BS"D
SILENCING THE SUPPLICANT: PARSHAT BESHALACH
Shira Smiles shiur - 2017/5777
Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein
Parshat Beshalach continues the saga of Bnei Yisroel's escape from Egypt. After
Bnei Yisroel left, the Egyptians chased after them, eventually trapping Bnei
Yisroel between the Egyptian forces behind them and the Red Sea blocking their
advance in front of them. As they had done before, and as they would do many
more times in the desert, Bnei Yisroel, fearing imminent death, called out to
Moshe. In response, Moshe joined in their prayers and reassured them of
Hashem's salvation. Hashem's response to these prayers is enigmatic. Instead of
replying, "I am listening to your prayers," Hashem cuts Moshe off
abruptly, replying instead, "Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the
children of Israel and let them journey forth! And you lift up your staff and
stretch out your arm over the sea and split it; and Bnei Yisroel shall come
into the midst of the sea on dry land..."
Considering that Hashem heard the cries of Bnei Yisroel and was moved to redeem
them, it is puzzling that Hashem now stops Moshe and Bnei Yisroel from crying
out to Him. How are we to understand this seeming change in protocol, this
silencing of our supplications, especially since, as the Ner Uziel
notes, prayer is appropriate in every situation especially in times of
distress?
However, there is a proper protocol when praying. Sometimes we have our own
agenda and pray that Hashem grant us this request instead of asking Hashem to
help us in the way He deems best. This is what Rabbi Bick proposes was the case
here. Bnei Yisroel was expecting some sort of military victory or sudden death
of the Egyptian hordes. Hashem's response is that you are praying for the wrong
thing. Move forward and see what My plan is. I will split the sea, and watch
what will become of the Egyptians, for you will never see them that way again.
Rabbi Bick uses this idea to explain why making matches is often compared to
the difficulty of splitting the Sea. Just as Bnei Yisroel seemed to be praying
for a specific kind of salvation, so too do people often request that Hashem
create a match between themselves and a specific person they have selected.
Rabbi Bick suggests that the appropriate prayer is to ask Hashem to match
him/her to a suitable partner, one which is often very different from the one
he/she has initially visualized and desired as his match.
As a variation of this idea, the Chasam Sofer suggests that Hashem did
not stop Bnei Yisroel from praying. Rather He was telling them to ask Hashem
for direction, what shall we pray for, or what do we need to do to make our
prayers effective. The Chasam Sofer further suggests that while prayers
often are effective in and of themselves, one needs to pray for the appropriate
salvation. The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh expands on this idea. When the
Accuser stands before God and points a finger at the supplicant, the supplicant
requires some merit in addition to the prayers for his prayers to be answered
in the affirmative. At the Sea, the Accuser stood before God and declared,
"These and these [both the Israelites and the Egyptians] worship
idols," why should You save one at the expense of the other? Therefore
Bnei Yisroel needed to pray for direction, they needed to know how to act to
prove their worthiness of being saved. By jumping into the Sea before it was
dry land, Bnei Yisroel would prove their deep faith in Hashem and thus merit
salvation.
Rabbi Eisenberger continues to explain some of the dynamics of tefillah, basing
his words on the Ohr Hachaim. Tefillah works if we are deserving, and
often works even if we are not deserving, for Hashem's attribute of mercy kicks
in. However, the gates of emunah and bitachon, of faith, are
always open even when we are not deserving. If one puts his faith and trust in
Hakodosh Boruch Hu, Hashem returns that trust. Even a thief, if, while he is
burglarizing a home, states that he has faith in Hashem that he will not get
caught, says Rabbi Bloch as cited by Rabbi Goldberger, he will not be caught.
These were the dynamics in motion at the edge of the Reed Sea, continues Rabbi
Eisenberger. Bnei Yisroel needed an act of faith in addition to their prayers.
Nachshon ben Aminodov jumped into the Sea, but he did not stop praying even as
the waters approached his very soul. Only then did Hashem split the waters and
reveal the path of dry land. We always need to daven for Hashem's mercy, but we
never know when the Accuser has closed the gates of mercy to us. Therefore, we
need to constantly demonstrate our complete faith in Hakodosh Boruch Hu and in
His salvation. This is as applicable today in our daily lives as it was then.
It is easy in business, for example, to blame failure on competition or other
economic factors rather than placing our faith in Hakodosh Boruch Hu. How often
does our davening suffer, both in pace and in concentration, as we focus on an
important business meeting during our prayers? Do your hishtadlus, your
due diligence, but put your faith in God. Yes, our heartfelt prayers full of
faith have the potential to be extremely effective, but because it is so easy
to be distracted writes Rabbi Druck in Aish Tomid, we must also
demonstrate our faith through our actions.
Rabbi Gamliel Rabinowitz cites Rashi in stating that two things were necessary
for the splitting of the Sea, the merit of our forefathers and faith in the Creator.
Our Sages instituted the Song of the Sea as part of our daily prayer precisely
to remind us daily of the necessity of constant faith in the Creator.
With that faith, any sea can be split, from the Reed Sea to the sea of our
daily troubles; without that faith, one cannot even cross the threshold of his
own home. If you truly believe, demonstrate it in your daily actions and
Nachshon ben Aminodov did at the Sea. As Rabbi S. R. Hirsch points out, the
salvation was ready, but man had to take the first step.
The last paragraph of the Amidah prayer supports this view, writes
writes Neot Deshe. In that final paragraph, we ask Hashem's help first
in helping us control our tongues so that we refrain from speaking evil. Only
later, after controlling our actions, do we ask Hashem's spiritual help to open
our hearts to His Torah and to His mitzvoth. Similarly, Hashem first spoke to
Moshe after Moshe took action and turned aside to see and understand the
mystery of the burning bush.
While davening with intensity and building more merits through one's religious,
spiritual and social actions go hand in hand, one must nevertheless accept that
the final outcome of one's situation and request lies solely in the decision of
Hakodosh Boruch Hu, writes Rabbi Belsky zt”l in Einei Yisroel.
One must also determine which requests need our hishtadlus and which do
not, writes Rabbi Chaim Goldberger in Six Steps of Bitachon. When we are
absolutely certain that our need will be met, there is no need for further hishtdlus
on our part. Rabbi Goldberger gives the example of air to breathe. Hashem
provides this for all the world regardless of merit. (Although I would venture
to say that an asthmatic or other breathing challenged individual could certainly
benefit from both tefillot and positive action.) However, when the
outcome is questionable, we must put our faith in Hakodosh Boruch Hu even as we
do our hishtadlus. The story is told of a businessman who asked Rabbi
Feinstein ztz"l if he could close on an important business deal during the
three weeks designated as a mourning period and carrying negative energy. Rabbi
Feinstein responded that he could go ahead with the deal but should otherwise
observe the traditional mourning customs of the season. The man went through
with the deal but decided it would be unseemly not to shave for this business
meeting. Just as the deal was about to close, the other party asked why he
should trust this businessman. Our coreligionist answered that he was an Orthodox
Jew, whereupon the other businessman asked him how he could be Orthodox if
other Jews he knew did not shave during this time. Because he relied more on
customary business practice than on Hashem, he lost the deal. (Similar
challenges were faced by many Jewish immigrants in the early twentieth century
who were told, "If you don't show up for work on Saturday, don't show up
on Monday." While many failed this challenge, others passed and went on to
lead successful lives after those very difficult times.)
Along these lines, the Slonimer Rebbe in Netivot Shalom notes the
partnership between God and Man. There may be an awakening of activation from
Above or initiation that begins below, here on earth. The redemption from
Egypt was totally from Above, initiated and carried through by Hashem. However,
the splitting of the Sea required initiation from below through an act of faith
on the part of Bnei Yisroel. It required us moving beyond our nature, it
required someone jumping into the Sea to be the catalyst for the activation
from Above and for our salvation. Similarly, when Haman issued the decree that
all the Jews be killed, Mordechai gathered all the Jews together to pray for
salvation, but it required Esther's mesirat nefesh, self sacrifice and
putting herself in harm's way by approaching King Ahasuerosh without his
personal invitation, to actually bring about the salvation. Sometimes in our
lives prayer alone is not enough. Like our forefathers at the Reed Sea, we too
must demonstrate self sacrifice and move out of our comfort zones, out of what
would seem natural to us, even as we continue to pray, in order to activate the
forces from Above to help us.
Rabbi Pincus zt”l, in Tiferes Shimshon, links many of these
ideas together and relates them to our current situation. As in Egypt, we find
ourselves in cultures of extreme depravity, and we must exhibit tremendous self
control and self sacrifice to maintain the purity of our Jewish homes and
Jewish souls. Just as in Egypt this challenge was the precursor to the
salvation, so today do we expect that we are already in the "footsteps of
Moshiach" and the current salvation, may it be speedily in our day.
Rabbi Pincus zt”l then proceeds to further establish a connection between the
Seventh Day of Pesach when we crossed the Sea and Sukkot, specifically with the
ritual of the Drawing of the Water for the Beit Hamikdosh service and the
tremendous joy inherent in that ritual. The water was drawn from the Shiloach
Pool, brought to the Beit Hamikdosh, and then poured in one of two holes on the
altar (the other hole being for the wine libation). This hole went down to the tehom,
to the abyss that preceded the creation of the world itself.
Water was everywhere, representing the kindness of Hashem. During the creation
process, the waters were split to upper and lower waters. That's why rain
represents God's love, kisses from Heaven. On Sukkot, we connect to the lower
waters of Hashem's everlasting chessed, and we feel the embrace of Hashem's
closeness, especially after the forgiveness of Yom Kippur.
The symbolism of the deep waters of the Water Libation are paralleled with the
symbolism of the waters of the Seventh Day of Pesach. Whereas the waters of
Sukkot remind us of God's everlasting love for us, the miracle of the splitting
of the Sea reminds us of our challenge for self sacrifice for God. When we
displayed that self sacrifice, Hashem again surrounded us on all sides with the
waters of the chessed of the deep as we walked on dry land within the sea bed.
To access such Divine love above and beyond the natural order of the world
requires more than prayer. It also requires self sacrifice, now as then. We can
also access the deep, Divine love of the waters within the abyss.
We too must show deep commitment to the values of Yiddishkeit, and make the
necessary sacrifices in our lives to distance ourselves from the lures of the yetzer
horo. Our souls should long for the holiness and purity of Torah lives, our
joy should shine forth in our Torah observance. Our children should be
witnesses to this joy and want that joy to be an integral part of their lives.
But if that joy eludes you, that desire should form the basis of your prayer.
We should ask Hashem to help us experience the joy if Yiddishkeit, a joy that
should radiate beyond ritual. When we can pray for the ability to sacrifice for
the purity and joy of Yiddishkeit, for the ability to sanctify His Name
throughout our lives, Hashem will not silence our supplications, but will split
the impossible sea for us.