Parsha Partner

View/Print the PDF Version of this Parsha Partner

 View/Print a Text Version of this Page

Parsha Perspectives

by RABBI BINYOMIN ADLER

ויראו בני ישראל ויאמרו איש אל אחיו מן הוא כי לא ידעו מה הוא
ויאמר משה אלהם הוא הלחם אשר נתן ה’ לכם לאכלה

“The Children of Israel saw and said to one another, ’It is food!’ – for they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ’This is the food that G-d has given you for eating.’”
(Exodus 16:15)

In this week’s parsha, we learn about the miraculous manna that fell from Heaven for the Jewish people in the wilderness. The manna had the taste of virtually any food in the world, and every Jew received an exact portion of manna every day for forty years straight. The manna did not fall on Shabbat. Rather, each Jew received two portions of manna every Friday. One portion was meant for consumption on Friday and the second portion was meant to be consumed on Shabbat.

The Talmud and Midrash describe many other miraculous aspects of the manna. Rabbi Moshe Shapiro, a world-renowned scholar in Israel, notes that the word manna shares the root for the word emunah (faith or trust). Manna also means portion (Rashi). The lesson seems clear: One’s “portion” is directly related to one’s faith. This idea comes into sharp focus for us mortals on an almost daily basis. When our needs are adequately taken care of, we are content. Our faith is tested however when we feel that we do not have adequate sustenance. The following story teaches us that we must recognize that G-d is the source of our sustenance, in good times and bad.

After hearing a fiery speech about the meaning of faith, a disciple of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter approached him and asked, “Rebbe, are you telling me that if I have perfect faith in G-d, He will provide me with all my needs?”

Rabbi Salanter affirmed. “Yes, my son,” he smiled. “The Almighty provides for those who have perfect faith in Him.” The man thought to himself, “If that is the case, I no longer need to work. I will sit and study Torah and rely solely on my faith, and the 20,000 rubles that I will need to survive will come to me like manna from Heaven!” The man went home and began to study Torah. When the money did not arrive by the week’s end, he returned to the Rabbi to complain. “I have the faith you said that I needed, but the money has not arrived!”

Rabbi Yisroel was pensive. “I will tell you what,” he said. “I will offer you 8,000 rubles cash today if you commit yourself to give me the 20,000 rubles that you are sure will come because of your faith.” The man jumped from his chair. “8,000 rubles! Sure! I will take it.” Rabbi Yisroel smiled, “Who in his right mind would give up 20,000 rubles for a mere 8,000 rubles? Only someone who does not have perfect faith that he will receive 20,000 rubles! Obviously you have more faith in my 8,000 rubles then in G-d’s 20,000!”

The lesson from the manna is that we should not figure out how our sustenance will come, but rather be confident that G-d will provide us with what He knows is best for us. When the Jewish people asked for food and received manna, Moses reassured them that while it was not what they had had in mind, G-d gave them exactly what they needed. Its form and arrival were clearly dependent on G-d.

Our Sages tell us that no matter how much G-d has in mind for us, we must do our hishtadlus, our own effort, to receive that blessing. It must be clear however that G-d is the real source of any blessing we receive. The effort we make is the vehicle for providing sustenance, but without true faith in G-d, we will never be satisfied with what we have. It is G-d alone who mandates what our portion will be, and how it will come to us.

Return to top

Parsha Talking Points

by RABBI ELAZAR MEISELS

1. CHOOSE WISELY

“And Moses took Joseph’s bones with him, for Joseph had bound the Israelites by an oath: ‘G-d will grant you special providence, and you must then bring my remains out of here with you.’” 13:19

Out of here with you – The words “with you” imply that not only Joseph’s remains were taken out of Egypt, but those of his illustrious brothers as well. – Rashi

And Moses took Joseph’s bones – Although Joseph had bound the people by an oath, since they were engaged with other endeavors, the job fell upon Moses’ shoulders as the leader of the nation. When a nation is derelict in its duties, the leaders must step up and assume responsibility. - Sforno

And Moses took Joseph’s bones – The reason that Moses, of all people, felt compelled to busy himself with locating Joseph’s remains and bringing them up to the land of Canaan was that he understood that the Egyptian exile was a tragic result of Joseph being sold down to Egypt as a slave. The instigators of that incident were Shimon and Levi. Moses, a descendant of Levi, and charged with the duty of bringing us out of Egypt, knew that he had to first rectify the sin of his ancestor if he was to be successful in his mission of redeeming us from Egypt. – Ahavas Yonasan, Rabbi Yonasan Eibshutz

Our sages laud Moses for his wisdom in choosing the mitzvah of helping Joseph over the mitzvah of gathering the spoils of Egypt. Only he, of all the people, accepted responsibility for this mitzvah. Rabbi Shimon Schwab points out that there may not have been a qualitative difference between the two mitzvot, yet Moses understood that he should choose the mitzvah to which no one else would attend, rather than the one that was popular and sure to be attended to by others. His example is a lesson in choosing wisely when performing mitzvot.

2. PRAISE AND PRAYERS

“Then Moses and the Children of Israel sang this Song of Praise to Hashem…” 15:1

Sang this Song of Praise – The Hebrew word for “sang” is “shar,” whereas the word actually used in the verse is “yashir,” which is future tense, implying that they will sing at some point in the future. This hints to the Resurrection, when the dead will be resurrected and sing the praises of the Almighty. – Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 91b

According to the Talmud, this Song was sung not only at our deliverance at the Red Sea, but will also be sung at the time of our deliverance from exile when we will merit the Resurrection. Long-deceased individuals will rise out of their graves and give full-throated thanks and praise to the Almighty. Previously disintegrated bodies will reassemble, and we’ll stand tall and proud before Him. A symbol of this is the eighteen primary vertebrae of the spine to which the eighteen blessings of the daily Amidah correspond, as through the spine, movement of the entire body is controlled. Rabbeinu Bachya [verse 18] points out that this Song of Praise contains a total of exactly eighteen verses, for the spine will once again be resurrected, and the entire person will praise the Almighty.

3. BITTER SWEET

“He said, ‘If you heed G-d and do what is right in His eyes, carefully observing all His commandments and guarding all His decrees, then I will not strike you with any of the maladies that I have visited upon Egypt. I am G-d who heals you.’” 15:26

All His decrees – This includes even those statutes for which there is no apparent rationale and are mocked by the Evil Inclination, who sows doubt in your heart by saying, “What is the point of this prohibition? Why should it have been prohibited?” Examples of this are the prohibitions against eating pork, wearing shatnez (a combination of wool and linen), and the Red Heifer. – Rashi

Heed…do…comprehending…guarding – This verse spells out the four stages of successful Torah study and observance:

I. Heed – One must carefully study and accept to fulfill the commandment.

II.  Do – One must immediately put this into action by fulfilling it.

III. Comprehending – One must follow that with trying to develop a deeper comprehension and appreciation for the commandment.

IV. Guarding – One must not satisfy himself with doing this only once, but rather, he must guard his knowledge by constantly reviewing it to ensure that he never forgets it.

This admonishment was offered at the conclusion of the events at Marah, where the bitter waters were sweetened by the Almighty. This was the first miracle performed for the Jews in the desert, and Ibn Ezra points out that it was exactly the reverse of the first plague visited upon the Egyptians, in which their sweet waters were turned into bitter-tasting blood. G-d therefore warns us that He is capable of both sweetening our lives and embittering them. The path He chooses will reflect the path that we ourselves choose. If we focus on heeding His commandments, all His efforts will go toward sweetening our lives. If, G-d forbid, we choose to act as the Egyptians did, He will correspondingly embitter our lives, just as he did theirs.

Return to top

Partner Talk

GOOD MOURNING

by RABBI ELAZAR MEISELS

Dear Rabbi,

This letter is very difficult for me to write because my emotions are still so raw from the loss of my mom only one month ago. I am troubled by something that occurred at her funeral, and I’d like the Jewish perspective on how a funeral should be conducted.

My mom passed on a Saturday evening and as fate would have it, the rabbi of our temple who knew her well was not in town. In his place, our cantor conducted the service. The problem is that she never really knew my mom, and barely made an effort to find out who she was. Instead, she said a few words about my mom that could have been said about anyone, recited a poem about passing seasons, and then invited family members to share their memories. Both my brother and I did our best to describe our mom’s vivacious personality and positive traits. Yet I feel terrible about what happened, because I feel like we did not do justice to her memory. Is there something that can still be done?

Amy

Amy,

I’m sorry to hear about your loss, and no doubt, the feeling that your mom’s memory was not properly honored can be very disconcerting. I’d like to try and provide some perspective and offer some concrete suggestions that may help you come to terms with your situation.

There is no question that the role of a eulogy in Judaism is not to be a history lesson on the life of the deceased, nor is it an opportunity to sing her favorite songs or recount humorous anecdotes about her life. To the contrary, the goal of a eulogy is to bring the audience to tears and inspire them to reconsider whether their own lives are being lived in a worthwhile fashion.

A funeral is an encounter with an unpleasant, but very important subject: death. A eulogy is an opportunity to take a hard look at it and stir us to rethink our own life path, and hopefully derive important inspiration from the life path of the deceased. By speaking of your mother’s virtues and good deeds, we try to inspire others to emulate them. We demonstrate our admiration and respect for the worthwhile path she chose in life and hope that others will leave with a renewed commitment to living a more meaningful life. We point out the loss we suffered by her demise, and express the hope that in her absence, those who knew her will pick up the slack.

In Code of Jewish Law, Rabbi Joseph Caro ob”m writes, “It is a great mitzvah to properly eulogize the deceased. It is proper to raise one’s voice and say things that will break people’s hearts in order to increase the weeping, and to speak in praise of the deceased.”

In this vein, a great rabbi once pointed out that the Hebrew word for eulogy, “hesped,” shares the same Hebrew letters as the word for loss, “hefsed,” because essentially the goal of the eulogy is to highlight our loss so that others can be inspired to improve.

I should mention that the Talmud [Sanhedrin 46b] adds that the purpose of a eulogy is to honor the family of the deceased. This too is accomplished by describing the virtues of the deceased, not by relating her favorite witticisms.

Why then do people so often resort to such pithy expressions nowadays? It’s hard to know exactly, but I suspect it’s because we’re not so comfortable facing death and contemplating the meaning of life. Rather than engage in such contemplation, it’s easier to find something to laugh about and change the subject. Perhaps it’s due to a desire to begin the healing process immediately, and this is done by keeping the subject matter light. The fact is that throughout the seven days of mourning there will be plenty of time to focus on the lighter side of her life. The funeral, in the opinion of the Torah, is too good an opportunity to gain inspiration to be missed.

I’m certain however that your words lent dignity to the funeral and did achieve their goal, and would advise you not to look askance at those whom you feel may have fallen short of the mark. Ultimately, everyone does the best that they know how, and there’s no sense in harboring ill will toward others. Furthermore, Judaism teaches that a funeral is not the only opportunity to honor the memory of the deceased. One can do so in a variety of ways, each meaningful and worthy of consideration.

For example, I do not know whether your brother has begun to recite kaddish, but if he has not for whatever reason, that would be something worth arranging. Discuss it with him and see if he agrees to do so, and if not, consider hiring someone to do so for the first 11 months. Usually a local synagogue or yeshivah will offer a program wherein someone will recite kaddish daily for a very reasonable rate.

Another possibility is to consider becoming active in your mom’s favorite charity and dedicating your time, talents, and resources to the organization in her memory. Alternatively, if your financial resources allow for it, you might also want to create an endowment in her name for a worthwhile Jewish cause that was near and dear to her heart.

Finally, regardless of where one stands on the observance chart, all of us can stand to improve in some area of mitzvah observance. Identify an area of mitzvah observance in which you can use improvement and can realistically achieve it, and then set yourself to dedicate the next 11 months toward improving in that particular area. Increased mitzvah observance is one of the most powerful and meaningful things we can do on behalf of the departed soul.

May G-d comfort you and your loved ones among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Sincerely,
Rabbi E. Meisels

Return to top

Table Talk

FOR DISCUSSION AROUND THE SHABBAT TABLE

by RABBI LABEL LAM

“Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and G-d moved the sea with a strong east wind all the night, and He turned the sea to damp land, and the waters split. The children of Israel came within the sea on dry land; and the water was a wall for them, on their right and on their left. Egypt pursued and came after them… On that day, G-d saved Israel from the hand of Egypt… Israel saw the great hand that G-d inflicted upon Egypt; and the people revered G-d, and they believed in G-d and in Moses, His servant.” (Shemos 14:21-23, 30-31)

א) Splitting the sea was an unparalleled deviation from the laws of “nature,” and so obviously the Hand of G-d. What value then is added by Moses stretching out his hand to initiate the splitting of the sea?

ב) It is highly unlikely that the Israelites did not believe in G-d – especially after observing the ten plagues and numerous other obvious miracles. What then could the verse mean that they “believed” in G-d (only) after observing afflictions He visited upon the Egyptians at sea? Similarly, what is meant by the statement about them believing in His servant Moses? They surely knew that Moses existed!

Return to top

Parsha Summary

The Jews finally left Egypt and were on their way to the Promised Land. Hashem did not lead them to Israel using the most direct route, through the land of the Philistines, as He didn’t want them to be able to easily return to Egypt at the first sign of difficulty. Hashem sent a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to guide and protect the Jews.

Hashem commanded Moses to travel backwards, towards Egypt. This would confuse Pharaoh, leading him to think that the Jews are lost. The Jews would look like an easy target for Pharaoh’s army. Pharaoh indeed heard that the Jews were ‘lost’ in the Wilderness and decided to pursue them.

Pharaoh and his army overtook the Jews while they were encamped at the Sea of Reeds. The Jews panicked; they were trapped between the sea and the Egyptian army. They asked Moses why they left the slavery of Egypt only to die in the Wilderness. He reassured them that Hashem would perform miracles, and then he cried out to Him. Hashem instructed Moses to stretch his arm over the sea, and through him, performed the open miracle of splitting the sea. The Jews walked through the sea on dry land, with walls of water to the right and left. The Egyptians followed the Jews into the sea, but Hashem removed the wheels of their chariots so they lost control. Moses stretched his hand over the sea again, and the water crashed back, drowning the Egyptians.

The Jews, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the miracle, sang a prophetic song of praise and thanks to Hashem. The women especially distinguished themselves – singing, dancing and playing musical instruments in awe and gratitude to their Creator.

The nation marched on into the wilderness. For three days, they suffered without water but uttered no complaint. When they finally did find water in the land of Marah, it was too bitter to drink. They complained, “What shall we drink?” Moses cried on their behalf to Hashem, who then sweetened the waters. Hashem promised that if B’nei Yisrael would always follow His commandments, He would protect them.

When the supply of bread from Egypt ran out, B’nei Yisrael again complained to Moses and Aharon. They claimed that they at least had meat to eat in Egypt, and instead they were lead out into the Wildnerness, where they had no food to eat. Hashem then sent down mann (a special food) from heaven every morning in the amount needed for the day. A double portion fell before every Shabbat, so that there would be no need to gather it on the holy day. The Jewish people were not allowed to leave over any of the mann overnight, as a sign that they trusted that Hashem would provide them with mann again the following day. On Shabbat, some of them went out to gather the mann, angering Hashem, who saw that they did not trust Him still. B’nei Yisrael ate mann daily for forty years.

The nation traveled further, and again encountered a lack of water in the land of Rephidim. They complained to Moses. Hashem told Moses to strike a rock, and water flowed from it in abundance. Amalek attacked the Jewish people. Moses, Aharon, and Chur lead B’nei Yisrael in prayer, while Yehoshua lead the army in combat. Amalek was weakened, but not defeated. By declaring battle against B’nei Yisrael when all the other nations were frightened by the events of the Exodus, Amalek opened the door for the wicked to challenge Hashem. The war of Hashem against Amalek does not end. Hashem told Moses that He would erase the memory of Amalek.

Return to top