From the Archives....Parshas Terumah

Parshas Terumah - Mishkan Man

Parshas Mishpatim - Peaceful Judgment

Parshas Mishpatim

Peaceful Judgment

By: Daniel Listhaus

וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם

“And these are the judgments that you shall place before them.”

-Mishpatim 21:1

Rashi¹ comments that this parsha opens with the word “v'eileh” (literally: and these) in order to demonstrate that just as the Aseres Ha'Dibros (Ten Commandments) in last week's parsha were from Har Sinai, so too all of the laws regarding how to rule in cases of monetary dispute and all the other mitzvos listed in this week's parsha and the Torah. The next Rashi² continues to point out that Hashem told Moshe that the judgments in this week's parsha should be “placed before them [K'lal Yisroel]. Meaning, that Moshe should not merely teach them these halachos (laws) for them to memorize, but that he should teach it for everyone to understand the reasons behind the halachos. Indeed, financial disputes and claims of damage are a big part of every day life and the cause of much stress, strife, and broken relationships. There is therefore no doubt this parsha was chosen to be taught right after the Aseres Ha'Dibros and why Rashi stresses its importance.

The Ba'al Ha'Turim³ points out that the word mishpatim is actually an acronym for: The judge is commanded to make a compromise through arbitration, before judging. This is not a idea that the Ba'al Ha'Turim made up himself, rather it is based on a gemara⁴, which describes the importance of arbitration before judgment. However, the Ba'al Ha'Turim is stressing the fact that this concept is so important it is an integral part of the word judgment itself.

The question we must ask is What is so great about arbitration that it be hinted to within the word for judgment itself? If anything, arbitration and judgment seem to be almost opposites. Arbitration is compromise, and compromise by definition is inaccurate? Imagine two people are fighting over a certain sum of money. Each one feels that it is fully theirs, and everyone agree that it either belongs to one or the other. If so, compromising and giving each one half the sum, may be nice but it is definitely not true. Shouldn't the job of the beis din (Jewish court) – those who love the Torah and emes (truth) and want to know the correct halacha of Hashem to apply – be to search out the truth and find out who it really belongs to? There is a system of rights and claims which they should go through the motions of collecting and figuring out until it becomes clear who is the halachik rightful owner of the money or item in question? Why is it that there seems to be something better about getting the parties to compromise than finding out the real truth?

If we take a look at the required qualifications for members of the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branch in America, they are very different than their counterparts in the Jewish legal system. When it comes to a Jewish king, it seems that the most important quality is to be humble. The king did not have to be a mighty warrior, master tax collector, or a person with good domestic and foreign policies, rather just be someone who was humble. Similarly, the members of the Jewish “judicial branch” were hand-picked by Moshe and were people who met the description of “Men of means, G-d fearing people, men of truth, and people who despise money...”⁵ Also the “legislative branch” in Judaism – the navi'im and rabbanim and religious leaders who are master interpreters of the Torah via our mesorah (tradition) of Torah she'ba'al peh (Oral Torah) from Har Sinai, were also of such standards.

The common denominator for the three branches of authority within K'lal Yisroel are humble people who know their place and purpose. We look at Moshe rabbeinu, the teacher of all B'nei Yisroel and his successor, Yehoshua, who were the humblest of K'lal Yisroel and the most caring with complete devotion to the nation. They were willing to give up all personal honor for the benefit of Hashem's chosen nation. For example, after the eigel ha'zahav (sin of the golden calf) when Hashem told Moshe that He was going to destroy B'nei Yisroel and create a new nation from Moshe's family alone, Moshe argued and fought for K'lal Yisroel's behalf. Imagine if these would be the requirements of politicians now, there would have to be a 100% government turnover in every country!

The key is that every single member of authority within K'lal Yisroel must keep in mind that they are not the real authority. Hashem is the only authority. No king, president, judge, policeman, or law interpreter, could rightfully maintain their position if they are not holding it with the intention to be secondary to Hashem and understand that they are there for K'lal Yisroel, and not for themselves. If the leader is saying things contrary to the Torah and our mesorah, how are they any different than a navi sheker (false prophet) ? A navi sheker tries to obtain a power of authority and gather a following by pretending to be a navi. However, once he says to do something that is against the Torah, we know he must be a navi sheker because Hashem tells us that a navi cannot command someone to do an aveirah. A person who takes a position of authority within K'lal Yisroel without the humility of internalizing that he himself is a servant to Hashem and without the understanding that he is only in the position to serve K'lal Yisroel, does not really belong in such a position.

The aforementioned gemara which the Ba'al Ha'Turim was referring to brings a statement from Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korcha who said, “It is a mitzva to settle with arbitration”. The proof he brings is from a passuk (verse) in Zechariah,⁶ “These are the things you shall do: Speak the truth each one with his neighbor; truth, and judgment of peace you shall judge in your cities.” As the gemara points out, the passuk must be referring to arbitration because how else is it possible to have a judgment of peace? Either way the judge rules, the losing side will always be upset. The only way to have a peaceful ruling is in a win-win situation where all parties meet before judgment and figure out the fairest way to resolve the dispute in a way that everyone will walk away happy. Perhaps this cannot always be done, but it is a mitzva to do so and we are obligated to try.

Sometimes, it is easy to get caught up in a position we hold. A king or president could lose himself in all the riches and royal lifestyle that he forgets he is there for the people and not for himself. Policemen and lawmakers could forget that they are not supposed to be an outside party enforcing unwanted laws but rather keeping peace within a country or state according to the votes of the population. So too, a judge could get caught up in seeking “justice” and wanting to know the truth of what happened, but if both parties are willing to come to an agreement then that itself is the truth. Shalom (peace) is itself emes. Hashem wants peace in the world and for us to keep His Torah.

We must always keep in mind not only who we are for ourselves but also who we are in terms of our spheres of influence within our communities and our individual part of K'lal Yisroel as a whole. Are we getting caught up in our own position, or are we keeping in mind with humility that there is only one ultimate position of authority and that we are here to serve K'lal Yisroel with truth and peace?

This is the lesson that the gemara is teaching us which the Ba'al Ha'Turim is stressing as the core of all justice: peace. Justice between two people is only to promote peace. A judge or lawyer who knows all the claims one of the parties could claim to win the case is nice, but that is not the ultimate goal, for then both parties still leave upset at each other – one having won, and one having lost. Rather, the ultimate goal is for there to be peace within K'lal Yisroel following according to the rules of the Torah.

1Rashi Shemos 21:1

2Ibid.

3Ibid.

4Sanhedrin 6b

5See Shemos 18:25

6Zechariah 8:16

Photo Credit: edited picture from http://www.politicspa.com/friday-superior-court-forum-in-harrisburg/28550/ and http://peacesymbol.org/art/svg/peace/peace-symbol/peace-dove/

Parshas Yisro - The Ten Commandments: A Pangrammatic Lipogram

Parshas Yisro

The Ten Commandments: A Pangrammatic Lipogram

By: Daniel Listhaus

וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹקים אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה לֵאמֹר: אָנֹכִי ה' אֱלֹקיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים: לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עַל פָּנַי: לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה לְּךָ פֶסֶל | וְכָל תְּמוּנָה אֲשֶׁר בַּשָּׁמַיִם | מִמַּעַל וַאֲשֶׁר בָּאָרֶץ מִתַּחַת וַאֲשֶׁר בַּמַּיִם | מִתַּחַת לָאָרֶץ: לֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לָהֶם וְלֹא תָעָבְדֵם כִּי אָנֹכִי ה' אֱלֹקיךָ אֵל קַנָּא פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים עַל שִׁלֵּשִׁים וְעַל רִבֵּעִים לְשׂנְאָי: וְעֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד לַאֲלָפִים לְאֹהֲבַי וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי מִצְוֹתָי: לֹא תִשָּׂא אֶת שֵׁם ה' אֱלֹקיךָ לַשָּׁוְא כִּי לֹא יְנַקֶּה ה' אֵת אֲשֶׁר יִשָּׂא אֶת שְׁמוֹ לַשָּׁוְא: זָכוֹר אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת לְקַדְּשׁוֹ: שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד וְעָשִׂיתָ כָל מְלַאכְתֶּךָ: וְיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבָּת | לַה' אֱלֹקיךָ לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה כָל מְלָאכָה אַתָּה | וּבִנְךָ וּבִתֶּךָ עַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתְךָ וּבְהֶמְתֶּךָ וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ: כִּי שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים עָשָׂה ה' אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ אֶת הַיָּם וְאֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר בָּם וַיָּנַח בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי עַל כֵּן בֵּרַךְ ה' אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת וַיְקַדְּשֵׁהוּ: כַּבֵּד אֶת אָבִיךָ וְאֶת אִמֶּךָ לְמַעַן יַאֲרִכוּן יָמֶיךָ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר ה' אֱלֹקיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ: לֹא תִּרְצָח: ס לֹא תִּנְאָף: ס לֹא תִּגְנֹב: ס לֹא תַעֲנֶה בְרֵעֲךָ עֵד שָׁקֶר: לֹא תַחְמֹד בֵּית רֵעֶך ס לֹא תַחְמֹד אֵשֶׁת רֵעֶךָ וְעַבְדּוֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ וְשׁוֹרוֹ וַחֲמֹרוֹ וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לְרֵעֶךָ

“Hashem spoke all these words, to say: 'I am Hashem, your G-d who took you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves. There shall not be unto you the gods of others before Me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any picture of that which is in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the water beneath the earth. You shall not prostrate yourself to them nor worship them, for I am Hashem, your G-d – a zealous G-d, Who visits the sin of fathers upon their children, upon the third and upon the fourth [generations], for thousands for those who hate Me; but Who does kindness for thousands [of generations], for those who love Me and observe My commandments. You shall not take the Name of Hashem, your G-d, in vain, for Hashem will not absolve anyone who takes His Name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it. Six days shall you work and do all your work; but the seventh day is Shabbos to Hashem, your G-d; you shall not do any work – you and your son and your daughter, your slave and your maidservant and your animal, and your convert within your gates – fir in six days Hashem made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, Hashem blessed the Shabbos day and sanctified it. Honor your father and mother, so that your days will be lengthened upon the land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you. You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness against your fellow. You shall not covet your fellow's house. You shall not covet your fellow’s wife, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your fellow.”

-Yisro 20:1-14

When learning about various religions in school, teachers teach their young students about how Judaism believes that Moses went up on Mount Sinai to receive from G-d the luchos (tablets) with the Aseres Ha'dibros (Ten Commandments) on them. These students are taught that it is the Ten Commandments alone we are obligated to keep and the rest of the Torah is merely a recording of our travels as an early nation and what we claim to have experienced. There are numerous things wrong with this message. First, although Moshe did go up to receive the luchos from Hashem and was taught the entire Torah by Hashem Himself, every single member of B'nei Yisroel heard Hashem reveal to us and announce that He is the One and Only Hashem.¹ Second, Judaism contains a lot more commandments than just the Aseres Ha'dibros. We have 613 mitzvos which further translate into thousands of details and intricacies, minhagim (customs), and rabbinic decrees. Third, the purpose of the Torah is not as a history book, nor as a rulebook.

However, let us focus on the middle point. Judasism is extremely complicated. Calling it a religion does not really do it justice, nor does even terming it a lifestyle. It is broader and more encompassing than all of these, in one word it is reality. It is the instruction manual which guides us how to approach becoming a perfect person in this world. We believe the world has a purpose and each individual has his or her own reason to be here that must be accomplished on a personal level, as well as a connection and role to each community, the nation as a whole, and the world at large. In the hierarchy of the world there are varying levels of groups of people and each tier has its own slew of mitzvos. Kohanim, levi'im, men, women, children, goyim – each group has its own expectations and abilities and the mitzvos commanded to each group perfectly reflects what is necessary to maximize its potential. The mitzvos that we have as a nation are not limited to the Aseres Ha'dibros, however, there is some truth to the claim, for the taryag mitzvos are indeed represented by it. As a matter of fact, the Ba'al Ha'Turim² points out that the gematriya (numerical value) of the introductory line to the Aseres Ha'dibros: “Hashem spoke all these words, saying:” is the same as the sentence, “Everything contained in the Written and Oral Torah”. Furthermore, the Rosh³ points out that the Aseres Ha'dibros is comprised of 613 letters and that when the Torah commands that a Jewish king must have a Torah on him at all times, it refers to the Aseres Ha'dibros. Somehow, hidden within the Aseres Ha'dibros lay the roots for the entire Torah and its mitzvos.

A pangrammatic lipogram is when a piece of work contains every letter in the alphabet except for one. A common example is, “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog”, which contains every letter in English alphabet except for “S”. Pangrammatic lipograms are not necessarily hard to create, it just depends which letter the author chooses to leave out. Leaving out any high-valued tile in scrabble is not particularly difficult because most sentences could be created without letters such as J, Q, X, and Z. However, skipping more common letters such as S, T, or any vowel, is much harder. In 1939, Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel titled Gadsby, It was advertised as a story with over 50,000 words without the letter E. Not only did the author completely omit the letter E, he even omitted acronyms and abbreviations which if spelled out would contain the letter E. So, for example the abbreviation, Mr., is not used because spelled out would be “mister”. There is no doubt that such a work is quite an accomplishment. Not too many people could boast such a talent. However, as amazing as it is, it is not significant. It is nothing more than a feat, a hobby, and a pointless accomplishment for bragging rights.

Given what we know about the significance of the Aseres Ha'dibros, and how they represent the taryag mitzvos as a whole, it only makes sense that it should contain all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. However, the fascinating fact is that it does not! There is one letter missing: the letter tes. And unlike Gadsby, the pangrammatic lipogram that the Aseres Ha'dibros present, is indeed significant. The Aseres Ha'dibros represent a mini version of the whole Torah. How could it be that a single letter - the letter tes – is absent in such a crucial part of the Torah?

Truthfully, this question is not a new one. The Gemara⁴ records that Rebbe Chanina ben Ogil asked Rebbe Chiya bar Abba: “Why in the first set of luchos does it not use the word 'tov' (good), whereas in the second set of luchos, it does use the word tov?” Rebbe Chiya bar Abba replied, “You are asking me why it says 'tov' in the second luchos, but you should be asking me if it has the word tov or not! Go to Rebbe Tanchum bar Chanina, who is usually by Rebbe Yehoshua ben Levi who is an expert in aggadah [and ask him].” He went to him and the answer he received was that since the first luchos were to be broken, Hashem did not want to put the word tov in it in order that we should not conclude that when we sinned with the eigel ha'zahav (golden calf), that goodness completely deserted K'lal Yisroel.

When reading this Gemara, a number of questions come to mind. First, Rebbe Chanina ben Ogil seems to be so focused on the fact that it does not say the word tov. Why did he not ask our question that at least there should be a tes in the Aseres Ha'dibros? Was this question somehow either included in his own or perhaps dealt with with the final explanation of the Gemara?

Second, what did Rebbe Chiya bar Abba mean when he replied that the real question was whether the second luchos had tov or not? Certainly he knew that the second luchos contain an expression of tov, so why did he send Rebbe Chanina ben Ogil to go ask? What would they be able to tell them that they could not figure out for themselves? Just open any chumash and look to see if there is a lashon (expression) of tov in the second luchos?

The Ramban⁵ writes that there is no letter tes in the first luchos because the letter tes represents the word tov and, as the aforementioned Gemara established, Hashem did not want the word tov in the first luchos because since they ended up being smashed He did not want to give Klal Yisroel the impression that tov had permanently left them. The Ramban explains further that the reason that the letter tes represents tov more than any other word beginning with tes, or any other letter that could be used to construct a word related to goodness or kindness, is because the first time the letter tes is used in the Torah is for the word tov;⁶ that gives it a special significance and intricate relationship between the letter itself and kindness.

However, still, how do we understand the conversation taking place in the Gemara?

The Malbim⁷ writes that the word tov is really only needed as a reference point. Just like if there would be no such thing as darkness there would be no expression referring to light, so too without there being ra (evil) in the world, there is no need of an expression of tov; everything would just be that by definition. The Malbim continues that we know the passuk (verse)⁸ describes the luchos as the script of Hashem etched on the luchos. The word the Torah uses for etched is “charus”. The mishna⁹ comments that the word charus without punctuation could also be read as “cheirus” - which means freedom, for one who involves himself in learning is a true free man. The Malbim takes this a step further that with this dual meaning of reading charus as cheirus, there is a machlokes (dispute) whether it refers to the fact that had we not sinned with the eigel ha'zahav, we would have been free from death or if it would just mean that we would not have had to become slaves to other kingdoms throughout our history. So, it comes out that ra only permanently came to stay in the world after the story of the eigel and we had to get the second set of luchos. .The second set has the letter tes and the word tov because at that point when there is an expression of ra in the world, the expression of tov became necessary.

However, with this understanding it comes out that when it says tov in the luchos it is not really such a great thing after all because hidden behind the word tov is the fact that there is also ra, which is why the expression of tov is necessary. The Malbim continues and writes that this actually depends which side of the machlokes one takes. If one holds that the first luchos would have given the opportunity to have cheirus from death, then indeed it comes out that now that B'nei Yisroel sinned with the eigel, the tov in the second set of luchos is not really so good after all because it also represents the ra that entered the world. However, according to the one who holds that the first set of luchos without sin would have just guaranteed our own peace and kingdom as a nation throughout history, without being under the rule of the goyim, but that death would have still been part of reality, then really it could have and should have said tov in both sets of luchos equally. This, the Malbim writes, was precisely what Rebbe Chiya bar Abba meant when he told Rebbe Chanina ben Ogil that the real question is whether it really says tov in the second luchos or not – in other words, of course it says tov; but when it says tov in the second set of luchos after having been absent for the first, perhaps it is really bad because it represents the new layer of ra (i.e- death) brought into the world. On the other hand, perhaps it does not represent such a dramatic addition of death. He sent him to the master of aggadah to figure out how to learn, and the response was that really it does say tov in the second pair of luchos because the change was not as dramatic as adding the element of death into the world, but rather something which the first set of luchos should have said as well. However, because the first luchos were going to be broken, Hashem took out the letter tes and the word tov in order that it should not be broken with the luchos and give despair to K'lal Yisroel that goodness had been permanently removed.

If we stop to think about what the Malbim is telling us, it is absolutely incredible. He is learning from the gemara that really the word tov should have been in the first set of luchos. The mini version of the Torah, should have of course contained all the letters of the aleph-beis and should have even contained the full expression of tov. However, Hashem took it out because he did not want to leave any room for an erroneous feeling of depression among K'lal Yisroel that Hashem smashed tov and removed it from us. How incredible Hashem is that even during the time of the worst sin K'lal Yisroel did as a nation, He is still so sensitive to our feelings that He removed in advance from what should have technically been included in the Torah in order for us not to feel the additional distance and despair when the luchos would be broken.

We could take from here an incredible lesson that we should all know inherently but often times forget: Hashem has faith in us; that is why we are still alive! Even when we do fall and do incredibly bad things, Hashem does not give up on us. He keeps investing in us, so to speak, and continues to 'root' for us with a confidence that we could accomplish what we are supposed to. There is always hope for every single individual in K'lal Yisroel, and there is always hope for K'lal Yisroel as a nation. Who else believes in such a loving and caring G-d? “Praiseworthy is the people that Hashem is their G-d!”¹⁰

1Shemos 20:15-16

2Shemos 20:1

3Shemos 20:14

4Bava Kamma 54b-55a

5Kisvei Ha'Ramban – Ha'Emuna V'Habitachon end of Perek 19

6See Beraishis 1:4

7Malbim: Ha'Torah V'Hamitzva 20:12

8Shemos 32:16

9Avos 6:2 (could vary based on edition)

10Tehillim 144:15

Photo Credit: http://thecripplegate.com/10-commandments-and-evangelism/

Parshas Yisro....From the Archives....

From the archives...

Parshas Yisro - 5773 - Loud Music and Boiling Frogs 

Parshas Yisro - 5772 - Sunken Chunk

Parshas Beshalach - True Tests and Calculated Conclusions

Parshas Beshalach

True Tests and Calculated Conclusions

By: Daniel Listhaus

וַיְהִי בְּשַׁלַּח פַּרְעֹה אֶת הָעָם וְלֹא נָחָם אֱלֹהִים דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים כִּי קָרוֹב הוּא כִּי אָמַר אֱלֹקים פֶּן יִנָּחֵם הָעָם בִּרְאֹתָם מִלְחָמָה וְשָׁבוּ מִצְרָיְמָה: וַיַּסֵּב אֱלֹקים אֶת הָעָם דֶּרֶךְ הַמִּדְבָּר יַם סוּף וַחֲמֻשִׁים עָלוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם: וַיִּקַּח משֶׁה אֶת עַצְמוֹת יוֹסֵף עִמּוֹ כִּי הַשְׁבֵּעַ הִשְׁבִּיעַ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד אֱלֹקים אֶתְכֶם וְהַעֲלִיתֶם אֶת עַצְמֹתַי מִזֶּה אִתְּכֶם

“It happened when Pharoah sent the people that Hashem did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, because it was near, for Hashem said, 'Perhaps the people will reconsider when they see a war and they will return to Egypt.' And Hashem took the people around toward the way of the Wilderness to the Sea of Reeds. And the Children of Israel were armed when they went up from Egypt. Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him, for he had made the Children of Israel swear, saying, 'Hashem will surely remember you, and you shall bring my bones up from here with you.'”

-Beshalach 13:17-19

After experiencing the deterioration of civilized Mitzrayim due to the makkos (plagues), it was time for the B'nei Yisroel to leave Mitzrayim. This week's parsha opens by giving us insight into Hashem's thought process, so to speak, when He was deciding which route to take B'nei Yisroel into Eretz Yisroel. The passuk (verse)¹ describes that although it would have been logical to take the shorter route, Hashem chose to lead B'nei Yisroel in a roundabout way through the midbar (desert). The passuk explains that Hashem did so because He thought to Himself that if He were to take them on the shorter route, B'nei Yisroel may reconsider and return to Mitzrayim. Rashi² comments that we know that even the way that Hashem ended up taking us – through the midbar – B'nei Yisroel still complained and obnoxiously announced numerous times that they wanted to return to Mitzrayim. So, Rashi concludes, imagine how much worse it would have been if we would have taken the shorter path, which would have made it even easier for B'nei Yisroel to reconsider and turn around.

This passuk and Rashi are difficult to understand. First, let us remember that at this point the B'nei Yisroel had just exited Mitzrayim. There were no complaints yet and the miracles of the makkos Mitzrayim were still fresh in their heads. At first thought, it would sound more sensible to go straight, directly to Eretz Yisroel at top speed without leaving any room for thought of returning. Additionally, as Rashi himself points out, the B'nei Yisroel ended up complaining anyway and threatened Moshe many times that they wanted to return to Mitzrayim. So, what was even accomplished by taking the long path to Eretz Yisroel? Seemingly, it did not even result in nay better outcomes. Either way the Jews would have complained to go back to Mitzrayim, so why didn't Hashem just take B'nei Yisroel through the land of the P'lishtim? And what lesson is the Torah trying to teach us by offering this insight into Hashem's thought process, so to speak?

The game of life presents itself with all sorts of difficult challenges. Sometimes we are challenged with inter-personal struggles, such as difficulties with family or trouble with friends. Other times we are challenged with personal struggles, such as personal aspirations, goals, or expectations which we set for ourselves but are then met with various obstacles that get in the way. No one is immune to the hardships which affect every aspect and dimension of human life. We are challenged financially, we are challenged physically, and we are challenged mentally. However, the thing we must always keep in mind is that every test and challenge does not come to us accidentally. Rather every challenge is calculated and hand-picked for us by Hashem Himself. Hashem intricately knows the different measures of the various middos (character traits) He injected in each person individually. Each person has his or her own breaking point, level of patience, degree of frustration and anger, etc. All of these aspects are taken into account and used to create the perfect test for us to grow in the areas we struggle in. Hashem sends us these purposely and they are only meant to help us. The key to it all though is the understanding that Hashem never sends us something that is impossible for us to overcome. Yes, things may be extremely difficult, and yes we will fail many times. However, Hashem never sets us up for guaranteed failure. Every nisayon (test) is with the trust and hope that we will make the right decisions and overcome it.

Perhaps this is the lesson being conveyed in these opening passukim. The Torah is telling us that Hashem knew that taking us on the shorter route through Eretz P'lishtim would not be a fair test for B'nei Yisroel because the probability of being able to overcome that nisayon of not returning if they were to reconsider, would be far too high for a proper test. Instead, Hashem took us through the midbar with the hope and trust that B'nei Yisroel would have the perfect environment necessary to be challenged with what Hashem wanted to challenge them with. Despite the Torah's many recordings of the non-stop complaining of B'nei Yisroel in the midbar, it still remained as the proper place for their nisyonos, where they had the capacity of conquering their struggles – something which Hashem knew would be at too much of a disadvantage taking the shorter route.

Besides for being a general lesson in life to think about when going through tough times and working on our relationship with ourselves and Hashem, this idea is something which could be applied in a how we deal with other people as well.

The Torah tells us that on the way out of Mitzrayim, Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him. The passuk³ reminds us that Yosef made them swear to take his bones out with them. Rashi⁴ is troubled with the double expression that the Torah uses to describe when Yosef made the B'nei Yisroel swear. The Torah says “hash'bay'ah hish'bee'ah”, which is seemingly redundant. Rashi explains that the double expression is because Yosef made all his brothers swear to make their children swear to take his bones out of Mitzrayim. Rashi continues and asks why did Yosef not just make his sons swear just like Yaakov had made Yosef swear to bury him in Eretz Yisroel? Rashi answers that Yosef realized that his father Yaakov was able to make him swear because he knew that as second-in-command of Egypt, Yosef would be able to carry out his request. However, Yosef could not make his children promise the same for him because he knew that for his sons, the Egyptians would not just let them carry him out. Instead, Yosef made his generation swear to pass on the message to the next generation until the time would come to leave Mitzrayim and the B'nei Yisroel would be able to take his bones out with them.

Yosef learned from Yaakov that it is proper to only ask people for favors that are reasonable and that will not be too much a hassle, and certainly not impossible. Sometimes we could get so caught up in something we would like to get done that we do not spend the time to delegate properly. Instead we throw tasks on people and are then harsh when they are not done properly; when really the only thing not proper was the set-up for disaster.

We are not perfect and certainly cannot make calculations like Hashem to understand clearly what any given person is capable of. But we could at least learn from the middos of Hashem, like Yaakov and Yosef did, to be more sensitive and think twice before asking favors or assigning tasks to others to make sure that it is reasonable and will not lead to embarrassment, a disadvantage, and certainly not to result in guaranteed failure.

1Shemos 13:17

2Rashi Ibid.

3Shemos 13:19

4Rashi ibid.

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Parshas Beshalach....from the archives...

Parshas Beshalach - In G-d We Trust