וידבר ה' אל משה לאמור, “G’d spoke to Moses for him to communicate.” According to the plain meaning of the text the word לאמור means that Moses was to relay the instructions received from G’d to the people. Alternatively, the word could mean that in addition to what the Torah has spelled out clearly for all to read and understand there are hidden meanings to be deciphered by those who apply themselves to Torah-study in depth. The נגלה, the revealed part, are the details of the commandment. The נסתר, the mystical, hidden aspect of this portion, is that which not everybody can grasp even if he tries. There have always been aspects of Torah not accessible to the average person. This is what David said (Psalms 62,12) “G’d has said one thing; yet I have heard two.” A single communication may contain more than one message. Solomon echoed the same sentiment when he said: “a word spoken properly is like golden apples set in silver” (Proverbs 25,11). In this verse Solomon compared the matters which are revealed to silver, whereas matters concealed he likened to gold, i.e. they had first been overlaid, made invisible by silver.

The meaning of our verse as well as most verses which commence in a similar form is: G’d told Moses the commandment and implied that he should tell the Israelites about it. In addition, לאמור, he told Moses to reveal to the people the more profound aspects of the commandment, aspects which do not meet the eye of the reader.

Nachmanides writes in his commentary on Exodus 6,10 (where the verse commences in the same manner as here) “the word אמירה refers to a complete utterance, meaning that an אמירה נראית, ‘a superficial utterance’” is not sufficient. [Nachmanides tries to justify why sometimes G’d added “say to the Children of Israel,” whereas other times He contents Himself with the word לאמור alone. Ed] Seeing that the quality of G’d’s communications to Moses was so superior and clearer than His communications to lesser prophets, G’d was able to say to Moses: “make the matter clear to your listeners the Jewish people.” Other prophets (Numbers 12,8) with whom G’d Himself spoke in riddles were not able to clarify matters to the people in the degree Moses was able to clarify it for them.

A Kabbalistic approach: The words וידבר ה' אל משה reflect the inner force, the concealed force, the word לאמור is a reference to the fact that this force had become manifest by means of the Shechinah. This is the meaning of the words in Exodus 24,12 אשר כתבתי להורותם, “which I wrote to teach them.” The word להורתם is written defective, without the letter ו which should be part of the plural ending, thus making it similar to Song of Songs 3,4 ואל חדר הורתי, “into the bedroom of my parents.” This is merely a euphemism for the acquisition of information reserved for the intimates of G’d. You are aware already that the expression דבור is a deeper form of communication than אמירה. Whereas אמירה describes the oral Torah, דבור describes the written Torah [with its multifaceted ways of interpretations. Ed.] The experts of Kabbalah were thoroughly familiar with this. This is what prompted Eicha Rabbah to translate the words בצע אמרתו In Lamentations 2,17 as בזע פרפורין שלו, “He tore His purple curtain (allowed the Temple curtain to be destroyed).” [The standard translation of the words is: “He carried out His decree.” Ed.] We have to ask ourselves what made the author of this Midrash translate these words in this fashion? The word אמרא, as cloak, i.e. or better “a fringed garment,” is well known. In this instance the word פרפורין may be understood as a euphemism for the edge of such a cloak. Our sages understood the verse in Lamentations as explaining the reason why the Temple was destroyed. First the Jews had despised the תורת ה' צבאות (Isaiah 5,24). This was a reference to the written Torah. Then (same verse) ואת קדוש ישראל נאצו, “and the Holy One of Israel they spurned.” This is a reference to the oral Torah. To get back to our verse here. The word ויאמר or לאמור is derived from אמרא, the edge of a cloak a person wears on his left side. We have a verse in Samuel I 28,14 illustrating this: “he is wrapped in a cloak.” We also have a verse symbolically depicting G’d Himself as wrapped in such a cloak, i.e. עוטה אור כשלמה, “He wraps light around Himself as a man would wrap a cloak around himself” (Psalms 104,2). The cloak referred to in that verse is the attribute of Justice. On the other hand, the word דבור, and therefore וידבר, when employed by the Torah is derived from the word דבורה, the bee, which though providing honey, i.e. sweetness, also harbors a deadly sting. The bee therefore symbolizes an attribute of G’d which combines both the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice. The oral Torah is emanated from that attribute, seeing it is a derivative of the written Torah and the written Torah itself is based on the combination of the attribute of Justice and the attribute of Mercy.

קדש לי כל בכור פטר כל רחם, “sanctify for Me every firstborn, the first issue of every womb.” The wording we would have expected here is קדש לי כל בכור בבני ישראל באדם ובבהמה, “sanctify for Me every Jewish firstborn amongst humans and domestic beast,” seeing this would be the logical way of thanking G’d for sparing the firstborn Jews and their livestock. After all, the Egyptian firstborn killed included firstborn of father and mother. Why then does the Torah restrict this legislation to the first issue of a womb, i.e. the firstborn of the mother? In fact, in Egypt not only biological firstborns were smitten but, in the absence of an actual firstborn, the oldest in the house. Why else would there not have been a single house without a dead body on that night? The reason the Torah did not command sanctification of the firstborn of the father is simply that there always exists some slight degree of doubt about the paternity of a child whereas no such doubt exists concerning its maternity. The same rule applies to the firstborn of the livestock as we read in verse 12: “you shall set apart every first issue of the womb to G’d and of every first issue that is dropped by the livestock that belong to you, the males to Hashem.” As a result of this legislation we find that Isaiah 49,15 draws a comparison between G’d’s love for Israel to a father’s love for his son when he said: “can a woman forget her baby or disown the child in her womb?” The prophet suggests that it is impossible for a mother not to have pity on her child. He did not say: “can a father forget his son?” My teacher Rabbi Shlomoh (Rashba) of blessed memory commented that this verse in Isaiah wants to teach us two things. 1) Contrary to the doubt about paternity we mentioned earlier, there is no doubt about G’d considering Himself the father of the Jewish people [Hoseah 2,1 describing the Jewish people as the children of the living G’d. Ed.] seeing the prophet continues “even if the mother might forget her child G’d would never forget Israel.” This thought is confirmed by Eytan in Psalms 89, 27-28 “You are my Father, my G’d, the Rock of my deliverance;” (G’d responds) “I too will appoint him first-born.” 2) just as it is impossible for a mother to exchange her son for another so it is impossible for G’d to exchange the Jewish nation for another. The prophet (G’d) promised: “also these will not be forgotten.” Whereas G’d may “forget” the sin of the golden calf which the Israelites had addressed as “these are your gods O Israel” (Exodus 32,4), G’d will nonetheless not forget the Jewish people as His own as He would not forget their attitude at Mount Sinai when He had introduced Himself to the Jewish people with the words: “I am the Lord your G’d” (20,2).

Our sages in the Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 18,3) confirmed this sentiment when they stated that the plague of the killing of the firstborn in Egypt included the females from the palace of Pharaoh with the exception of Pharaoh’s firstborn daughter Batya, the one who had saved Moses at the time. Moses himself had acted as her counsel of defense at the heavenly court. This is one of the meanings of: “she saw him that he was good” (Exodus 2,2). Solomon (Proverbs 31,18) said concerning this Batya that what made her “good” was ”she sees her business thrive, her light never goes out at night.” The “light” of which Solomon spoke was Batya’s soul, and the “night” was the night during which G’d smote the firstborn.

כי בחוזק יד הוציא ה' אתכם מזה ולא יאכל חמץ, “for with a strong hand G’d removed you from this (place) and therefore chametz may not be eaten.” What does the eating of חמץ have to do with the “strong hand” which G’d employed at the time of the Exodus? The verse simply wants to tell us that חמץ is a symbol of the attribute of Justice. Seeing that it was necessary for Israel to invoke G’d’s attribute of Justice against the Egyptians in order for themt to be redeemed, G’d forbade them the consumption of חמץ at the time when we commemorate the Exodus so that we would steer clear of putting our faith in the attribute of Justice as an attribute which acts on its own. Were we to do this we would be guilty of heresy. It would have been easy to conclude that G’d invoked only the attribute of Justice as both He and His heavenly tribunal co-operated in the downfall of the Egyptians. Compare Rashi (based on ancient manuscript of Tanchuma Bo 17). This is also why when G’d created the world the Torah first writes: “at the beginning G’d created heaven and earth” (Genesis 1,1), whereas later (Genesis 2,4) the Torah speaks of: “on the day the Lord G’d made earth and heaven.” [The second formulation includes G’d’s heavenly tribunal. Ed.] This is also the deeper meaning of Isaiah 48,13: “also My hand founded earth, and My right hand spread out the skies.” G’d’s “hand” and G’d’s “right hand” are mentioned separately. Also the word אף is an indication that some other force cooperated with G’d at a certain stage after the beginning. It indicates that not only the “hand” was involved in the creation. It was therefore necessary at this juncture for the Torah to tell us that also ה' was involved in the Exodus, not only the יד, i.e. the attribute of Justice. To remind us of this for all future time, the consumption of חמץ is forbidden on these seven days on which we commemorate the Exodus and the fact that it involved the downfall of our oppressors. This is the mystical dimension of the prohibition of eating חמץ. This explains why the Torah reserves the karet penalty for anyone who deliberately violates this commandment. Eating חמץ on Passover is equivalent to a serious act of heresy, denial of Jewish history; as such the person who does so has read himself out of his people, so to speak. This is why G’d removes him from the Jewish people at death, (12,15) i.e. in compliance with the sinner’s wishes

זכור את היום הזה, “to remember this day.” Remembering the day we came out of Egypt is a positive commandment which is applicable daily all year round (hence the infinitive). Our sages (Berachot 12) say that the words “in order that you may remember the day you left Egypt כל ימי חייך, as long as you live,” are a reference to the nights, hence the word כל,”the entire.” This is why we recite the portion dealing with ציצית which is a commandment not applicable at night, in our nightly recital of the קריאת שמע. The last verse in that paragraph speaks of the Exodus and the need to remember it. The words כל ימי are therefore best translated as “the whole days, etc.” instead of as “all the days, etc.” Our sages elaborate (folio 21) further that after the קריאת שמע at night we are to recite the paragraph commencing with the words אמת ואמונה, “true and trustworthy,” whereas in the morning the parallel paragraph commences with the words אמת ויציב, “true and firm.” In order to remember the Exodus by day and by night we must relate to these two aspects of it., i.e. to the attribute of Justice as well as to the attribute of Mercy, both of whom were invoked to orchestrate the Exodus/redemption. The words חוזק יד refer to the attribute of Justice, whereas the words הוציא ה' refer to the attribute of Mercy. When Moses prayed after the sin of the golden calf (Exodus 32,11), he referred to both of these attributes when he said אשר הוצאת מארץ מצרים בכח גדול וביד החזקה,“whom You took out of the land of Egypt with great force and a strong hand.” The point Moses made was that G’d had not only invoked “the strong hand”, i.e. Justice,” but also ”great force,” i.e. the attribute of Mercy.

בחודש האביב, “in the month of spring.” The Torah deetrmined here that the festival of Passover must always occur in the spring, i.e. the time of the barley harvest [in those parts of the world. Ed.]; the stalk of the barley is known as אביב, derived from the word אב, “father.” It is so called as it “begets” the kernels of grain we calll wheat. It is well known that all the festivals mentioned in the Torah are related to certain seasons. Shavuot, Pentecost, is to occur during the season when wheat is harvested as the Torah writes: “and the festival of cutting when you reap the first of your labors” (Exodus 23,16). Tabernacles is to occur as a harvest festival, “the time of ingathering,” i.e. at the end of the summer. This is also the reason the sages decreed that when concluding the benediction dealing with the respective pilgrimage festivals we sign with the words: “Who sanctifies Israel and the seasons.” We might have expected the formula to be “Who sanctifies Israel and the festivals,” paraphrasing the wording in the Torah where these festivals are all called מועדי ה' “the festivals of the Lord.” The reason the sages changed the formula was to remind us that the dates of these festivals are all dependent on certain seasons. Another reason we call the month of Nissan “spring” is because spring is the “father” of the 12 months in the calendar. It is also dominated by the zodiac sign of the ram, the “father” of all the twelve zodiac signs.

According to Mechilta (Pisscha 16) the month of spring is the one in which מוציא אסירים בכושרות, “G’d releases prisoners when they are in chains.” (Psalms 68,7) The word בכושרות may be understood as “in a suitable (כשר) month.” Rabbi Yochanan understands the word as a combination of בכי ושירות, “weeping and songs of jubilation.” On the one hand, there was not a single Egyptian house in which there was not at least one dead, causing weeping, whereas on the other hand, the Israelites broke out in joyful song as described in Psalms 118,15 קול רנה וישועה באהלי צדיקים, “the tents of the righteous resound with the joyous shouts of deliverance.”

והיה כי יביאך ה', “It will be when the Lord brings you, etc.” This is already the commencement of the next paragraph which starts in verse 11. The first time the word יביאך is spelled plene, with the letter י in the middle; the second time, (verse 11) that letter י is missing. The first arrival in the land of Israel took place under the leadership of Joshua who fought ten wars (battles) before taking full possession. They were: Jericho, Ai, Giveon, Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglonah, Chevronah, Dvirah, Mey Marom. (they appear in Joshua 6,20; 8,24; 10,8; 10,28; 10,29; 10,31; 10,34; 10,38; 11,1) The letter י then is an allusion to these “ten=י wars.” אשר נשבע לאבותיך, “which He had promised to your forefathers on oath.” The oath had been given to the patriarchs as the prophet said in Micah 7,20: “which You have sworn to our forefathers in days of yore.” The second time reference is made to the Holy Land, the word יבאך is spelled defectively, with the letter י in the centre missing. This is an allusion to Israel being gathered in from exile when no wars of conquest will be needed for them to resettle in the land. The repeated mention of G’d’s oath in that verse is also a reminder that the wonderful predictions and words of comfort by our prophets consoling us about our misfortunes and promising a better future will all be fulfilled. In verse eleven we find the additional words ונתנה לך, “and He will give it to you.” The message is that at that time the land will become a permanent gift to us never again to be taken away from us. The Torah speaks of a period which we have never experienced up until this date. אל ארץ הכנעני, “to the land of the Canaanite, etc.” The land of Israel is here described as “the land of the Canaanite, seeing that Canaan was a cursed slave and it is legally impossible for such a slave to have title to any land. A slave can never take over property that belongs or belonged to his master. Seeing that the land of Israel by rights was given to the Jewish people, in the absence of the Jewish people G’d had to give it (temporarily) to such a cursed slave nation in order to ensure they could not establish legal title to that land while Israel was not around. It was similar to a king who has a minor son and who temporarily hands over his country to a regent pending his son becoming of age.

מצות יאכל את שבעת הימים,“unleavened bread shall be eaten during the duration of these seven days.” The expression את שבעת הימים is the same as if the Torah had written בשבעת הימים “on these seven days.” We find something similar in Chronicles II 30,22 ויאכלו את זבחי המועד שבעת ימים, “they ate of the sacrifices of the festival during the seven days.” Our sages there mention that the word את is meant to include the last eight hours of the 14th of the month, or if they were outside the boundaries of Eretz Yisrael that they observed an eight’s day of Passover. [Rabbi Chavell, basing himself on Torat Chayim, claims that the fact that apparently matzah was permitted already two hours before noon on the fourteenth of Nissan is proof that chametz was already forbidden. Ed.]

בעבור זה עשה ה' לי, “on account of ‘this’ G’d has done for me.” The plain meaning of the verse is that “seeing that G’d has done all this for me, I will serve Him, etc.”

A kabbalistic approach: The verse tells us that the fact that I was able to leave Egypt was all for the sake of His glory and His Name. It is somewhat similar to what Moses exclaimed in the song after crossing the Sea of Reeds: זה קלי ואנוהו, a complimentary reference to the שכינה including G’d’s Highest Presence. The meaning is that the שכינה in Israel is not merely something needed for the ordinary Israelite, but it is a phenomenon necessary even in celestial circles. This is what Joshua had in mind when he said (Joshua 7,9, after the Israelites’ humiliating defeat at Ai) “and what are You going to do בעבור שמך הגדול in order to bolster Your great name?” When the Torah immediately carries on (verse 9) by writing “this shall be a sign on your hand and a remembrance between your eyes,” the idea is that the concept the Torah has revealed to us here must be commemorated by us in a tangible form, i.e. by means of the phylacteries. The word והיה is an instruction to ensure that this will be realised. We have something similar in Genesis 41,47 ותעש הארץ which Onkelos translates as וכנשו “they are to gather in.” In our situation the Torah means: “He has gathered me up for the sake of His attributes.”

הוציאך ה' ממצרים, “G’d has taken you out of Egypt.” In verse 14 the Torah writes: “G’d has taken us out of Egypt. This is to teach us that the redemption of the fathers was the redemption of the sons, the next and subsequent generations. This is precisely what we say annually in the Haggadah shel Pessach “He, G’d, did not only redeem our ancestors but He redeemed us, this very generation, also at the same time together with them.” We cite the verse Deut 6,23 in support of this where Moses, quoting the fathers of later generations, said: “and He took us out of there in order to bring us, to give us the land which He had sworn to our forefathers.”

ושמרת את החוקה הזאת למועדה מימים ימימה, “You shall observe this decree at its designated time from year to year.” The words מימים ימימה mean “annually.” We find the expression מימים ימימה used in the sense of “years” also in Samuel I 1,3 where it describes Elkanah’s annual pilgrimage to the Temple at Shiloh. The same expression is also found in Judges 21,19 where it describes an annual pilgrimage to Shiloh being used to provide the surviving members of the tribe of Binyamin with Jewish girls for marriage. A third time the same expression is used is in connection with the annual pilgrimage to (the grave of?) Yiphtach’s daughter to commemorate what had happened to her (Judges 11,40).

Rabbeinu Chananel writes that although the Torah has warned many times about observance of the Passover, this verse is not one of these occasions and it comes to tell us only that commencing with that year the date and season of the Passover festival are to be constant. This is again proof that the date was calculated and that sighting the new moon was not the crucial issue in determining the time of the festival.

A Midrashic approach (Pessikta Zutrata) based on the word למועדה: ”there are designated periods when a person is to wear phylacteries and there are designated periods when he is not to wear such phylacteries.” The Sabbaths and festivals are exempt from the requirement of phylacteries seeing that the days themselves are an אות, “sign, reminder” of the historical facts the phylacteries are to remind us of. The repetition מימים ימימה refers to the day as opposed to the night. This teaches that we are not to wear phylacteries at night. An alternative meaning: the words מימים ימימה teach that we are to examine the phylacteries once a year (every twelve months) to ensure that they are in good condition. This is based on the use of the word ימים in Leviticus 25,29 ימים תהיה גאולתו, “it (the house) may be redeemed until the end of twelve months.” Just as the word ימים represents a deadline in that instance it also signifies a deadline in our verse.

והעברת כל פטר רחם לה', “you will transfer every firstborn of the womb to Hashem.” The Torah employs the term העברה in this instance to indicate that the status of being something secular has been removed from such firstborn seeing it had already been designated as sacred while inside the רחם אמו, the womb of its mother.

וכל פטר חמור, “and every firstborn donkey, etc.” This legislation is restricted to the donkey, the only impure domestic animal whose firstborn male issue is not of secular status (as opposed to horses and camels, also widely considered as domestic beasts). Pessikta Zutrata on our verse explains that the reason is that the Egyptians have been compared to donkeys by the prophet Ezekiel (23,20) who wrote “their flesh (male organ) is the flesh of donkeys.” An additional reason is the tradition that even the poorest of the Israelites left Egypt with ninety donkeys’ loads of silver and gold. To commemorate the immense wealth the Israelites took out of Egypt the Torah legislated that the beasts which carried that wealth be treated as in a class by themselves. The firstborn males of such donkeys needed to be redeemed before they could be used for profane purposes. Equating donkeys with Egyptians reminds one of the plague of the dying of the firstborn Egyptians.

והיה לאות על ידכה, “it shall be a sign on your hand.” According to the plain meaning of the text the letter ה which the Torah appended here at the end of the word ידכה is an allusion to the five “houses,” capsules, in which the respective scriptural verses in the phylacteries are “housed.” [the phylacteries worn on the head have four such housings, the ones worn on the arm has one]. The phylacteries worn on the arm are called אות, sign, as the Torah wrote “it shall be a sign for you on your hand” (verse 9), whereas the phylacteries worn on the head are called זכרון, “remembrance,” as we know from the same verse. You should appreciate that something which is described as אות is meant to be remembered on an ongoing basis, hence the description of זכרון as well as the description אות for describing the phylacteries and their purpose. This is why our sages (Menachot 36) ruled that one is to put on the phylacteries of the hand before the phylacteries of the head so that the אות will become a זכרון. We follow the sequence in which these two phylacteries are mentioned in the Torah. ולטוטפת בין עיניך, “and as ornaments between your eyes.” When removing the phylacteries they are removed in the reverse order of how they were put on. If one were to first take off the phylacteries of his arm just as he had put them on first, how could the phylacteries on the head still serve as זכרון seeing we have explained that there could not be a זכרון unless there was an אות which the זכרון would commemorate? This is why the אות aspect of the phylacteries must be both first and last. Our sages in Menachot 36 explained it as follows: “when removing the phylacteries the one on the head must be removed first as the Torah speaks of והיו לטוטפת בין עיניך, they shall be as ornaments between your eyes. As long as they are between your eyes, i.e. plural, two, they are ornaments. As long as the phylacteries of the head are between your eyes the phylacteries are an ornament. Leaving them all by themselves deprives them of being fit to be described as “ornaments.”

A Midrashic approach (based on Menachot 37): the letter ה at the end of the word ידכה means that the phylacteries are to worn on the “weaker” hand [a play on words יד כהה, “the weak hand”], the left arm. Generally speaking a man’s left arm is not as strong as his right arm.

A Kabbalistic approach: The additional letter ה at the end of the word ידכה was “borrowed” from the tetragram, i.e. from the last letter ה in the name י-ה-ו-ה. It symbolizes the attribute of Justice as practiced in the terrestrial world. It is the type of wisdom given to Solomon [who asked to be a competent judge for the people of Israel] in the dream when G’d allowed him to make a wish (Kings I 3,9). He spoke of his wish to possess a לב שומע, “a heart which is able to listen.” This is the reason that the phylacteries of the arm are to be worn on the left arm, the arm closest to the heart. The attribute which Solomon wished for is also known as כלה. The text of the phylacteries of the hand is written on a single roll of parchment and has a single housing, as opposed to the four “housings” of the phylacteries on the head. There is a mystical dimension to this in Song of Songs 4,9 where the same Solomon describes this attribute as אחתי כלה, usually translated as “my own, my bride.” The closeness to the point of a shared identity between Israel (Solomon) and the attribute of wisdom is alluded to by the word כלה as כלולה ב'לב, “included in the 32 paths of בינה, the ways to acquire wisdom.” [the oldest kabbalistic text, the ספר היצירה, is based on this concept. Ed.] The attribute כלה granted to Solomon enables the student to make a useful combination of these 32 paths of understanding, insight. In order to teach that this letter ה at the end of the word ידכה has symbolic significance, the paragraph והיה כי יביאך contains five letters ה each of which is equipped with a תג, [a crown on top of a letter, usually reserved for the letters ש ע ט נ ז ג ץ You will not find these תגים on the corresponding letters in the Torah scroll. They are written only in the parchment which is part of the phylacteries of the hand. Ed.] The respective letters with these “crowns” are: the ה in ונתנה לך; the two letters ה in הקשה, the ה in ויהרוג, and the ה in ידכה. All of the words in question which have this ”decorated” letter ה are references to G’d’s attribute of Justice. Having put on the phylacteries on the arm, one proceeds to put on the phylacteries of the head. The phylactery of the head is divided into four housings closely stuck together and containing the four paragraphs of the Torah in which the subject of phylacteries is mentioned in separate housings, each on its own parchment. They are in the sequence: 1) קדש לי כל בכור, 2) והיה כי יביאך, 3) שמע, 4) והיה אם שמוע. The paragraph קדש לי כל בכור corresponds to the emanation (attribute) חכמה, which is also known as ראשית, i.e. ראשית חכמה יראת ה' (Psalms 111). The word קדש, “sanctify” is a clear allusion to this. We have other verses containing the word קדש which are always understood as a reference to his attribute of חכמה. The second paragraph והיה כי יביאך, which deals with the Exodus is understood to refer to the attribute בינה, The attributes חכמה,בינה,גדולה,גבורה were prominently involved in the Exodus and are therefore represented in the phylacteries. This is reflected also in the four-armed letter ש [as opposed to the usual three-armed ש. Ed.] which is embossed on the housing of the phylactery of the head. The emanation (attribute) תפארת is represented by the phylacteries themselves rather than by the Torah sections written inside them. All this is part of the mystical dimension of what the Talmud says in Berachot 6 that “G’d Himself puts on phylacteries.” The emanations (attributes) נצח והוד are represented by the respective “heads” of the letter שין which is embossed on the phylactery of the head. The three “extremities” רישי'ן i.e. ראשין (upper ends of the letter ש), symbolise the three emanations נצח הוד יסוד. (in the usual three-armed ש). The additional arm and its head is considered the קשר, the “connection“ to the lowest emanation מלכות which links the emanations (attributes) to the terrestrial world the one known as אחרונה, “the last one, the hindmost one. This is also the mystical dimension of G’d saying to Moses (Exodus 33,23) וראית את אחורי “you will only see the hindmost aspect of Me.” What G’d did show Moses was the קשר של תפילין, the “knot, tie” of the phylacteries, i.e. the point at which G’d the transcendent becomes immanent, i.e. manifest, in the terrestrial part of His universe. (Berachot 7). Seeing that the straps of the phylacteries surround the head of the wearer this is perceived as an allusion to the continuous link between the manifest part of G’d’s largesse all the way to that point of the קשר. In view of the fact that the straps at the same time extend down to the level of one’s navel, it is an allusion to the fact that at the other end these emanations extend till the קו האמצעי, emanation תפארת, the central emanation (dividing line between what is perceived on the left and what is perceived on the right of the diagram of these 10 emanations) Seeing that these straps have to be black, a decree dating back to Moses for which we have not been told a reason, this is proof of the profound mystical meaning concealed within the whole commandment of the phylacteries and its details. The reason the second phylactery has to be placed on the head is that this is the seat of the power of the soul. Whatever has been written inside the phylactery on the head has also been written inside the phylactery of the hand, except that it has been written on a single piece of parchment and in an undivided housing. This is to teach that the lowest emanation מלכות, also known as אחרונה, is contained within it, and that it on the other hand contains all the higher attributes (emanations). The קשר, i.e. the shape of the knot in the strap symbolizes the צדיק; the reason it is worn on the left arm is that in that way it is opposite the right side of G’d whom we are to face at all times. You must appreciate that the commandment of phylacteries are really two separate commandments though they (both) are part of the same syndrome. The proof that they are two commandments lies in the fact that they are not interdependent as are for instance the ארבעה מינים, the four plants on Tabernacles. When the Etrog is missing for instance, one cannot recite a benediction over the remaining 3 plants and vice versa. In the case of the phylacteries, however, absence of either the phylactery of the head or the phylactery of the arm does not prevent one from putting on the other (Menachot 38) and reciting a benediction over performance of the commandment. Moreover, seeing that both phylacteries represent the same idea, one must not engage in conversation between putting on the one and the other. This is what is meant in Sotah 44 that if one engages in conversation between putting on one phylactery and the other, this rates as the kind of sin on account of which a soldier is sent home rather than participating in an expansionist war [to protect him from the angel of death who is always around in places of danger waiting to pounce on the guilty. Ed.]

Seeing that both phylacteries represent the same idea it would have been logical to assume that halachah would treat them as interdependent on one another just as they do the Lulav and the Etrog. The fact that nonetheless they are treated differently halachically has been explained in terms of the Talmud Berachot saying that G’d Himself puts on phylacteries. The source of this statement is explained in the Sefer Habahir of Rabbi Nechunyah ben HaKanah in the form of a parable. The matter is compared to a king who owns a precious ornament which he sometimes wears on his head and on other occasions he wears it on his arm. This is the reason that the two phylacteries cannot be treated as if they were interdependent since we try to emulate G’d and how He treats His phylacteries. You may also conclude from the above that putting on the phylactery on the left arm is an allusion to the attribute of Justice which receives its input from the left. In this respect there is a parallel with the Etrog which is also held in the left hand.

On the other hand, I have seen an opinion expressed by a prominent Kabbalist according to which the holding of the Etrog in the left hand and the putting on of the phylactery on the left arm cannot be compared. He claims that the fact that the Etrog is held in the left hand is because the left hand is appropriate for this seeing that the right hand holds the other three plants which have been tied together. The reason the phylactery of the hand is worn on the left arm, however, is in order for it to be opposite the right side of G’d. It has been said of G’d מימינו אש דת למו, “with His right hand He presented the fiery Torah to them.” (Deut. 33,2). The scholar in question quotes as further support for his view Psalms 45,10: ”the consort stands on your right hand decked in gold of Ophir.” You will note that the phylactery of the head contains G’d’s name 21 times so that between the two phylacteries G’d’s name appears 42 times corresponding to the 42-lettered name of G’d.

Some people, examining the subject of the phylacteries still further, believe that just as the Shechinah is portrayed as resting on the four animals based on two cherubs depicted in Ezekiel’s visions in Ezekiel chapter 1 and chapter 10, so the phylacteries are a symbol of the Shechinah resting on the Israelites who put on the phylacteries which contain four sections of the Torah on its two major organs (heart and brain). The brain and the heart are perceived as flanking such a person from two opposite sides, as we read in Exodus 25,19 (in connection with the lid of the Holy Ark) כרוב אחד מקצה מזה וכרוב אחד מקצה מזה, “one cherub at one extreme and one cherub at the end from the other extreme.” Our sages (Menachot 43) say that whoever has phylacteries on his head, on his arm and fringes, ציצית, on his garment can be certain that he will not commit a sin (major one) as we have been assured in Kohelet 4,12 that “the threefold thread will not easily be severed.” Rabbi Shimon ben Levi in Menachot 44 states that anyone who regularly wears phylacteries will live long as we have a verse (Isaiah 38,16). Those who have the name א-ד-נ-י on them (on their bodies) and whose insides are filled with that spirit ‘You will add more life to me.’”

'מצרף לכסף וכור לזהב ובוחן לבות ה', “the crucible is for silver, the furnace for gold, but G’d examines the hearts.” (Proverbs 17,3)

In this verse Solomon warns man to refine his thoughts and to improve his character traits. Seeing that the heart is the most important one of our organs and all other organs depend on it and it is situated at the center of the body, it governs the other parts of the body, guides them and inspires them with its energy. All other organs of the body are subservient to the heart. Symbolically speaking, the heart is comparable to the king of a country who resides in its center, supervises all the more peripheral parts of the country, and who issues decrees telling his subjects how to conduct themselves. Seeing that all other organs depend on the heart for their continued existence, G’d, who is the source of life to all His creatures is also referred to as “heart.” This is the meaning of Psalms 73,26: “the Rock of my heart and the Lord is forever my portion.” Just as the human heart exercises its power and influence on other organs of the body so G’d exerts influence on all parts of His universe to the farthest corners of it. This is confirmed in Exodus 8,18: “for I the Lord am active in the midst of the earth.” Similarly, the most important element in relating to Torah and how one observes it is the heart. The entire written Torah is bracketed between the letters of the word לב, heart, i.e. between the letter in ב-ראשית at the beginning and the letter ל in ישרא-ל at the end. This symbolizes that the Torah itself was taken from the attribute (emanation) חכמה which has לב, 32 paths, (as we pointed out earlier in our discussion of the symbolisms of the phylacteries). Seeing that all man’s actions are so inextricably intertwined with the heart, Solomon warns that the character traits of the heart are of the utmost importance and he warns that all the thoughts man considers as private, i.e. secrets of his heart, are in fact known to G’d as if they were public, seeing that He examines every heart to determine whose heart is good and whose is not. This then is the meaning of the verse we quoted at the beginning of our commentary. Just as the silversmith and the goldsmith must examine the purity of the silver and gold he works with and wants to fashion into jewelry by using the tools used by the jeweler to refine silver and gold respectively, so G’d employs His own tools to examine the purity of man’s hearts. In language familiar to the silversmith and goldsmith these tools are known as crucible and furnace respectively. We learn from this verse that when the heart is good it is comparable to pure silver or pure gold. Eventually, such a good heart will result in the owner performing good deeds. Conversely, if the heart is defective, the owner will commit sins sooner or later just as impure silver will not stand up for long when put to the use for which it had been intended. The expression בוחן לבות, “He examines hearts,” also includes a reference by Solomon to the day of judgment on which G’d decides who is to participate in the resurrection. Solomon speaks of people who fall into the category of בינונים, being neither wicked nor righteous; their merits and debits are in balance and G’d needs to find if such people, or their souls had been guilty of severe sins which would preclude them from participating in a future life on earth. If, during their life on earth, these people had not committed heretical sins involving their bodies such as deliberately failing to put on phylacteries, they will be inscribed as צדיקים גמורים, perfectly righteous people whose participation in eternal life is assured, seeing we accept the view of the school of Hillel (Rosh Hashanah 17). That school interpreted the words ורב חסד in Exodus 34,6 to mean that when engaged in judging, G’d has a tendency, an inclination, to find according to the principles of the attribute of Mercy. If however, amongst the sins of such a בינוני there are heretical sins committed with his body, it is impossible for such a soul to escape at least a temporary abode in gehinom, in purgatory, even according to the lenient view taken by the school of Hillel. The crucibles and furnaces mentioned by Solomon are the period in gehinom during which such souls are being cleansed of the stains on their souls. The word כור is a reference to the fires of Hades, the instrument which removes all dross. Proof that Solomon speaks of the בינונים, the people whose sins and merits were in balance, is the expression בוחן, “examines.” The righteous and the wicked do not need such an examination; G’d knows immediately which category they belong to. The former qualified for immediate eternal life whereas the latter have already forfeited it. Another concept which is included in Solomon’s description of בוחן לבות, is that G’d makes such hearts submit to tests. Not only does He not examine them for His own benefit, but He subjects them to tests to demonstrate to their peers that these people deserve the fate that awaits them. If such people are found worthy of an hereafter the fact has to be demonstrated to their peers. The scriptural verse relating to this is Zecharyah 13,9: “and I will smelt them as one smelts silver and test them as one tests gold.” it is well known that G’d only tests the righteous as David said in Psalms 11,5: “the Lord seeks out the righteous man to test him.” The matter can best be understood by a parable. A potter who sells his wares does not demonstrate the worth and quality of his inferior products but he demonstrates the quality of his finest products.” These tests and examinations are not needed to demonstrate anything to G’d Who know it all. He knows what goes on in the heart of each of His creatures. This is why Solomon speaks of G’d being an “Examiner of hearts.” He confirms this also in Proverbs 15,11: “Hell and destruction are in front of G‘d; how much more the hearts of men.” The logic of this verse is simple. If G’d can see what goes on within the bowels of the earth, how could He fail to be aware of what goes on in the hearts of men above the earth? After all the heart is the abode of G’d’s own soul, the part of man which has been emanated from the celestial regions! If, in spite of all these considerations, G’d does subject men to tests it can only be in order to demonstrate to other creatures who are unable to look into a person’s heart and can judge only by what their eyes behold. We know that man is limited in his perceptions to what his eyes behold from Samuel I 16,7: “man sees only what is visible, but the Lord sees into the heart.” Once the righteous has been tested and his potential goodness has become manifest so that he was able to translate pure thoughts and intentions into actions, such actions are a sanctification of the name of the Lord. This was the type of test G’d subjected Avraham to when the Torah wrote (Genesis 22,1) “and G’d tested Avraham.” The whole purpose of the test was to demonstrate the quality of Avraham’s service to G’d to those around him. When G’d said to Avraham at the conclusion of the test:: “for now I know that you are G’d-fearing, etc.,” the meaning is that “now G’d had been able to demonstrate to one and all how G’d-fearing Avraham was.” When the Jewish people left Egypt and G’d performed innumerable miracles for them in the desert, most of these miracles were designed to be tests. When G’d split the sea for them to enter into, He did not show them a path which led from one side to the other; rather He split the sea a little at a time, keeping them anxious all the time, wondering if G’d would continue to dry out that path until they came to the other bank. The Israelites saw the sea in front of them all the time they were traversing it. This is what David meant when he said (Psalms 114,3) “the sea saw and fled.” Something similar occurred with the manna. G’d never supplied more than enough for one day or one day plus the Sabbath (Exodus 16,4). Desert travelers would normally carry a supply of several weeks’ provisions with them. G’d acted as He did in order to instill the habit of faith in the people. The meaning of faith is to make oneself dependent on G’d’s largesse. He wanted to know if they were going to criticize His way of doing things. This is why when Pharaoh finally released the Israelites G’d made them travel through the desert. This was all designed to test if their hearts were pure, if they trusted G’d or felt they knew better than He what was good for them (Yuma 67). G’d could have let the people travel a closer route through civilized parts of the world, through the land of the Philistines, However, He wanted to strengthen their faith in Him through letting them travel through inhospitable country and looking after them.

ויהי בשלח פרעה את העם ולא נחם אלוה-ים דרך ארץ פלשתים כי קרוב הוא, כי אמר אלוה-ים פן ינחם העם בראותם מלחמה ושבו מצרימה. “It was when Pharaoh sent off the Children of Israel that G’d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was near, for G’d said: ‘perhaps the people will reconsider when they see war and return to Egypt.’” The words: “perhaps the people will reconsider” are hard to understand; do we not believe that there is no such thing as the word “perhaps” in G’d’s vocabulary? Does He not know all in advance? Clearly G’d knew for certain how the Israelites would react when they saw they had to fight the Philistines! The meaning of the words פן ינחם העם, therefore must be: “so that the people will not reconsider.” Indeed our sages (Eiruvin 96) are on record that wherever the expression פן or the word ואל, occurs in the Bible the meaning is “so that not.” Example: (Genesis 3,22) ועתה פן ישלח ידו ולקח גם מעץ החיים, “and now so that he will not also stretch out his hand and take from the tree of life, etc.” G’d meant it was not appropriate to give Adam an opportunity to take from the fruit of the tree of life and to nullify G’d’s decree that he had become mortal by eating from it. Similarly, here: G‘d led the people through the desert instead of through the land of the Philistines in order not to grant them an opportunity to regret having left Egypt.

בראותם מלחמה, “when they would see warfare.” Even though they experienced warfare in the desert such as when the Amalekites attacked them a few weeks after the Exodus, the fight against Amalek did not evoke a desire to return to Egypt. After all, Israel had not been called upon by G’d to invade (or traverse) a neighbouring country, something they would have found hard to justify. [I suppose the peace-treaty between Avraham- Yitzchak- Avimelech was still in effect anyway. Ed.] The Amalekites had attacked them in No-man’s land without provocation. The Amalekites by definition were attacking G’d through attacking His people; they had heard about all the miracles G’d had performed for the Israelites when He struck down the Egyptians. They were not willing to allow the G’d of Israel to have a monopoly of power on this earth. We have a comment by the Midrash (Mechilta Beshalach Petichata [introduction]) that if, seeing that after the Israelites had taken a devious and difficult route through the desert they nevertheless said (Numbers 14,4) in the second year of their journey: “let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt,” imagine what would have happened if they would have had to confront the Philistines at the beginning of their journey on the way to the land of the Canaanites.

Rabbeinu Chananel wrote that G’d had a different reason for leading the Israelites through the desert. He needed an excuse for demonstrating miracles for the people. Had G’d led the Jewish people by the most direct route and had influenced the Philistines to let them travel through their country unmolested, this would have been such a minor miracle that it would not have impressed the people with an appreciation of how G’d had exerted Himself on their behalf. G’d’s desire to demonstrate His power and ability to triumph over what appeared to be insurmountable difficulties made it necessary for Him to lead the people through an inhospitable desert. By leading the people through the desert G’d forced Himself to come up with the heavenly manna as the solution to their food problems, with the extraction of water from a rock and the traveling well as the solution to their water problems, with the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire as the solution to problems of an inhospitable climate, etc., etc. The further the Israelites traveled from civilization the greater were the miracles required to keep them alive and well. It is characteristic of G’d’s השגחה פרטית, benevolent providence for the righteous, that He performs miracles within miracles. We find, for instance, that when Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah were thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar because they refused to accept him as a deity and to bow before his golden image, G’d could have saved them by the simple expedient of extinguishing the fire in that furnace (Daniel 3,27). Instead, G’d’ troubled Himself not only to allow these men to walk around within that flaming kiln as if they and their garments were totally oblivious to the infernal heat, but He visibly increased the heat and the fire within that kiln; He showed Nebuchadnezzar a vision of three unbound men enjoying themselves within that flaming kiln totally unperturbed by what Nebuchadnezzar thought he had accomplished. Nebuchadnezzar was enabled to look through opaque thick walls, another miracle. When G’d saved Daniel from the den of lions (Daniel 6,23), He also could have done so by means of lesser miracles such as simply killing the lions in that den. Instead, G’d chose to leave the lions alive but to prevent them from harming Daniel. In other words, the miracle within the miracle was that G’d interfered with the lions’ instincts in order to demonstrate His power. We find something similar in the Book of Judges when Gideon was commanded to fight the Midianites. Seeing that the Midianites were described as “as numerous as the sand of the sea,” (Judges 7,12) G’d could have allowed ten or twenty thousand men to fight them and their victory would surely have been credited to G’d seeing that even such a number of men would have been greatly outnumbered by their opponents. However, G’d chose to allow only three hundred men to go to war against Midian thus increasing the miracle and as a result His reputation. The prophet states that G’d wanted to ensure that no Israelite would be able to take credit for the victory (Judges 7,2). Actually, in response to the call that the faint-hearted Israelites should return home, ten thousand remained after twenty-two thousand had departed. G’d told Gideon specifically that the remaining ten thousand men were still far too numerous to fight against Midian! (7,4). They were to be tested by the manner in which they would lap up water to drink from a pond or river. The people who lapped up water like a dog were chosen as soldiers in G’d’s army, whereas those that drank like human beings, i.e. bringing the water to their mouths instead were sent home! (7,7).

This was characteristic of the way G’d dealt with the Israelites in the desert. They were to be raised gradually to a level of trust and faith in G’d so that they would be ready to receive the Torah. This is why G’d parted the waters of the Sea of Reeds only a little at a time. This is why even at Marah where G’d had showed Moses how to make sweet water which had become bitter sweet again, G’d went to the trouble of first miraculously making that water bitter and then performing a second miracle all in order to teach the Israelites a lesson in faith (compare Mechilta Parshah 1 on Exodus 15,22, opinion of Rabbi Joshua). G’d followed the same principle when making a daily miracle in raining down manna from the heaven when He could have contented Himself with the performance of such a miracle once a week or even once a month. When the Israelites had still questioned G’d’s providence even after the miracle at Marah, the attack by Amalek which followed promptly was also a miracle designed to teach the Israelites the lesson that faith was needed to survive. [seeing the Israelites had been wrapped in the clouds of glory, it required a miracle for Amalek to locate them. Ed.] The lesson at that time was that failure to study Torah when one has the time leads to all kinds of disasters. Solomon refers to this need for faith in Proverbs 22,19 when he says: “so that you may put your trust in the Lord, I have instructed you today, even you.” Solomon is telling his readers that whatever they have read so far in his book is meant to be of help to them in strengthening this vital element of Judaism within them. By saying “you too,” he invites the reader to attain the same level of faith in G’d that he himself felt he had acquired.

A Midrashic approach: The Torah in its opening words of this portion wants to remind us that the very mouth who had said: “I will not dismiss the Children of Israel,” and “I will certainly not let the children go with you,” was the same man who was forced at the end to beg them to leave his country. Nonetheless, G’d rewarded the Egyptians even for this reluctant utterance by their king when the Torah commanded the Jewish people (Deut. 23,8) “do not despise the Egyptian for you were a stranger in their land.” The same mouth which had said: “ G’d is the righteous one and I and my people are the sinners,” was rewarded by the Torah in being accorded a funeral, as we know from Exodus 15,12 נטית ימינך תבלעמו ארץ, “when You inclined Your right hand the earth swallowed him, “ [although they had been drowned in the sea. Ed.]

.וחמושים עלו בני ישראל , “the Israelites were armed when they came out of Egypt.” The plain meaning of the words is that when the Israelites left Egypt they were like the vanguard of an army preparing for battle. This was contrary to the rule that the Jewish people are not like the Gentile nations in that they have to make only the first motions of doing things in a regular manner before miraculous forces intervene to help them. (Compare Nachmanides on Numbers 13,2). For instance, we find that although G’d commanded Joshua (Joshua 8,2) to prepare an ambush against the people of Ai, we could ask that if the people of Israel, and especially their leader Joshua, were such experts in invoking miracles to help them, why did they need to lay an ambush, something perfectly natural? The answer is that G’d wants us to do whatever is possible in a natural way, following accepted norms. Anything beyond that we have to leave to celestial forces. Solomon confirms this principle in Proverbs 21,31: “the horse is readied for the day of battle; but victory comes from the Lord.” In other words, men have to do their share before G’d will do His share. This is why it was essential that the Israelites take weapons with them when they left Egypt.

A Midrashic approach: (Tanchuma Beshalach 1) The word חמושים means “one out of five.” Four fifths of the Jewish people died during the plague of darkness so as not to give the Egyptians the satisfaction of knowing that these Israelites had not been found worthy of redemption. Some say that the word חמושים refers to one in fifty Israelites only being redeemed. Some even claim that only one out of 500 Israelites was found worthy of redemption.

It may pay to make the following calculation. In 14,7 the Torah speaks of שלישים being on each of the chariots which pursued the Israelites. Some say this means that for every Israelite at least three Egyptians were in pursuit. Others claim that thirty Egyptians were in pursuit of each Israelite. Still others (all using the word שלישים) argue that 300 Egyptians pursued each Israelite (on each chariot?). The commentators who understood the word חמושים as referring to the number five also consider the word שלישים as referring to the number three. Those who consider the word חמושים as a reference to five hundred, obviously are the ones who also considered the word שלישים as referring to three hundred. The words על כלו at the end of 14,7 are understood as referring to “each Israelite,” not to “each chariot” According to the first opinion then there had been three million male adult Israelites in the service of the Egyptians prior to the plague of darkness. Assuming three hundred Egyptians pursued each Israelite the number of Egyptians drowned at the sea would have amounted to nine hundred million as they had thought that three million Jews had left their country (not knowing that most had died). In fact we do find a Midrash Hagadol according to which when G’d descended to Egypt nine hundred million angels of destruction descended with Him. Most of the sages are agreed that the Egyptians who went in pursuit of the Israelites numbered ninety million regardless of whether they held that one out of five Israelites left Egypt or one out o fifty or one out of five hundred. They all arrived at the number by combining it with the word שלישים. It is agreed that G’d dispatched nine hundred million destructive angels against that force, i.e. one angel against one thousand Egyptians. This is the meaning of this Midrash. You will observe that the word chamushim though read as if it were spelled חמושים, is actually spelled without the letter ו, i.e. חמשים “fifty.” This teaches that Torah which was given to the Jewish people on the fiftieth day after the Exodus was the purpose for which they left the bondage and Egypt. (compare Zohar volume 2 page 46). Furthermore, there is the fact that the Exodus has been mentioned in the written Torah a total of fifty times.

ויקח משה את עצמות יוסף, “Moses took the remains of Joseph, etc.” While the Israelites were still preoccupied with material concerns such as demanding silver and gold from the Egyptians, Moses was preoccupied with nobler matters, needs of the soul, by performing the commandment of seeing to it that Joseph would eventually be interred in Eretz Yisrael. This was in accordance with Proverbs 10,8 quoted in Sotah 13, that “he whose heart is wise accepts commands.” Joseph had acquired the merit of having brought his father Yaakov to burial in Eretz Yisrael; as a result he received the distinction of having his own remains taken out of Egypt by someone greater than him, by Moses. In return for having performed this commandment Moses himself was interred by someone greater than he himself, by the Almighty personally, as we know from Deut. 34,6: “He (G’d) buried him in the valley, etc.” I have discussed this matter in connection with Joseph’s death (Genesis 50,28). We have also found a Bereshit Rabbah 87,10 that Moses needed to take Joseph with him as otherwise he could not have split the Sea of Reeds. This miracle occurred as a compensation for Joseph who at the time had fled from the presence of his master Potiphar’s wife, placing himself in a most embarrassing situation by leaving his garments inside the house (Genesis 39,12). The Torah describes his departure there as וינס ויצא החוצה, “he fled-and went outside.” We find the same word וינס applied to the motion of the Sea when G’d (Moses) parted it (Psalms 114,3 ) הים ראה וינס, “the Sea saw and fled.” What did the Sea see which made it retreat? “It saw the remains of Joseph.” We find another similarity of expression between what happened to the brothers and Joseph and to something which happened at the Sea. In Genesis 50,21 when Joseph tries to calm his brothers’ fears that now that Yaakov was dead he would revenge himself on them, וינחם אותם וידבר על לבם, “he comforted them and spoke to their heart.” A the splitting of the Sea we find the expression (Exodus 15,8) בלב ים, “in the heart of the Sea.”

וה' הולך לפניהם יומם, “and G’d would walk in front of them by day, etc.” Seeing that the term “walking” cannot truly be applied to G’d, the plain meaning of this verse is that the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night which had taken up position in front of the Jewish people to show them the way, served as a sign for them that G’d in His capacity as Hashem was accompanying them every step of the way. These two pillars acted as their eyes in the desert and as protection against the dangers lurking in the desert. When the Torah quotes G’d (Exodus 19,4) saying: “I carried you on the wings of eagles,” the reference is to these pillars of cloud and fire mentioned in our verse. Seeing that these pillars were designed to save the Israelites, they became the instruments by means of which the Egyptians were judged, as we read in 14,24: “He looked down upon the camp of Egypt through a pillar of fire and cloud and He confounded the camp of Egypt.” This prompted our sages (Mechilta 14,29) to comment on the words והמים להם חמה, “the waters of the Sea were for them (the Israelites) a wall, chomah,” to change the vowel pattern and to add that for the Egyptians these same waters proved to be a cheymah, i.e. an expression of G’d’s anger at them. Midrash Tehillim, 22,2 quotes a similar interpretation when explaining the verse א-לי א-לי למה עזבתני, the Midrash says that what was “light” for Israel (King Chizkiyahu) proved to be destructive fire for Sancheriv, King of Assyria. It is described graphically there that the prophet Isaiah and King Chizkiyahu sat down in the Holy Temple and that a fire erupted between them which consumed Sancheriv and his army.

A kabbalistic approach: The words (especially the letter ו introducing the word י-ה-ו-ה at the beginning of a verse), are an allusion to G’d acting in unison with His heavenly tribunal. G’d resided within the pillar of cloud which traveled ahead of the Israelites by day, whereas His heavenly tribunal has its abode within the pillar of fire and traveled ahead of the camp of the Israelites at night. This is the meaning of “He and His heavenly tribunal,” i.e. the Shechinah and the attribute of Mercy. This is also the meaning of such expressions as (Isaiah 63, 12) זרוע תפארתו, as well as the word ימינך in 15,6. In all those instances the same instrument G’d employed to save the Jewish people He employed to simultaneously destroy its adversaries. This is the mystical dimension of the line in the Haggadah shel Pessach בנגפו את מצרים ואת בתינו הציל, “when He smote Egypt while saving our houses.” The verse (Numbers 14,14) כי עין בעין נראה אתה ה' ועננך עמד עליהם וגו', “that You Hashem appeared eye to eye Your cloud stands over them, etc.” is to be understood in the same way.

ללכת יומם ולילה, “to travel by day and by night.” According to the plain meaning of the text the verse tells us that the Israelites were so eager to arrive at the destination where they would receive the Torah on the fiftieth day that they traveled both by day and by night. This was in contrast with other travelers who are tired by nightfall so that they interrupt their journey even when they are in inhospitable surroundings.

A Midrashic approach: They traveled by day and by night as the Torah they were to receive was something that applied and was to be studied both by day and by night (compare Joshua 1,8).

A kabbalistic approach: The reason the Torah wrote ללכת יומם ולילה, was to tell us that they strove to emulate the two attributes called “day” and “night.” The whole line is to inform us that these two attributes were ever-present. If the Torah had wanted to describe their mode of travel, i.e. that the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire respectively traveled both by day and at night the wording would have been ללכת ביום ובלילה. The reason they traveled both by day and by night was to get them used to accept these two attributes as facts of life. [Rabbi Chavell refers to a commentary by Nachmanides at the beginning of the third chapter of Job in this connection]. As a result of the above-mentioned considerations the Israelites were forced to travel by day and by night. The meaning of the words לנחותם הדרך is precisely this, i.e. to teach them a way of life, not as we might think, “to show them the route.” The words להאיר להם, normally translated as “to provide physical light for them by both day and night,” [which are superfluous as we all know that this was their purpose, Ed.], must therefore be understood in spiritual terms, i.e. ‘to enlighten them” through the attributes called “day” and the attribute called “night.”’ In order to understand the whole concept better, consider Proverbs 24,21 ירא את ה' בני ומלך, ”Fear the Lord my son and King;” The Israelites were praised by Jeremiah (2,2) who said to them that G’d still remembered “the devotion of your youth, your love as a כלולותיך (pl) bride, when you followed Me in the wilderness.” The prophet mentioned two separate qualities (attributes) when mentioning כלולות, i.e. יום and לילה. The choice of the word כלולות which is a doubling of כל, means that these two attributes are interdependent, do not exist one without the other. The prophet referred to two good attributes of the Jewish people which enabled G’d to redeem them at the time. One of the most important aspects of the Exodus was the honour and glory the Israelites experienced in the manner in which they were redeemed. An additional reason for the Torah describing the Exodus as if the Jewish people were traveling both by day and by night, was to give Pharaoh the impression that they were fleeing. This in turn would persuade him to mount pursuit. Coupled with the fact that his spies told him that the Israelites were moving very erratically, turning around at Baal Tzefon, he became convinced that he would prevail against them. This gave G’d a chance to drown the Egyptians in the Sea of Reeds. It was a perfect illustration of what Chanah said in her prayer (Samuel I 2,3) “by Him actions are calculated.”

לא ימיש עמוד ענן יומם, “the pillar of cloud would not depart by day, etc.” The reason the Torah repeats this is to teach that the two pillars were complementary to each other as explained by the sages in Shabbat 23.