The Weekly Shtikle - Beshalach

The shiras hayam has a tendency to grab all the attention in this week's parsha. After all, it is commonly referred to as Shabbas Shirah. However, there is another important theme that is interwoven into the parsha, the importance of Shabbos as a fundamental tenet of our faith. I suppose it would not sound right to call it Shabbas Shabbos. But Shabbos nevertheless plays a pivotal role in the parsha. Indeed, Rashi writes (15:25) that at Marah, B'nei Yisrael were first commanded to keep Shabbos. As the parsha continues, we learn many important aspects of Shabbos. The episode of the manna teaches us the importance and holiness of Shabbos, which HaShem has given us as a day of rest and thus, the manna did not fall. This is, of course, the reasoning behind the two loaves that we must have present at each meal. This episode also functions as a possible source for the prohibition of exiting the city limits on Shabbos. And finally, Moshe's instruction to eat the manna on Shabbos (16:25), and the specific wording thereof, is the source for the Biblical obligation to eat three full meals on Shabbos.

 

Surely, there is a connection between the confrontation at Marah and the ensuing teaching of the laws of Shabbos. The impatient complaining at Marah indicated a lack of faith in HaShem as the Creator. The waters were bitter and so it was assumed that they could not drink them and declared "What shall we drink?" They approached the situation from a perspective of nature, without the full belief that HaShem could make those very waters drinkable. Thus, the miracle that was done for them was quite illogical. HaShem could have made candy cane fall from the sky but instead, it was a tree - bitter in its own right - which made the water sweet. This miracle demonstrated to B'nei Yisrael that it didn't have to all make sense. With the level of Divine Providence to which they were privy, the laws of nature need not be followed.

 

Shabbos is the mitzvah through which we assert our faith in HaShem as the Creator. Shabbos is empty and meaningless if we don't fully recognize that HaShem created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. We declare this belief in the kiddush which is the "zachor" aspect of Shabbos. The "shamor" aspect demands that we refrain from melachah on Shabbos. Although the challenges of previous generations are much less evident in our time, the prohibitions of Shabbos have traditionally created difficult situations relating to parnasah. In refraining from work on Shabbos and jeopardizing one's livelihood, the keeping of Shabbos can lead to the question "what shall we eat?" At Marah, we were overly concerned that under normal, natural circumstances, we would not have what to drink. By observing the "shamor" of Shabbos we show our trust in HaShem that we will be provided for, despite the difficult circumstances Shabbos might potentially create. Thus, it was here at Marah where it was absolutely necessary to initiate the weekly observance of this holy day. Immediately, B'nei Yisrael are commanded to keep Shabbos and on numerous occasions, are reminded of its paramount importance.

 

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Happy 17th Birthday, Dikdukian!

Dikdukian: Exceptions Ahoy

Dikdukian: Midash, HaShem...

Dikdukian: Leave us Alone

Al Pi Cheshbon: Chamushim

AstroTorah: The Gemara's Aliens? by R' Ari Storch

 

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The Weekly Shtikle - Bo

The systematic destruction of the Egyptian empire culminates in this week's parsha with the completion of the ten plagues. As the showdown reaches its dénouement, Paroah declares in a fit of rage (10:28) that Moshe dare not show his face (literally, dare not see Paroah's face) again at the penalty of death. Moshe seems to calmly respond, "no problem," declaring that indeed he would not see Paroah's face any more. But Moshe's actions were all according to HaShem's instructions. How did Moshe know he could provide Paroah with such an answer?

 

Ohr HaChayim is bothered by this very point and addresses it in parshas Va'eira. HaShem is giving Moshe a brief synopsis of what is about to happen. After explaining that He will harden Paroah's heart and punish him accordingly, HaShem states (7:4) "And Paroah will not listen to you and I will send My hand upon Mitzrayim." Ohr HaChayim declares that this statement would seem otherwise superfluous, given what had already been stated. Rather, he understands this as a very clear sign being given to Moshe, as to when the redemption will truly kick into full gear. Throughout the plagues, there was much dialog between Paroah and Moshe. But Moshe was instructed that once that channel of communication is closed, that is when the exodus from Mitzrayim is truly at hand. Paroah's decree that Moshe shall not meet with him anymore was the sign Moshe was waiting for and he knew that would indeed be the case.

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

 

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The Weekly Shtikle - Va'eira

In order to give Paroah a warning for the plague of blood, (7:15) Moshe is told to meet Paroah at the Nile and hamateh asher nehpach lenachash tikach beyadecha, the staff that was turned into a snake you shall take in your hand. This command begs the question, whose staff is it anyway? A staff was turned into a snake twice, once in front of B'nei Yisrael and once in front of Paroah. It would seem that in front of B'nei Yisrael, Moshe used his own staff, just as it was clearly used in the demonstration in front of the burning bush. From pasuk 9, it appears that the staff used in front of Paroah was Aharon's. Which one, then, is being referred to in this pasuk?

Klei Yekar on pasuk 9 points out that Moshe's staff turned into a nachash while Aharon's turned into a tanin. He then goes on to explain the difference between the two. Since our pasuk reads hamateh asher nehepach lenachash and not hamateh asher nehepach lesanin, it would seem that the staff being referred to is Moshe's. Ibn Ezra, however, holds that even the staff that was used in front of Paroah was Moshe's. According to this, it would seem to leave no doubt that the staff was Moshe's. [It is noteworthy, however, that when the signs are in fact performed in front of B'nei Yisrael, (4:30), it seems to be Aharon who performed them. Why this would be is a question unto itself. But if Aharon was the one who performed them, perhaps it is not so simple that Moshe's staff was used.]

Nevertheless, Targum Yonasan here states outright that it was Aharon's staff to be brought to the Nile. In Tosafos HaShaleim, an interesting reasoning for this is brought. Moshe's staff had HaShem's name etched on it. Rashi here tells us that Paroah was found at the Nile bank each morning to relieve himself. Therefore, taking Moshe's staff with HaShem's name on it would have been like taking a sefer into the bathroom, or worse. So, it had to be Aharon's staff that was brought to the Nile.

Another puzzling fact to consider is that, as every school child learns at a very young age, it was certainly Aharon, not Moshe, who ultimately carried out the plague of blood. Netziv, in Ha'amek Davar, makes this point but asserts that it was still Moshe's staff that is the subject of this command. Subsequently (7:17), regarding the exact wording of the warning, he provides a rather creative interpretation of how the events unfolded. Even though it was Aharon who hit the Nile with his staff, the actual plague was carried out by HaShem through the staff in Moshe's hand.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

 

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Plurals and Singulars

Dikdukian: Netziv and the Missing Yud

Dikdukian: The Strange thing about Frogs

Dikdukian: Dikdukei Va'eira by Eliyahu Levin

Dikdukian: Leshon Yachid veRabbim by Eliayhu Levin

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The Weekly Shtikle - Shemos

After Moshe grows up, we learn of the famous incident where he kills the Egyptian officer. Abarbanel asks some fundamental questions on the episode. The pasuk recounts (2:11) that Moshe saw an Egyptian hitting an ish ivri mei'echav, a Hebrew man from his brethren. The word mei'echav seems superfluous. Surely, if he is a Hebrew, he is from his brethren. Then, when Moshe kills the Egyptian, it says that he looked both ways and saw that there was no man. If that is the case, how did Dasan know that he had done it as is evident from the events that followed?

 

Abarbanel offers a novel interpretation of the events. Contrary to the more popular understandings, there were in fact many present at the time. The word mei'echav is telling us that the Egyptian removed this one man from the group of his (Moshe's) brothers and began to beat him only. Moshe saw this and looked both ways and saw that there was no man. This is not to say there were no other individuals present. Rather, he observed that no one was willing to be a man and to stand up in defence of his fellow Jew. Moshe understood that he needed to be the one to rise to the occasion and do something about it so he killed the Egyptian. But it was indeed in front of many.

 

There is an alternative answer to Abarbanel's second question. According to the midrash (Shemos Rabba) the man being flogged by the Egyptian was none other than Dasan himself. It is therefore no surprise that he was aware of Moshe's having killed the Egyptian. But it paints an even uglier picture of what ensued. Dasan challenges Moshe the next day, saying, (2:14) "are you going to kill me like you killed the Egyptian?" Not only is he unnecessarily pointing a finger at Moshe for a noble deed, he is showing complete ingratitude for having saved his own life.

 

The above interpretations fit well with Rashi's second interpretation of Moshe's reaction when he states, (ibid) "Alas, it is known." The obvious meaning is that his killing of the Egyptian became known. But Rashi offers another interpretation. Moshe was stating, "I was always bothered, why the Israelites were deserving of such oppression. Now I know they are deserving." This episode brought out the worst in B'nei Yisrael. First, a crowd watches idly as their brother is beaten. And then Dasan fails to acknowledge Moshe's valour and even turns it against him.

 

 

In light of the frightening spike in Jew hatred worldwide, it is an opportune time to take another look at the following essay: The Egyptian Holocaust, by David Farkas, which details the striking similarities between the persecution endured by our forefathers in Egypt and the destruction suffered at the hands of the Nazis, ys"v.

 

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
Dikdukian: Nothing to See but Fear Itself

Dikduian: Bas Paroah
Dikduian: From the Children of the Hebrews
Dikduian: The Strange Thing about Straw
Dikduian: Affliction
Dikduian: Raamseis

Dikduian: Dikduk Observations on Shemos by Eliyahu Levin

 

 

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