Rabbi Frand on Parshas Bo
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 359, Three
Slices of Pizza - Must You Bench? Good Shabbos!
G-d Rules Even In A Period In Which We Fail To See It
The pasuk [verse] at the end of the Shirah [The song of thanks that the
nation sang after crossing the Reed Sea] says, "Hashem will reign for all
eternity" [Shmos 15:18]. There is an interesting Targum Onkelus on this
pasuk. The Targum interprets the verb "Yimloch" (which we ordinarily
translate as future tense -- "will reign") as "his Kingship is in existence"
(malchusei kaim). It is not a statement about the future -- according to
Onkelus -- it is a statement about the present.
Rav Simcha Zissel Brody -- the Rosh Yeshiva of the Chevron Yeshiva --
explains a prayer that is recited daily (just before the Morning Shemoneh
Esrei, Silent Prayer) based on this statement of the Targum: "With a new
song the redeemed ones praised Your Name at the seashore, all of them in
unison gave thanks, acknowledged Your sovereignty and said "Hashem Yimloch
l'olam Va'ed" (our above-referenced pasuk). Why does our liturgy refer to
this song of praise at the Reed Sea as a "new song"?
A different pasuk says about the Egyptians, "Deep waters covered them,
they descended in the depths like stone (k'even)" [Shmos 15:5]. Rashi
points out that we are taught elsewhere that the Egyptians sank like lead
(tzalalu k'oferes) [15:10], and in still a third place that they were
consumed like straw (yochleimo k'kash) [15:7]. Lead is a very heavy metal;
it sinks more quickly than stone. Straw is a light material; it first
floats on top and then sinks slowly. So these three verses apparently
contradict each other.
Rashi explains that the pasukim [verses] are describing the fate of three
different types of Egyptians. Some drowned slowly like straw. Others
drowned more quickly, sinking like stone. Still others drowned almost
immediately, sinking like lead. The slower the death, the more torture and
pain were involved in the process. These three types of drowning deaths
represented three different levels of wickedness found amongst the
Egyptians. Their deaths corresponded with the way they treated the Jews
during their slavery experience in Egypt.
We learn the following lesson from this Rashi. Even though during the
Egyptian bondage it appeared to all the Jews that G-d had forsaken them,
that was never so. Even in the period when G-d hid His Face (Hester Panim),
He was still paying very close attention. He never forsakes His people, even
in the time of their worst suffering. Even then, as it were, He sits in
Heaven and 'keeps score'. He remembers which Egyptians were horrible to the
Jews, which were decent to them, and which were good to them. Although it
may sometimes appear otherwise, G-d never abandons us. G-d is always very
much interested in what happens to the Jewish people.
Rav Simcha Zissel explains that the insight of this Rashi is the same as
the interpretation of the Targum Onkelus mentioned earlier: When the Jews
looked back after crossing the Reed Sea and they saw the Egyptians
drowning -- some in a more painful fashion and some in a less painful
fashion -- they suddenly 'got it'. They understood that Divine Justice was
being administered. They understood that G-d was very much aware and very
much in charge even in the darkest days of Egyptian bondage.
Therefore, they were able to express a new level of insight into their song
(shirah chadasha). Usually we think of song as praise for the 'nice' things
that G-d has done for us. However, the 'new' song was not only for the
salvation, it involved praise to G-d that even in the worst times of
enslavement, He was still caring about us. This praise was articulated by
the words "Hashem Yimloch L'Olam Va'Ed". As Unkelus says, this does not mean
G-d WILL rule forever. It means that right now in the present -- as bleak as
the situation may seem -- G-d's Kingship is still ruling his world.
We think that while we are in Exile, the Divine Presence is hidden from us.
The simple reading of our prayer is that we have confidence that in the
future, G-d will rule and everyone will recognize His presence. The Targum
is explaining the opposite insight into the prayer. Even now, we are firmly
convinced that G-d is ruling and 'keeping intimate score' regarding all that
happens.
Things May Improve At The Next Stop Down The Road
A related insight can be drawn from an incident that occurred later in the
Parsha. The pasuk says, "And they came to Marah and they could not drink
water from Marah because they were bitter, therefore they called the name of
the place Marah (from the word 'mar' -- bitter)" [Shmos 15:23] The people
complained that they had nothing to drink. Moshe solved the problem.
Then they traveled to Elim. In Elim they found twelve springs of water and
seventy date palms and they camped there by the water. The Ibn Ezra says
that they spent one day in Marah and 21 days in Elim. This can be comparable
to going on a trip, where the accommodations are terrible at the first stop,
while just down the road is a paradise. We are bound by time and space and
literally do not know what is down the road or around the corner from us.
Had they known that they were only going to be in Marah for one day and that
down the road was a beautiful resting place where they would stay for an
extended period of time, then their attitude would not have been the same.
But part of the human condition is the inability to see beyond our noses.
So many times in life, when we experience hard times, the situation
improves literally overnight and all returns to normal. But while we are
in our current state of mind, a situation can appear darker than dark. The
Jews in Egypt felt forsaken and abandoned. "G-d doesn't care. G-d died in
Auschwitz." For those people who suffered during World War II, it was not
one day of suffering. It was not three weeks. It was many hard years.
Certainly, that was also the case for the generations who suffered in
Egypt. The natural inclination is to say "we are abandoned."
But the Song by the Sea, as well as the story of Marah and Elim, remind us
that sometimes the salvation is just down the road. There are situations
in life are very difficult. But the salvation of G-d can come in the blink
of an eye. Elim and Marah teach us that things can literally turn around
on a dime.
This write-up was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tape series on the weekly Torah portion.
The complete list of halachic topics covered in this series for Parshas
Beshalach are provided below:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
