Shabbat Shalom Weekly

Torah Portion: SHABBAT CHOL HAMOED

 

Shem Mi Shmuel
Seder: The Redemption of Speech
by Reb Zvi Belovski
Our obligation to conduct the Seder and relate the story of the Exodus to our children is derived from the following verse: And you shall tell to your child on that day: “It is because of this that God did for me when I came from Egypt.” (Shemos 13:8)
The primary phrase here is v’higadeta, meaning “and you shall tell.” In fact, the term haggadah, familiar to all as the name of the book which we read at the Seder, originates from this verse in the Torah. But is telling the only implication of this word? My holy father pointed out that the Aramaic Targum Onkelos always renders this word as “show” or “indicate.” This tells us that merely relating the story is insufficient; we must show our children that it is true, whether by deed or proof.
I would like to suggest why relating the story of the Exodus is so fundamental to Pesach and its proper appreciation. The mystics tell us that in Egypt, not just the Jews, but speech itself was in exile. Indeed, the word pesach can be interpreted as two separate words, peh and sach, “the mouth speaks.”
This means that when the redemption came, the mouth, too, was redeemed, enabling it to speak again.
Although this is a complex matter and one of the great Kabbalistic secrets, we can apply the following simple explanation.
We cannot suggest that the Jews never spoke while they were in Egypt, as this is clearly untrue. However, we can propose that they spoke without heartfelt conviction behind their words. The nefesh, or soul, is the root of all human speech, and for this great gift to be utilized correctly the words that flow from a person must be a proper expression of the feelings of his nefesh. Even if he has fully considered the words that he is about to utter, the thought processes themselves are only a guise of the nefesh and do not necessarily reflect the desires of the nefesh itself. Speech can be said to be in exile when the nefesh does not have the ability to express itself through the vehicle of speech. Our Sages teach: They [the Egyptians] closed up the eyes and hearts of Yisrael through the anguish of the enslavement. (Rashi, Bereishis 47:28)
The effect of the slavery in Egypt was to clog up their “hearts,” the nefashos of Yisrael. The labor was so backbreaking that they lost all spiritual sensitivity — their nefashos were unable to communicate with their bodies and express themselves through heartfelt speech. Speech, at least in its most meaningful sense, was indeed in exile. This can help us to explain the following: Moshe spoke thus to the Children of Yisrael, but they did not hear Moshe because of their broken spirit and hard work. (Shemos 6:9)
Yisrael did, of course, hear Moshe and his promise of redemption, but they had been so broken and desensitized by the bondage that his words had no effect on them at all. They were unable to relay his assurance of freedom to their souls, since, as we have explained, the channel was closed up. When the moment of physical freedom came, this unfortunate situation was remedied. God gave Yisrael the ability to reopen the blocked channel between speech and the nefesh. They were once again able to express the desires of their souls through the power of speech and to influence their souls by listening to others.
This is the intention of the Haggadah; it is a celebration of the redemption of meaningful speech. We must express our true feelings about the miracles of the Exodus when we relate it to our children on this night, and they in turn will be able to take our words and influence their souls. Then our Haggadah will indeed be a true demonstration of the power of speech and a clear proof of the great chesed performed by God on that night long ago.
Excerpted from Shem MiShmuel by the Sochatchover Rebbe, rendered into English by Rabbi Zvi Belovski, published by Targum Press.

 

What’s Bothering Rashi?
Move Forward
by Dr. Avigdor Bonchek
The Torah reading for the seventh day of Pesach is Exodus 13:7-15:26 – the crossing of the Reed Sea.
Exodus 14:15 And Hashem said to Moses ‘Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the Children of Israel and let them move on.’ ”
Rashi ..to the Children of Israel and let them move on — RASHI: They have nothing to do but move forward. For the sea will not stand in their way. The merits of the Forefathers and the faith they had in Me when they went out [of Egypt] is sufficient to split the sea for them.
Questioning Rashi
Some Questions: Why the need for this comment? The verse says “let them move on.” What does Rashi mean “they have nothing to do but to move on”? And why does he mention the merits of the Forefathers here?
What’s bothering Rashi here?
Hint: Look at this verse and the next one.
An Answer: Verses 15 and 16 seem to be out of order. Verse 16 says that Moshe is to raise his hand over the sea and it will split. It would seem logical for this verse to come first. First Moses should raise his hand and split the sea then tell the Children of Israel to cross it. Rashi is relating to this difficulty.
How does his comment deal with it?
Your answer: 
Understanding Rashi
An Answer: Rashi tells us an important lesson in faith and miracles. The Jews’ faith was what split the sea, not Moses’ magical waving of the staff. “They have nothing to do but to move forward.” This means they need not wait for a miracle; their act of moving forward towards the threatening sea, which implies a faith in God’s ability to save them, is sufficient to have the sea split for them. Moses’ raising his staff was but a symbolic act (perhaps like Babe Ruth’s raising his bat towards the stadium!?) to indicate that the sea would be split. But the cause of its splitting was the Jews’ ability to rush towards the raging sea with faith in God.
A DEEPER LOOK
We are left with the question: Why does Rashi mention the “merits of the Forefathers”? Where is this even hinted at in the verse?
Can you see any hint of this?
Hint: Look at Rashi’s “dibbur hamatchil” (“lead words”).
Your Answer:
A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING
An Answer: Rashi’s “dibbur hamatchil” begins with “to the Children of Israel.” This seems irrelevant to Rashi’s main point – that they should move on towards the sea, even before Moses raised his staff. Perhaps it is these words that are the basis for his reference to the “merits of the Fathers.” Verse 13 above refers to the people as “the People.” Our verse could have said “speak to the people” or just “speak to them.” Why mention “the Children of Israel” (Rashi implicitly asks )?
Rashi’s answer is that being the Children of Israel (i.e. Jacob – and Isaac and Abraham) is their special merit. This merit will stand by them in this time of stress. God’s promise to the Fathers that He will redeem their children is sufficient (with the children’s act of faith, of course) to deliver them from danger at this time.
THE LESSON
There is an important lesson in Jewish faith contained in this Rashi-comment. Miracles happen to the faithful because of their faith, not because of any unrelated magical Divine intervention. Acts of faith (like the Jews’ moving forward towards the threatening sea) AND merits of the Fathers are the essential ingredients for supernatural Divine intervention.
I would say that the merits of the Fathers are also essential so that one should never think that he alone (even with pure faith) can determine events.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Do not be wise in words – be wise in deeds” — Jewish Proverb

JOKE OF THE WEEK
Moishe and Miriam always encourage their four children to try new foods. But like most kids, they resist. On a recent visit to their Bubbie, she asked each of them to sample one of her homemade pickled herring.Only seven-year-old Chaim was willing to try them. After he’d managed a tentative nibble, Bubbie asked, “Nu, so how is it?”“It would be good, Bubbie…” Chaim replied diplomatically “…if I liked it.”

SHABBAT SHALOM!
Staff:   Rabbi Yosef David, Rabbi Shmuel Greenwald, Mimi David, Caren Goldstein, Claire Wolff
Board of Directors: Jenn Cohen, Adam Herman, Brett Fox, Bob Kaiser, Malcolm Klearman, Lizzy Goldenhersh Kline, Joy Marcus, Mike Minoff, Ella Pernik, Leila Redlich, Mike Towerman, Bruce Waxman, Tziona Zeffren