The Weekly Shtikle - Beshalach

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my father, Reuven Pinchas ben Chaim Yaakov, a"h.

 

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my Oma, Chaya Sara bas Zecharia Chaim, a"h.

On that note, a very special Weekly Shtikle mazal tov to my cousins, the Newmarks of Toronto on the recent birth of their daughter, Chaya Sara, the first great granddaughter to bear by Oma's name as we approach the first yahrtzeit. Mazal Tov to the extended Perlman and Jakobovits mishpachos.

At the end of the parsha, B'nei Yisrael defeat Amaleik in a battle, though the war is still not won. Following the victory, Moshe is told to instruct Yehoshua about the eventual destruction of Amaleik. Rashi (17:14) comments that here it was hinted to Moshe that he would not bring B'nei Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael but rather Yehoshua would bring them in. However, the passage does not appear to contain anything pertaining to the entrance into Eretz Yisrael. Is it not possible that Moshe is just instructing Yehoshua because he is the general? Where exactly is the hint?

 

I suggest that when HaShem told Moshe "K'sov zos zikaron baseifer, vesim be'oznei Yehoshua," it is not simply referring to the words that followed but he was also told to relay to him the parsha of Amalek that we find at the end of Ki Seitzei, the text of Parshas Zachor. There it speaks specifically about the events following the entrance into Eretz Yisrael, (Devarim 25:19) "It shall be that when HaShem, your God, gives you rest from all your enemies..." Perhaps, there was the hint, that Yehoshua alone will witness those events and not Moshe.

 

This approach (that Moshe gave over the parsha of "zachor" at this time) is supported by Kol Eliyahu on this pasuk. He writes that Moshe was told to "place in the ears of Yehoshua" the proper pronunciation - zeicher Amaleik, as opposed to Yoav's erroneous mesorah, zachar Amaleik. [As a side point, it was deciphered in Peninim MiShulchan HaGR"A that the GR"A himself is not the actual source of this piece but rather, it came from R' Chaim of Volozhin.]

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Happy 15th Birthday, Dikdukian!

Dikdukian: Exceptions Ahoy

Dikdukian: Mikdash, HaShem ...

Dikdukian: Leave us Alone

Al Pi Cheshbon: Chamushim

Daily Leaf:

:ל What to read on הושענא רבה

.ל"א What to read on חנוכה

.ל"א The reading for מחר חדש

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The Weekly Shtikle - Bo

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my father, Reuven Pinchas ben Chaim Yaakov, a"h.

 

The Weekly Shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmas my Oma, Chaya Sara bas Zecharia Chaim, a"h.

When Moshe comes to warn Paroah about makas bechoros, he declares (11:5) that all the firstborn in Mitzrayim shall die, from the firstborn of Paroah who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the handmaiden who sits behind the millstones. There is a slight discrepancy, however, between this pasuk and the pasuk dealing with the plague itself. There (12:29) we are told that in the middle of the night, HaShem smote all the firstborn in the land of Mitzrayim, from the firstborn of Paroah who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon. Here the handmaiden is substituted for the captive.

 

Rabbi Raphael Davidovich of Cleveland, OH once showed me a nice explanation from the sefer HaKesav vehaKabalah. He writes that many commentaries say that the handmaiden and the captive are one and the same. The Egyptians would capture women and have them do work during the day. At night, since they were not doing work, they locked them up in their cells. He adds when Moshe came to Paroah to warn him about the plague, it was daytime so then he referred to them as the handmaidens that sit behind the millstone. But the actual plague took place at night so the Torah refers to them as the captives in the dungeon.

 

Another explanation can be suggested based on what Rashi expresses numerous times –  that Moshe took a deliberately overly respective tone with Paroah. Moshe referred to them as handmaidens so as to go along with the impression that these women were graciously being provided employment. But the narrative account of the actual plague reveals the true nature of their plight as prisoners who are subjugated by day and subjected to confinement at night.

 

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
Dikdukian: Talented Locusts

Dikdukian: Better not Butcher This One

AstroTorah: Korban Pesach in the Sky by R' Ari Storch

AstroTorah: The Death Star (Ra'ah) the classic by R' Ari Storch

 

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com

The Weekly Shtikle and related content are now featured on BaltimoreJewishLife.com

 

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