Pyka Family

Parashat And Sidra Of Beshalach

Parashat Beshalach is the 16th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading.

Persecution

After a night full of horror, even Egypt realizes what a new situation it got into with the departure of Israel. Centuries of slavery accentuated the differences between individual layers of the population and strengthened the ruler in their contempt for human dignity and the most basic human rights. Therefore, even after the destruction that Egypt suffered, the pharaoh did not want to renounce the slaves. Moreover, his intention to persecute Moses’ people suggests that the plagues that fell upon Egypt, though forced Israel to leave, but the deepest meaning of the recurring calamities – the perversion of Egypt society – remained hidden from Pharaoh.
G-d therefore decided to destroy the Egyptian army, this instrument of Pharaoh’s oppression, and so definitively will also remove his tyrannical rule.

People before the Red Sea

Moses said: “The Lord will fight for you, and you will be silent (watch)” (14,14). But still the people despaired; he stopped believing in the abilities of Moses, he lost faith in himself G-d. What did that mean?
That Yisrael had to learn his faith again. They did not shake the essence of this faith, the greatest gift of the ancestors not even the hardest trials, but centuries of suffering had weakened her. And it is only significant that God’s action was not complete without the action of people. The sea was to part only when the first Jew put his foot in the waves, and so he could give his courage in the face of uncertainty. It is precisely such an act, an act of man, which is necessarily followed by an act of G-d, that Israel will always be again
and testify again. His deepest confession, the source of all hope, will not be faith in G-d, which in itself would disarmed the hands of the rapist, but neither did blind trust in the omnipotent power of one’s own arms and
weapon.

Crossing the Red Sea

The waves collided and Israel passed through the middle of the sea. Then when the Egyptians rushed after the Jews, the waters came together again and overwhelmed the pursuers. There is no more powerful proof of God’s rule over nature. The element that was to become the grave of the bloom Israel, turned against the masterminds of the criminal plot. Again – act after act. Again – justice, if not immediate, then certainly inevitable. Israel will never forget this day. He will draw from it the certainty that justice exists, that this justice will never miss the mark and that for her G-d is willing to change even the conditions with which he created the world. The world itself does not stand for justice, and Egypt has had a sad experience of what rebellion costs against this truth.
At the same time, Yisrael glimpsed the essence of his exceptional mission – to establish another on Earth justice, the justice of G-d – and he realized forever what a strong bond he was with this his own destiny bound by law.

A song about the sea

“Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Hashem. They confessed: I will sing to the Hashem, because he has become very high, he has thrown the horse and the rider into the sea (15:1). Faced with the miracle that kept God’s people alive, Israel sings its thanks with all devotion
and humility to the Creator. Israel knows what deliverance obliges him to do: “That is my G-d – I will praise him. My father’s G-d – I will exalt him,” he says. The tradition of the ancestors becomes the property of the sons.
But it is not filial love that keeps the law out of respect for the ancestors, G-d revealed in the dark of the past and adored out of instinctive fear, but a clear and true confession of G-d existence that will continue to determine the life of the nation.
“Who is among the mighty like thee, O Hashem?” After the Events he witnessed, what man could think of a power greater than G-d? Sure, there are powerful forces in the world that seem to control everything, but they are also a tool by which G-d does His will.
“You accompany with grace this people whom you have freed, by your power you lead them to the abode of your holiness.”
Redemption from Egypt will lead G-d’s people directly to Jerusalem and find their fulfillment in the Temple, whose idea the Jews will continue to carry within themselves. “The Hashem shall reign forever and ever.” The world will continue to exist, people will rise up more than once against God and His law, but each of these rebellions
it will result in a catastrophe when the repeating failures that accompany the whole of history will cease in the world by the unified rule of one G-d.

Hot water

Human experience testifies to the fact that it is more difficult to build one’s life on daily faith in G-d, rather than ascribing special merits and salutary solutions to Him in exceptional moments. G-d was undoubtedly the master of the sea and the architect of liberation. But does it address people’s common concerns? Or, in other words: It intervenes only in “historical” moments, or it is with the person, the community
still? It was this question that the hardships at Mara brought, and the answer to it was the miracle of bitter water sweetened.

Manna

The nation learned a new lesson: in an inhospitable desert that could barely feed two millions of human beings. G-d created food that no one had seen before. Manna enabled the Jews to survive, but by sending it, God simultaneously showed that the hardships of existence, of a material nature cannot be solved only “objectively”, but that the last, decisive instance is always He and His act. The manna provided the people with food for each day, but it never fell more than just for this time. Those who tried to stock up found out the next day that the manna could not be eaten. Those who believed that every day was enough to fulfill the task, but that every day without exception requires that this task be accomplished, they find double the amount of mana on the sixth day to it was enough even for the Sabbath. Thus, what at that moment seemed to be only the result of a miracle, already contained the features that they should to characterize the fruits of human labor in general: sufficient and no-one shortchanged reward, respect for days of rest and the certainty that a person will provide for his needs with a weekly job.

Amalek

All the trials that Israel went through since their arrival in the desert showed their future position in relation to nature; G-d’s people were taught that they were independent of it if they submitted to G-d the will. However, there was one experience that Yisraeli lacked: What will be his place among other nations? How will humans affect his future? Israel had this experience at Rephidim through Amalek. Amalek, a descendant of Esau, rushed against Israel like an angel his ancestor threw against Jacob. Israel is fighting for freedom that would sanctify God’s power over the Earth.
Amalek, the embodiment of strength and dominance of arms, cannot make such a challenge, directed against himself the principle of his life, to endure. Two such opposing concepts and Amalek’s attack against Yisrael cannot exist in the world
he was not the last of his kind. However, the brevity of the fight was exceptional. G-d has proven His will to stand against everything that would oppose His vision of bringing people eternal peace. Amalek rightly sees in Yisrael the one who comes to destroy his warrior ideal, instinctively he wants to destroy the seed of people who will one day impose his law on him. However, this law will no longer serve to control, but will be the supreme law, the eternal law G-d’s morality, the goal of which is peace in G-d.
On the top of the mountain, supported by Aaron and Hur, Moses watches the battle with his hands raised to heaven and his finger points to Him in whose name Israel fights and who gives him the victory. The enemy is defeated and Moses solemnly declares:
“A hand is (raised) above the Hashem’s throne. The Hashem (proclaims) the battle against Amalek to the last generation” (17:16).
The hand above the throne of G-d; hand – symbol of G-d’s act, throne – symbol of the absolute, concrete expression mission that the Jews undertook. Fighting in the name of G-d, complete, everywhere, with all one’s strength, against the law of force, matter, selfishness. From generation to generation, without ceasing or respite, until Yisrael fulfilled its mission it will not bring healing to suffering humanity by God’s spirit.
“And the earth shall be full of the knowledge of G-d, as the waters fill the sea.”

Chassidic Parashat

There are some wonderful customs that are drawn from this week’s Parashat concerning the Crossing of the Red Sea, and the Giving of the Manna.
1) The Song Of The Sea: The Song of the Sea, in the recitation of the Psukei D’Zimrah in the Shacharis prayer is chanted by the Chazzan and the congregation in call and response fashion using (ta’am elyon) its special Torah reading melody. The Holy Zohar says that if one recites the Song of the Sea joyously (everyday), and imagines that he himself, on this day is going through the Sea, all of his transgression are forgiven.
2) The Challohs: On Erev Shabbos, B’nei Yisroel received a double portion of Manna. The Torah calls it Lechem Mishneh. (Shemos 16:5,22) This is the source of the custom to set the Shabbos table with two Challohs for each meal; a remembrance of the double portion. The Torah also explains how the Manna was presented to them; laying on the ground on a layer of fresh dew, with another
layer of dew covering it over. (Shemos 16:13) This a source for the custom of covering the Challohs. The Challohs represent the Manna, the white tablecloth below and the Challoh cover above represent the two layers of dew.
3) Shabbos Food: The Torah (Shemos 16:22) says that on Shabbos B’nei Yisroel received a double portion of Manna, two Omers per person. The Midrash asks why the Torah needs to tell us that they received two Omers per person if we already know that they got a double portion (Lechem Mishneh). It must be, concludes the Midrash, that the words “Lechem Mishneh” are not needed to teach us they got a double portion; they are mean to be expounded upon. It should be read not Lechem Mishneh (a double portion), rather as Lechem M’shoon’eh (different or changed bread). In honor of Shabbos, they received a
“changed” Manna with a superior smell and taste. Hashem endowed Israel’s very first Shabbos, with that special Shabbos spice which graces the Shabbos food with its sublime and exquisite taste.
4) For The Birds: Despite the miracles of the Exodus from Egypt, the crossing of the Sea and the Manna, there were people who still didn’t have faith in the leadership of Moshe Rabbenu. The Midrash explains how Dosson and Aviram, wanting to malign Moshe, went with their Manna early on Shabbos morning and spread it around the camp. They planned to show everybody that Moshe Rabbenu was lying when he told them that there would be no Manna to gather on Shabbos. But before anybody woke up, birds had already come and effected a great Kiddush Hashem by eating up all the Manna that was spread out on the ground. In appreciation of their deed, there is a custom to cook up some shvartze kasha (buckwheat groats) or leave some of the Shabbos Cholent for the birds so that they can enjoy a taste of the Shabbos which they helped to sanctify. In our home, we put out some cholent for them after Havdalah. They always lick the bowl clean!

Faith Healing

Hashem is the source of the disease and also the source of the cure.
“And they came to Marrah, but they could not drink the water there on account of its bitterness. Therefore the place was named Marrah.(bitter) And the people complained to Moshe saying, ‘What will we drink? So Moshe beseeched Hashem and He showed him a tree. ‘Cast it into the waters, (said Hashem), and they will be sweetened.’ There He gave them statutes and laws, and there he tested them. And Moshe said, ‘If you will listen to the voice of Hashem, and do that which is upright in His eyes, and listen to His Mitzvos, and keep His statutes, then all the
sickness that I brought on Egypt I will not bring on you; I am Hashem your Healer.
Then they came to Elim, and there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm
trees, and they camped there by the water.” (Shemos 15:25-27) The 12th Century sage, Rabbenu Ephraim, comments that the tree whose branches Moshe cast into the waters, was from the Garden of Eden. Because of
its great sweetness, it transformed the waters from bitter to sweet.
“ .. .There He gave them statutes and laws. . .”, any time they came to a place where the water was bitter, they only had to throw a small branch of that same tree into the waters, and they would become sweet.
“ .. . and there he tested them. . .”, with the same tree which was already tried and tested. Any ill person who would drink from those sweetened waters would be healed. That is the reason why in the next verse the Torah says, “ .. .I am Hashem your Healer”.
R’ Chaim David Azulai, known as the Chida, adds, that after “ .. .I am Hashem your Healer”, comes the verse: “Then they came to Elim, and there were twelve springs of water. . .” .He maintains this is a proof for the idea that Rabbenu Ephraim posed; that the sweet waters were actually healing waters. He adds that in the ancient Book of Healing and Remedies passed down to us through the generations, it was revealed which of the springs that were unleashed to cause the Great Flood in the time of Noach, were healing springs. Chizkiyahu, King of
Judah, stopped up those springs and interred the Book of Healing in a place unknown to this day. Why? So that instead of simply taking a remedy from the book, we should learn to turn to Hashem to ask for healing.

Faith Spelled Out

“And the Children of Israel saw (the Manna) and said to one another, ‘It is Mon (prepared and ready to eat), since they didn’t know what it was. And Moshe said to them, This is the bread that Hashem has given you to eat.” (Shemos 16:15)
In light of the previous idea, the following is amazing. The previous Modzitzer Rebbe, R’ Shaul Yedidya, zt”l said that the letters of the words “It is Mon” (“mem”, nun sofis”, “hay”, “vav”, “alef”) when rearranged spell (“alef”, “mem”, “vav”, “nun”, “hay”), Emunah (faith).

Shabbos Meals

How can the sweetness and beauty of Shabbos be described? In this week’s
Parashat, where the first mitzvah of Shabbos is given, we find the following verse:
“And Moshe said (concerning the Manna) eat it today, for today is Shabbos to Hashem, you won’t find it (the Manna) in the field.” (Shemos 16:25) R’ Yechezkhel of Kuzhmir said, “ .. .eat it today. . .” can be read in Hebrew, “Eat the day, eat the day itself!” The sweetness and beauty of Shabbos is so delicious that it can only be experienced by biting into it and savoring its taste; having a senso-spiritual experience. And Shabbos is a day for staying in the house with family and friends or in the Study hall. Because on Shabbos, continues the verse, “ .. .you won’t find it in the field”.

Faith And Friendship

Manna, Friendship and Torah are a three legged stool; if one leg is missing it cannot stand.
“And Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Behold, I am going to rain bread down on you from the heavens, and the people will go out to gather it, in order to test you, if you will go in the ways of my Torah or not.’” (Shemos 16:4)
R’ Menachem Mendel of Riminov wrote extensively on the subject of the Manna.
This selection is the opening piece on Parshas HaMon from his work “Menachem
Tzion”. There are a number of questions that need to be asked on this verse.
1) Why didn’t the matzo which the Children of Israel took out with them from Egypt last them at least until the time of the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai?
2) What is the connection between the giving of the Manna and the test that the Torah wanted to make? R’ Menachem Mendel of Riminov, one of the four principal disciples of R’ Elimelech of Lizhensk, answered that Hashem wanted to reward Yisroel with the
gift of the Manna. Through eating the Manna, as we will explain below, they would
be able to acquire the good character traits that later on would enable them to accept the Torah and fulfill its Mitzvos. Rabbenu Tam, the grandson of Rashi and one of the Tosafists, states in his work on Jewish Philosophy, Sefer HaYashar, that the source of all good character traits is faith and trust in the Providence of Hashem. In this way one can come quickly to the foundation of the whole Torah, the mitzvoh of “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself” .
There is a well known story in the Talmud. (Tractate Shabbos 31a) A potential convert came to the sage Shammai and asked of him to teach him the entire Torah while he stood on one foot. Shammai, not the type to be bothered by such people, drove him out of the house with a stick. The potential convert didn’t give up. He went to Hillel the Elder (my 53rd great grandfather) and again asked to be taught the entire Torah while he stood on one foot. (Obviously he wanted to know in a nutshell, “What is the essence of Judaism?”)Hillel, un-intimidated, took up the challenge. He instructed him, “That which is hateful to you, don’t do to your neighbor. That is the wholeTorah. The rest is commentary; go and learn!” Hillel’s answer is the mitzvoh of “V’Ahavta L’Rayacha K’Mocha”, “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself”. Chassidic literature repeatedly reiterates the point. This mitzvoh of “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself” is the central mitzvoh of the Torah; the one around which all the others revolve. The Riminover maintained that anybody can see the truth of this. If one really regards his friend with love and respect, then he will never even consider stealing from him or harming him or his family in any way. Just the opposite is true. He would endeavor to help his friend in any way possible. Nevertheless, it is impossible to fulfill the dictates of “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself” wholeheartedly without first developing an unwavering sense of faith
and trust in the Providence of Hashem. That means believing totally that Hashem is at the helm; that He conducts the world in such a way that each and every creation in it receives exactly what it needs, and in the proper time. Everything a person needs is apportioned to him and there isn’t another who can take away or divert anything that belongs to him. One who understands this concept is immediately endowed with a deep awareness of Hashem’s Providence, and with a sense of total trust and faith in Hashem. His heart is always at rest since he
knows that anything and everything that he might require will be supplied to him by Hashem. This person will not spend his days and years in the pursuit of wealth, possessions and luxuries since he knows that it is not his efforts that bring material wealth, rather the will of Hashem. Each person receives what Hashem budgets for him; no more no less. (The expenses laid out for Shabbos, Yom Tov and the Jewish education of one’s children are the exception to this rule. The Talmud states that Hashem will reimburse a Jew for all those expenses. Talmud Beitza )
One for whom this becomes second nature can easily fulfill the mitzvoh of “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself”. He just won’t have no desire for anything which belongs to his neighbor, and none of the inner turmoil of jealousy. He knows that what his neighbor has was rightfully granted to him by Hashem. So much is this true, that even should one’s neighbor open a store right next to his, he will not feel any animosity or vengeance, since he is certain that the actions of his neighbor cannot harm him at all and pose absolutely no threat to his livelihood. This is the explanation for the timing of the giving of Manna, and why Hashem gave the Manna in such a way that it fell enough for one day at a time and no
more. It was in order to train B’nei Yisroel in the ways of faith and trust in Hashem, that they should learn not to worry about what will be tomorrow. Each one was allowed to collect the same amount; an Omer per person. If one did try to “become rich” by gathering more than an Omer, it didn’t do him any good. If one tried to take more or less than an Omer, when he got home and measured the Manna, it came out an Omer! (One of the miracles of the Manna, says Rashi.) If he worried that tomorrow maybe the Manna wouldn’t come and left some over for the next day, in the morning he found it infested with vermin. Therefore, nobody had any reason to be jealous or look over his shoulder at his friend. This was the
method by which Hashem taught the children of Israel to accept the Torah, the
same Torah which has as its central mitzvoh “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself” . This then is the explanation of the verse, “Behold, I am going to rain bread down on you from the heavens, and the people will go out to gather it, in order to test you, if you will go in the ways of my Torah or not.” By receiving the Manna and obeying all the rules that went along with it, B’nei Yisroel were indeed tested and thereby made ready for the great day of Giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai.

Living By Faith

It was the custom of R’ Zusha of Anipoli, to recite his morning prayers at length. After he concluded, he would retire to his room next to the Shul. Once there, he would open the window and lifting his eyes to the heavens call out, “Master of the World, Zusha (he always referred to himself in the third person) is very hungry and desires to eat something!” Every morning, his attendant would wait until he heard R’ Zusha’s appeal, then he would bring in R’ Zusha’s morning meal of cake with a little schnapps. One morning the attendant thought to himself, “Why doesn’t R’ Zusha ask me directly for his meal. In fact, who does he think he is fooling by calling out to
Hashem like that. He knows full well that I bring him his food everyday.” So on the spot he decided that the next morning he would not bring R’ Zusha’s meal when he called out. He would just wait to see what would happen and where R’ Zusha’s would look for his meal. The next morning, R’ Zusha awoke as usual, well before the light of day. As he did every morning, he first went to the town Mikveh to immerse himself in preparation
for the day’s holy work. The night had been a rainy one in Anipoli, and the streets of the town had already turned to rivers of mud. In order to get from one side of the street to another, one had to cross on narrow planks that were laid across the flowing mud. As R’ Zusha was crossing in the direction of the Mikveh, a man whom he didn’t recognize, a guest in town, was coming towards R’ Zusha from the other side. When he saw R’ Zusha, gaunt, almost emaciated, dressed in rags without a tooth in his mouth, the stranger yelled out, “Itinerant!”, and with a hearty laugh jumped up and down on the plank causing R’ Zusha to tumble into the mud.
R’ Zusha didn’t say a word. He calmly picked himself out of the mud and continued on his way to the Mikveh, while the stranger sauntered off into the distance, chuckling merrily the whole way as he reenacted his great prank over and over in his mind. When he arrived back at the inn where he was staying, he couldn’t help but brag to the innkeeper about his good prank. The innkeeper didn’t laugh so quickly. He asked the guest to describe the “itinerant” whom he had catapulted into the mud. He suddenly clapped his hands to his head and cried out in anguish, “Oy VaVoy, Oy Oy, do you know what you did!? That was not just some itinerant, that was the Rebbe R’ Zusha!”
Now it was the turn of the guest to cry out “Oy VaVoy” .R’ Zusha was known to all as a holy man and a Tzaddik. Trembling, the guest cried out, “Oy Vey, Oy Vey! What am I going to do now? What am I going to do now?!” “Don’t worry”, exclaimed the innkeeper regaining his composure, “Listen to me, I know what you should do. R’ Zusha spends many hours every morning in prayer. When he is finished he goes into his private room next to the Shul. There he opens the window, and anybody can see how he leans out and lifting his eyes to heaven calls out, ‘Master of the World, Zusha is very hungry and desires to eat something!’ I’ll prepare some cakes and some schnapps for you to take to him. When you hear him call out to the Creator, you go in immediately with this gift, and offer it to him and beg his forgiveness. I’m certain that he will forgive you whole-heartedly.”
That morning, like every morning, after the prayers, R’ Zusha went into his room, opened the window and called out, “Master of the World, Zusha is very hungry and desires to eat something!” The attendant, upon hearing R’ Zusha, held his ground and clasped his folded arms together even tighter, waiting to see what the outcome would be. “Let Hashem bring him his cake this morning”, he huffed to himself. Suddenly the door to the Shul opened and a man, holding a large plate of cakes and a bottle of schnapps came in and made his way to the room of R’ Zusha. He went straight in, put the cakes on the table, then fell to the floor in grief, begging the Tzaddik for his forgiveness (which he was certainly granted). Let it be known, that the attendant came to understand that it really was the
Master of the World who brought R’ Zusha his breakfast every morning.