Beshalach – Peninim on the Torah

ובני ישראל אכלו את המן ארבעים שנה...את המן אכלו עד באם אל קצה ארץ כנען

Bnei Yisrael ate the manna for forty years…They ate the manna until their arrival at the border of the land of Canaan. (16:35)

In the Mechilta, Chazal teach that, Lo nitnah Torah lidrosh ela l’ochlei man, “The Torah was given to be expounded only by mann-eaters.” This means that there were positive reasons for the Torah to have been given to Klal Yisrael while they were in the midst of their forty-year sojourn to the Promised Land. The wilderness was an integral part of this experience. The Torah had to be given in the desolate wilderness. It is not just because Egypt’s prevailing environment was filled with spiritual bankruptcy and defilement. It was because to live in the desert is to defy the…

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איש לפי אכלו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beshalach, 5773

For every man according to what he eats. (16:16)

Horav Moshe Kramer, zl, became rav in Vilna. Prior to his ascent to the rabbinate he was a grocer. Hence, the name Kramer, which in Yiddish is a grocer. His illustrious grandson, Horav Eliyahu Kramer, was none other than the Gaon, m’Vilna. The great sage, who has continued to illuminate the minds of thousands of Torah students throughout the last two centuries, was the product of a home built upon middos tovos, good character traits, and incredible trust in the Almighty. When Rav Moshe was asked to accept the position of rav, he accepted the position on the condition that…

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ויבאו בני ישראל בתוך הים ביבשה והמים להם חומה מימינם ומשמאלם...ובני ישראל הלכו ביבשה בתוך הים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beshalach, 5773

Bnei Yisrael came within the sea on dry land and the water was a wall for them, on their right side and on their left. (14:22) Bnei Yisrael went on dry land in the midst of the sea. (14:29)

The commentators question the altering of the text in the sequence of the pesukim. First, why does the Torah repeat itself? Prior to the drowning of the Egyptians, the Torah writes that Bnei Yisrael “came within the sea on dry land.” Afterwards, when the Egyptians were no longer a threat, the Torah reiterates that the people “went on dry land in the midst of the sea.” Is this second pasuk necessary, once the Torah had already stated the same thing earlier? Furthermore, previously the Torah wrote that they went b’soch ha’yam ba’yabashah; “within the sea on dry land.” Following the…

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ויאמר ד' אל משה מה תצעק אלי דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beshalach, 5773

And Hashem said to Moshe, “Why do you call out to Me? Speak to Bnei Yisrael, and they shall travel.” (14:15)

Two specific aspects of the human experience–matrimony and earning a livelihood — are compared to the splitting of the Red Sea. Kasheh zivugan shel adam k’krias Yam Suf, “It is as difficult to bring a man and his bride together as the splitting of the Red Sea.” Kasheh mezonosav shel adam k’krias Yam Suf, “A person’s livelihood is as difficult (to provide) as the splitting of the Red Sea.” The word kasheh, difficult, is a term which creates a dilemma. Is there anything “difficult” for Hashem? He can do as He pleases. Nothing holds Him back. How can any act…

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וחמשים עלו בני ישראל מארץ מצרים...ויקח משה את עצמות יוסף עמו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Beshalach, 5773

Bnei Yisrael were armed when they went up from Egypt… And Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him. (13:18, 19)

Rashi explains chamushim to mean “armed.” In an alternative exposition, Rashi quotes the Midrash which posits that chamushim is derived from chomesh,“a fifth.” This implies that actually only one fifth of the Jewish People left Egypt. Apparently, the bulk of the nation was prepared to adopt the Egyptian lifestyle. They did not want to be slaves, but they were not yet prepared to leave the country. They died during the three-day plague of darkness. In his Shemen Hatov, Horav Zev Weinberger, Shlita, quotes Horav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zl, of Yerushalayim, who offered an insightful explanation of chamushim, armed. Of what…

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Back to Home -> Beshalach -> 5773

ובני ישראל אכלו את המן ארבעים שנה...את המן אכלו עד באם אל קצה ארץ כנען

Bnei Yisrael ate the manna for forty years…They ate the manna until their arrival at the border of the land of Canaan. (16:35)

איש לפי אכלו

For every man according to what he eats. (16:16)

ויבאו בני ישראל בתוך הים ביבשה והמים להם חומה מימינם ומשמאלם...ובני ישראל הלכו ביבשה בתוך הים

Bnei Yisrael came within the sea on dry land and the water was a wall for them, on their right side and on their left. (14:22) Bnei Yisrael went on dry land in the midst of the sea. (14:29)

ויאמר ד' אל משה מה תצעק אלי דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו

And Hashem said to Moshe, “Why do you call out to Me? Speak to Bnei Yisrael, and they shall travel.” (14:15)

וחמשים עלו בני ישראל מארץ מצרים...ויקח משה את עצמות יוסף עמו

Bnei Yisrael were armed when they went up from Egypt… And Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him. (13:18, 19)

YEARS

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