters תשב when read in this order spell the word “teshuva.”
This is a clear allusion that the Sabbath is meant to facilitate repentance. This repentance involves recognition that the objectives pursued during the six working days were in the main the pursuit of transient values as opposed to the enduring values that the Sabbath is to help us pursue by our abstaining from the “rat race” that we are part of during the week. When the Israelite becomes aware of this during the course of the Sabbath, he naturally bemoans the departure of the additional spiritual dimension that he had enjoyed during the Sabbath, the dimension the Talmud calls נשמה יתרה, an additional soul.
The Israelite bemoans the fact that he does not enjoy this additional spiritual dimension during the six days he must face at the end of making הבדלה, the ritual signifying the departure of the Sabbath. In light of this, we understand that the Israelites require two Sabbath “days” in order to secure the arrival of the Messiah. The first Sabbath will serve as the day when they will do teshvuvah, after which they will understand the significance of this day for their spiritual well being.
The “second” Sabbath will teach them to enjoy the additional spiritual dimension that concentrating on the study of the Torah brings with it. (On the same day).When the Jewish people left Egypt in great haste, בחפזון, as stated by the Torah, (Deuteronomy 16,3) they were not in the frame of mind to appreciate such lofty concepts, seeing that according to all our sources they had descended to the 49th level of impurity, and if they had descended one more rung they would have been beyond redemption.
They had been in a state where they greatly enjoyed the taste of the forbidden, the abominable in G’d’s eyes. Hence G’d said to them: “I am the One Who takes you out from this moral morass,” i.e. the סבלות מצרים. G’d promised that henceforth they would no longer find these abominations enjoyable but would shun them like death. Instead they would learn to enjoy spiritually uplifting experiences such as the study of G’d’s Torah and observance of its commandments.
They would find satisfaction in prayer and the fact that G’d listens to their prayers, and responds positively to their good deeds. It is clear therefore that at that junction in their lives Moses had to address them by using the formula כה אמר ה', as they had not yet qualified for the benefits of prophecy from the lofty platform represented by זה, a communication from G’d directly without screen. Once they had ascended to far higher spiritual levels they would indeed be addressed by prophecies that had come to Moses under the heading of זה. Exodus 12,2.
“This month is for you the beginning of the months;” in order to understand the word “for you, i.e. yours,“ it will be well to recall Exodus 31,14 where we read: ושמרתם את השבת כי קדש היא לכם, “you shall observe the Sabbath as it is holy for you.”We have a rule that G’d complies with the wishes of the righteous, the ones who revere Him. Just as the Israelites desire that G’d will deal with the inhabitants of the various parts of His universe with kindness and mercy, so we, His creatures, are desirous of causing Him joy and satisfaction in all parts of His universe. This is the meaning of the line quoted above, the words קודש היא לכם, “the Holy One is active for your benefit.” [I presume the basis for this exegesis is that the Sabbath, something inactive by definition, and even more inactive seeing that it represents repose, rest, can hardly “do” something for us.
In other words, “the sanctity of the Sabbath is due to what G’d does for you.” Ed.] The same type of exegesis is applicable in our verse above when we consider the wording ראשון הוא לכם. The Talmud Beytzah 17 says that in the benediction dealing with the sanctity of the respective day, i.e. when the new Moon occurs on the Sabbath, both the Sabbath, Israel, and the New Moon must be mentioned.
Mention of the Sabbath in this connection sounds strange, as the Sabbath is a fixed part of the calendar and the sages of the High Court have no authority to postpone or advance it.On the other hand, all matters pertaining to the day on which the New Moon is declared are left to be decided by the Jewish High Court. The Talmud Rosh Hashanah 8 states that all the celestial beings, especially those who have part in the judgments dealt with on that day, anxiously await the decision of the Jewish High Court as to which day will be the first day of the new year.
The decision of the High Court concerning this is even decisive in the case of the hymen of a three year old girl that had been broken being declared as intact, If through the decision of the High Court a day or a month had been added to the year just about to conclude, so that the piercing of her hymen had occurred before her third birthday. (Compare Jerusalem Talmud Nedarim chapter 6 halachah 8).
It is clear from there that the calendar dates are subject to rulings by Israel, i.e. its highest judicial forum. All this is traced back to the verse we have cited, where the Torah describes the time of the first day of the month to be לכם, “to be determined by you.”The Torah hints that just as G’d is ראשון, first in the universe, so His people, the Israelites have been granted the distinction to be first in another important sphere, the decision of when the new moon is to be declared and sanctified.
In this respect, even G’d defers to the decision of the Jewish High Court, waiting with pronouncing judgment on the whole of mankind until the date of that day has been officially confirmed by the Court. By saying: החודש הזה לכם, “this month belongs to you,” G’d gave a present to the Jewish people that bound Him to them forever. Determining when a month commences made the Jewish people sovereign not only for that day but for all the days and months of the year, i.e. לחדשי השנה, “the months of the whole year.” Another dimension of the verse commencing with the words: החודש הזה לכם.
It is an accepted practice in monarchies that when a king wishes to test if his subjects are really loyal to him in spirit as well as in deed, or if they are really willing to serve under his son when he dies, he devises various methods to do so. Similarly, when G’d wishes to examine the loyalty of His creatures, He has set aside the first day of Tishrey to examine the hearts of His subjects on that day.
He judges all of mankind based on the outcome of His examination. He does something similar at the beginning of the month of Nissan, when He wishes to determine how His creatures relate to His “son,” i.e. the respective monarchs administering the universe (supposedly) in His name. This is why G’d smote Pharaoh in the month of Nissan, as he had proved to be unfit to govern as His representative.
When the Torah writes: החודש הזה לכם, this is the Torah’s way of saying that these examinations of the world’s rulers (crowned heads, etc.) take place because at that time G’d deals with kings or rulers who abuse His people. At that time of year G’d may resort to miracles in order to make known His displeasure with the rulers of the earth. We wish to explain a statement by the sages in the Talmud Megillah 29.
The Talmud there, commenting on Numbers 28,14 זאת עולת חודש בחדשו, “this is the burnt offering of the new Moon on the day of its renewal,” writes: חדש והבא קרבן מתרומה חדשה, ”begin a new cycle of public offerings by using the money contributed by the people for the public offerings for the year that commences on the first day of Nissan.” The Talmud in Shekalim 3,2 has elaborated on this procedure by describing three different boxes for collection of contributions from which offerings are to be bought.
The boxes were numbered א, ב, ג. The reason was to enable the clerks to check in which order (according to calendar dates) these donations had been deposited. We also have a disagreement between the Tannaim Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yoshuah in the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 10 (scholars during the period when the Mishnah was formulated) whether the world as we know it was created in Tishrey or in Nissan.We have accepted the principle that G’d’s largesse is dispensed to His creatures not so much because of what they deserve but because the very fact that He created the universe is proof of His positive relationship to His creatures, so that His providing them with necessities and comforts is not tied to their having to earn this. [As distinct from creatures who have forfeited such entitlement, from whom such largesse may be withheld.
Ed.]There is also a “super-largesse” that is channeled by G’d to His people which is due to that people’s spiritual awakening and ascending higher rungs on that ladder. Concerning this “largesse” my revered and sainted father of blessed memory used to say that this “largesse” is known as ציץ, the masculine version of the word ציצית, i.e. in full flower, which usually is found in the feminine mode, referring to the blossom that has not yet flowered.
Just as we are familiar with direct light as well as with reflected light, (by a mirror, for instance) so G’d’s largesse may be either direct or a reflection of merits accumulated by His creatures. The letters in the name of the month תשרי [the alphabet read backwards. Ed.] are an allusion of such largesse which reflects the good deeds of the Jewish people. Seeing that during the month of Tishrey most Jews perform more commandments and good deeds than during any other moth of the year, it is appropriate that this will result in a “kickback” from G’d in the shape of additional largesse. (Compare Rosh Hashanah 11 on this point.)
In contrast to this month, the month of Nissan, a month that occurs in the spring, אביב, the letters אב in that word proceeding in the normal sequence of the aleph bet, are an allusion that it is too soon for additional largesse in the form of “kickbacks” as in the case of the month of Tishrey. A third nuance gleaned from the words: החודש הזה לכם ראש חדשים, ראשון הוא לכם; it is generally agreed that at the time of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, G’d employed His attribute of גבורה, “might,” against the Egyptians while at the same time employing His attribute of חסד, “loving kindness, “ toward the Israelites.
This is based on כל בכוריהם הרגת ובכורך גאלת, “While You killed all their firstborn You redeemed Your firstborn.” (quote from the prayer עזרת אבותינו, recited every morning after the kriyat sh’ma. (The phenomenon described here is known to Kabbalists asגבורה שבחסד , “might as a byproduct of kindness.”) The catalyst that triggered G’d to display His might was the loving kindness He felt impelled to show His people. We find that G’d employed two opposing attributes at one and the same time.
To the question which of the two attributes G’d gives preference to, the answer is surely: “to the loving kindness,” as we have it on the authority of Micah 7,18 כי חפץ חסד הוא, “for He desires loving kindness.” The expression חפץ חסד הוא, implies that even when G’d is compelled to display the attribute of Justice, another aspect of the term גבורה, He does so only because otherwise His attribute of loving kindness, חסד could not prevail under the existing conditions.
By applying the attribute of Justice to the enemies of His people, He can show His people that He deals with them by means of the attribute of loving kindness, חסד. When the Torah speaks in our verse of ראשון הוא לכם, “it is first for you,” G’d informs the Jewish people that as far as they are concerned the “new” element in G’d’s relationship with different parts of mankind is that seeing that they are from now on His people, He will deal with them first and foremost on the basis of the attribute of loving kindness. [The patriarchs did not require this “concession;” in fact Yaakov had volunteered after the dream with the ladder to be henceforth dealt with on the basis of the attribute of justice, and this is why he said “והיה ה' לי לאלוקים, “and Hashem will henceforth be my elokim, Judge." )Genesis 28,21)]G’d applying the attribute of חסד to the Jewish people in the first instance is reflected in the first verse of the Decalogue, where he introduces Himself with the words: אנכי השם אלוקיך, He is the attribute of Justice only subsequent to being the attribute of Mercy, kindness. Yet another way of looking at the line: החודש הזה לכם ראש חדשים; According to Rashi, Moses found it difficult to know when exactly the precise moment occurs when the moon’s orbit renews itself.
G’d therefore showed it to him. We need to examine what exactly was the nature of Moses’ difficulty, i.e. why did it matter to him to know the precise moment when this renewal took place. Moses was interested that the renewal of the moon to its original size and all that this implies should occur during his lifetime. In other words, he wanted the redemption that was about to occur to be the final redemption, not a redemption that would be followed by other exiles.
Alas, G’d showed him that this time had not come yet. [This may have been the reason why the word chodesh is spelled without the letterו throughout the Bible except in Esther 3,7 where possibly, it was meant to deceive Haman, Ed.] Exodus 12,9. “head, legs, and entrails.”We have a rule according to which the various parts of the human body symbolize attributes of G’d in heaven. The legs symbolize the attribute of אמונה, “faithfulness,” a virtue that comprises two “branches.” It describes man’s absolute faith that G’d preceded anything else in the universe, and that it is He Who brought all the various universes into existence.The second basic act of faith required of every Jew is that he realizes that he is a member of the people whom G’d has chosen as specifically His.
Every Israelite must be aware that due to this special status of ours, G’d is desirous to carry out our wishes as expressed in our prayers to Him. These two aspects of the holy covenant between G’d and the Jewish people are symbolized in our bodies by our two legs, the limbs that we stand on.The torso, גוף, central part of our body, symbolizes תפארת, that each one of us must strive to conduct our lives in a manner that reflects glory on the Creator of the human race.
The prophet Isaiah 49,3 referred to this when he said, quoting G’d: ישראל אשר בך אתפאר, “Israel, in you I can glory.” The two hands symbolize our dual relationship to G’d based on אהבה ויראה, “love and reverence.” The right hand symbolizes love, whereas the left hand (arm), symbolizes the reverence aspect of this relationship.The two hands symbolize our dual relationship to G’d based on אהבה ויראה, “love and reverence.”
The right hand symbolizes love, whereas the left hand (arm), symbolizes the reverence aspect of this relationship. While the Israelites were in Egypt they had not attained more than the first virtue (attribute) i.e. אמונה, “faith,” as the Torah testifies in Exodus 4,31ויאמן העם, “The people possessed faith.”We have already explained that the feet (legs) symbolize faith and that is why at the Exodus, (12,37) the Torah describes the Jewish people leaving Egypt by referring to them as כשש מאות אלף רגלי, “approximately 600,000 pairs of feet.”
The other virtues that the Israelites did not yet possess at the time of the Exodus, they would acquire at the “foot” of Mount Sinai, seven weeks later, at the time when G’d gave them the Torah. This progress of the Israelites’ spiritual development is hinted at in the details with which the Torah describes the Passover offering. The sequence of the words: ראשו על כרעיו ועל קרבו, suggests that at that time the virtues other than faith, כרעיו, were still as hidden as are the entrails.
When we keep this in mind, we can understand a statement in the Talmud Menachot 65, where the verse וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת, ”you shall count for yourselves starting from the day after the Sabbath,” is understood to refer to the day after the first day of the Passover festival. This contradicts the interpretation of the Sadducees who understood the word השבת in that verse as referring literally to the first Sabbath day during that festival.
Let us also examine the question posed by Rabbi Moshe Alshich, why rainfall did occur on the Sabbath, whereas the manna did not descend on the Sabbath? One of the basic differences between rain and manna is that in connection with rainfall man did not have to involve his brainpower, whereas manna had to measured according to the number of persons in each household. The very amount of manna that descended for each person is described as one “omer” per “head,” regardless of the age or size of the body attached to that head.
According to our tradition that the manna would acquire the taste of whatever the person consuming it desired, this too required involvement of the recipient’s thought processes. The absence of manna on the Sabbath therefore relieved each Israelite from the need of concerning himself with mundane matters such as the ones described. No such considerations are necessary in connection with rainfall, so that man was not diverted from spiritually oriented activities regardless of whether rain descended or not.
This answers the Alshich’s question.[It is not clear to me whence the Alshich concludes that rain descended on the Israelites’ camp in the desert. What did they need it for? Ed.]Let us revert to the first question, why, in spite of the differences between the festival days and the Sabbath, on occasion the Torah nonetheless refers to a festival also as a Sabbath? (Leviticus 23,15) On the original Passover G’d performed so many miracles for the Jewish people, even though they had not qualified for this by their performing the commandments pertaining to festivals, that by referring to Passover also as (merely) מקרא קודש the Torah makes it clear that the term שבת in connection with Passover refers merely to G’d’s initiatives on that day, not to Israel’s. Alternatively, we may interpret the word שבת in the line וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת, as a description used for the first Day of Passover by the holy Jewish people only, seeing that at the time we were dependent for every aspect of the redemption on the supernatural miracles by G’d on our behalf, exclusively.
It is a reminder of the dearth of merits the Jewish people had accumulated at that time. When the Torah in Leviticus 23,15 speaks about וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת, ”you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the first day of the Passover festival, etc.,” this is addressed only to you the Jewish people. G’d, on the other hand, seeing that He had provided so much input into our redemption calls it מקרא קודש, “day designated for spiritual; pursuits,. i.e. a yom tov. Exodus 12,27. “you will say (answer) ‘it is a Passover offering for the Lord, etc.’” We need to examine why when the Torah has called this festival חג המצות, “the festival of unleavened breads,” we, the people, are in the habit of calling it first and foremost חג הפסח, a name that does not occur in the Torah at all.In Song of Songs 6,3 we read: אני לדודי ודודי לי, “I alone am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.”
In this verse Solomon describes the relationship between the Jewish people and its G’d and vice versa in the most flattering terms. This is demonstrated by the Jewish people in practice every time they put on phylacteries in which the praises of the Almighty are spelled out on parchment. In the Talmud B’rachot 6, we are told that G’d Himself also puts on phylacteries and that the verses contained in His phylacteries contain the praises of His people, the Jewish people.
When we keep this in mind we can understand a statement recorded in Tanna de bey Eliyahu that it is a positive commandment to recite the praises of the Jewish people. In other words, G’d enjoys hearing the praises and virtues of His people being mentioned and appreciated.The Talmud Menachot 36 advises that while wearing the phylacteries one should touch them intermittently. This is in line with the prohibition to turn one’s attention to other matters while wearing the phylacteries. [This explains why nowadays we do not wear the phylacteries except during prayer as it is too easy to violate the commandments surrounding the manner in which we are to conduct ourselves if we were to wear them all day long.
Ed.] When the Talmud forbids turning one’s attention away from the phylacteries on one’s head or one’s arm, this is not to be understood literally, but it means that while wearing phylacteries one must either concentrate on the praises of the Lord or the praises of Israel. The praises of the Lord are spelled out in the Torah sections inscribed on parchment inside our phylacteries. The author quotes Rashi on 12,39 where the Torah reports that the unleavened breads of the Israelites actually were baked by the sun while the dough was slung over the women’s shoulders.
The people’s faith in the Lord at that time was demonstrated by their not insisting that they wait in Egypt while their dough would bake into bread so that they would have something to eat while on the way. The term חג המצות, originated at that time. This is one example of how G’d publicises the virtues of the Jewish people. On the other hand, by calling this festival חג הפסח, we, in turn, tell the praises of the Lord Who, at that time, had deliberately passed over the houses of the Jewish people when He killed all the firstborn in Egypt.
This mutually complimentary relationship between G’d and His favourite people is what Solomon referred to in Song of Songs 6,3.Another [rather revolutionary facet Ed.] method of understanding the above verse is that the word פסח may be understood phonetically, i.e. פה סח, “when the mouth speaks,” i.e. explains the nature of the Passover to your children in the future, then the הוא, the hidden aspects of G’d, [impersonal “he,” instead of “thou,” Ed.]Hashem. Still another approach to our verse i.e. the apparent emphasis on the word: ואמרתם, “you will say, etc.;” the Torah foresees periods in our history when on account of the people being in exile and the temple in ruins, it will not be possible to fulfill the commandment of offering the Passover sacrifice as prescribed.
During such periods, ואמרתם, you are to substitute with words what you cannot perform in deed. Hence we recite all the particulars of both the sacrifice and the other commandments pertaining to that night to the extent possible with our mouths. While doing so we do it לה', concentrating exclusively on what Hashem had done for us at that time. Exodus 12,42. “that night will remain a night of remembrance for Hashem, etc.” Although it is a rule that G’d watches over Israel benevolently constantly, and that He had equipped the Israelites with positive as well as with negative commandments so that non deserving (worlds) nations would not share the benefit from His acts of kindness for the Israelites by default, at this point in history when the Torah had not yet been given to the people of Israel, G’d had to perform His acts of kindness directly, -not through emissaries, angels, to make certain that they would benefit only the people for whom they were intended.
These considerations have been hinted at in the words of our verse that G’d’s acts on behalf of Israel during the night of the Exodus were of an extraordinary nature. This idea has also been alluded to in the Midrash which states: “I have kept in mind for all these years the commandment performed by the ‘old man,’ Avraham, who was the first person taking action to prevent the negative forces in the world from benefiting from G’d’s largesse.
Prior to Avraham’s appearing on the scene, G’d personally had to see to it that the totally undeserving souls did not benefit from His benevolence through a spillover from the deserving. (Yalkut Shimoni Vayikra 18?) Another way of looking at our verse puts the emphasis on the words: שמורים לכל בני ישראל לדורותם, ”to serve as memorable reminiscences for all of the Children of Israel throughout their generations.”
If these latter words are indeed intended as the principal message in this verse, we need to understand why the verse first speaks about this night being one of special “commemorations” for Hashem. It appears that here too the Torah hints at the fact that the Israelites on that night were not yet deserving redemption as they had not yet acquired the necessary merits to qualify for this. (Yalkut Reuveni B’shalach) According to that Midrash, the celestial representative of the Egyptians at that time argued at the heavenly tribunal against the redemption of the people of Israel, claiming that seeing that both the Egyptians and the Israelites had practiced idolatry why would G’d treat the Israelites with special favour?In spite of all these objections, Hashem, in His great Mercy, saved and redeemed our people while smiting their oppressors with ten plagues in Egypt, and a week later when the Egyptians had staged a pursuit of the people, with 50 plagues, prior to drowning them in the sea.
By doing so He fulfilled a promise made to their founding father Avraham 430 years earlier as recorded in Genesis chapter 15. The author of the haggadah shel pessach headlined this in a paragraph commencing with the words: ברוך שומר הבטחתו לישראל, “blessed be He Who kept his promise to Israel.” The reason that the author of the haggadah does not headline this paragraph as “He Who kept His promise to Avraham,” but treats it as a promise to Israel, is because this promise included the assurance that G’d would not allow blessings intended for His people, to “spill over” to the undeserving nations of the world. [including Avraham’s seven other sons. Ed.]In spite of the Israelites in Egypt at the time having been guilty of idolatry, just as the Egyptians, they did possess three (four) virtues by means of which they were far superior to the other nations.
These merits have been listed in Bamidbar Rabbah 20,22. 1) They had not changed their Hebrew names for hundreds of years; 2) they did not change their Hebrew language for Egyptian. 3) For a whole year none of them revealed that Moses had told them to “borrow” valuables from the Egyptians; 4) they never violated the traditional laws about sexual chastity. All Jewish girls were virgins when under the wedding canopy.
This is the deeper meaning of the words: ליל שמורים, i.e. that on the night of the Exodus G’d remembered the merits of the Israelites on account of which He could redeem them legally at this time. Basically, the Israelites had honoured the traditions they had from their forefathers, except for practicing idolatry. The line: ליל שמורים הוא לה', “it is a night of special protection by G’d,” means that G’d had to intervene personally to orchestrate the Exodus as the merits of the Israelites were insufficient to bring this about by any other means were insufficient. Exodus 13,1.
“Hashem said to Moses, saying; sanctify for me every firstborn, etc.”In order to better understand the subject introduced here by the Torah it is well to go back to Exodus 4,22 where G’d for the first time refers to the Jewish people as: בני בכורי ישראל, “My firstborn son, Israel.” [G’d had referred to the Jewish people as “My people,” already in Exodus 3,7, but He had not referred to this people being G’d’s “firstborn.” Ed.]The following parable may help us understand the difference between the two descriptions of the Jewish people.
There are people who devote time to the study of Torah and after a certain number of hours of daily study they turn their attention to business in order to earn a living to support their families. This group of people may be divided into 2 separate categories. A member of category one, due to lack of understanding, considers his preoccupation with trade and commerce his principal occupation and purpose, whereas a member of the second category is well aware that preoccupation with the study of Torah, performing its commandments, and performing deeds of loving kindness for his peers, is his principal duty in life, but seeing that he does not want to depend on miracles for supporting his family, he sets aside time to secure his livelihood with G’d’s support, of course, during the time required for this.The relationship between the gentile nations and the Jewish nation is parallel to the above, in that the gentiles by and large also devote some of their time to duties prescribed by their respective religions. However, except for a minute fraction, who devote their lives to their deities as priests of some type, they consider the demands made upon them by “life” on earth as paramount.
Seeing that the entire universe including the gentiles were created in order to somehow serve as an appendix to the Jewish people, this people must not copy the gentiles by seeing in the mundane tasks to be performed daily the essence of their existence. Israel’s destiny is to serve as a holy nation, and anyone wishing to sanctify itself with a mirror like replica of G’d’s holiness, will in the process draw down from the celestial domain not only G’d’s attribute of Mercy, but also His largesse in helping to make the mundane tasks such people have to perform becoming crowned with success.
By being accorded the title: בני בכורי, “My firstborn son,” G’d brings home to us that we are the principal reason that G’d undertook the creation of the universe. The author suggests that the meaning of the word רחם in פטר כל רחם, usually translated as “each first opening of the womb,” should be understood as a reference to the task of the Jewish people to ensure that the source of Mercy, רחמים, be opened through the Jewish people’s prayers so that all of mankind will be provided with its needs, be it directly or indirectly through G’d’s largesse.
He quotes Proverbs 17,14 פוטר מים ראשית, as an allusion to this idea by Solomon. [possibly linked to Reshit Chochmah, Teshuvah 7,14. Ed.] An additional meaning based on the verse quoted above, linked to Moses telling the people (verse 3) as an introduction to this legislation זכור את היום הזה וגו', “Keep on remembering this day, etc.;”.The Ari’zal writes that the reason why Moses introduced relaying the legislation about the sanctity of the firstborn with the words: זכור את היום הזה, followed by the line: והעברת כל פטר רחם, “you are to set apart for the Lord every first issue from the womb, etc,” only 9 verses later, is that when G’d told him about this legislation He appeared to include only the natural born Israelites in the sanctity of the firstborn, בבני ישראל, in verse 2, not the mixed multitude of new converts that Moses had accepted.
The mixed multitude had not yet attained a level of spirituality that would allow their firstborn to be included in the additional degree of sanctity accorded to them when compared to the ordinary Israelite who was not a firstborn. Moses was afraid that the existing situation would result in jealousy of the mixed multitude as they would feel as second class Jews. In order to bridge this gap, Moses instructed the Israelites with an additional commandment to be observed when they would enter the Holy Land, a commandment that would apply to every Jew crossing the Jordan whether a natural born Jew or a convert This additional commandment concerned the observance of the Exodus for seven days on the anniversary of the dates on which it took place, and the eating of matzot and the offering of the Passover lamb on the eve of the first day Matzot would be eaten for seven days; this commandment was to apply to all Jews be they be natural born Jews or converts.
It was a compliment to the mixed multitude as this group of people had not been “redeemed” from Egypt since they had not been slaves there, having placed themselves voluntarily under the protective “umbrella” of the Jewish G’d, the Creator of the universe. As a result of their embracing these commandments, the mixed multitude would cross the threshold of being ushered into the Jewish people as full partners as soon as they would cross into the Holy Land. (verse 11)The author adds, that he feels that the reason that Moses did not immediately convey the commandment of the sanctification of the firstborn and first inserted the commandment of the Passover lamb and the eating of matzot on the anniversaries as something that would continue for all future generations, was that the period of the Exodus, the 10 plagues, the removal of one nation from amidst another nation with whom the first nation had felt inextricably interwoven, had all been part of what our sages describe as ‘re-enactment” of the 6 days of the creation of the universe, a חדוש העולם, creation of a new world.
It resembled the creation of the יש מאין, the tangible emerging from the totally intangible. We acknowledge this concept of G’d renewing the universe constantly in our daily prayers before the recital of the קריאת שמע, when we say המחדש בטובו בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית, that “the Creator renews the whole universe on a daily basis, constantly, innumerable times.” When Job asks rhetorically in Job 28,12 והחכמה מאין תמצא, “from where did wisdom originate?,” he clearly cannot mean that the word אין means the same as the Greek: “nihil,” i.e. “nothing,” but refers to domains beyond those accessible to creatures rooted in the יש, the domain of the tangible, physical world.
Our author explained already on the first two pages of Genesis that unless man first negates his ego completely, he does not have access to the source of wisdom in the domain called אין, or “eyn,” “negation,” for want of a better word. Although G’d, as pointed out in our daily prayers, renews the creation every single day, on the occasion of the first of Nissan, He does so especially for the Jewish people, and at the same time even the “year” for the count of the number of years that a Jewish king rules, is considered as renewing its cycle on that day.
We know this from the Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah, 1,1 Although the names of the months in the Jewish calendar are generally understood to reflect the names in the Persian calendar, our author sees in the word ניסן, the month in which the Exodus occurred, an allusion to the נסים, earth shaking miracles that occurred in that month at that time. The reason why the Seder evening must conclude with the eating or the Passover lamb, or its substitute the “afikoman,” is so that the taste lingers in our mouth, and we can draw inspiration from it during the many months to come. [The reader is referred to pages 1-4 where the author explained the allegorical meaning in the letters of such words as אין, מצוה וגו'.
Based on this he feels that the linkage of months and years in our verse, i.e. לחדשי השנה is entirely justified. Ed.] Exodus 13,4. “this day you are leaving (Egypt) in the month that ushers in the spring.” It appears that the Creator, blessed be His name, chose only the Jewish people. Therefore no one has the right to speak badly of the Jewish people, but to interpret any actions of this people even if they seem at first glance to be sinful, in a manner that casts a favourable light on them.
We have learned this from Esther 10,3 where Mordechai is complimented of speaking always favourably of his brethren, i.e. דורש טוב לעמו. The numerical value of the letters in that short phrase amount to the same as the numerical value in the words רב חסד, “an abundance of love.” In other words, G’d has expended much loving kindness on His people Israel.We have a halachah that when washing one’s hands preparatory to performing some commandment, that one is to raise one’s hands in the process of doing so. (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 162,1) The reason is that the word נטילה implies lifting.
We have explained elsewhere that the human body is viewed as being composed of three parts, 1) The head and the limbs attached to it.; 2) the hands and the torso they are attached to;.3) the legs. The “limbs” (organs) belonging to the head i.e. the eyes, the ears, have been created primarily in order to focus on the words of Torah and moral instruction, whereas the mouth has been created primarily in order to speak words of Torah wisdom and to speak well of the Jewish people.The hands are an allusion to “love,” i.e. raising one’s hands expresses love for one’s Creator, whereas the legs and feet allude to faith, as the saying goes that שקר אין לו רגלים, “lies have no feet, (no basis to stand on).
Therefore, when a human beings sits down in order to eat, he is supposed to raise, elevate the “sparks” of spirituality within him so that consuming food becomes something more than a merely mundane activity intended to provide physical satisfaction for the person eating his food. This is why Rabbi Karo in his commentary on the Tur (בית יוסף), writes (inter alia) that the act of raising one’s hand prior to eating is an expression of love for the G’d Who has provided us with food and has blessed it. We find a disagreement between two sages of the Mishnah, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua, in Rosh Hashanah 11 about the time of year when the messiah will come.
One Rabbi claims that he will come in Nissan, whereas the other Rabbi claims that he will come in Tishrey. The letters in the word.תשר-י are arranged in the reverse order of the aleph bet, and we have a tradition that the aleph bet when read backwards is an allusion to the attribute of Justice, whereas the aleph bet when read in the regular order alludes to love and kindness, and the month of Nissan seeing that it ushers in a renewal of the bounty of nature that appeared to have died during the winter months, also alludes to this.
The dispute in the Talmud about when the Messiah will come, is based on the tradition that he will either come when the Jewish people have accumulated sufficient merits to warrant his coming, i.e. כולו זכאי, or if they are so guilty that G’d has to punish the guilty and only the few deserving will survive to experience the final redemption. The letters אב in the word אביב, spring, hint at the loving kindness orchestrated by G’d each spring.
According to the view that the messiah will come during the month of Tishrey, a month symbolizing judgment, the message is that the Jews may be redeemed even during this most awe-inspiring month, provided they are all G’d serving. If, G’d forbid, they fail to use the opportunities offered by the Day of Atonement during this month to return to their Creator with heart and soul, they will not experience the redemption. According to the view of Rabbi Joshua, who claims that the messiah will come during the month of Nissan, seeing that this month is an allusion to Mercy, his message is that even if the people do not qualify for redemption, G’d in His vast mercy and kindness will redeem them in the month of spring, the month heralding revival even in nature.
May his words find an echo in G’d’s heart, soon in our days, Amen. Exodus 13,10. “You are to observe this statute at its appointed time, year after year.” On the three pilgrimage festivals, Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot this illumination is firmly engraved for the remainder of the year. The essence of Passover is in the minute difference between חמץ and מצה consisting of the time it takes to walk one mile (18 minutes) during which an unleavened dough if unattended will turned into a leavened dough.
The essence of Shavuot consists of it being the anniversary of the Jewish people’s finest moment, the moment when they enthusiastically accepted the gift of the Torah. The essence of Sukkot consists of it being the source of all the blessings that ensure our economic existence and well being during the year then unfolding. The words: מימים ימימה refer to the three festivals mentioned radiating their spiritual influence for the entire year.
Provided that we believe in G’d’s miracles, the influence of these few days devoted to primarily spiritually oriented activities will act as a benevolent umbrella over all our activities during the year.