Beshalach 5639 תרל”ט

במדרש ויהי בשלח כו’ כ’ אל מוציאם כו’. אין שילוח כו’ אלא לוי’ כו’. 

The Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 20:3) Explains the apparent contradiction “and it was when Paroh sent Bnei Yisrael”, yet it was not Paroh that sent us out, it was HaShem “The powerful G-d that took us out”? Rather the explanation is that the word בשלח does not mean that Paroh sent us out, rather that he accompanied Bnei Yisrael and begged them to pray for his salvation.

פי’ בראות פרעה הרשע כי בע”כ צריך לשלחם. חיבר עצמו אליהם. ושילחם ברצון טוב. וטובתם של רשעים רעה אצל הצדיקים. לכן כ’ ויהי. 

The idea here is that when the wicked Paroh saw that he had no choice and  must let Bnei Yisrael go, he connected himself to them. And the sent them out willingly. This “goodness” of the wicked is actually bad for the righreous, and therefore the word ויהי is used (which implies trouble).

והי’ ע”ז העצה מהבורא ית’ להגביה אותם למעלה מן הטבע. כמ”ש במד’ ולא נחם אלהים ד”א כו’. כדי שלא יוכל להרע תערובות התחברות פרעה. שזה ענין ערב רב עלה אתם. 

To combat this involvement of paroh, HaShem lifted us up to a level that was above nature. As it states “HaShem did not take them via the route of the Plishtim…” This was all done so that the involvement of Paroh should not negatively affect them. This was indeed the idea of the ערב רב the Mitzri converts that were redeemed with Bnei Yisrael.

[ויוכל להיות כי אם הי’ נגמר כדברי הש”י מתחילתו. לא הי’ לפרעה שום התחברות. רק ע”י הפצרת משה רע”ה ברוב חמלתו על צערן של בנ”י ומיהר להביא הגאולה]. 

[Perhaps, if things had goneaccording to HaShem’s original plan and Bnei yisrael had remained in Mitzrayim for ther deisgnated time, then Paroh would not have had any involvement with Bnei Yisrael. However due to Moshe’s great compassion and pleading for Bnei Yisrael, they were redeemed ealrlier anad therefore Paroh was able to be involved withtheir redemption] 

ולכן הי’ צריך פרעה ועבדיו להתחרט ולומר מה זאת עשינו כו’. 

(In order to bring out the miracle of the sea and lift Bnei Yisrael up above nature) it was necessary for Paroh and his slaves to regret sending Bnei Yisrael out as they said: “What have we done, by sending Yisrael from our servitude”.

והכלל כי קי”ס הי’ תיקון ליצ”מ. דכ’ אח”כ התיצבו וראו כו’. וכ”כ וירא ישראל א”מ מת כו’ וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה אשר עשה ה’ במצרים. פי’ כי לא היו יכולין לראות ולהבין גאולת מצרים עד אחר קריעת י”ס שנטבעו כל המצריים. וכל זמן שהיו קיימים לא הי’ יכול הגאולה לבוא לידי גילוי ע”י שהי’ להם קצת שייכות והתחברות כנ”ל. 

The general idea here is that the splitting of the sea was actually completing and repairing the exodus from Mitzryaim. 

For at the splitting of the sea haShem said: stand and see what i will do to Mitzryaim… and Bnei Yisrael saw Mitzrayim dead….And they saw the mighty hand that HaShem did in Mitzrayim. 

This means that until now they were not able to see and understand the redemption from Mitzrayim. It was only after the splitting of the see and the drowning of the Mitzryiyim (that they could appreciate the redemption). 

However so long as the Mitzriyim were still alive they could not be completely redeemed because the Mitzriyim still had some connection and attachement to them! As above. 

ובדרך הזה נוהג בעולם בכלל ובפרט כל נפשות בנ”י. כשיש קצת גאולה צריכין אח”כ להתחזק להיות המשכה לאדם בגאולה זו. 

This too is the way HaShem interacts with us in the world, on a general and individual level, to all the souls of Bnei Yisrael. That when there is a bit of redemption we need to strengthen ourselves afterwards to draw down the redemption from there.

וזה הי’ ענין קי”ס להתעלות נפשות בנ”י להיות להם דביקות והתחברות בשורש הנס דיצ”מ. ולכן אמרו שירה. ובמ”א הארכנו יותר:

This was the idea of the splitting of th esea. That there will subsequently be a lifting up of the souls of Bnei Yisrael so that they can connect to the source of the miracle of the exodus from Mitzryaim. It is for this reason that they subsequently sang the song of the sea. As we have explained at length elsewhere. (see תרל”א  1)

2

הנני ממטיר ל”ל מ”ה כו’. פי’ להיות דבוק המזון בשורש העליון. 

“I am going to rain down for you a bread from Heaven…” (Shemos 16:4). The idea here is that food will be connected to the source Above.

כמ”ש למען הודיעך כו’ על כל מוצא פי ה’ יחי’ האדם. וז”ש ולקטו דבר יום ביומו. 

As the pasuk says (Devarim 8:3) “For not by bread alone can an survive, rather through what comes from the decree of HaShem a man will live”. So too it states: “And the peopl should collect each day’s portion, so that I shall test them” (Shemos 16:4)

כי בכל מזון יש נקודה חיות ממוצא פי ה’. אך מתלבש בגשמיות המזון. 

In all food there is the spark of life force that comes from the decree of HaShem, that sustains the one that eats it. However it is clothed in the physical form of food.

אבל נפשות בנ”י בדור ההוא נתעלו ויצאו מהתלבשות הגשמיות. וניזונו ממוצא פי ה’ ממש. 

However the souls of Bnei Yisrael in that generation were so elevated, above any physicality that they were able to be sustained from the actual life force that comes from the decree of HaShem. (The spiritual food of mannah).

ולכן לא העדיף המרבה. וכן הממעיט לא החסיר ממש. 

It is because (it was a spiritual food) that one who took more did not have more, and one who took less did not have less

כמ”ש חז”ל א’ הממעיט וא’ המרבה ובלבד שיכוון לבו לשמים. ומקשין דאם גם המרבה מכוין לש”ש למה שוה לממעיט. אבל האמת מי שדבוק בשורש האחדות אין חילוק והפרש בין רב למעט. כי בנקודה א’ יש הכל. 

This is as our sages explained (Brachot 5b) “One who learns more and one who learns less (are equal) so long as they have intention for the sake of Heaven. Now the question is asked: if the one who does more also has the correct intentions, whyis he indee not better than one who does less? 

However the answer is that if one is indeed connected to the source of oneness, there is no difference between a lot and a little, for at that point there is everything!

ובששי לקטו לחם משנה כו’ העודף הניחו כו’ למשמרת כו’. פי’ כמ”ש בזוה”ק יתרו אי לא אשתכח בי’ מנא מה ברכתא אשתכח בי’ כו’. 

Now on the sixth day, they collected a double portion, and left the extra for Shabbos. This can be explained by the Zohar in Yisro that asks what was the unique blessing of Shabbos, if there was no mannah on that day. It is the lack of a mannah, and the lack of a blessing? 

ותוכן התשובה כי השבת הוא מעין עוה”ב. ואיך יוכל בעוה”ז לקבל הארות עוה”ב. לכן הוא בא בדרך תוספות. פי’ כמו דור דיעה ההוא שעבדו עבודה שלימה לפניו ב”ה בכל ימי השבוע. וקיבלו הארות הראוים לכל יום ויום. כמ”ש דבר יום ביומו כו’. לכן זכו אח”כ להארה הנוספת שלא תוכל הלבוש הגשמיי להכיל. ונק’ עודף. והוא תוספות שבת. 

The thrust of the answer is that Shabbos is a taste of the world to come. Now how can a person merit something that is out of this world in this world? Therefore it must come as an addition (not something part of this world, but something extra). 

We see this idea with the generation of the Midbar who are called the “generation of Understanding”. It was through their effort of “collecting” all the spiritual lights of each day as the pasuk says “each day”, therefore they merited to subsequently receive a new light that the physical body could not sustain. This is called “extra”, and the “extra of Shabbos” – תוספת שבת.

ונשמה יתירה הבאה בשבת לאשר כלי הגוף ונפש קטן מהכיל הארת השבת נותנין לאדם נשמה יתירה. 

It is the extra soul that comes on Shabbos, for the physcial being and nefesh are too small to contain the light of Shabbos, and therefore we need an “extra soul”.

וכמו כל ימי עוה”ז בכלות ימי האדם ועומד לקבל הארת העוה”ב מסתלק מעוה”ז. 

So too in a person’s days in this world. When the days of man are completed and he is going to receive the light of the world to come, he must leave this world (for the physical body of this world cannot contain the light of the world to come). 

כ”כ ימי המעשה והשבת. 

This too is the idea of the days of the week and Shabbos.

וכ’ למען אנסנו הילך כו’. כי המן הי’ נסיון שנתעלו נפשות בנ”י מהגשמיות. 

It states “so that I can test – אנסנו them if they will follow my Torah…” For the mannah was a נסיון (a test or more accurately:) an elevation, for the souls of Bnei Yisrael were elevated from their physical state. 

לכן איתא לא ניתנה תורה אלא לאוכלי המן. מ”מ אמרו רק. לא ניתנה. 

This is why our sages have taught that the Torah was only given to those that ate maanh. However (it is not limited to that generation only, for our sages have said it in the past tense) nevertheless it states “it was only given” 

כי התחלת קבלת התורה הי’ צ”ל לדור עליון שלמעלה מהטבע. ובכח קבלה הנ”ל יכולין גם עתה להתדבק בתורה. גם שאנו תוך הטבע. 

This is because the original giving of the Torah had to be to a generation that was very high, above nature. And with this strength (that they originally used) we are able to connect to the Torah, even though we are now in a physical world of nature. 

ודבר זה נמצא גם בכל איש ישראל בכל יום. כשמקבל עליו בתחלה עומ”ש ופרנסת הנפש בתורה ותפילה שהוא מעין אכילת המן. לכן הגם שצריך אח”כ ליזון מגשמיות איננו נפרד לגמרי. 

This idea can also be found in eac individual Yisrael every day. A person begins (one’s day) by accepting the yoke of Heaven, and sustains his soul through Torah and Tefila, which is (a spiritual sustenance) a taste of the mannah. And therefore even though he later needs to sustain himself with physicality, nevertheless he is not completely disconnected from it

לכן כ’ לא תאכלו על הדם קודם התפילה כמ”ש בזוהר קדושים:

This explains the prohibition of: “Do not eat on the blood” (Vayikra 19:26), which our sages explain refers to eating before prayer. (Taking care of one’s physical needs before one’s spiritual needs). As the Zohar has explained in Kedoshim (2:214b)