Chasidut על פסחים 236:1
Kedushat Levi
We may understand the word אתם better when comparing with Exodus 14,4 “I have reinforced Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue you, etc.” You will note that during the entire song of thanksgiving after the drowning of the Egyptians, in spite of frequent repetitions of the many aspects of this miracle, Moses did not for a single time refer to the fact that the Israelites had been saved, although he extols the annihilation of Egypt’s armed might. This was in spite of the fact that the major aspect of the miracle was the saving of the Israelites who had been between a “rock and a hard place,” completely helpless before that miracle.
The Talmud in Pessachim 118 is at pains to point out that the Israelites of that generation were very weak in their level of faith in G’d, so much so that they reasoned that just as they themselves had been able to climb out of the sea bed on one side, the Egyptians might have been able to do the same on the opposite side of the shore. Why would such a thought be justification to describe the Israelites as lacking in faith? Furthermore, what does the Talmud mean by the words: כשם שאנו עולים, “just as we climbed out, etc.?” How could they compare their situation to that of the Egyptians? Besides when had they posed a threat to the Egyptians? In order to understand this better we must remember that there are two different levels of faith. The first and highest level is called אמונה שלמה, “absolute unshakable faith.” It includes that one believes absolutely without reservation in the G’d of our forefathers, reveres Him and loves Him. The second level of “faith,” is not “self generated,” but is the result of experiencing mind-boggling events, such as the miracles the Israelites had experienced both in Egypt and in even greater measure at the sea of reeds. A look at what the Sifssey chachamim has to say on Rashi’s explanation of Yitro’s words in Exodus 18,11 עתה ידעתי כי גדול ה' מכל האלוקים, “now I know that Hashem is greater than any other deity.” Rashi had interpreted this line to mean that in the past Yitro had not left any religion untried until he had found it wanting. The Sifssey chachamim points out that Rashi had come to this conclusion from the apparent contradiction of the word עתה, ”now,” and the word ידעתי, “I was familiar with,” in the past tense. Yitro therefore meant that although in the past he had been familiar with every deity, by now he had convinced himself of Hashem’s absolute superiority.
However, the Egyptians, far from reacting positively to the performance of G’d’s miracles reacted negatively by becoming ever more obstinate. This is indicated clearly in Exodus 15,4 when Moses describes the choicest of the Egyptians’ captains being flung into the sea to drown. (15,4) The expression ובמבחר, “and from the choice(st)” instead of ומטוב “and from the best,” is a double entendre, and hints at the choice the Egyptians had made to rather drown than acknowledge the superiority of Hashem. Watching G’d perform miracles had left open the choice for them to do teshuvah even though G’d had performed one or two acts designed to give them confidence that they could defeat the Israelites and their G’d. The same miracles which had brought the Jewish people closer to G’d, had the opposite effect on the Egyptians, confirming them in the belief that their deity Baal Tzefon had proved superior to the Jewish G’d.
The Talmud in Pessachim 118 is at pains to point out that the Israelites of that generation were very weak in their level of faith in G’d, so much so that they reasoned that just as they themselves had been able to climb out of the sea bed on one side, the Egyptians might have been able to do the same on the opposite side of the shore. Why would such a thought be justification to describe the Israelites as lacking in faith? Furthermore, what does the Talmud mean by the words: כשם שאנו עולים, “just as we climbed out, etc.?” How could they compare their situation to that of the Egyptians? Besides when had they posed a threat to the Egyptians? In order to understand this better we must remember that there are two different levels of faith. The first and highest level is called אמונה שלמה, “absolute unshakable faith.” It includes that one believes absolutely without reservation in the G’d of our forefathers, reveres Him and loves Him. The second level of “faith,” is not “self generated,” but is the result of experiencing mind-boggling events, such as the miracles the Israelites had experienced both in Egypt and in even greater measure at the sea of reeds. A look at what the Sifssey chachamim has to say on Rashi’s explanation of Yitro’s words in Exodus 18,11 עתה ידעתי כי גדול ה' מכל האלוקים, “now I know that Hashem is greater than any other deity.” Rashi had interpreted this line to mean that in the past Yitro had not left any religion untried until he had found it wanting. The Sifssey chachamim points out that Rashi had come to this conclusion from the apparent contradiction of the word עתה, ”now,” and the word ידעתי, “I was familiar with,” in the past tense. Yitro therefore meant that although in the past he had been familiar with every deity, by now he had convinced himself of Hashem’s absolute superiority.
However, the Egyptians, far from reacting positively to the performance of G’d’s miracles reacted negatively by becoming ever more obstinate. This is indicated clearly in Exodus 15,4 when Moses describes the choicest of the Egyptians’ captains being flung into the sea to drown. (15,4) The expression ובמבחר, “and from the choice(st)” instead of ומטוב “and from the best,” is a double entendre, and hints at the choice the Egyptians had made to rather drown than acknowledge the superiority of Hashem. Watching G’d perform miracles had left open the choice for them to do teshuvah even though G’d had performed one or two acts designed to give them confidence that they could defeat the Israelites and their G’d. The same miracles which had brought the Jewish people closer to G’d, had the opposite effect on the Egyptians, confirming them in the belief that their deity Baal Tzefon had proved superior to the Jewish G’d.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Kedushat Levi
Exodus 3,10 “come, therefore I will send you to Pharaoh, etc.;” In order to understand the ensuing developments, i.e. interminably long negotiations between Moses and Pharaoh about the release of the Israelites, the author suggests that we look at psalms 117,1 הללו את ה' כל גוים שבחוהו כל האומים כי גבר עלינו חסדו ואמת ה' לעולם הללויה, “praise the Lord all you nations, extol Him, all you peoples; for He is great and steadfast toward us; the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.” The Talmud Pessachim 118 appears to understand David’s words as meaning that if the gentiles acknowledge the miracles G’d has performed for them, then they surely must acknowledge and praise the Lord even more for the miracles He has performed for the Jewish people, i.e. וגבר עלינו חסדו, “for great is His steadfast love toward us;” at first glance this line is difficult, as we would have expected David to refer to the miracles G’d has performed for us, the Jewish people. According to the Talmud, David meant that the nations are requested to acknowledge the miracles performed by G’d for His people. From this it follows that they must all the more acknowledge the miracles G’d has performed for them.
After all, we have proof of this in Deuteronomy 4,34. When Moses there extols the mind-boggling nature of the miracles performed by G’d for us, he compares these miracles to others that G’d, on occasion, has performed even for the gentiles. These mind-boggling miracles performed on behalf of His people have usually been predicted by a prophet announcing time and location of each miracle. They usually took the form of penalizing the enemies or oppressors of the Jewish people at the same time.
It is quite out of the question that in psalms 117 or elsewhere, David intended for the gentiles to salute and praise the Lord for miracles He had performed for them.
We will try therefore, with G’d’s help to explain what the Talmud had in mind when speaking of miracles G’d performed for the gentiles. In order to do this plausibly, let us remember a statement from the Haggadah shel Pessach, where the author refers to: והכיתי כל בכור בארץ מצרים אני ולא מלאך, אני ה' הוא ולא אחר; ”I will smitten every firstborn in the land of Egypt, ‘I and not an angel, I the Lord, it is I and no one else.’” [The author presents a slightly condensed quote, which does not detract from the point under discussion. Ed.]. Why was the killing of the firstborn carried out by Hashem personally, whereas for all the other plagues He employed “angels,” i.e. terrestrial phenomena, though all were G’d’s messengers, agents?
We must explain however, that harmful phenomena never originate with G’d. Only beneficial phenomena originate with G’d. When our eyes will be opened to see the great troubles that befall the wicked, we will realize that the wicked themselves have been the architects of their problems, or even destruction. If they would be intelligent enough to realize that all of these phenomena are warnings, they would, instead of cursing the day they had been born, turn to G’d in love, grateful to have been given such opportunities to improve their ways. These “disciplinary measures” by G’d are designed to lead to His name becoming sanctified and aggrandized throughout the universe, especially the part of it where His name had not been known previously. Not only will His existence be revealed to them by such disciplinary actions, but the fact that He is involved in the personal fates of all His creatures will also be demonstrated by His intervention in the affairs of man by means of miracles. [The plagues that the Egyptians were afflicted with had far-reaching consequences, so that 40 years later Rachav, the innkeeper in Jericho told Joshua’s spies that all her friends and acquaintances were still in awe of how G’d had split the sea to allow the Israelites to pass through, while at the same time drowning the pursuing Egyptians in it. (Joshua 2,10) Ed.]
An intelligent Jew or gentile, using his brain without prejudice, will, instead of being frustrated by misfortune, use same as a jumping off board to establish closer ties with his G’d, Who had been kind enough to alert him to His existence in heaven by inflicting harsh penalties on him instead of summarily condemning him to eternal perdition without warning. The Jewish people did not realize all this until after the plagues that G’d visited upon the Egyptians, they had not only been spared, but had seen how G’d had elevated them to become His עם סגולה, especially precious people.
Some leading personalities in our history used this concept to wish for the day when they could demonstrate that they had learned this lesson. The Talmud in B’rachot 61 relates a conversation between Rabbi Akiva (aged 120 at the time) in which the students are quoted as asking their mentor, who at that time was undergoing torture at the hands of the Romans for having publicly violated the decree not to teach Torah, “how long are you going to praise the Lord under such conditions?” He answered them that far from being disheartened, he had been waiting for a lifetime to be able to fulfill the commandment to love G’d בכל נפשך, “with your entire life force,” i.e. at the price of a painful death. How could he possibly allow himself to succumb now when finally this opportunity had presented itself for him? Rabbi Akiva’s final lesson to his disciples was to teach them to make use of adversity, even the most painful adversity, to rise to spiritual levels that would have remained in the realm of a potential only, had they not been able to fulfill this commandment publicly.
[It is doubtful, in my opinion, that we are obligated to wish ourselves such opportunities as Rabbi Akiva had deliberately invited by public disobedience of Roman decrees, as the sages tell us that when David wished to become one of the patriarchs, G’d warned him that in order to do so one had to successfully cope with difficult temptations. Since David had insisted, he was tempted by the matter of Bat Sheva, and, having been unable to resist the temptation, he did not wind up as one of the patriarchs mentioned in our daily amidah prayer at the very outset. (Sanhedrin 107) Ed.]
To sum up, the principal purpose of our existence on earth is to mobilize all our faculties to serve the Lord in the best way we know how. Fondness of the Lord cannot be better demonstrated than to walk through fire or water when necessary, and to see in this an opportunity to prove to Hashem that we love Him and are convinced that what He has decreed for us is for our ultimate benefit, even if we cannot realize this at the time when we are suffering the afflictions concerned.
Expressed slightly differently, we must train ourselves to view trials and tribulations not as “afflictions, attempts to make our lives uncomfortable or even unbearable,” but as medicines designed to cure our ills, especially the ones (like high blood pressure) that we were totally unaware of. Just as none of us would refuse to swallow a bitter tasting medicine prescribed by his favourite physician, so we must not refuse to accept with good cheer the medicine prescribed for us by the “Healer” of the universe, its architect. [The reader may have guessed that I paraphrased some of the author’s words. Ed.]
As to the plagues in Egypt, the Jewish people experienced this lesson by watching how G’d dealt with the Egyptians; we learned vicariously, instead of our having to learn this on our own bodies.
[As the author proceeds to describe the ideal Jew as eagerly looking forward to more yissurim, afflictions, and this editor recalls numerous prayers that include specifically the plea not to elevate us by means of painful yissurim, I will omit part of this chapter, as it is not addressed to the average reader like myself. Ed.]
The author, coming back to his original question of why the killing of the firstborn had to be orchestrated by G’d Himself, points to our opening statement that nothing bad ever originates with G’d Himself. If G’d therefore, personally carried out the killing of the firstborn, this too could not have been something bad, something negative, else He would have had to entrust it to one or more of His angels.
When G’d concludes with what appears as if a repetition, that it is He and no one else who has done this, He means that by orchestrating this “plague” Himself He achieved that His name became great and well known all over the inhabited parts of the globe. If the death of the Egyptians served the purpose of sanctifying the holy name of the Lord, they themselves had served a holy purpose, though unwittingly.
After all, we have proof of this in Deuteronomy 4,34. When Moses there extols the mind-boggling nature of the miracles performed by G’d for us, he compares these miracles to others that G’d, on occasion, has performed even for the gentiles. These mind-boggling miracles performed on behalf of His people have usually been predicted by a prophet announcing time and location of each miracle. They usually took the form of penalizing the enemies or oppressors of the Jewish people at the same time.
It is quite out of the question that in psalms 117 or elsewhere, David intended for the gentiles to salute and praise the Lord for miracles He had performed for them.
We will try therefore, with G’d’s help to explain what the Talmud had in mind when speaking of miracles G’d performed for the gentiles. In order to do this plausibly, let us remember a statement from the Haggadah shel Pessach, where the author refers to: והכיתי כל בכור בארץ מצרים אני ולא מלאך, אני ה' הוא ולא אחר; ”I will smitten every firstborn in the land of Egypt, ‘I and not an angel, I the Lord, it is I and no one else.’” [The author presents a slightly condensed quote, which does not detract from the point under discussion. Ed.]. Why was the killing of the firstborn carried out by Hashem personally, whereas for all the other plagues He employed “angels,” i.e. terrestrial phenomena, though all were G’d’s messengers, agents?
We must explain however, that harmful phenomena never originate with G’d. Only beneficial phenomena originate with G’d. When our eyes will be opened to see the great troubles that befall the wicked, we will realize that the wicked themselves have been the architects of their problems, or even destruction. If they would be intelligent enough to realize that all of these phenomena are warnings, they would, instead of cursing the day they had been born, turn to G’d in love, grateful to have been given such opportunities to improve their ways. These “disciplinary measures” by G’d are designed to lead to His name becoming sanctified and aggrandized throughout the universe, especially the part of it where His name had not been known previously. Not only will His existence be revealed to them by such disciplinary actions, but the fact that He is involved in the personal fates of all His creatures will also be demonstrated by His intervention in the affairs of man by means of miracles. [The plagues that the Egyptians were afflicted with had far-reaching consequences, so that 40 years later Rachav, the innkeeper in Jericho told Joshua’s spies that all her friends and acquaintances were still in awe of how G’d had split the sea to allow the Israelites to pass through, while at the same time drowning the pursuing Egyptians in it. (Joshua 2,10) Ed.]
An intelligent Jew or gentile, using his brain without prejudice, will, instead of being frustrated by misfortune, use same as a jumping off board to establish closer ties with his G’d, Who had been kind enough to alert him to His existence in heaven by inflicting harsh penalties on him instead of summarily condemning him to eternal perdition without warning. The Jewish people did not realize all this until after the plagues that G’d visited upon the Egyptians, they had not only been spared, but had seen how G’d had elevated them to become His עם סגולה, especially precious people.
Some leading personalities in our history used this concept to wish for the day when they could demonstrate that they had learned this lesson. The Talmud in B’rachot 61 relates a conversation between Rabbi Akiva (aged 120 at the time) in which the students are quoted as asking their mentor, who at that time was undergoing torture at the hands of the Romans for having publicly violated the decree not to teach Torah, “how long are you going to praise the Lord under such conditions?” He answered them that far from being disheartened, he had been waiting for a lifetime to be able to fulfill the commandment to love G’d בכל נפשך, “with your entire life force,” i.e. at the price of a painful death. How could he possibly allow himself to succumb now when finally this opportunity had presented itself for him? Rabbi Akiva’s final lesson to his disciples was to teach them to make use of adversity, even the most painful adversity, to rise to spiritual levels that would have remained in the realm of a potential only, had they not been able to fulfill this commandment publicly.
[It is doubtful, in my opinion, that we are obligated to wish ourselves such opportunities as Rabbi Akiva had deliberately invited by public disobedience of Roman decrees, as the sages tell us that when David wished to become one of the patriarchs, G’d warned him that in order to do so one had to successfully cope with difficult temptations. Since David had insisted, he was tempted by the matter of Bat Sheva, and, having been unable to resist the temptation, he did not wind up as one of the patriarchs mentioned in our daily amidah prayer at the very outset. (Sanhedrin 107) Ed.]
To sum up, the principal purpose of our existence on earth is to mobilize all our faculties to serve the Lord in the best way we know how. Fondness of the Lord cannot be better demonstrated than to walk through fire or water when necessary, and to see in this an opportunity to prove to Hashem that we love Him and are convinced that what He has decreed for us is for our ultimate benefit, even if we cannot realize this at the time when we are suffering the afflictions concerned.
Expressed slightly differently, we must train ourselves to view trials and tribulations not as “afflictions, attempts to make our lives uncomfortable or even unbearable,” but as medicines designed to cure our ills, especially the ones (like high blood pressure) that we were totally unaware of. Just as none of us would refuse to swallow a bitter tasting medicine prescribed by his favourite physician, so we must not refuse to accept with good cheer the medicine prescribed for us by the “Healer” of the universe, its architect. [The reader may have guessed that I paraphrased some of the author’s words. Ed.]
As to the plagues in Egypt, the Jewish people experienced this lesson by watching how G’d dealt with the Egyptians; we learned vicariously, instead of our having to learn this on our own bodies.
[As the author proceeds to describe the ideal Jew as eagerly looking forward to more yissurim, afflictions, and this editor recalls numerous prayers that include specifically the plea not to elevate us by means of painful yissurim, I will omit part of this chapter, as it is not addressed to the average reader like myself. Ed.]
The author, coming back to his original question of why the killing of the firstborn had to be orchestrated by G’d Himself, points to our opening statement that nothing bad ever originates with G’d Himself. If G’d therefore, personally carried out the killing of the firstborn, this too could not have been something bad, something negative, else He would have had to entrust it to one or more of His angels.
When G’d concludes with what appears as if a repetition, that it is He and no one else who has done this, He means that by orchestrating this “plague” Himself He achieved that His name became great and well known all over the inhabited parts of the globe. If the death of the Egyptians served the purpose of sanctifying the holy name of the Lord, they themselves had served a holy purpose, though unwittingly.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy