Weekly Parshathe debate at this point between Rashiand Ramban would seem to be whetherthe ideas being revealed here are aprogression from God’ differentiationfrom the physical world to themetaphysical, or from within themetaphysical world to beyond it.This leads us to the second half of theverse, and the explanations offered bythe above two commentators is quitesurprising. Again, this part of the verseis divided into two parts - “too awesomefor praises” and “performing wonders”,and the focus of the commentators is onthe first part. In essence, Rashi writesthat the meaning of “too awesome” isthat we are afraid to give praises to Godas they definitively will be too few.Ramban, as he does quite often, offers adifferent explanation. He agrees thatrather than translating the word“norah” as “awesome”, it refers to fear.In this case, thought, it means “fearfulwith praises”. What does this denote?He continues: “for He does fearfulthings and He is praised for them, aswhen He wreaks vengeance on thosewho transgress His will and therebyhelps those who serve Him. Thus He isfeared and highly praised”.What point is being brought out byeach of these different opinions? Rashi’sexplanation of “norah” being fear wouldseem to be zeroing in on the reactionone has to the ideas reached in the firsthalf of the verse. When a person trulycomprehends God’s qualitative differentiationfrom everything, he is instilledwith a realization of how insignificanthe actually is. He comes to realize thatthere is no possible way he can verbalizesufficient praise of God. Any praise will,by definition, be deficient and lacking.This in fact is one of the most difficultstruggles man faces in his pursuit ofyediyas Hashem, knowledge of God. Ashe begins understanding God, he isfaced with the reality that any praise hegives will be incomplete.Ramban, as we have seen, offers amore cryptic explanation. God’s actionsare defined by both fear and praisesimultaneously. We must understandwhat makes this wondrous; after all,man is also capable of acting in amanner where vengeance against oneleads to salvation of another. It could bethat Ramban is alluding to an importantfundamental idea in hashgachasHashem, God’s relationship tomankind. It is true that man can – inone action – produce vengeance andsalvation. However, there is a limit tohis control within and of these actions.There are always unintended consequences,a ripple effect from any eventthat affects the causal world in a waythat is incomprehensible. Not so withGod’s hashgacha. When He acts, Hisactions have no unintended consequences.There is never a “random”effect of happening to be both negativeand positive, nor is there any detail ofthe plan that is haphazard. This conceptis the result of God’s complete knowledgeof the universe, every single causalevent. Therefore, Ramban sees theprogression in this verse in a differentway than Rashi. It is not a reaction tothe first half of the verse. Instead,Ramban sees it as being imperative todetail the greatness of God through Hishashgacha after verbalizing the mostabstract concept of God we have. Why isthis imperative? It could be that afterthis initial praise, one is left (similar toRashi) somewhat speechless, recognizingthat we are so far removed fromGod. And with this realization comes aswell a sense of futility – how is man torelate to God? The answer lies in theevidence of the hashgacha, when Godchooses to reveal Himself to mankind.Those moments and events provide usthe means of relating to God, openingup worlds of ideas for us to explore.Rather than leave man in a dumbfoundedstate, God creates a vehicle forman to enunciate his praises to God.It is quite clear, then, how this oneverse captures the themes laid out in theshira and takes them to the mostabstract conclusion. ■14 | WWW.MESORA.ORG/JEWISHTIMES JAN. 25, 2013
Weekly ParshaWhy did Moshe take Joseph’s bones? What was their significance?Saw You atSinaiRABBI REUVEN MANNIn describing the Exodus from Egyptthe Torah mentions that “Moshe tookthe bones of Yosef with him for he hadforsworn the children of Israel saying,“Hashem will certainly remember youand you shall take my bones with you.”The question arises, why does theTorah include this piece of informationas a central part of the narrative of theExodus? Of course it is important forthe Torah to emphasize the significanceof fulfilling one’s oaths. Yosef’s oathwas very unique. He did not obligateany particular person. Rather, heforeswore the entire Jewish people.When the brothers, whom he enjoined,accepted the responsibility, they did soon behalf of the Jewish Nation includingfuture unborn generations.Between the time of Yosef’s death andthe Exodus, every generation of Jewsconfirmed and accepted the obligationof the oath. It, thus, assumed the statusof a national responsibility and it wasthe obligation of the leader to fulfill it.On that hectic night, with so much todo, Moshe put everything aside andpersonally saw to the securing ofYosef’s bones. Why is this action socentral to the redemption from Egypt?This week’s Parsha, Beshalach,describes the hasty departure ofthe Jews from Egypt. The Rabbis say“the salvation of Hashem is like theblink of an eye.” In other words itcomes suddenly and quickly and not asa natural result of a lengthy process.Thus a defining feature of Geula(Redemption) is that it is instantaneous.One minute the Jews wereabject slaves completely under thetotalitarian domination of Pharaoh.With the advent of Makkat Bechorot(slaying of Egyptian first born) thesituation changed immediately as theslave masters couldn’t push the Jewsout of the land quickly enough. Indeed,the Egyptians actually wanted the Jewsto leave that very night. However,Moshe refused, as he was now incontrol and could set the terms bywhich his people would depart.According to the Rabbis, the spiritualredemption of the Jews took place bynight when they brought the Passoversacrifice and witnessed the completecollapse of the Egyptian politicalapparatus. Moshe did not want theJews to slink out of Egypt like, “thievesin the night.” Rather, they would leaveby day in an <strong>org</strong>anized fashion, thetriumphant “Hosts of Hashem,” in thesight of all. Rabbi Soloveitchikexplained that the significance ofMatzah is related to the haste of theredemption. Anything which is part ofthe natural order requires time. Theleavening process needs time and forthat reason is prohibited on Passover asit symbolizes the natural order.Matzah, however, is baked immediatelybefore the dough has had time to riseand thus represents Divine providencewhich overpowers the natural orderwhen Hashem determines it. We eatmatzah and avoid chametz to proclaimthat the freedom we achieved with theExodus was not due to any naturalhistorical development but only to themiraculous intervention of the Creatorof the Universe.In my opinion it was not just a matterof fulfilling a national responsibility,however significant. G-d had toldMoshe that when he took them out ofEgypt, “they would serve Him on thisMountain.” In other words, the reasonwhy G-d was taking them out of Egyptwas because the Jews would accept theTorah on Mt. Sinai. However, the Jewsdid not just accept the Torah for themselvesbut for all future generations.This is the meaning of the Rabbinicdictum that the souls of all Jews whowould ever be born were present atSinai. Every Jew is obligated to keepthe Torah because he is foresworn fromSinai. The ability of this people toassume a national responsibility whichis binding on all future generations, isat the heart of why Hashem chose themto be His people and perpetuate HisTorah. That is why it was so importantfor Moshe to personally assumeresponsibility to take the bones of Yosefon the journey to Canaan. Thisreminded everyone that Yosef was theinstrument of Divine Providence inbringing the Jews down to Egypt. Theirenslavement and ultimate redemptionwas all part of Hashem’s plan to createa special nation that would be “A lightunto the nations” and the means bywhich mankind would eventually beredeemed. That could only happen ifevery generation of Jews would viewthemselves as bound by the oath takenat Sinai. Moshe set the example byassuming responsibility for the oathtaken by Yosef’s brothers and passeddown by every generation until theExodus. May we always regardourselves as sworn to keep the Torahfrom Sinai.Shabbat Shalom ■WWW.MESORA.ORG/JEWISHTIMES JAN. 25, 2013 | 15
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