GOD SAID TO MOSHE: SAY TO AHARON: STRETCH
OUT YOUR HAND WITH YOUR STAFF, OVER THE TRIBUTARIES, OVER THE NILE CANALS AND
OVER THE PONDS, MAKE THE FROGS ASCEND UPON THE LAND OF EGYPT! AHARON STRETCHED
OUT HIS HAND OVER THE WATERS OF EGYPT, THE FROG HORDE ASCENDED AND COVERED THE
LAND OF EGYPT.
(Shemot 8:1,2)
Why did He bring upon the
Egyptians the frogs? Because they had subjugated the Israelites, ordering them
"Bring us abominations and crawling things." Therefore He brought
upon them frogs, and when they would pour into their glasses, they would fill
up with frogs.
(Shemot Rabba 10:4)
If we examine the places
which were disturbed so disrespectfully by the frogs, we find reference to all
the instances in which the Egyptian masters embittered the lives of their
Jewish slaves. As slaves, our fathers had no homes, no private family rooms, no
sleep, no proper bread (our own lechem oni - "bread of
affliction" reminds us of this), in all these places these timid creatures
promenaded and showed the Egyptians what it means not to be able to quietly
enjoy one's house, one's bed, one's bread, without having to fear every moment
disturbance by annoying entries.
(Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, Shemot
7:28)
It
would seem that the faith of the patriarchs, as described in the Book of
Bereishit, is more intimate and stable that that described in the Book of
Shemot. The patriarchs, heroes of the Book of Bereishit, believed in the
Lord without need for miracles, whereas some notables in Shemot based their
belief on miracles and wonders. This phenomenon was not limited to the Sons of
the Covenant. Abimelech and others in Bereishit recognized the God of Israel;
the Egyptian Pharaoh refused to recognize the God of the Hebrews. The purpose
of the miracles and wonders was - among others - to convince him of the
existence and power of God.
Were
we to embrace Maimonides's homiletic interpretation of the name
"Sha-dai", we might find allusion to the above differentiation in the
text of our parasha. Maimonides explains: "'Sha-dai' is derived from dai,
meaning 'sufficient'... the intention here being to signify that He does
not need other than Himself with reference to the existence of that which He
has brought into existence or with reference to prolonging the latter's
existence, but that His existence, may He be exalted, suffices for that." (The Guide of the
Perplexed, Book I, 63)
Modern
philosophy would translate Maimonides's words as saying that the name 'Sha-dai'
indicates the Lord's absolute, independent, non-contingent reality. Poetical
expression of this idea is to be found in the opening verse of the widespread
hymn Adon Olam: 'He is the eternal Lord who reigned before any being
was created' - in other words, the reign of the Lord is in no way dependent
upon His creation.
Let
us then expound: 'I appeared to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Yaakov as 'God
Shad-dai' but by my name 'Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh' I was not known to them' -- I
appeared as 'God Shad-dai', that is to say, as an absolute and direct divinity,
not as a miracle-performing god,, as implied by name 'Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh';
to you, however, I am revealed through my name 'Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh', which
signifies my powers and my wonders.
This
form of faith found in the Book of Shemot influences even the hero of the book,
our teacher Moshe, master of prophets; he does not escape the penetrating
criticism of the midrash which compares his faith to that of Avraham, Yitzchak
and Yaakov - particularly with respect to inheriting the Land of Israel:
"'I
appeared to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Yaakov as 'God Shad-dai' but by my
name 'Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh' I was not known to them'". Said to him The Holy
One, Blessed Be He: Woe for those who lose and do not find [i.e. an
irretrievable loss]. How many times did I reveal myself to Avraham, Yitzchak
and Yaakov as 'God Shad-dai', and I did not inform them that my name is
'Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh' as I did to you, but they did not question. I said to Avraham:
"Rise, walk through the land, through its length and its breadth
for I will give it to you." He sought a place to bury Sarah, and did
not find one before purchasing at great expense, 400 silver shekels, yet he did
not doubt Me. I told Yitzchak: "Dwell in this land... for to you
and to your seed will I give all these lands." He sought water to
drink, but did not find it, as is written: "The shepherds of Gerar
quarreled with the shepherds of Yitzchak [saying the water is ours]",
yet he did not doubt. I said to Yaakov: "The land upon which you
lie, I will give to you". He wished to set up his tent, but did not
find a place until he bought with one hundred ksita, yet he did not
question, he did not ask to know My name as did you. But you, at the
outset of your appointment, you asked: "What is Your name?" and
later you said "From the time I came to Pharaoh [to speak in your name,
he mistreated this people!]" Regarding them [the patriarchs] it
is written: "And I fulfilled my covenant with them, to give them the
land of Canaan". They depended upon His promise that He would give
them the land, and they did not question him." (Shemot Rabba, Parasha
6; Bavli Sanhedrin 111a).
The
post-Biblical period, when miracles ceased (to convince people), presented an
alternative to the Biblical miracle - scientific proof for the existence of
God. This theological development found expression in a semantic change; the
term 'mofet' - sign - began to have two connotations: miracle, and
logical proof. Philosophers, Jewish and gentile, were involved in the
tremendous scientific project of the middle ages - proving God's existence.
Having achieved their goal, they assumed that belief stood on solid ground.
Modern thought refuted the proofs for the existence of a god. Philosophers pointed out the impossibility of extrapolating from the finite to the infinite, from the temporal to the eternal. In the writings of Rabbi J. B. Soloveitchik, reference is made to this phenomenon in a number of places:
"We
cannot deny that there is a certain difference between the thought of the past
and that of the presence with reference to the searching for the infinite by
way of the finite. Whereas medieval philosophy and that of the beginning of the
modern period expressed the search for the infinite and the eternal in an
objective manner, by formulation of incontrovertible signs, having - in their
opinion - logical validity, the new conception dared to deny the
logical-objective value of the signs... said the new concept: We have no right
to employ categories born of finite, contingent, and temporary reality in order
to prove the truth of an infinite, absolute, and eternal reality..." (And You Shall
Seek From There, pp. 127-128; cf. Man of Faith p. 31)
The logical proof, like the Biblical/miracle proof, is an element external to man, one which does not have a long-lasting, intimate, influence upon him. The limitations of the miracle are clearly discernable when we examine the behavior of the Children of Israel in the desert. Take, for example, their creating the golden calf only weeks after they received the Torah and saw the face of Shechina on Mount Sinai. As Yeshaaya Leiboweitz noted, many generations (primarily those far removed from philosophical speculation), which had never witnessed miracles and wonders, believed in God with all their might. One might have expected that the absence of miracles from religious life would present a religious-theological problem; in retrospect we find that it actually brought about a strengthening of religious faith. In exactly the same fashion, Rabbi Soloveitchik argued that the modern world, in which the legitimacy of theological proofs was undermined, actually reinforced faith:
"However,
this philosophy which came to uproot, found itself planting; came to deny, but
found itself believing. It rejected man's ability to deduce, indirectly, by
proofs supplied by the secondary powers of logic, from the finite to the
infinite, from the temporal to the eternal, and from the tangible to the
transcendental. But instead of erasing all the wonders from its book, it
accepted them as direct experiences not based on logical deduction, but which
express themselves in sudden revelation and illumination... this is the most
certain of certainties, the truth of all truths." (Ibid. p. 128)
Postmodernism,
like modernism in its time, certainly presents the classic religious conception
with dangers and difficulties. But, together with the dangers, it also offers
new opportunities. The basing of our faith not necessarily on historical
events, on theological dogmas, and on limiting and unscientific interpretation
of our sources - but primarily on direct
faith, can facilitate a renaissance of our religious life in the form
of the faith of the patriarchs - who believed in E-yl She-dai, the God Which Is
Sufficient.
Aviad A. Stollman, a resident of Gush
Etzion, is a doctoral student in the Department of Talmud at Bar-Ilan Univ.
"And when you
leave, do not leave empty-handed" Emancipation With Conciliation
The name
"Egyptian", in the heart of the Israelite, was bound up with memories
most bitter. It would not surprise us if the son of Israel was to hate the
Egyptian as the enslaver of the fathers of the nation, and was he to consider
it a privilege not to behave towards the Egyptian as we are commanded to act
towards the stranger. How can I? Can I feel love for the Egyptian, as I was
charged with respect to the stranger "Love him as yourself" ?
Were not my ancestors enslaved in Egypt?! But the Torah says: In the end, they
sent you off as friends, with gifts of silver and gold vessels, and they
behaved towards you just as you were commanded to behave towards a Hebrew slave
"You shall not release him empty-handed". Therefore, "Do
not abominate the Egyptian, for you were a sojourner in his land." And
since the Egyptian was not far-sighted enough to lend articles on his own
initiative, Israel was commanded to encourage them, saying to them: "Let
us leave you as friends, we ask a gift at this hour of parting."
(From
an article by Benno Yaakov, quoted in translation
by
N. Leibowitz, "New Studies in the Book of Shemot")
How Many Left Egypt? How
Many Entered the Land of Canaan?
"And the Children
of Israel went up chamushim" (Translator's note: Meaning of chamushim
is uncertain. Although usually translated "armed", the midrash
reads it as related to the number 5, chamesh) - One out of 5; some
say one out of 50; some say one out of 500. Rabbi Nehorai...one out of 5000.
And when did they [all the rest] die? In the days of darkness, when the
Israelites buried their dead, and the Egyptians sat in the dark, Israel praised
and thanked God that their enemies could not see and rejoice in their
misfortune.
(Tanchuma, Parashat Beshalach 1)
Rabbi Simai said: it is
written "I will take you for me as a people" and it is written
"and I will bring you", we deduce their exodus from Egypt from
their entry into the Land: just as upon entry into the Land, they numbered two
out of 600,000, so at their exodus from Egypt, two out of 600,000. Raba said:
And so will it be in the days of the Messiah, as is written (Hoshea 2) "There
she shall respond as in the days of her youth, when she came up from the land
of Egypt."
(Bavli, Sanhedrin 111a)
The meaning of this
exaggerated discussion is that all the signs and portents and acts of judgement
which He brought upon the Egyptians in the ten plagues and with the crossing of
the Reed sea were justified even if they made possible only the bringing of two
out of 600,000 to the divine goal... these miracles were performed in the sight
of all, but only very few were able to perceive and understand the message of
morality, justice, and pure faith.
(Meshech
Chochma, Shemot 6:7)
These words provide
material for deep contemplation. The Rav (Meshech Chochma) deals at length with
this, finding in it something symbolic regarding the recognition of the Lord
and of man's fate forever bound up with this recognition...
These words have great
value for understanding the subject of prophecy in Israel during those many
generations of Biblical history, when Israel was supported by emissaries of God
who spoke the words of the Shechina. Their words, however, are understood only
by the exceptional few in each generation. From the words of the Rav we
understand that the truth of recognition of God is not at all contingent upon
the number of persons who are fortunate to attain it. Enough that there are a
few exceptional persons, such as two out of 600,000.
(Y. Leibowitz: Seven :Years of
Discussion of the Weekly Parasha, p. 214)
"And You Shall Know
That I Am The Lord, Your God, Who Delivered You From The Labors of Egypt"
The greatest wonder is
that man - who suffered the labors of clay and brick - can still so elevate
himself to the level of knowing God. This is the meaning of the commandment of Maggid
- the telling of the Exodus story - "whoever elaborates upon the
telling of the exodus from Egypt is meshubach" - meaning: This
is a sign that he is superior, and therefore he is more sensitive.
( Translator's
note: meshubach may be translated both as 'praiseworthy' and as 'of
superior quality'; in the context of the mitzvah of maggid, the
former is the usual interpretation; but the Haamek Davar innovatively employs
the latter.)
(Haamek
Davar, Shemot 6:7)
["And you shall
know that I am the Lord your God, who delivered..."] by the forty
years wandering in the wilderness, where their experiences were so thoroughly
to impress them with the certain knowledge that God not only had brought them
out of Egypt, but that He remained their God, who in the present and for all
future, would protect them from Egypt-like hardships and lead them out
"from under such burdens." "Avadim" - slaves
- we have never again become; "gerim" - strangers - we should
never again have become, but sivlot - burdens - we shall always have to
bear, as long as we are human.
(Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, ibid.,
ibid.)
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