BS"D
ECSTATIC EMUNAH:
PARSHAT BESHALACH
Shira Smiles shiur 2022/5782
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
Parshat
Beshalach relates the epic narrative of the splitting of the Red Sea, the
drowning of the Egyptian pursuers, and the subsequent burst of song praising
Hashem for this salvation as Bnei Yisroel watched the Egyptians and their
chariots drowning in the Sea. At that point, "Vayiru ha'am et Hashem
vaya'aminu BaHashem.../the nation revered Hashem, and had faith in
Hashem..." But wait, when Moshe approaches Bnei Yisroel and tells them of
their impending salvation, even before the onset of the plagues, the Torah specifically
says, "Vaya'amein ha'am/the people had faith." What was the
difference between the earlier belief and this one that inspired Bnei Yisroel
now to burst out in song whereas before they were mute?
On
the simplest level, we can easily understand that Bnei Yisroel's faith was
strengthened with the culminating miracle of their salvation, but now it was
also a faith and reverence of a higher level than it had been earlier. As Rabbi
Schwadron says, citing the Rambam, everyone, even though they may deny it,
knows intuitively that God exists, that ink didn't spill on a piece of paper
and create a beautiful poem when the poet left the room for a few minutes.
There must have been someone who picked up the pen in the interim and wrote the
words. People may want to believe that the world had always existed, that there
was no Creator, and that the world continues to exit because Nature has so
decreed its laws.
As
Rabbi Schwadron points out, the intellect knows there is a Creator, but the
heart refuses to accept this. In fact, had the world not known this in the
depths of their wisdom, antisemitism, the by product of Jews being the chosen
of a God they would deny, would cease to exist. But the heart has many desires,
and when the heart and the intellect are in conflict, we rationalize, and the
desire of the heart usually wins. To the extent that we can subdue our desire,
that's how strong our emunah/faith is in the Supreme Being.
It
is for this reason, writes Rabbi Schmeltzer in The Heart of Emunah that
teaching our children about God cannot be limited to imparting knowledge; it
must involve experiences that generate love of the Creator, love that will
penetrate the heart and cut through intellectual blockages. We must involve our
children and our students in a joyous relationship with God, with His Torah and
mitzvoth, rather than as an onerous partnership.
This
is the difference between the two believing’s, the earlier faith in Moshe's
telling Bnei Yisroel that they would be redeemed and the faith now achieved at
the splitting of the Sea, Rabbi Schwadron notes. While Bnei Yisroel earlier
understood intellectually that they were to be redeemed, that realization
remained in the mind, never entering their hearts. In fact, as their burdens
grew heavier, it became even harder to relate to God and His message.
As
Tallelei Chaim the Chaban observes, at the splitting of the Sea,
Bnei Yisroel experienced not only their own salvation, but also physically saw
their oppressors drowning. Bnei Yisroel had been taken out of Egypt; now Egypt
was taken out of them. Not only were they physically free, bow they were also
psychologically free. To become true servants of Hashem, we must free ourselves
from the entrapments and desires of the world that hold us in their grip.
The
greatest work in this regard, continues the Chalban, is to extricate
ourselves from ourselves, to let go of the sense of entitlement and arrogance
that we are actually in control. My heart, my desires become stronger than my
intellect, and I become a slave to my Self, to my desires or to actual
addictions. We have to be ready to see God's light in every aspect of our
lives. As the Kotsker Rabbi responded to one of his disciples who asked where
he could find God: "Wherever you let Him in."
That
Bnei Yisroel continued to fear the Egyptians as the Egyptians pursued them
showed a lack of faith in Hakodosh Boruch Hu; Bnei Yisroel was ascribing
greater power to the Egyptians than to God. That's why the angels recommended
that Hashem not save Bnei Yisroel. After all, they argued, the drowning
Egyptians are worshiping other gods, but, in fearing the Egyptians, so is Bnei
Yisroel. When Bnei Yisroel can remove that fear and recognize Hashem as the
only Power, their faith is strong enough to sing, to proclaim with absolute
clarity, "This is my God and I will glorify Him."
Both
the simpleton who has faith purely out of habit and the intellectual who
believes only through rational deduction are in spiritual darkness, writes the Sifsei
Chaim. The simpleton is blinded by ignorance and the intellectual is
blinded by so great a light that he too is paralyzed. We must remove ourselves
from the darkness and go toward a world of light, of acting on our belief. In
Mitzrayim, Bnei Yisroel's belief was blind faith in darkness. After the
splitting of the Sea, Bnei Yisroel achieved a higher understanding of Hashem
and of the role of Moshe His servant who would transform that knowledge into
action through teaching us Torah and mitzvoth.
Man
was created with two powerful forces within him. the intellectual mind and the
emotional heart. One may "know" a truth with either the heart or the
mind, yet total knowledge is only achieved when the two are fused and knowledge
becomes internalized, writes R Weingerg. As a simple example, when we see a
"Wet Paint sign," most of us feel the urge to reach out and touch and
smell the paint, to have our senses validate emotionally what we already know
intellectually. Our challenge is to live our faith with every fiber of our
being, to praise Hashem with every breath we take.
In
Darchei Mussar, Rabbi Nieman presents a wonderful analogy from Rabbi
Simcha Zissel of Kelm. Picture a man who has never tasted bread. A philosopher
approaches him extolling the wonder of bread, presenting him with multiple
studies that prove that eating bread is very satisfying. Along comes a second
philosopher who now presents studies that prove the exact opposite. Once the
man eats bread and feels satisfied, no arguments to the contrary will influence
his belief that bread is indeed satisfying. It is the physical experience that
cements the belief.
Taking
it one step further, Rabbi Nieman now presents another incident. A disciple
once tells his Rebbe that he doesn't believe, and asks the Rebbe if he
believes. The Rebbe points to the table and asks his student if he believes
that is a table. The disciple answers, "I don't have to believe; I know
it's a table." "Just so," respond the Rebbe, " I don't have
to "believe" in God; I know God."
This
was the level of faith Bnei Yisroel reached on the shores of Yam Suf, a level
so strong that it was palpable, that they could point and say, "THIS is my
God..." Then they reached an even higher, emotional level, connecting
their entire existence with all their senses to this God Who is also the God of
my fathers, writes Rabbi Sternbach.
Interestingly,
When Hashem led Bnei Yisroel through a long, circuitous route out of Egypt,
Bnei Yisroel didn't complain even though they knew that the Egyptians would
pursue them. It was only now, seeing the Egyptians in actual pursuit, that
their emotions kicked in, they were afraid, and cried out, notes Rabbi Schrage
Grosbard. First comes emunah/faith. Yirah/awe,
fear, comes with reiyah/seeing, the
involvement of the senses, and becomes emotional. [As the great commentator and
poet Ibn Ezra writes: "Libi uvesori yeranenu leKel chai/My heart
and my flesh will sing out to the living God." At the splitting of the
Sea, every fiber of their bodies sang out to Hashem. CKS]
The
women had already internalized this emotional, experiential faith. They too
burst out in song. They accompanied themselves with tambourines they had taken
as the exited Egypt, already knowing within the essence of their being that
they would need to sing.
It
is not enough to study the laws of Shabbat, the rituals of prayer. We must
immerse our children in the experience of Shabbat, model with them the awe and
love of Hashem's presence we feel in the shul.
The
splitting of Yam Suf was all about love, writes the Slonimer Rebbe in Netivot
Shalom. Hashem constantly calls us His children, and the medrashim point
out the details that reinforce that love: Each tribe had its own path, yet the
"walls" were transparent; the "walls" sprouted fruit so the
mothers could give their children sweet fruit (and eat themselves, if they so
desired). In this kind of relationship, the yirah/awe inspires yirah/fear,
our fear is that somehow we will disappoint our Father Who loves us so.
The
buzz word that introduces the shira/song appears several other times in
this paean of joy, writes Rabbi Belsky. Oz/Then Moshe and Bnei Yisroel
sang. The other nations also experienced these wonders, for oz/then the
princes of Edom trembled and the lords of Moav were stricken with trembling.
While awe-stricken Bnei Yisroel were moved to sing praises to Hashem, the other
nations were filled only with emptiness and futility.
Each
of us has events in our lives that shake us up emotionally. Some are positive
events and some are negative. Yet we can find within each event some element
that can bring us closer to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Take that feeling, that initial
jolt, and concretize it with a resolution, with an action When your brain
intuits an unusual happening, recognize God's mighty, though gentle hand.
Breathe in the experience, reach out to others, and let your spirit sing
praises to Hakodosh Boruch Hu.