Parshas Beshalach
1. Twenty years ago — on Acharon shel Pesach 5698 — my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [the Previous Rebbe], spoke in a sicha1 about the Haftorah of this Shabbos.
He then related, in the name of his great-great-grandfather — the Tzemach Tzedek — that his grandfather, the Alter Rebbe, once asked the question: Why is the Haftorah of Shabbos Shirah specifically "ותשר דבורה" ("And Devorah sang"), a song of a woman, and not the song of Dovid, which is the Haftorah of Shvi'i shel Pesach? In Parshas Beshalach there is the song of the men: "אז ישיר משה" ("Then Moshe sang…"), and there is also the song of the women: "ותקח מרים... את התוף בידה ותצאן כל הנשים... בתופים ובמחולות, ותען להם מרים שירו לה' כי גאה גאה" ("And Miriam took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out… with timbrels and with dances, and Miriam called out to them: Sing to the L‑rd, for He is exceedingly exalted"). So why is the Haftorah specifically the song of a woman, "And Devorah sang"?
To this the Alter Rebbe told a long story (printed in the above-mentioned sicha), and he concluded that when the Jews went out of Egypt, walked into the sea on dry land and sang the Song, the women also sang the Song — but in addition, "בתופים ובמחולות" ("with timbrels and with dances"), with joy. That is why the Haftorah of Shabbos Shirah is "And Devorah sang." (Everything came from the dust — the Sefirah of Malchus.)
2. At first glance it is not understood: why, in fact, was the Song that Moshe and the Children of Israel sang — the men — not sung with as much joy as the Song of Miriam and all the women?
The reason for this, simply put, is that when one receives something without toil and without pain, one can in no way feel the same joy as when one has invested great effort in it and has gone through difficult battles. And "לפום צערא אגרא" ("According to the pain is the reward")2 — the greater the exertion and pain beforehand, the greater the joy afterwards. When the Jews sang the Song because Pharaoh and the Egyptians had drowned in the sea and they themselves had gone out of the Egyptian exile, Moshe Rabbeinu and all the Jewish men could not feel as great a joy as Miriam and all the Jewish women.
For the hardest part of the Egyptian exile, and the worst decrees, came after Miriam was born. And the harshest decree was — "כל הבן הילוד היאורה תשליכוהו" ("Every son that is born, you shall cast into the river").
— All the hardships that existed earlier, when the Jews labored "בחומר ובלבנים ובכל עבודה בשדה את כל עבודתם אשר עבדו בהם בפרך" ("with mortar and with bricks and with all manner of work in the field, all their work which they made them do with rigor"), did not come close to the decree of throwing newborn children into the river —
After that there also came — as our Sages relate3 — the decree that Pharaoh should bathe in the blood of Jewish children.
A mother lives through all this more than a father. Therefore, when they were freed of Pharaoh and his decrees, the joy of the Jewish women was much greater than the joy of the men.
3. Like all the narratives of the Torah, so too the narrative of the Exodus from Egypt — concerning the Song with the joy "with timbrels and with dances" of Miriam with the Jewish women — all of them are a lesson for all generations, also for our generation.
This is also alluded to in the verse: "ותצאן כל הנשים אחריה" ("And all the women went out after her") — all Jewish women, until the end of all generations, follow after Miriam and say, "שירו לה' כי גאה גאה סוס ורוכבו רמה בים" ("Sing to the L‑rd, for He is exceedingly exalted; the horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea").
G‑dliness and holiness is "exceedingly exalted" — so high that there can be nothing higher. And the things that are opposite to holiness, which wage war against holiness — "the horse and its rider" — are "thrown into the sea," deep down in the sea. Not merely low, but "thrown into the sea" — a very powerful throw into the sea, so low that there can be nothing lower.
4. It has already been said on a previous occasion that the decree of "Every son that is born, you shall cast into the river" — its essential point, its content — exists in every generation and in every country, also in our generation and in our country*.
When a Jewish child is born — and the Jewish order of life is that as soon as a child is born one immediately begins to give him an education of Torah and mitzvos — Pharaoh, king of Egypt, comes along, that is, the dominant power of the land, and argues: A boy has been born who, in time, will marry and will have to be the provider of livelihood in the home; so already from childhood one must throw him into the river that provides livelihood (all the food and livelihood of Egypt depended on the river — the Nile) — so that he should be immersed and drowned in the river.
But what will be with Torah and mitzvos? To this Pharaoh answers: there is "Sunday," when the bank is closed, the stores are closed, and so on. The night before one has to drag the child to the movies and other such places, but in the morning, since the parents want to sleep until twelve o'clock, it does not bother them that the child will go to "Sunday school" and learn there — and not only sing and dance, but even Hebrew and Chumash. They — the parents — will be able to sleep peacefully, sunk very deep in sleep in spiritual matters.
Afterwards — at one o'clock in the afternoon — the child will be raised on television, movies and baseball — on the river Nile, which, in their opinion, provides livelihood.
Instead of connecting the child, right from childhood, with the A-lmighty, Who nourishes the entire world "בטובו בחן בחסד וברחמים" ("in His goodness, with grace, with kindness and with mercy"), in a manner of honor and ease —
And only this (connecting oneself with the A-lmighty) is the one and only path for a Jew to livelihood. — For even if among the nations their livelihood was dependent on the river Nile, regarding Jews, however, it is written: "ואתם הדבקים בהוי' אלקיכם חיים כולכם היום" ("But you who cleave to the L‑rd your G‑d are all alive today")5. Through the Jews connecting themselves with the A-lmighty, through this they live, and through this they also have livelihood, for "מאן דיהיב חיי יהיב מזוני" ("He Who gives life gives sustenance") — the A-lmighty, Who gives life, also gives livelihood, to him together with his wife and children —
— instead of this, one takes the children and throws them into the river, which tears them away not only from spiritual life, but also from life in the simple sense; for, as was said earlier, the only path that Jews have to life and livelihood is through connecting themselves with the A-lmighty.
5. And just as in the exile that preceded the Giving of the Torah — the Egyptian exile — all the earlier decrees did not come close to the decree of "Every son that is born, you shall cast into the river," so too in the present exile, all the decrees that the Yetzer Hara makes upon grown-up people do not come close to the decree that the Yetzer Hara makes upon little children.
When, however, one is not impressed by Pharaoh — one is not impressed by the "good friends," by the neighbor from "next door," who argues: How can you take your child and send him to a cheder, to a yeshivah, where they learn a Torah that is three and a half thousand years old, a Torah that was given in a desolate wilderness — a "desert" — and at a time when there was not yet any radio, any telephone, and not even a "pager" to ring for "Modeh Ani"? Back then — she argues — one could get by with such an education. But now, when we find ourselves in the "twentieth century," and we have merited "progress" and "culture" — now one cannot be "old-fashioned."
What is more, sometimes Pharaoh dresses himself in a garment of holiness and argues: Since you want your child to give a lot of money to tzedakah in general, and to yeshivos in particular, you must see to it that he becomes a wealthy man. So throw him into the river of livelihood, make him like all the "jobs" and "Macy's" — "אשר לא להוי' המה" ("which are not the L‑rd's") — and then you can have hope that he will give money to yeshivos and chadarim. — In practice one sees that only Pharaoh has livelihood from it; Jews have nothing from it —
One must know the truth: this decree comes from the very same Pharaoh. Only, since he knows that if he were to come along and command someone to commit a transgression, he would not be obeyed, he dresses himself in a silk kapote and says that he has a great yeshivah and needs money for it; therefore one should put the children into "public school" and "Sunday school," and then he will be able to build a great yeshivah — for angels.
When one realizes in time that this advice stems from Pharaoh — from the clever one who says "הבה נתחכמה לו — פן ירבה" ("Come, let us deal wisely with them — lest they multiply") (the Rebbe interrupted and said: but the truth is "כן ירבה וכן יפרוץ" — "so they multiplied and so they spread out") — from the one who wants that there should not remain any remnant or survivor, Heaven forfend, of Yiddishkeit, of Jewish souls, and through this also not of Jewish bodies;
and one sets about, with Jewish strength, to nullify the decree; one stops searching for "purposes" at five years old, at seven years old, at thirteen years old and at eighteen years old, and one has faith and trust in the A-lmighty —
for "רבות מחשבות בלב איש" ("Many are the thoughts in the heart of man") (and they bring no benefit, because they are "many" and not one — the One and Only of the world), "ועצת הוי' היא תקום" ("but the counsel of the L‑rd, it shall stand") ("it" is in the singular) — for the A-lmighty is the Master not only of the heavens but also of the earth, of the very place where she finds herself with her husband and her children — when she knows this, then not only is she not impressed by her neighbor, but on the contrary, she influences her neighbor to save her children, too, from the hands of Pharaoh. And one raises up tens of thousands of Jewish children who will go forth to greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days.
6. And just as then, when they were freed from Pharaoh in the times of Moshe Rabbeinu and Miriam, the joy of the women was much greater than the joy of the men — since the mothers had also lived through the decree more than the fathers — the same is true now: both the decree of Pharaoh, and consequently also the joy that comes when one is freed from the decree, are felt more by the Jewish women.
For the greater part of the day the husband is not at home, and even during the time that he is at home, he does not occupy himself with the education of the children as much as the wife does.
The Jewish woman, by contrast, wages war against Pharaoh, however he may be disguised, and in whatever form of "good friendship" he may come to her;
and then it is certain that she is victorious and accomplishes that — the L‑rd (Torah and Yiddishkeit) is "exceedingly exalted," and (the opposite) "the horse and its rider" — is "thrown into the sea." And this is accomplished with joy, "with timbrels and with dances," and one moves on to Parshas Yisro — the parsha of the receiving of the Torah, for one can say "בנינו ערבים בעדינו" ("Our children are our guarantors")6.
7. With this one will also understand what is written in the Midrash (Tanchuma) on the verse "ותען להם מרים" ("And Miriam called out to them"). At first glance the word "להם" ("to them") is not understood, since it is a masculine form — to women it should have said "להן"?
The Midrash relates on this that when the Jews passed through the sea and sang the Song, the angels then also wanted to sing a song. The A-lmighty said to the angels: First the Jews will sing the Song, and only then will you sing. — With this the Midrash explains the wording "ישיר משה": it is not in the past tense, but "ישיר" is an imperative, for it was a command of the A-lmighty: "ישיר משה ובני ישראל" ("Let Moshe and the Children of Israel sing"), and afterwards the angels —
Afterwards, when Miriam and the women sang the Song, the angels again argued: For Moshe and the Children of Israel we gave way, but now let us sing before the women. According to one opinion in the Midrash, they were given way. But according to a second opinion, the Midrash concludes that the song of the women, too, came before the song of the angels. Yet even according to the initial supposition of the Midrash, that the angels did not wait for the song of the women, the angels nevertheless could not sing until Miriam gave them permission. And this is "ותען להם מרים" — "להם," in the masculine, refers to the permission that Miriam gave to the angels to sing the Song.
From this one also sees the greatness of the song of the women: it touches not only the lower worlds but also the higher worlds. Their song comes even before, and is higher than, the song of the angels.
8. What was said above is a lesson for every Jew: there is nothing to be afraid of — not of Pharaoh, not of the Nile, and not of the decrees. If one only goes with true Jewish strength, one can find oneself in Egypt, and there may be Pharaoh, king of Egypt, there with all his decrees, and nevertheless it has nothing at all to do with one's children: he will lead his children in the path of Torah, which is the path that brings them to life — not only life in the World to Come, but also life in this world. He will lead the children on the path in which they will say: "זה א-לי ואנוהו אלקי אבי וארוממנהו" ("This is my G‑d and I will glorify Him, the G‑d of my father and I will exalt Him") — they will walk on the very same path on which the parents walk.
And this is the true nachas that one can have from children. And then it will be as is said further in the Song: "תביאמו ותטעמו בהר נחלתך" ("You will bring them and plant them on the mount of Your inheritance") — we will merit the building of the Third Beis HaMikdash, speedily in our days.
And what is more, as it says in the Midrash: "למדת חיבתם של ישראל לפני המקום" ("You learn how beloved Israel is before the Omnipresent") — the A-lmighty did not wait for "You will bring them and plant them on the mount of Your inheritance," which is the Beis HaMikdash, the eternal House; rather, while they were still in the wilderness, He said: "ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם" ("Make for Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell among them").
So too now: in the few numbered days that remain until Moshiach, through not being impressed by the decrees, and through raising "זרע ברך הוי'" ("a seed blessed by the L‑rd"), there will be "Make for Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell among them" — the A-lmighty will rest in every Jewish home. And since G‑d rests there, it is self-evident that there will be livelihood in abundance, health in abundance, and true nachas from children and grandchildren, for length of days and good years.
(From the sichos of Yud Shvat, 5718)
9. When the Jews went from Egypt to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, they had two wars on the way: the war with Pharaoh and the war with Amalek. In this week's Sidrah the Torah relates the instructions of G‑d as to how the Jews should conduct themselves in both wars. In the war with Pharaoh the command was "ה' ילחם לכם ואתם תחרישון" ("The L‑rd will fight for you, and you shall be silent"), and in the war with Amalek — "צא הלחם בעמלק" ("Go out, fight against Amalek"), which means a war plainly in the physical sense.
10. The difference between the two wars is this:
Pharaoh was behind the Jews. He did not stand between the Jews and Mount Sinai, but between the Jews and "הדגה אשר נאכל במצרים" ("the fish that we ate in Egypt"), and "ואכלו את חלב הארץ" ("and you shall eat the fat of the land"). Pharaoh cried out that he would not let them have the good of the land of Egypt unless they became his — Pharaoh's — servants. But between the Jews and the Giving of the Torah he did not stand. Therefore the order in that case was — "The L‑rd will fight for you, and you shall be silent."
Amalek, by contrast, stood between the Jews and Mount Sinai — and here it was not a matter of a good and spacious land, but of a wilderness, as our Sages say in Midrash Tanchuma that the Torah was given specifically in the wilderness — and he would not let the Jews go to receive the Torah.
When there is a "מונע ומעכב" — a hinderer and an obstacle — to receiving the Torah, then, although "הקול קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו" ("The voice is the voice of Yaakov, and the hands are the hands of Esav") — hands belong to Esav, that is his portion, as it is written "ועל חרבך תחיה" ("And by your sword you shall live") — nevertheless, since there is a hindrance to receiving the Torah, one takes no calculations into account, and one goes by all paths and in all manners, as long as one can receive the Torah and unite with it.
And this is the reason why the war with Amalek was waged plainly in the physical sense. It was not a matter of "כחי ועוצם ידי" ("my strength and the might of my hand"), but a matter of a war for the L‑rd, for "אין השם שלם ואין הכסא שלם עד שימחה זרעו של עמלק" ("The Name is not complete and the Throne is not complete until the seed of Amalek is wiped out")7 (the A-lmighty's Name and His Throne are not complete until the children of Amalek are wiped out).
11. Because the war with Amalek was for the sake of receiving the Torah, the war, with all its details, was connected with Moshe Rabbeinu — he who "קבל תורה מסיני" ("received the Torah from Sinai").
The war originated with Moshe — Moshe said, "בחר לנו... וצא הלחם בעמלק" ("Choose for us… and go out, fight against Amalek"). The war began with Moshe's prayer, was carried out by "the men of Moshe," as is explained in Chassidus on the verse "בחר לנו אנשים" ("Choose for us men") — the men of Moshe — and the victory came through Yehoshua, the attendant of Moshe.
12. The victory of the Jews in the war with Amalek was above nature. According to nature Amalek should have been victorious, as it says in the Yerushalmi8 that Amalek was a sorcerer, and he chose such people who, according to the order of nature, were destined to live, and he sent them to war. And nevertheless he was defeated, because when one goes to war with the power of the Torah — and, as mentioned above concerning "the men of Moshe," every single one who went to the war with Amalek knew that he was not going with his own strength and the might of his hand, but on the mission of, and with the power of, Moshe, on the mission and with the power of the Torah — then one is victorious beyond the way of nature.
13. The mitzvah of remembering Amalek is, after all, every day; consequently, what was said above is a lesson — an instruction — also for the war with the spiritual Amalek of every day.
About Amalek it is written "אשר קרך" ("who cooled you off"): he cooled the Jews off from their fervor and enthusiasm for receiving the Torah. At the time when the Jews stood in the greatest enthusiasm — such enthusiasm that it affected even the nations of the world, as in the parable in Midrash Tanchuma of a boiling bath (a boiling tub), when everyone saw that it was a flame of fire — then Amalek came to cool the Jews off from their enthusiasm to go and receive the Torah.
And when there is something that cools one off from Torah, we have, for this, the instruction mentioned above: a) one must use all means to wage war against it, as long as one receives the Torah; b) one must know that one cannot [succeed] with one's own strength and the might of one's hand (one's own power and self-strength), but only with the power of Moshe, with the power of the Torah.
14. And on the verse "וישמע יתרו" ("And Yisro heard"), our Sages9 say: "What news did he hear that he came? — The war with Amalek." This news delivered such a blow — and the fact that Yisro heard was a preparation for the Giving of the Torah, as is also explained in the Zohar [OCR unclear: this section is partly garbled in the source]. So it is now, too: when one goes to wage war with the spiritual Amalek, with the power of Moshe, it will have an effect everywhere, even in Midian*, and this will be a preparation for the revelation and receiving of the inner dimension of the Torah, which Moshiach Tzidkeinu will reveal, speedily in our days.
(From the sichos of Yud Shvat, 5717 [the source reads תשמ״ז, evidently an OCR misreading])
Tu B'Shvat
15. The fifteenth of Shvat is the Rosh Hashanah for trees. Although there is a dispute about this, and Beis Shammai hold that the Rosh Hashanah for trees is on the first of Shvat, nevertheless, in a dispute between Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel the halachah follows Beis Hillel; and what is more, "ב״ש במקום ב״ה אינה משנה" ("The view of Beis Shammai where it conflicts with Beis Hillel is not considered a Mishnah")*.
16. One can explain this as follows:
We find in several places in the Talmud that Beis Shammai hold "אזלינן בתר כח" ("we follow the potential") — as it is while still concealed — and Beis Hillel hold "אזלינן בתר פועל" ("we follow the actual") — that which is revealed.
For example: [the source text ends here]
Notes
1) Likkutei Dibburim, vol. 4, Tisa, 1.
2) Avos, ch. 5, Mishnah 21.
3) Shemos Rabbah 1:34.
*) See also above, p. 112 ff.
5) Devarim 4:4.
6) See above, p. 110, note 53.
7) Rashi's commentary on the Torah, Shemos 17:16.
8) Rosh Hashanah, end of ch. 3.
9) [Note text missing from the source.]
*) [Note text missing from the source.]
*) [Note text missing from the source.]
Key Lesson
The harshest "decree of Pharaoh" in every generation targets the Jewish education of young children, and the Jewish mother, who bears this struggle most, also merits the greatest joy when she prevails — joy that reaches even higher than the song of the angels. When something cools us off from Torah, we must fight it with every means, knowing that victory comes not through our own strength but through the power of Moshe — the power of the Torah.