Mishpatim 5632 Second Ma'amar

“שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲשֶׂה מַעֲשֶׂיךָ וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי תִּשְׁבֹּת לְמַעַן יָנוּחַ שׁוֹרְךָ וַחֲמֹרֶךָ וְיִנָּפֵש בֶּן־אֲמָתְךָ וְהַגֵּר/Do your work for six days and cease on the seventh day so that your ox and donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant and the resident stranger may be refreshed.”

Although obviously important that our animals rest and the servants be refreshed, the pasuk implies that this is the sole reason for keeping Shabbos. Yet, elsewhere the Torah teaches that we keep Shabbos as a testimony that God created the world and as a remembrance of the Exodus. How can these pesukim be reconciled?

There is a common theme that connects this pasuk with other descriptions of Shabbos in the Torah. The common theme is מְנוּחָה/rest. In the beginning of Breishis the Sfas Emes explains that the concept of מְנוּחָה/rest is not only cessation from physical activity. Rest really means a cessation from anything. We can rest from physical activity and we can relax our minds and take a mental rest. When we subordinate our own desires to God’s we are resting from those desires and really from our very selves. The concept of rest applied broadly simply means distancing from something.

When every part of the Creation fulfills God’s will, each aspect of it subjugating itself to God, it can be said to be at rest. This was the situation at the very first Shabbos. This is why Rashi in Breishis writes that מנוחה/rest was created with the culmination of the Creation on the first Shabbos – Shabbos Breishis. On the first Shabbos when the Creation was complete, the harmony of the Creation became apparent. Like an unfinished painting, before the first Shabbos, the harmony in the Creation was not clear to be seen. Once the Creation was complete and each creation could be seen performing its unique task thus fulfilling God’s will, God’s hand in the Creation was apparent. Each creation thus subordinated itself to God’s will. This, as we’ve explained is the very essence of מנוחה/rest.

According to this concept of rest, the Sfas Emes understands our pasuk metaphorically as referring to our life mission in this world. The six days during which we do our work represents our lifetime. During our time here we work at coming close to God by subordinating ourselves to Him. The donkey and ox in the pasuk represent our physical nature. Our material nature is egocentric, the very antithesis of subordination to God’s will. Our goal is to rectify our material nature. When we succeed, our material nature “rests”. As the pasuk states, “Do you work ... so that your ox and donkey may rest ...” May we merit it!

Yisro 5634 Second Ma'amar

Chazal[1] understand the following pasuk as referring to Moshe Rabbeinu receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai, the subject of this week’s parsha, “עָלִיתָ לַמָּרוֹם שָׁבִיתָ שֶּׁבִי לָקַחְתָּ מַתָּנוֹת .../You ascended on high, you took a captive, you acquired gifts …” (Tehillim 68:19) Chazal explain that Moshe Rabbeinu “captured” the Torah from the angels. Capturing implies that he took it for free. The pasuk corrects this assumption by telling us that Moshe acquired the Torah. Acquiring something implies working to get it. Although he worked to get it, the pasuk calls the Torah a gift.


If Moshe Rabbeinu worked to get it, why is it considered a gift? The Chiddushei HaRim explains that it is not possible to receive the Torah through sheer hard work. The Torah is God’s message to us and is much large and deeper than our ability to receive it no matter how hard we try. There is only one way to receive the Torah; God must give it to us. God will only give the Torah, though, to one who exhibits a strong desire for it. The way to exhibit a strong desire is by working hard to receive it.


This is the meaning of the pasuk in Tehillim according to Chazal. “...לָקַחְתָּ מַתָּנוֹת .../… you acquired gifts …” Moshe Rabbeinu worked hard to receive the Torah. He spent forty days and nights on Mount Sinai without food or water. He was awake the entire time as well. He certainly exhibited a strong desire for it and this was necessary, albeit it was not enough. Ultimately, the Torah was given to him as a gift.


Chazal[2] elsewhere allude to this concept. “Rebbi Yitzchak said, If one says to you, ‘I worked hard (learning Torah – Rashi) but did not find (the answer)’, do not believe him. (If he says,) ‘I did not work hard, yet I found (the answer),’ do not believe him. (If he says,) ‘I worked hard and found (the answer)’, believe him.” In Hebrew the word for “find” connotes an object found with no exertion of effort. For example, a person finds a $100 bill while walking down the street. In English as well, we call it “found money”. Accordingly, there is an apparent difficulty here. Finding the answer implies no exertion of effort. Yet, Rebbi Yitzchak exhorts us to believe him only if he says that he worked hard.


The answer to this quandary is the Chiddushei HaRim’s concept. Although generally a found object is not the result of hard work, “finding” Torah is different. Rebbi Yitzchak is teaching us the same thing as the Chiddushei HaRim. When it comes to learning Torah, the only way to receive it is through hard work. However, success cannot be the direct result of the hard work because the Torah is too vast and too deep for our minds to grasp. Rather, as a result of our hard work, God gives us the Torah as gift.


The Sfas Emes goes a step further and teaches that while we are required to give our all for the Torah, we do not need to pay to learn it. The main attribute that is needed is desire. In fact, the Torah “pays” us. Whomsoever has a true desire to receive Torah receives life from the Torah in this world and the next.


[1] Shmos R. 28:1
[2] Megillah 6b

Beshalach 5631 Third Ma'amar

The nation of Israel was encamped on the shores of the Reed Sea. The Egyptian army was hard upon them. God says to Moshe, “מַה־תִּצְעַק אֵלָי דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִסָּעוּ/Why are you crying out to me? Speak to the children of Israel and move forward.” (Shmos 14:15) This is a difficult pasuk to understand because there is no prior indication that Moshe Rabbeinu cried out to God. The Midrash[1] addresses this question and says that God is not telling Moshe to stop crying out to Him. Rather God is telling Moshe not to cry out to Him. Why? This seems like the best time to ask God for help.

To answer this question the Midrash, according to the Chiddushei HaRim, teaches us a fundamental principle of prayer. The Midrash says that God bequeathed prayer (lit. sound) to Ya'akov, “הַקֹּל קוֹל יַעֲקֹב ... .../… the voice is the voice of Ya’akov …” (Breishis 27:22) What does this mean? Is prayer reserved for the descendents of Ya’akov? Cannot anyone pray? The Chiddushei HaRim explains that our prayer awakens the connection between us and our spiritual source. While anyone can and should turn to God for his needs, God specifically bequeathed to the descendents of Ya’akov the power to use prayer as a means for coming near to Him. In fact, coming close to God is the ultimate purpose of prayer. Once the connection is established and strengthened, the prayer has accomplished its purpose. Crying out to God has been used for its true purpose - to reach the higher level of faith manifested by silence.

This is the reason God told Moshe not to cry out to Him. On Moshe Rabbeinu’s level God already heard his prayer even though he had yet to mouth it as the Midrash ends, “… Why will you cry to Me? I have already heard your cry.” This concept is also apparent from the Midrash later that brings the pasuk, “וְהָיָה טֶרֶם יִקְרָאוּ וַאֲנִי אֶעֱנֶה .../It will be that even before they call out, I will answer …” (Yeshaya 65:24) to explain our pasuk. In certain instances, God answers prayers that have yet to be spoken.

We find this concept in another pasuk in Yeshaya (45:11) as well, “... הָאֹתִיּוֹת שְׁאָלוּנִי עַל־בָּנַי וְעַל־פֹּעַל יָדַי תְּצַוֻּנִי/… Ask me about the wonders (of the heavens). Do you command me regarding my children and the work of my hands?” God is telling us, through the prophet, that regarding His children, He has already created their salvation.[2]

The Sfas Emes takes the concept a step further. He explains that reaching a level of preparedness to cry out to God is the main goal. Generally, this level is reached by actually praying, however, once it is reached the cries are no longer needed. Moshe Rabbeinu reached this aspect of crying out, hence God told Him that there was no need for the actual cries.

This concept is further embodied in a pasuk in Eicha (2:17), “צָעַק לִבָּם אֶל־ה' .../Their heart cried out to God …” and in a pasuk in Tehillim (34:18) cited by our Midrash, “צָעֲקוּ וַה' שָּמֵעַ .../They cried out and God hears …” The implication is that even if they cried out in the hearts – a cry that is not heard at all – still, God hears and there is no need to actually cry out.

[1] Shmos R. 21:1
[2] Rashi (Shmos 14:15) cites this pasuk as well to explain why God told Moshe not to cry out.

Bo 5631 First Ma'amar

The Chiddushei HaRim asks why it was necessary for God to bring specifically ten plagues upon the Egyptians. God could have accomplished His purpose with any number of plagues or with no plagues at all. Why ten? The Chiddushei HaRim answers that the ten plagues removed God’s concealment from the ten commands with which the world was created and changed them from עֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת/ten commands to עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת/ten commandments.

The Sfas Emes explains this enigmatic answer. God created the world with עֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת/ten commands. These are stated clearly in the first chapter of Breishis. God constructed the Creation mechanism so that when He uttered the words of creation, the words themselves gave their creations existence. So, for example, when God said, “Let there be light,” (Breishis 1:3) those words gave existence to light. The life force behind everything in this world is those letters in the beginning of the Torah which describe the Creation. The letters are the means through which God extends His will to create and continue the existence of the entire creation. This is a crucial concept. The Creation was not a one time act. It is continuous.

Looking around us, though, it is not clear that the life force that gives everything existence is in the letters of these very commands. In fact, it is not obvious that there is a spiritual life force at all. The Godly life force in Creation is hidden. The purpose of the plagues that God wrought upon Egypt was to clearly reveal that the physical Creation owes its continuing existence to a Godly life force. It was to make it known that there is more to the world around us than our eyes perceive. Each plague revealed God in one aspect of the Creation. Each plague removed a barrier preventing us from being aware of God in that aspect of nature referred to in one Creation מַאֲמַר/command. This is why God brought ten plagues upon the Egyptians; one plague for each of the ten commands by which God created the world.

What does the Chiddushei HaRim mean, though, when he says that each מַאֲמַר/command changed to a דִבּוּר/utterance? The Chiddushei HaRim is using a play on words. Although in Hebrew the root דַבָר/DBR means speech, in Aramaic it means leader. The Zohar uses this same play on words when it explains, “וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם/You will speak about them.” The Zohar explains this as, “You will guide your actions according to the word of God.”[1] דִבּוּר/Leadership symbolizes the revelation of God in the world. In the exile God’s truth is hidden. The Zohar describes this as the aspect of דִבּוּר/leadership being in exile.[2] At the time the Torah was given the aspect of דִבּוּר/leadership was revealed. This is why right before the ten commandments we find, “וַיְדַבֵּר אֱ-לֹהִים אֵת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה .../God spoke all these words …” (Shmos 20:1) God’s leadership was no longer in exile. It was clear for all to see.

We find this concept regarding Moshe Rabbeinu’s speech impediment as well. When God asked Moshe Rabbeinu to return to Egypt to speak to Pharaoh and begin the redemption process, he responds, “לֹא אִישׁ דְּבָרִים אָנֹכִי/I am not a man of words.” (Shmos 4:10) After the Torah was given, however, the pasuk says, “אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבֵּר מִשֶׁה .../These are the words that Moshe spoke …” (Devarim 1:1) How did Moshe change from a man with a speech impediment to one who could speak and explain the entire Torah to the nation? The Midrash teaches us that after he merited receiving the Torah he was healed.[3] In the exile Moshe Rabbeinu was not a man of words. Moshe Rabbeinu understood that in the exile God’s influence was far from apparent. But at the giving of the Torah, God’s leadership was clear for all to see. It follows that Moshe Rabbeinu’s speech impediment, which symbolized God’s concealment, was healed.

As we’ve said, the ten plagues removed God’s concealment from theעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת/ten commands with which the world was created. As we and the Egyptians became more aware of God with each plague, each aspect of nature represented by one of the ten commands was changed to an aspect of God’s דִבּוּר/leadership. Finally, they were aware of God in all aspects of nature. This is why the Chiddushei HaRim said that the ten commands which created the world changed toעֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת/ten aspects of (God’s) leadership.

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[1] Zohar 3:269a

[2] Zohar 2:25b

[3] Devarim R. 1:1

VaYigash 5631 Fourth Ma'amar

God commands us to remember the Shabbos, “זָכוֹר אֶת־יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת לְקַדְּשוֹ/Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it.” (Shmos 20:8) Remembering requires no action. However, although there are a few mitzvos, such as believing in God, that require no action, Shabbos is not one of them. What action, then, is required of us to fulfill the mitzvah of remembering the Shabbos? Chazal explain that God is asking us to commemorate Shabbos through action. If we find a nice portion of food during the week and save it for Shabbos, we have fulfilled the mitzvah of remembering the Shabbos.

The Sfas Emes teaches that Shabbos represents the holiness in the physical world. Conventionally, we think of Shabbos as the holy part of the week. On a deeper level, everything in the world has a holy spiritual component. Just as the holy component of the week is called Shabbos, the holy part of every physical thing is an aspect of Shabbos. Metaphorically, a “nice portion” also pertains to this spiritual component within every physical thing. Accordingly, remembering the Shabbos by setting aside a nice portion means recognizing the aspect of Shabbos – the holiness – that exists within, and is the spiritual root of, everything in the physical world.

Yosef, too, represents the holiness within the physical world. The Zohar calls Yosef שׁוֹמֵר הַבְּרִית/keeper of the covenant. The plain meaning relates to his overcoming the temptations presented to him by the wife of Potiphar. The covenant that he kept was the covenant of the circumcision. The Zohar, though, is referring to something deeper. The holiness inherent in this world is hidden by gross physicality. The removal of the foreskin symbolizes unveiling the holiness that lies within the physical world. Yosef, as the keeper of the covenant, represents the holiness that is within the physical world.