Seventh
Day of Pesach
21 Nisan
5773 / 30 March - 1 April 2013
Torah: Exodus 13:17 - 15:26
Maftir: Numbers 28:19-25
Haftarah: 2 Samuel 22:1-51
Eighth Day of Pesach
Torah: Exodus 13:17 - 15:26
Maftir: Numbers 28:19-25
Haftarah: 2 Samuel 22:1-51
Eighth Day of Pesach
22 Nisan
5773 / 1-2 April 2013
Torah: Deuteronomy 15:19 - 16:17
Maftir: Numbers 28:19-25
Haftarah: Isaiah 10:32 - 12:6
Torah: Deuteronomy 15:19 - 16:17
Maftir: Numbers 28:19-25
Haftarah: Isaiah 10:32 - 12:6
This
d'var torah is offered in honor of and in gratitude to the members of
Congregation Beth Meier, who have entrusted to me the privilege and
responsibility of being their next spiritual leader.
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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A Song Full Of Meaning
Please feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source.
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A Song Full Of Meaning
On the
seventh day of Pesach, we read most of Parashat Beshallach. Part of the Torah
reading will be very familiar to those who daven Shacharit regularly. Other
than the paragraphs of the Sh’ma, which we read twice a day, it is the part of
the Torah that we read most often. It is Shirat HaYam, the Song of the Sea, the
victory song of the Israelites that they sang after the drowning of Pharaoh's
army at the Sea of Reeds.
There is a well-known Midrash associated with this piece of Torah; well-known
because it is in the Hagaddah shel Pesach, which we read earlier this week.
It's the traditional "take" on the events of the Exodus and the Reed
Sea. Why do we spill out drops of wine when we recite the Ten Plagues? And on
the seventh day of Pesach, which is a Yom Tov commanded in the Torah, why do we
only recite half Hallel, unlike the full Hallel we did on the first two days of
Pesach? Because, we are told, we should not fully rejoice in the destruction of
even our most dangerous enemies. Proverbs 24:17 teaches, "Do not rejoice
at the fall of your enemies."
The Talmud, in tractate Sanhedrin and also in tractate Megillah, teaches this idea in the following way: "Rabbi Yonatan says ... The Holy One is not happy at the downfall of the evil ones ... as Rabbi Shmuel the son of Nachman said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: It is written: ‘And they did not approach one another all that night ...’ (Exodus 14:20), for at that moment the angels wanted to sing before the Holy One. God said to them: ‘My creatures are drowning in the sea and you would sing?'''
God forbade the angels, who exist only to praise God, from praising Him at that moment. Even though they were evil, bent on destroying God's people, the Egyptians were deserving of some consideration, some pity, and some recognition of their basic humanity and their common origins with the Israelites as part of God's creation. It's an important lesson, but not the only one that we might draw from this text.
The Kotzker Rebbe has a vastly different conclusion, drawing on a Midrash in Exodus Rabbah. That Midrash says that, when Israel emerged from the Reed Sea, the angels immediately came forward to sing God's praises. According to this Midrash, God said, "No, let my children sing first, as it says, literally, 'Then Moses and the Children of Israel will sing this song...''' The Kotzker asks, “Why should Israel be given permission to sing first?” He answers, because angels are forever ready to offer songs of praise, but this isn¹t true of Israel. Israel is capable of singing only when the desire and feeling are spontaneously aroused within them. God feared that unless Israel were permitted to sing immediately, the desire would pass. It’s an interesting insight into the human psyche and the Hasidic view of God.
The Talmud, in tractate Sanhedrin and also in tractate Megillah, teaches this idea in the following way: "Rabbi Yonatan says ... The Holy One is not happy at the downfall of the evil ones ... as Rabbi Shmuel the son of Nachman said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: It is written: ‘And they did not approach one another all that night ...’ (Exodus 14:20), for at that moment the angels wanted to sing before the Holy One. God said to them: ‘My creatures are drowning in the sea and you would sing?'''
God forbade the angels, who exist only to praise God, from praising Him at that moment. Even though they were evil, bent on destroying God's people, the Egyptians were deserving of some consideration, some pity, and some recognition of their basic humanity and their common origins with the Israelites as part of God's creation. It's an important lesson, but not the only one that we might draw from this text.
The Kotzker Rebbe has a vastly different conclusion, drawing on a Midrash in Exodus Rabbah. That Midrash says that, when Israel emerged from the Reed Sea, the angels immediately came forward to sing God's praises. According to this Midrash, God said, "No, let my children sing first, as it says, literally, 'Then Moses and the Children of Israel will sing this song...''' The Kotzker asks, “Why should Israel be given permission to sing first?” He answers, because angels are forever ready to offer songs of praise, but this isn¹t true of Israel. Israel is capable of singing only when the desire and feeling are spontaneously aroused within them. God feared that unless Israel were permitted to sing immediately, the desire would pass. It’s an interesting insight into the human psyche and the Hasidic view of God.
As different as the Kotzker's interpretation is from the traditional one that we know, it is a sort of middle ground, for there is another interpretation which takes an even more permissive view of rejoicing at the destruction of one's enemies. In many Siddurim, the Torah trope marks are printed in Shirat HaYam. In Kabbalistic literature, it is taught that Shirat HaYam should be sung, each morning, with the trope, with great joy, as if one were standing at the seashore, personally witnessing the miracle. The Zohar, the classic of Kabbalism, says that one who recites Shirat HaYam with the proper intent will earn the privilege of singing the praises of future miracles.
It certainly doesn't seem that the Kabbalists learned the lesson of not rejoicing over the destruction of one's enemies. The teachings of the Kotzker Rebbe and the Kabbalists are jarring, because they are so different from the tradition with which we are familiar. They do not trouble me, and it is not because I believe we should rejoice in the destruction of our enemies. Rather, I am inspired by the continued vitality of the Torah. No other book is as full of life as our Torah. Thousands of years after it was written, we still ask new questions and find new meanings. And every time we do, we participate in a conversation with our ancestors and our descendants. Unlike the Reed Sea, the Sea of the Torah is endless. And that really deserves a song.
Mo’adim
L’simchah!
Rabbi
Richard A. Flom
"For
the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be
still." Isaiah 62:1
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Candlelighting:
Sunday (7th Day of Pesach) – 6:55 pm
Monday (8th Day of Pesach – Yizkor Tuesday morning) –7:52 pm
Tuesday – Pesach ends – 7:52 pm
I
will be conducting Yom Services, including Yizkor, on Tuesday, the Eighth Day
of Pesach, at 9:30 am at Mishkon Tephilo, 206 Main St, Venice, CA 90291.
Lunch
and Learn is an ongoing program of Beit Midrash Shalom that meets Tuesdays to
discuss Jewish texts and other topics of Jewish interest. It is open to all
regardless of affiliation. We will NOT be meeting again until after Pesach.
Next meeting is Tuesday, April 9, 12:00 noon, at Congregation Beth Meier, 11725
Moorpark St., Studio City 91604. PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY FOOD UNLESS IT IS IN
ITS ORIGINAL SEALED CONTAINER AND BEARING A HEKHSHER AS DAIRY OR PAREVE. Lunch
will be provided by Congregation Beth Meier. Donations gratefully accepted.
This
d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Deb Berenbach, Gabor ben
Devorah, Selby Horowitz, Pamela Huddleston, Micah Kosche, Sara Lanxner, Emily
Levin, Frank Marcovitz, Helen Reiter, Len Reiter, Gil Robbins, Rachel Robbins,
Judith Sakurai, Kitty Schmerling and Helen Tomsky.
My
weekly divrei torah are also available via e-mail subscription to Cyber
Torah.
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