From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 3:11 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Beshalach, 5766




                                          
                                                Just Passing Through

                     
                      By Rabbi Joshua (transiently known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

     !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With thanks to the Almighty, beginning our ninth year !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


  In memory of my mother, Yoninah bas Tzvi Hirsch, whose yohrzeit is this coming Shabbos, the thirteenth of Shevat. May her memory be a blessing.

 
  The Torah tells us that when the Israelites left Egypt, Moshe took Yosef's bones with him, because Yosef had imposed an oath on his brothers, to have their descendants take his remains with them when they were redeemed, and bury him in the land of Cana'an. The Mechilta tells us that although the rest of the people were busy carrying the riches they had received from the Egyptians, Moshe acted with chassidus, or piety, and wisdom and carried Yosef's remains. Rav Avrohom Pam, zt"l, noted that although it is obvious why the midrash describes Moshe's action as coming from piety, it is not so clear why it describes him as acting out of wisdom. Rav Pam explains that according to the midrash, the Yam Suf split only upon seeing the coffin of Yosef. This is derived from a verse in Tehillim (114:3), which says, "the sea saw and fled." The rabbis explain that what it saw was the coffin of Yosef. Because Yosef fled when the wife of Potiphar tried to seduce him, says the midrash, the sea split when it saw Yosef's coffin. If Moshe would not have carried Yosef's remains, but, rather, carried off the riches from Egypt, as everyone else did, then when the Egyptians came, the sea would not have split, and the Egyptians would have caught up with the fleeing nation, and taken back all of its riches. Through his wisdom, then, Moshe saved the wealth they had brought from Egypt. We need to understand, however, what it was about Yosef that generated sufficient merit to have the sea split and thereby rescue the nation.


  Actually, there is another midrash which says that the sea split because of the merit of bris milah, which the people had undergone before bringing the Passover sacrifice. This is derived from a verse in Tehillim (136:13) " To Him who divided the Yam Suf into parts, for His kindness endures forever." The word for parts, ‘gezorim, is read here as ‘gizrim,’ or those who were circumcised. There are, moreover, a number of customs practiced at bris milah that reflect this midrash. For example, in some congregations, the father of the infant leads the morning prayers, and recites Az Yashir, the song that was sung in praise of God after the splitting of the sea, and is a regular part of the morning service, in a responsive manner, as it was sung at the time of it was originally said. Another custom is to sing, at the meal following the bris milah, Rav Yehudah HaLevi's poem "Yam LeYabasha," which deals with the crossing of the sea. At first blush, this midrash seems to contradict the previous midrash we mentioned, according to which it was because of Yosef's merit that the sea split. However, I believe that these two midrashim are actually complementary of each other, and, taken together, provide us with a fuller picture of Yosef's role in the redemption process.


  Rabbi Yosef Leib Sofer, in his work Yalkut Sofer, cites the midrash which says that the sea split due to the merit of bris milah, and offers a number of explanations. The final suggestion he makes is that bris milah is an identification sign for the Jewish nation. As we noted in our message to parshas Shemos this year, this is the second explanation of the purpose of bris milah given by the Rambam in his Guide for the Perplexed, and the basic purpose, according to Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Hoffmann in his commentary to parshas Tazria. Perhaps we can speculate that it was Yosef's own bris milah that reminded him of his Jewish identity at his moment of crisis, and led him to conjure up his father's image, which, the rabbis tell us, ultimately prevented him from succumbing to his tempter's charms. Rabbi Sofer adds that this identification mark is also a reflection of the unity of the Jewish nation, and that it was this unity that helped bring about the redemption. Although Rabbi Sofer does not mention this, it was, in fact, the split between Yosef and his brothers that began the process which generated the exile in Egypt, as pointed out by the Talmud in Shabbos (10b). When Yosef had his brothers swear that they would arrange for his eventual burial in their homeland, he was taking a further step in the process of reconciliation that he began after revealing his true identity to them. By carrying Yosef's bones in front of the people as they left Egypt, Moshe was reminding them of the need for unity in forming a nation bound to the Torah. The manner in which the sea was split, as well, reflected the need for national unity. The midrash explains the verse we mentioned above, which speaks of the splitting of the sea into parts, as meaning that that when the sea split, it formed twelve separate paths, one for each tribe. At the same time, each tribe was also able to see all of the other ones through the clear water. Thus, the need for each tribe to follow its own path, while at the same time retaining its connection to the nation as a whole, was brought out though the splitting of the sea. It was, then, this combination of bris milah as a sign of Jewish identity and unity, and the image of Yosef as the restorer of Jewish unity, that led to the splitting of the sea in a manner that brought out the need for unity, as well.


  Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.

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