Parshas Shemos
1. On the verse "כל הבן הילוד היאורה תשליכוהו וכל הבת תחיון" ("Every son that is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall keep alive"), the question is asked1: Why did Pharaoh need to conclude "and every daughter you shall keep alive" (that the daughters should be allowed to live)? After all, his aim was that the newborn sons should be thrown into the river, and what would become of the daughters did not interest him. Yet from the fact that he concludes "and every daughter you shall keep alive," it is implied that "and every daughter you shall keep alive" is also a decree.
The explanation is: "תחיון" in its meaning and precise sense is "you shall make them live" — bring them to life. The very same Egyptians whom Pharaoh had instructed to throw Jewish children into the river, in order to kill, Heaven forbid, their bodies, he also instructed that the surviving remnant of children who would remain alive (physically) — they, the Egyptians, should "give life" to them: raise them in their own way, in the Egyptian way of life, in order to kill, Heaven forbid, their souls.
This also explains the change of wording: to the Jewish midwives Pharaoh spoke only about not harming the daughters — so that they would more easily carry out the decree of killing the sons — but to them he did not say "תחיון" ("you shall make live"), only "וחיה" ("she shall live") — she should remain alive. And the fact that the Torah states both decrees together, in the same verse, is proof that "and every daughter you shall keep alive" is no lesser decree than "every son that is born you shall cast into the river." Killing, Heaven forbid, the soul is as severe as killing the body, and even worse, (for2) "קשה מיתה רוחנית יותר ממיתה גשמית" ("spiritual death is harsher than physical death") — a spiritual death is worse than a bodily death.
2. The aforementioned decree of "and every daughter you shall keep alive" — to raise Jewish children in the Egyptian code of life — is also alluded to in "every son that is born you shall cast into the river."
The river Nile was the idol of Egypt, which the Egyptians worshipped. The simple reason was that the Nile was their source of livelihood: in Egypt it does not rain, and the fields are watered by the river Nile.
And this is "you shall cast into the river," which signifies two things: a) the Egyptian exile in the physical sense — killing, Heaven forbid, the Jewish body; b) the Egyptian exile in the spiritual sense — casting them into the idolatry and pleasure of Egypt — killing, Heaven forbid, their souls. For a river consists of water, which represents pleasure (since "מים מצמיחים כל מיני תענוג" ("water causes all kinds of pleasure to grow")3).
3. The Egyptian exile is the root of all the exiles4. From this it is understood that the decrees which existed in the Egyptian exile are present in all the exiles, also in the present exile, and also in our generation.
Today too there is a "Pharaoh, king of Egypt" — that is, the establishment and governing order of the country — which argues that Jewish children should be thrown into the river of "מנהגי ונמוסי המדינה" (the customs and conventions of the land), so that the children sink and drown in the river which, in their opinion, provides livelihood.
And that Jewish children should be walled into the walls of Pisom and Raamses — that is, placed into those matters that are the strength and the chief preoccupation of the country.
One must know that all these arguments of "הבה נתחכמה לו" ("Come, let us deal shrewdly with him") — "with G‑d"5 — come from Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who wants that no survivor or remnant should remain, Heaven forbid, of Jewishness, of Jewish souls, and thereby also of Jewish bodies. Consequently, one must stand with the utmost strength against his decrees and educate the children in the spirit of "ישראל סבא" ("Israel the Elder").
4. In practice this means:
When it comes to raising children, one need not and must not drown them in the Nile — the idolatry of the land. One must not drown, Heaven forbid, the children in the pursuit of a "goal." The only path to life is complete education in our Torah — "תורת חיים" ("the Torah of life").
There is no point in looking at other parents whose children will grow up wealthy — this one will have a house, that one a car, this one will be a doctor, that one a lawyer, and the other at least a shoeshiner; whereas if she sends her child to a yeshivah, he will be an idler, he won't even be able to shine shoes, he won't even know how to hold a brush in his hand.
One must know that the Almighty is "זן ומפרנס לכל" ("He who nourishes and sustains all"), and that if one does what He wants — "ושננתם לבניך ודברת בם בשבתך בביתך ובלכתך בדרך ובשכבך ובקומך" ("You shall teach them diligently to your children, and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the way, when you lie down and when you rise up") — He will do what one asks of Him, for oneself and for the children.
One must give the child over to a teacher who is himself alive through "our Torah, the Torah of life," and "וחי בהם" ("and live by them") — by the mitzvos of the Torah; and the teacher should raise the children in the life-path of Torah and mitzvos. And precisely through this one saves one's own children, and through them also the entire Jewish people.
5. Just as the Egyptian exile is the root of all the exiles — which is why the decrees of that time exist also today, as mentioned above — so too regarding the redemption it is written6: "כימי צאתך מארץ מצרים אראנו נפלאות" ("As in the days of your going out of the land of Egypt, I will show him wonders"), meaning that the future redemption will resemble the redemption from Egypt. This means that the preparations, too, in the matters that bring the redemption, must resemble the very same matters that brought about the redemption from Egypt.
Concerning the redemption from Egypt it is said7: "בשכר נשים צדקניות שהיו באותו הדור נגאלו אבותינו ממצרים" ("In the merit of the righteous women of that generation our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt"). What did the righteous women do? They raised a generation of Jews. At the time of Pharaoh's decree they argued8 that one need not take Pharaoh's decrees into account — "every son that is born you shall cast into the river" — since the Almighty had commanded, one must do as the Almighty commanded, without making calculations about what the outcome of it will be. And in the merit of the righteous women our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt.
So too now, in every country, and especially in America, one must pay no attention to the code of the land and make calculations about what the outcome will be, etc. One must educate the children as the Almighty has commanded, and the Almighty will provide for the children and also for the parents.
Precisely by not reckoning with Pharaoh's decree, one saves one's own children and also brings the general redemption for the entire Jewish people, through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, very soon indeed.
(From the sichos of Chag HaPesach, 5712 and 5714)
6. On the verse "Every son … you shall keep alive" it is stated in the Haggadah: "ואת עמלנו אלו הבנים שנאמר כל הבן גו' תחיון" ("'And our toil' — these are the sons, as it is said: 'Every son … you shall keep alive'").
The proof "as it is said" is not that "our toil" refers to sons (in the manner of the "as it is said" in the other expositions), for there is no proof of that from this verse; the proof is in general, that there was a trouble concerning the sons. But that sons involve toil — for this he brings no proof.
And since he brings no proof for this, it implies that it is self-evident; and since it is self-evident, there is no need for a derivation from a verse.
7. This teaches us:
In order that children, and likewise students (who are called "sons" — as the Sifri expounds9), should be as they ought to be, there must be toil; one must labor over it.
When someone has obedient children, when someone has such influence over his students that even a single word he says to them is already enough, he should not think that he has thereby discharged his task. In this case too one must toil over their education.
"Our toil" — such toil that the Torah would say of it that this is called toil.
And when there are the "our-toil sons," there is no reason to be frightened of the decree "every son that is born you shall cast into the river." One passes through the decree, and more than that — "they," the children who were born and raised at the time of the decree, "הכירוהו תחלה" ("recognized Him first")10. They were the first to recognize the Almighty at the Sea of Reeds. Not Moshe and Aharon, not the sons of Aharon, not the elders, and not the entire generation from before the enslavement — but the Jewish children who had been raised with self-sacrifice: precisely they recognized Him first, and in the manner of "זה א-לי ואנוהו" ("This is my G‑d and I will glorify Him") — pointing with the finger, as it were.
8. The directive is not only for parents regarding their children and for educators regarding their students; it is a directive for every Jew. For "הוכח תוכיח את עמיתך" ("You shall surely rebuke your fellow") is a Torah commandment, and "פרו ורבו" ("Be fruitful and multiply") is a Torah commandment — moreover, the very first mitzvah — and "be fruitful and multiply" means not only physically but also spiritually.
Concerning the fact that the first mitzvah in the Torah is "be fruitful and multiply," there is a saying of the Alter Rebbe's Chassidim — and according to another version, of the Alter Rebbe himself — and the content of the saying is: the order of the Torah is also Torah; the first foundation in Torah, and the first foundation in the life of a Jew, is that "one Jew must make another Jew."
So every Jew is told that he is obligated to toil at making another Jew in general, and at kosher education in particular.
(From the sicha of the second night of Chag HaPesach, 5716)
9. It has already been said that "תינוקות של בית רבן" (young schoolchildren) are the foundation of the Jewish people.
Regarding the virtue of teaching young children specifically, we find in the Gemara11: "ברם זכור אותו האיש לטוב ויהושע בן גמלא שמו" ("However, that man is remembered for good, and Yehoshua ben Gamla is his name").
What did Yehoshua ben Gamla accomplish?
Originally the order was that whoever had a father learned with him, and whoever had no father did not learn. Then it was enacted that there should be teachers of children in Jerusalem. Afterwards it was enacted that there should be teachers of children in every district, and that everyone should be taught, at the age of sixteen or seventeen. Until Yehoshua ben Gamla came and enacted that everywhere — in every country and in every town — Torah should be taught free of charge, to children from five or six years old and up12. And because of this enactment he is remembered for good in all generations.
When the Yevsektsia-Bolsheviks forbade the study of Torah, they did not forbid study entirely. They argued that when the child grows older, reaches maturity, and chooses to learn, he may be taught. Their prohibition applied only to teaching small children. And against this people stood with the greatest firmness and self-sacrifice, because the entire survival of the Jewish people depends specifically on education in the childhood years.
So too today one must stand with the utmost firmness that the education of children from their earliest years be according to "תורה תמימה" ("the perfect Torah"), without any compromises, because on this depends the entire survival of the Jewish people.
10. Because of the great importance of young schoolchildren, everyone who can do something and help in this must toil (as said above regarding "our toil") with his money, with his body and soul, to increase kosher education.
There are those who make calculations: this is beneath his dignity; he must do a loftier thing; teaching children the Alef-Beis can be done by a simpler person; speaking about money for a cheder and a yeshivah belongs to a fundraiser, not to him, and so forth. — He is told that this is a calculation for normal times. At a time of a fire, Heaven forbid, one does not convene meetings about who should put out the fire; rather, everyone acts. Everyone must do what he can to put out the fire.
There are those who argue that they have already toiled enough for kosher education, and now someone else should do it. He is told: "אדם לעמל יולד" ("Man is born to toil") — a person must always toil.
In order to justify the suffering of the soul, which it constantly undergoes through its descent into the body13, he must always toil; for during the time that he does not toil, the soul's suffering is in vain.
And just as this must be so with oneself, so too must it be14 with another, and especially in the matter of education: one must always toil in it.
(From the sichos of Shushan Purim, 5714)
11. At the end of this week's Sidra it is related that Moshe Rabbeinu asked the Almighty, "למה הרעותה לעם הזה" ("Why have You done evil to this people?"), and to this the Almighty answered him (at the beginning of Parshas Va'eira): "אני הוי', וארא גו' בא-ל שדי ושמי הוי' לא נודעתי להם גו' וידעתם כי אני הוי'" ("I am Havaya; and I appeared … as Kel Shakai, but by My name Havaya I did not become known to them … and you shall know that I am Havaya").
It is explained in Torah Or15 that at the Giving of the Torah the name Havaya was revealed (which had not been revealed to the Patriarchs), and in order that this revelation could take place — "and you shall know that I am Havaya" — there had to be the preparation of the Egyptian exile — "You have done evil to this people."
And he concludes there that this is also the reason for the length of the final exile, for it is a preparation for the revelations of the Future.
12. Every matter in Torah is true and eternal. From this it is understood that a question in Torah, although it has an answer, nevertheless still retains its place.
— As my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, once said at a Shavuos farbrengen, regarding the question raised in the teachings of Chassidus — why was Simchas Torah not established on Shavuos, "the time of the Giving of our Torah" — that since the question is written in Torah, although it has an answer, there is nevertheless still room to say that Simchas Torah should be on Shavuos —
So too here: since the question "Why have You done evil" is written in the Torah, even after the answer of "And I appeared …," the complaint "Why have You done evil" still has its place.
13. One of the reasons for this is: although the bondage of exile is indeed necessary, since it is a preparation for the revelations of the Future, nevertheless one can exchange it for spiritual bondage.
As he explains in Torah Or17 all the details of the bondage of "וימררו את חייהם בעבודה קשה בחומר ובלבנים ובכל עבודה בשדה" ("They embittered their lives with hard labor, with mortar and with bricks, and with all labor in the field") — in spiritual terms: "'They embittered their lives' — this is the Torah, for it is our life; 'with hard labor' — this is a kushya (a difficulty); 'with mortar (chomer)' — this is a kal vachomer; 'and with all labor in the field' — this is a Baraisa; 'and with bricks (leveinim)' — this is the clarification (libun) of the halachah." See there at length.
14. Just as the exile in its plain sense can be exchanged for spiritual matters, so too the toil and preoccupation of earning a livelihood (which is the essence of the exile18) can be exchanged for toil and preoccupation in Torah.
The essence of the preoccupation with livelihood is, after all, "רבות מחשבות בלב איש" ("Many are the thoughts in a man's heart")16, to the point that he does not know what to do. One can exchange this for toil and preoccupation in Torah: he should exert himself in Torah until he arrives at a line of reasoning this way and a line of reasoning that way, and he cannot decide — which is exceedingly wearying and preoccupying.
— The Rogatchover Gaon once said that the hardest day of the week for him was Shabbos. During the week, when a very powerful stream of intellect would come upon him, with reasonings running this way and that, he had a remedy — writing, for the letters of writing limit the stream of intellect, and it is then easier to decide. On Shabbos, however, he did not have this remedy, so he had to exert himself exceedingly until he could decide.
And as it is related19, when the Mitteler Rebbe would say Chassidus it was very quiet, yet at times while saying Chassidus he would say: "Sha, sha." The Rebbe (Rashab), of blessed memory, explained that this was to quiet the stream of intellect of the mind.
Seemingly, why must one stop the flow of the intellect?
But in light of what was said it will be understood: because of the flow of the intellect it is difficult to stop oneself and decide definitively. Immediately a deeper insight comes which brings an opposite reasoning — as in the frequent expression in the Mitteler Rebbe's maamarim: "דלא כנ"ל" ("not as stated above").
15. One of the main things that existed in the Egyptian exile was "עבודת פרך" ("crushing labor"). What does crushing labor mean? The Gemara says20 that they gave men's work to women and women's work to men, which is not the usual way.
So too the matter of crushing labor must be transformed so that it is in spirituality: the service in Torah and mitzvos must go beyond the habitual.
And just as in physical crushing labor, the work of the women is easier than men's work — for "איש דרכו לכבש ואין אשה דרכה לכבש" ("It is the way of a man to conquer, and it is not the way of a woman to conquer")21 — nevertheless, since it is not according to their habit, it is crushing labor;
So too in spirituality: the service itself may be a small thing, but since because of it he must change his habit, this replaces the physical crushing labor.
And as is explained in Tanya22 the reason for what the Gemara23 says — that one who reviews his chapter only one hundred times is called "לא עבדו" ("one who has not served Him"), while one who reviews his chapter one hundred and one times is called "עובד אלקים" ("one who serves G‑d") — that although this is no more than one additional time, since he changes his nature, his habit — "שבימיהם הי' הרגילות לשנות כל פרק מאה פעמים" ("for in their days the custom was to review each chapter one hundred times") — he is called one who serves G‑d. (And through this "one" he reaches the Yechidah of the soul. One hundred times — the ten powers, each comprising ten. One hundred and one times — the level of Yechidah, which Above is the level of Keser24.)
16. There is a further detail in this: not only that even through easier service, since it involves a change of his habit, it replaces the physical crushing labor and he is called one who serves G‑d;
Moreover, even when this change of his habit is not inward — that is, inwardly he remains in his former habit, and it is no more than that he forces himself against his will — he too has the merit of one who serves G‑d.
The reason for this is that the inner will of a Jew is good; it is only that the evil inclination compels him, and therefore even coercion against his will suffices25.
17. In light of this one will also understand why the Alter Rebbe brings in Tanya the Gemara's parable of "שוק של חמרים שנשכרים לעשר פרסי בזוזא ולאחד עשר פרסי בתרי זוזי מפני שהוא יותר מרגילותם" ("the donkey-drivers' market, where they hire themselves out for ten parsaos for one zuz, and for eleven parsaos for two zuzim, because it is more than their habit").
Seemingly it is not understood: why does he need to bring in Tanya the parable of the donkey-drivers? He should have brought only what the Gemara says about the virtue of one who reviews his chapter one hundred and one times. We must therefore say that the parable of the donkey-drivers is relevant to understanding the matter of change of habit of which he speaks there in Tanya.
This will be understood by first introducing the well-known principle that in a Torah parable all the details of the parable correspond to the analogue, for the parable devolves from the analogue; consequently all its details must correspond.
So too in the above: the "donkey" (chamor) refers to the body. And a Jew is required: "עזב תעזב עמו" ("You shall surely help along with him")26 — one should not be content with service that pertains to the soul alone, but should refine the body as well.
And in this there are two ways: [OCR unclear — the source ends here; the rest of this Sicha is not in this record's Hebrew source]
Notes
1) See Shemos Rabbah 1:18.
2) Derech Chaim, ch. 1 (with a change of wording). See also Rashi's commentary on Devarim 23:9: "המחטיא לאדם קשה לו מן ההורגו" ("One who causes a person to sin is worse to him than one who kills him").
3) Tanya, ch. 1.
4) Bereishis Rabbah, ch. 16. Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, Parshas Teitzei. The maamar beginning "Kol Dodi," 5709 (Sefer HaMaamarim 5709, p. 107).
5) Shemos Rabbah 1:9. Sotah 11a.
6) Michah 7:15.
7) Sotah 11b.
8) Ibid. 12a.
9) On the verse "ושננתם לבניך" ("You shall teach them diligently to your children"), Devarim 6:7.
10) Sotah 11b.
11) Bava Basra 21a.
12) See there, Tosafos s.v. "Bevatzir."
13) See the letter printed at the end of the maamar beginning "Basi LeGani," 5703 (Sefer HaMaamarim Melukat, vol. 1, p. 38 ff.).
14) Compare Bava Basra 8b: "הא תליסר שנין כו'" ("This took thirteen years …").
15) 56d.
16) 49a.
17) Torah Or 8d.
18) The maamar beginning "Mayim Rabim," 5636, at the beginning.
19) Hayom Yom — 4 Adar II.
20) Sotah 11b.
21) Yevamos 65b.
22) Ch. 15.
23) Chagigah 9b.
24) See Likkutei Torah, Re'eh 22c, and sources cited there.
25) See Rambam, Laws of Divorce, end of ch. 2.
26) [OCR unclear — the text of this note is not in this record's source.]
Key Lesson
Pharaoh's decree of "every daughter you shall keep alive" — raising Jewish children in the ways of the surrounding culture — is as deadly as the decree against the body, and it exists in every generation. A Jewish child must be given a complete Torah education without compromise, and this demands constant toil from parents, teachers and every Jew; just as the righteous women in Egypt ignored Pharaoh's calculations and brought the redemption, so will our toil bring the final redemption.