Bishalach

Par sh at B isha lac h From T he Sea To S ina i Ra bbi Ari Kahn As the Children of Israel began their journey from Egypt, they must surely have been on top of the world. The question, of course would be "What comes next?" Simply leaving Egypt was never the objective; when G-d revealed Himself to Moshe, He said: "When you take the people out of Egypt, you shall serve the Lord on this mountain" (3:12) The Jews are meant to arrive at Sinai, where the Torah will be revealed. The Jews will receive their mandate, which will instruct, inspire, and guide them throughout history. From Sinai the Jews are to enter the land promised to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'akov, the Land of Israel. But something happened on the way to Israel, and the Jews took a detour which left them wandering in the desert for the next 40 years. This detour has its origins in this week’s Parsha. In the first verse of B’shalach we are told that the Jews are but a short distance from Israel, near the land of the Philistines, but despite this proximity, a different path was chosen. And it came to pass that when Pharaoh sent the people, G-d would not let them travel via the route of the land of the Philistines, for it was quite close, for the Lord said: lest the people have second thoughts, if they see war, and return to Egypt (13:17) At this point Moshe’s task is to lead this young, fragile, nation to Sinai, and then on to Israel, but, as we know, Sinai will not be reached in this week’s parsha, and Moshe never does lead the people into the Promised Land. The people were not ready, and we may venture to say that the tragedies and disappointments of the ensuing forty are foreshadowed in this week’s Parsha. The people displayed a lack of preparedness, the Divine plan therefore took a detour. This detour, then, represents one of the great tragedies of Jewish history. The Jews were quite close to Israel, but not ready to enter. The path to Israel would go through Sinai, a 50 day trip, and the subsequent trip to Israel would take another 40 years. G-d wanted to take them to Israel, but He knew that they were simply not prepared psychologically to enter the Land, nor were they ready to fight for it. We may see this as an archetype of Divine behavior: G-d desires that man’s potential be fulfilled, but man at times is unable or unwilling to respond to G-d’s call. Analysis of the parsha will illuminate an educational philosophy, the lessons which were meant to transform the Jews from slaves to Pharaoh, into partners with G-d.

The Jews had just witnessed the greatest display of G-d's power the world had ever seen. This power, however, was a double-edged sword. On the one hand it provided the Jews with an awesome lesson in monotheism; on the other hand it set standards of a relationship with G-d which could not, for man's sake, be sustained. Miracles would have to be replaced with a different way of appreciating, understanding, and connecting to G-d. For this transformation to occur, one last glorious plague would befall the Egyptians: the splitting of the Sea. While the splitting of the Sea is not enumerated with the 10 Plagues, the response by the Jews is stronger than to any other plague. Here the Jews break into song; here they finally realize that their enslavement by the hated Egyptians is truly a thing of the past. Here we are told that the Jews truly believed in G-d and Moshe. Why was the response so strong? We may answer this question by posing a different question: What possessed the Egyptians to chase the Jews into the water? We have seen in previous Parshiot that Pharaoh saw himself as god of the Nile. Perhaps the Egyptians rationalized that on dry land the "Jewish" G-d was able to prevail but that the water is the domain of Egypt. Perhaps this mode of thought had made inroads into the Jewish community as well. To see the Egyptians die in the water confirmed for all G-d’s utter superiority. In a sense, the miracle at the Sea was like seeing the god of Egypt die. The first Plague drew first blood, as it were, and the splitting of the Sea was the completion of the theological lesson. For this reason, the splitting of the Sea was considered so momentous: "A maidservant had a greater vision than Yechezkel be Buzi" (Mechilta) Or in the words of Rashi: "There was a revelation of G-d; A maid saw on the sea that which eluded the Prophets" (Rashi 15:2) Only one problem remained: What do you do for an encore? This type of supernatural relationship is wonderful; G-d attacks all who wish to do us harm, but it is indeed unnatural. Man needs independence of these miracles in order for his free will to become operational. The plagues which have dominated the recent relationship between G-d and the Jews will have to come to an end. The splitting of the Sea marks the point of departure from the previous plagues. ‘Lift your staff and stretch out you arm on the sea and divide it (the Sea)’ (14:16). And Moshe stretched out his hand over the Sea (21:16). And G-d said to Moshe, ‘Stretch out your hand on the Sea, and the water will return on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen’ (14:26) Moshe is told to take his staff, the same staff which had performed so many miracles, and to hold it up, but to use his arm - not the staff! This marks a departure from the manner in which miracles were performed in Egypt – via the staff. Another important element is that the splitting of the sea takes place as the wind blows the entire night.

And Moshe stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. (14:21) The result is not immediate. The hand replaces the staff and the wind replaces the “instant miracles” which happened time and again in Egypt. Nonetheless the people experienced G-d. In the minds of the people, the revelation of G-d is specifically identified with the Sea, for here the glory of G-d was fully experienced. The Jews leave the Sea after this experience and continue their march toward the desert. So Moshe brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore its name was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? (15:22-24). Nowhere does the text say that they were, in fact, seeking water, nor that they were thirsty; rather that they did not find water. When they arrive at Marah they find water, but it is unsatisfying; the water is bitter. How strange; had they been truly thirsty, even bitter water should have quenched their thirst. But, as noted, the text did not say that they were thirsty. They wanted the water for a different reason: They wanted to experience G-d again, as they did at the Sea. In this light we can understand G-d’s response: He (Moshe) prayed to G-d. G-d instructed (Moshe concerning) a tree which he cast into the water, and the water became sweet; there He gave him rituals and laws (15:25) While the second part of the verse may seem completely disconnected from the first, a profound educational philosophy is embedded in this short verse. The people thought that what they wanted was water, while their real desire was to experience G-d again. The response was to give them Torah. This would be the new way that the people would relate to and experience G-d. If this is the case, what is the nature of this tree which is cast into the water? The sages teach us that the tree is the "Tree of Life" which is identified with Torah (see Michilta, Bahir and the list of sources cited by Rav Kasher, in Torah Shlema). The people think they want water, but G-d knows what they really need. G-d turned their complaining into a positive educational experience, which sets the stage for the next episode. When the people complain about the scarcity of food in the desert, G-d responds by giving the people “man” -manna. On the surface it appears that the purpose of the manna was simply to provide the people with nourishment. The Torah, however, informs us of an ulterior motive. The manna falls for 5 days, and on the 6th they receive a double portion. On the seventh day,

Shabbat, no manna is forthcoming. When the double portion falls on the 6th day, the people question Moshe as to the meaning of this phenomenon. The answer is: "This is what G-d spoke of. A day of rest, a Shabbat sanctified to G-d, will take place tomorrow" (16:23) The people think they want food, but G-d gives the people what they really need: Shabbat. Once again, a positive educational response. We see that the former slaves, who are moving toward Mount Sinai, are being primed by G-d, prepared for the type of spiritual experiences which will become part and parcel of Jewish life. The staff, the symbol of G-d’s miracles, is no longer employed. Even at Marrah, the tree is utilized, the tree being the “natural” form of the staff. The Ramban notes that the tree turned the water sweet "in a natural way"1. This is the new agenda: A free nation will become dedicated to the teachings of a supernatural Gd in the most natural way. Nature can lead to a deep understanding of G-d, and, alternatively, G-d’s teachings are meant for this world, the natural world. As it says in Dvarim, "It is not in heaven". The manna was a tangible lesson in Shabbat. The desire for food is obviously quite real, and cannot be ignored, but the purpose of food is not simply to fill our stomachs. Rather, it facilitates our relationship with G-d. The purpose of Judaism is to take the mundane and sanctify it. The people thought they wanted food, and Gd gave them food from heaven. But isn't all food really from heaven? We must take the food from heaven and process it into a relationship with G-d. This is our role on earth. The best example of this lesson is Shabbat, when G-d ceased creating, as it were, and made the 7th day holy. That was the lesson of the manna: food can be used in the service of G-d, or, that this entire world may be used as a catalyst to allow us to relate to G-d. Therefore, the Jews traveled from Egypt to the Sea. There they were liberated from the Egyptians, and from the Egyptian gods, who had haunted them all those years. The next stop is Marrah, where the Jews receive some basic teachings of Torah. At the next stop the Jews experience Shabbat, and a lesson in sanctifying this world. The next stage, though, is a reversal. Here we are told that the Jews were thirsty, and they fought with Moshe. Worst of all, the Jews questioned G-d. "They tested G-d, saying "is G-d among us or not"? (17:7) The people seem to be going in the wrong direction, suffering a relapse. Theoretically, they should have already learned a lesson at Marrah, the lesson of Torah as their connection to G-d. Now the text says that they are thirsty; now they challenge the existence of G-d. At this point, G-d’s response is different. Now G-d tells Moshe, And the Lord said to Moshe, Go on before the people, and take with you of the elders of Israel; and your rod, with which you struck the river, take in your hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there upon the rock in 1

Ramban 15:25

Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink. And Moshe did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. (17:5-6) The staff is employed again; the people, who were supposed to be moving away from the Plagues and toward Sinai, and Torah, are now taking a step backward toward Egypt. Therefore, the response which is used is taken from the repertoire of the Plagues. The movement away from blatant supernatural miracles to the next stage in the spiritual development of the Jewish People has been arrested. G-d must revert back to supernatural signs and symbols, repeating a lesson taught earlier, but not fully internalized. Even worse, though, was the nature of the argument the Jews questioned the existence of a living G-d among them. The response to such questioning was the appearance of Amalek. Whereas the Parsha opens with the Jews detouring around the lands of the Philistines in order to avoid war, by the end of the Parsha the Jews do find themselves engaged in a different battle, when they are attacked by the Amalakites. Amalek represents the philosophy which rejects a living G-d, and instead ascribes everything to coincidence and happenstance. In D’varim, as we are commanded to remember Amalek, the Torah writes: "Remember what Amalek did to you, on the road when you left Egypt. How they happened upon you...(Dvarim 25:17,18) Rashi explains the term "happened upon": "The term means coincidence" (Rashi 25:18) One of the great Hassidic masters, Rav Zaddok Hacohen, explained: Amalek believes that everything in this world is coincidence, that there is no hashgacha in the world, or, in other words, that nature is god. The Jews became vulnerable to the attack of Amalek when they questioned if G-d was really with them. The Jews needed yet another lesson in the power of G-d. Now, during the battle we are told that Moshe took the staff of Elokim with him: And Moshe said to Joshua, Choose for us men, and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of G-d in my hand. So Joshua did as Moshe had said to him, and fought with Amalek; and Moshe, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moshe held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. (17:9-11) The Mishna asks rhetorically, "Did the hands of Moshe bring victory or defeat?" And it came to pass, when Moshe held up his hand that Israel prevailed, etc. now did the hands of Moshe wage war or crush the enemy? Not so; only the text signifies that so long as Israel turned

their thoughts above and subjected their hearts to their father in heaven they prevailed, but otherwise they fell. (Rosh Hashana 29a) The hands of Moshe helped focus the Children of Israel on their Father in Heaven. In a sense, the battle with Amalek is similar to the splitting of the Sea, for there, too, Moshe brought the staff but used his hands. In this case the relationship between the hands of Moshe and victory is even more clear: The function of Moshe's hands was to bring people in touch with the fact that there is a G-d, that He sees all and is all-powerful. Amalek was able to attack through the chink in Israel’s armor of belief. When the Jews doubted G-d’s involvement in their history and destiny, in their everyday lives, and took the lessons of nature to improper conclusions, Amalek and their philosophy of random happenstance could make inroads into Israel. The lessons which G-d had taught them were not learned in proper sequence, and some needed repetition. This, then, is the tragedy of Parshat B’Shalach: lessons had to be repeated, and opportunities were not realized. The battle which was avoided with the Plishtim, became a reality with Amalek. The battle of Amalek was not part of the utopian Divine plan. Had the Jews internalized the lesson at Marrah and succeeded in maintaining their relationship with G-d via Torah, Amalek and the philosophy they represent would have been powerless. But the behavior of the Jews in the desert created the necessity for a “plan B”. Other lessons not properly learned will bring upon them plans C and D. For while G-d provides the lessons and allows for the growth needed at each stage, it has been our task throughout history to learn the lessons, to internalize them and utilize them. G-d and His methods are perfect. Man, in his rebelliousness from time immemorial, has rejected the beauty of G-d’s plan. From the Garden of Eden onwards man’s actions have necessitated revisions of the Divine plan; each time such revisions are made, man suffers the painful feeling of being distanced from G-d. G-d, for His part, offers the precise educational message needed at each stage to ensure the proper growth, and the tools needed to close the gap between man and G-d. It is incumbent upon us to realize these opportunities and seize the moment, lest more distancing result. To paraphrase a 20th century icon: In life, man does not always get what he wants, but G-d always provides what we need.