Friends of Itamar

Parashat Beshalach January 18, 2008

When reaching the pinnacle of the Exodus, the splitting of the Red Sea, we can’t help but ask how did Bnei Yisrael continue to complain after witnessing 10 marvelous miracles brought about through the plagues performed just for them. If all of Egypt “knew Hashem” already, what was missing here in the realm of faith for Am Yisrael?

Moshe Rabbeinu turns to his people and says:” Al Tirau!” – Do not fear! The Machilta medrash discusses how it looked on the shores of the Red Sea when Egypt raced on chariots after Bnei Yisrael. The origin of Israeli politics began then when the young Jewish nation decided to break into 4 groups, or political parties. 1) The first group said- ” Leepol layam!”- Let’s jump into the sea (and commit suicide) 2) the second group said- ” Lashuv LeMitzrayim!” – Let’s go back to Egypt where at least we had what to eat and where to be buried. 3) The third group said – ” La-asot milchama negdam!” Let’s fight them 4) the fourth group simply said –”Ve’anachnu nitzak!” we will scream (what else can we do!?!) They didn’t see “current events” with a spiritual eye yet. Even after all that was done for them, they lived in a realm of the husk of imagination. Fear came out of it. Yes, they had climbed many steps on the ladder to faith, but they were only on the level of “what you see is what you get.” Only after the Egyptians were annihilated on the sea did the culture of “achizat einayim” (creating a false impression) – pass over.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov says that a person cannot really know and believe that Hashem wants only goodness for him until he reaches the level of clarity in faith (behirut be’emunah). This is like saying, “Seeing is believing”. We have been taught that what a person sees is open to interpretation. Rav Nachman says no- Even if there are direct miracles, if there is no clarity in faith- you won’t see them. This has nothing to do with knowing the Torah and keeping all of its laws. This is only about holding the heavenly yoke of heaven in your heart. When a person roots faith in his emotions and constantly refreshes the feeling of faith, the energy that comes out of this enables him to see miracles. Then when Hashem tests us, we are able to elevate ourselves above the nisayon(test) by serving Him, like a successful worker who never gets used to his job, but loves his work passionately. He accepts every challenge that Hashem brings his way with a clear understanding that everything that Hashem does is for the best!

Dear Readers, Here in Israel today nothing really makes sense. Sderot and the Western Negev are barely on the agenda of our government. Instead, they prefer to place our precious home land on the negotiating table as if it was their own personal possession. The lessons of throwing thousands of Jews out of their homes in Gaza were not at all learnt. The world remained silent and encouraged this immoral act. Instead of admitting to their terrible folly which brought about the creation of another terror state they prefer to stubbornly continue in a similar path of destruction.

As we again stand on the shores of the sea divided in our ideas about what to do let Hashem open our eyes and hearts and help us to see His salvation.

Shabbat Shalom,

Leah Goldsmith Itamar

Parashat Bo Thursday, January 10, 2008

In the tractate of Sanhedrin 111A our Rabbis criticize the behavior of Moshe Rabeynu and praise the actions of our forefathers. The Talmud explains that the fact that Moshe Rabeynu wasn’t able to lead the Jewish nation in battle against the 31 kings was his punishment. Instead of Moshe Rabeynu being the one to merit in the Mitzvah of capturing the land of Israel, it was given to his student Joshua. The Talmud explains that Moshe Rabeynu was punished because unlike our forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who never complained about their difficult situation, Moshe Rabeynu on the other hand complained. The Talmud is referring to Moshe Rabeynu’s response to Hashem after the situation in Egypt worsened for the Jewish nation, “Why have you brought this trouble on your people? Why did you send me?”

The Talmud sites three examples of difficulties that our forefathers had to face. The first example is with Abraham Hashem says “Go! Walk back and forth across the entire land because I will give it to you.” Despite Hashem’s promise to give Avraham the land, he could not find a place to bury his wife without purchasing the cave of Machpela for a huge sum of money. The second example is of Isaac, “Live here in this land and I will be with you and bless you. I will give all these lands to you and your descendants. I will keep the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.” Nevertheless, Isaac’s servants couldn’t find water to drink and they had to fight with the shepherds of Grarr over the water pits. The third example mentioned is with Jacob. “I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants” Yet Jacob could not find a place to pitch his tent until he purchased a portion of land in Shechem.

Despite these difficulties, our forefathers never complained and quietly paid the price for settling the land of Israel. Obviously, Moshe Rabeynu, the greatest prophet that ever lived, did not complain because of personal difficulty; he was broken because of the tremendous suffering his people were experiencing. On the other hand, our forefathers’ difficulties seemed to be on the personal level.

Why then does the Talmud make a comparison between them and criticize Moshe Rabeynu? Apparently, the sages were teaching us that Abraham’s search for a grave and Jacob’s search for a place to set up his tent, and Isaac’s struggle over water weren’t in the least personal issues. These were all prototypes of situations that their decedents would have to face when trying to settle the land of Israel. Hashem was preparing them for the great difficulties that would lie ahead in inheriting the land.

The lesson is that we mustn’t focus on the difficulties but rather remain steadfast in our faith as we continue to move forward. Today more than ever we can identify with this message. We never seem to be able to sit back and relax. It is amazing how the building of Jerusalem and the communities of Yehuda and Shomron capture the attention of the whole world. It is absolutely mind-boggling.

The words of Moshe Rabeynu to Pharaoh are still echoing today, “Let my people go”.

Rabbi Moshe Goldsmith Itamar