The peculiarities characterizing the relationship of a graceful, sustaining, and forgiving Elohim with a people marked by vacillation and unbelief are very evident in Parashat B’shalach. This makes the current Parasha a most suitable introduction to this relationship, foreshadowing what will continue to transpire for many generations to come. The opening words, referring to Par’oh's release of the Israelites, without attributing it to YHVH, have been called into question. However, because in the process of negotiating with Par’oh the term "let go" ("sh.l.ch", literally to “send or send off") is used time and again (seven, to be exact) and to no avail, the opening words of this Parasha point out that (ultimately) the ruling king is compelled, "willy nilly", to do just that.1. This is especially so, since we noticed last week that it was incumbent (legally) on Par’oh to let the Hebrews go, in an act which signified a divorce-like separation. Right after the "sending", it says that, "Elohim did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines" (13:17 emphasis added). "Lead" here is "nacham", of the root n.ch.h (noon, chet, hey). The same verb is used again, in verse 21, where it says that "YHVH was going before them, in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them ["lan'chotam"] on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night". In Moshe’s Song (15:13), he specifies further, saying (literally), "By Your grace you led the people…" (using the same verb). This root is also used in “satisfaction” or “peace” (e.g., Pro. 29:9), while the root n.o.ch (noon, vav, chet), which is a related root, means “rest”. Thus, YHVH’s guidance and leading of His people during the entire wilderness journey, including the events described here, promises to be marked by these qualities. Interestingly, a potential encounter with the Philistines caused YHVH to take Yisrael in a roundabout way, even though they “came up from the land of Egypt prepared for action [or] in a martial array – chamushim” (13:18b italics added). The root ch.m.sh (chet, mem, shin) also serves the figure “five” – “chamesh” - which is thought to be the minimum number required for taking action. Years down the road, before the Israelites cross the Yarden (Jordan) into the Promised Land, Yehoshua will adjure the two and a half tribes (Reuven, Gad and Half Menashe): ".... Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall pass before your brethren armed (chamushim)..." (Joshua 1:14), echoing the term used here.
The next phase, wherein the Children of Yisrael find
themselves 'between a rock and a hard place' (14:2, 3), forms an inseparable
part of YHVH's plan for them. However, the names of the sites cannot be
ignored. “Pi Hahirot (Ha’chirot) …. opposite Baal Zephon (Tz’fon)”, reads very
closely to “Pi Ha’cherut” – which is the “mouth” or “opening” of liberty, while
“tz’fon” can be easily read as Tzafon, which is north. According to Isaiah
14:13b, Lucifer aspires to sit at the end of the north. Thus, the “opening of
liberty”, on one hand, and “Baal” and “north,” on the other, seem to point to
spiritual warfare (see Psalm 23:5, “You prepare a table before in the presence
of my enemies”). Is this why we read above that the sons of Yisrael came out of
Egypt “in martial array”? Yet, had they been told at that time, “…be
strong in YHVH and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of
Elohim, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”
(Ephesians 6:10-11), it would have been to no avail…
However, YHVH intended to be "honored – ve’eka’veda’
- through Pharaoh" (ref. 14:4). "Honor" (and
"glory" too) here, and in most other places, is "kavod",
meaning "weightiness" or "heaviness". In
verses 17 and 18, YHVH repeats the principle, "…then the Egyptians will
know that I am YHVH, when I am honored - ve’eka’veda -
through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen" (emphasis added).
A little later, YHVH "caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made
them drive with difficulty…" literally "with heaviness"
- "bich'vedoot" (v. 25, emphasis added). This is indeed an
intriguing usage of the figurative and literal manifestation of the
"glory" and "honor" of the Elohim of Yisrael, who was to be
honored even through the heaviness of His enemies’ chariots! But the divine
irony does not end there… In the past two Parashot, we have encountered the
term “Pharaoh hardened his heart” quite a few times. Occasionally the verb used
was “hach’bed” – made heavy (i.e.,
hardened), such as in Sh’mot (Exodus) 8:28. Thus, it was the very “heaviness”
of Par’oh’s heart (and also, proverbially, of his chariots) which brought about
“high esteem” – kavod – to the Elohim who used the enemy’s ploys for the sake
of His name. Additionally, let's look back at the time when
Moshe was first commissioned by YHVH. We discover that his initial response was
that he “was slow of speech and slow of tongue” (4:10),
which in Hebrew is (having) a “heavy mouth” and a “heavy tongue”
(k’vad peh, k’vad lashon). Ultimately, YHVH in His wisdom used all of these
"weighty resistances" to cause His Name to be honored and glorified.
Much of the description of the scene of the mighty
deliverance (chapter 14) is echoed in chapter 15, by what is typically known as
the "Song of Moses", or in Hebrew “Shirat Ha’Yam” – the Song of the
Sea, rendering this Shabbat’s title, the Shabbat of the Song - Shabbat Shira.
The "six hundred select chariots" and the "officers in
command" of 14:7 become in 15:4 "the choicest of
his officers" (when describing their drowning). "Select"
and "choicest" are denoted by the same word, the root
being b.ch.r (bet, chet, resh), and the "officers" (in both
references) are "shalishim", which is of the root "three"
– shalosh - making them (possibly) "third in
command". In 14:8, we are told that "the sons of Israel came
out with a lofty arm" (literal translation), and in 15:1,
"the horse and its rider were lifted into the sea"
(literal translation, emphasis added). In both instances, the word is "rah'ma",
which also means "high, exalted, lifted, lofty".
This type of repetition lends a dual dimension to the description; thus, it is
YHVH's "high and lifted arm" (ref. 14:8,
emphasis added) which, in this case, raised high the waves
and lifted off the riders and horses, casting them
into the sea.
When the Israelites saw the Egyptians drawing close, they
became very fearful ("vayir'u",
root y.r.a – yod, resh, alef), and cried out to YHVH
(ref. 14:10). Moshe exhorted them: "Do not fear ("tir'oo",
again y.r.a), stand and watch (literally: "see",
"look at", “observe”) the salvation of YHVH" (v.
13). Moreover, while it is only the "midbar" (desert, v. 3) and the
Egyptians that their eyes were looking at and seeing (v.
10), Moshe assured them that they would “never see the
Egyptians again" (v. 13, emphasis added). "YHVH will fight for you
while you keep silent" (v. 14 italics added) is stated in
contradistinction to their "crying out" (v. 10,
italics added). Likewise, YHVH responds to Moshe: "Why are you crying out
to Me?" (v. 15, italics and emphasis added). Finally, after crossing the
sea and walking on dry land, the "seeing" and the "fear"
are transformed into: "Israel saw the great power which
YHVH had used against the Egyptians, and the people feared YHVH,
and they believed in YHVH and in His servant Moses" (14:31, emphases
added).
When Moshe addressed the people in 14:13, he referred to
"the salvation – ‘yeshu-ah’ - of YHVH", whereas in
the song (in 15;2) YHVH Himself is the (epitome of) salvation, as well as the
very strength and the song itself, with the “song” being called zimrah.
The latter reference to the song is reminiscent of the word used by Ya'acov in
B’resheet (Genesis) 43:11, where the "produce of the land" was
described. Although "zemer" is “song” and the verb
"le'za'mer" is to sing, another form of this verb is
"lizmor", denoting "cutting" or "pruning" (ref.
Lev. 25:3). This led some of the commentators to explain that
"zimrah" is used here not as a song, but rather as a "cutting off"
(of the enemy).2
The Song not only employs words that echo and amplify the
narrative that precedes it, but also repeats some of the same terms, or
contrasts them, and thus underscoring them, as for example in "This is my
Elohim and I will glorify Him…" (15:2), "I will glorify"
is "an'vehu" of the root n.v.h. (noon, vav, hey), which means
"beautiful" or "adorn". In verse 13, we read:
"…You guided them [the People] to Your holy abode" -
"n'veh kodshecha". This is seen as either a reference to
Mount Sinai, the land of Yisrael, the future Temple in
Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) - or to possibly all three of them together – the
principal resting places of His Shekina Glory. 3 The combined usage
of the root n.v.h in the poem creates a collage of the Present Presence AND of
His indwelling as the One Who is guiding and leading His People like a Shepherd
to a resting place where He will continue to reside (among them). In 15:17,
there is also a reference to the settling of the Nation in Elohim's dwelling
place and sanctuary, "mikdash", echoing “neveh kodshecha” of verse 13
(“Your holy habitation”).
The enemies of Yisrael, Mitzrayim, as well as Philistia, the
"chiefs of Edom", "heads of Mo'ab", and the “inhabitants of
Canaan” are likened to "lead" and "stone" sinking into the
depths, and also to a "still stone" (15: 5, 10, 16). In verse 10,
“they [sink] like lead in the mighty waters”. “Mighty” is “adirim”
(plural for “adir”) of the root a.d.r (alef, dalet, resh),
which also stands for "majestic". It is repeated two more
times here, both of them in connection with YHVH: "Your right hand YHVH
is majestic in power" (v. 6), and "who is like
You, majestic in holiness" (v.11). It is the majesty and might of
YHVH which lends these very properties to the “waters” (of the sea) when used
by Him for His purposes (although there are those that ascribe the
"adirim", majestic or great, to those who sunk in the waters).
In 15:1 Moshe and Yisrael sing, "I will sing to YHVH
because He is exalted… ga'o - ga'a". Verse 7 also
mentions "Your exaltedness” - ge'on'cha”,
again of the root g.a.h (gimel, alef, hey). Verse 7 continues: "You
send forth Your wrath and it consumes them [the enemy] like
stubble" (emphasis added). YHVH's wrath is compared to a consuming fire, while
the next verse says: "With the blast of your nostrils the waters were
heaped up… the depths froze up" (emphasis added).
According to the Daat Mikrah commentary, this text may be interpreted as two
opposite actions performed by the wind at YHVH’s command: burning on one hand
and freezing on the other.4
In the course of the brief time covered by our Parasha, the
Children of Yisrael find four occasions to complain. We are told that at Mara (“mahr”
is “bitter”), after the act of causing the water to become sweet by
casting into them a tree or a stick, which YHVH pointed out to Moshe, "He
made a statute and an ordinance and there He tried them" (15:
25b). But whereas the Israelites are tried at Mara, in
Refidim they "try YHVH" and are
also quarreling with Him, when "there was no water"
(17:7). Hence the place is named Masa (of "nisayon"
- "to try"), and Meriva (from "riv" which
is "quarrel"). In between these two episodes, they demand food
and thus obtain the quail meat for the evening meal and "manna" for the
morning (ref. chapter 16). Since the shape and texture of the manna were
unfamiliar to them, "they asked each other: 'mah'n hu?'" or
"what is it?" (16:15). Mah'n is the Aramaic
form of the Hebrew "mah", meaning "what".
Although at the beginning of the Parasha YHVH averts the
Israelites from the path of war, by the end of the narrative they find
themselves in a battle with Amalek, a descendant of Esav (ref. Gen. 36:12).
Again, YHVH's miraculous intervention on their behalf is evident coupled with
faith (ref. Hebrews 4:2), symbolized by Moshe's "steadily"
held arms. The Hebrew word for steady here is "emuna",
literally "faith" (17:12), in this way causing Yehoshua
(Joshua) to "weaken Amalek" (v. 13). Moshe’s arms are denoted by the
word “yad” (also “hand”). In the final verse of our Parasha, Moshe makes
a proclamation about another “yad” - a “yad” which is “on Yah’s throne”,
pointing to YHVH’s oath regarding His “war with Amalek from generation to
generation” (17:16).5. We have just encountered the “yad” of YHVH (“hand” as
distinct from “arm” – z’roah – and from “right hand or arm” – yamin) in the
process of emerging from Egypt (e.g. 14:8, “yad ramah” – a lifted up hand;
14:31 – “yad g’dola” – “great/mighty hand”; 15:17 “kone’nu yade’cha” – “your
hands have established us”). If YHVH places His hand on His throne (as in a
gesture of making an oath), He will surely carry out that which He set out to
perform.
Our Parasha is characterized by the contrast between the
manifest Presence and Glory of YHVH and the Israelites' total focus on their
immediate needs and fears, blinding them to the greatness and might displayed
before them - so much so that even at the end (just before the battle with
Amalek) they dare ponder, “Is YHVH among us, or not?" (17:7b).
1. New Studies in Shmot Part 1, Nechama Leibowitz, trans.
Aryeh Newman. Eliner Library, Department for Torah
Education and Culture in the Diaspora. Hemed Books Inc.,
Brooklyn, N.Y.
2. The Chumash Shmot With The Commentary Daat Mikrah,
Pub. Mossad Harav Kook, Jm. 1991.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
No comments:
Post a Comment