Ain't It Just Like the Night...

In BeShalach, this week's parsha, we find the record of the Jews leaving Mitzrayim (Egypt). When they exited, the Torah tells us, "VaHashem hoileich lifneihem yoimam b'amud onon lanchoisom haderech, v'laylo b'amud aish l'ho'ir lohem," ("And G-d goes before them by day in a pillar of clouds to guide them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire providing them with light"). The Medrash teaches that anytime the Torah says, "And G-d", it refers to G-d and the Heavenly court of judgement. If the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire were both meant for the good of the Jews, why do we see the reference to G-d and the court of judgement?


In his commentary on Shemos (Exodus) 21:1, Rashi explains that the Torah and the precepts within the Torah should be set out before each person in a way that is easy to understand and access based on each person's individual level. The same is meant in the verse in the opening paragraph, "G-d goes before them." This is to teach us that at all times, both when life is good and easy (day) and when we are suffering difficulties in our lives (night), G-d and the precepts in the Torah are meant to be there for our good, guiding our way in the daytime, and showing us light in our personal nights.


From the Gemara, we see that miracles from the Jews' time in the desert were used to answer specific Jewish legal questions. For instance, if there was a dispute over the ownership of a slave, the community would watch to see near whose tent the extra manna for the slave fell, and this would show who owned the slave. If this is so, a large Jewish legal discussion could have been answered by the pillars of fire and cloud. In Judaism, there is a great debate over when the day ends and night begins, as the time determines when holidays, Shabbos (the Sabbath), and other things begin and end. Even today, since the time is unclear, people are strict to start holidays before it is fully night, and end them a while after night has already fallen. If the pillars of cloud and fire changed based on whether it was day or night, it should be easy to determine the actual time of night, since one could have watched the pillars. The Aish Kodesh answers that this is not the case. As we showed based on Rashi's explanation of the verse in Shemos (Exodus), saying that something is "before them" means that it is according to the needs of the people. Therefore, it is possible that there were times when the Jewish people could not see so well, regardless of it still technically being day, and so the pillar of fire would appear. This reinforces the principle that G-d is with us, being present with us in the form that we need when we need it.

People Get Ready

In this week's Torah portion, Parshas Bo, Moshe summons the elders of Israel and told them, "Mish'chu ukichu lochem tzoin limishpachoiseichem v'shachatu haposach" ("Draw forth and take for yourselves a sheep for your families and slaughter the Pesach offering," Exodus 12:21). Rashi explains the verse to mean that those who have flocks of sheep should take from what they already own (draw forth), and those who do not have should buy one in the market (take), and use these for their families. However, since we know that the Torah has countless levels of interpretation, there is a much deeper understanding to be found regarding this verse.


The Noam Elimelech notes that since this verse speaks about the performance of a specific act commanded by G-d, it has deep explanation regarding the way in which we are to carry out mitzvos. The first level is that of "draw forth". The Noam Elimelech compares this to meditation, which was the practice of the pious of previous generations. Before doing a mitzvah, they would sit in contemplation on the mitzvah, which would bring them to astonishment (the Hebrew word for "meditate" shares a root with the word "astonish"). By doing this, the Noam Elimelech says that we draw our souls upward, and then "take for yourselves," and we are able to partake in the elevated understandings and hidden secrets behind the mitzvos. By participating in this intense type of meditation and preparation, we become able to return with a "sheep for our families," by giving over our personal insight and reflection to others, so that they may also benefit from what we have uncovered in meditation, and to be aware that we have a greater responsibility to the community as a whole. The last step is the "slaughter," which is to actually carry out the mitzvah itself, doing the great act that connects this world with the next.

Read 'Em and Weep

In this week's parsha (Torah portion), Vayigash, we find several instances of people crying. In Bereishis (Genesis) 45:14, Yosef (Joseph) and his brother Binyomin (Benjamin) fall on one another's neck and weep. Rashi explains that Yosef and Binyomin were crying because of the future destruction of the beis hamikdash (temple), which would take place within their territory in the Land of Israel. Similarly, in the very next verse, it is recorded that "Yosef kissed his brothers and cried over them." In this instance, however, Rashi does not explain that they were also crying over the destruction of the beis hamikdash.


To explain the difference between the two situations, the Aish Kodesh brings support from the Gemara in Rosh HaShanah 28a, where it states, "Commandments were not given to provide enjoyment." Rashi, in his commentary on the Gemara, explains that commandments were given to Israel as a yoke on the neck. This, then, is an explanation of the symbolism found in the account of Yosef and Binyomin. When the two cried with one another, they did so on each other's necks, showing that they mourned the instances of Jews throwing off the yoke of the mitzvos that would happen after the beis hamikdash would be destroyed.

The Aish Kodesh explains that each Jew carries the yoke of the mitzvos on their neck, as we go through life with a specific Divine task. We are required to learn Torah and observe the mitzvos everyday, and are charged to have holy thoughts and speech. The Aish Kodesh says that even at times when we are physically prevented from observing certain mitzvos, we must put forth even greater effort, as we still have the yoke of the mitzvos. In a time of complete catastrophe, when suffering is overwhelming and the world seems to be turned completely upside down, people can not only come to abandon certain mitzvos, but they can shrug off the entire yoke of the mitzvos altogether.


When Yosef was once again reunited with his father Yaakov (Jacob), the Torah records (Bereishis/Genesis 46:30) that Yosef cried on his father's neck, but it does not say that Yaakov cried on the neck of his son. Rashi notes that while Yosef cried, Yaakov was reciting the Shema (the group of verses that are of central importance in Judaism). The Aish Kodesh explains that Yosef came to his father, and began to cry on his father's neck, mourning the future plight of the Jewish people. Yosef also knew that his father, as well as the rest of the people, were now coming into Mitzrayim (Egypt), which would result in an eventual enslavement that would introduce the Jewish people to great levels of tumah (impurity). Yosef, therefore, wanted to know how the Jewish people would survive their time in Mitzrayim, and persevere to reach Har Sinai, where they would receive the Torah. Yaakov, to answer his son's deepest yearning for understanding, began to recite the Shema, showing Yosef that the people would survive by a constant returning of their souls to G-d. This is because the recitation of the Shema, when it is recited carefully and with great intent, serves to rededicate ourselves to Divine service, echoing the words of the sefer Ma'or v'Shamesh, which states that one who recites the Shema properly during shacharis (the morning prayer service) will find his avodah (Divine work) successful throughout the day.