Of the Beth of Beshallach
02 /07 /98
Ashley Davidoff
Beshallach
The beth of beshallach is the same
Beth of the bereshith of creation
Beshallach is the ongoing story of creation and
It is the evolution of early maturation
Of a chosen seedling nation
When you look at the beth
It has the whole story within it
The dagesh as a seed
Has been housed in the
Bayeth of bondage
With its roof, floor, and back wall tightly sealed
And its forward side wide open
Open to freedom and maturation
And to a big wide and frightening world
Which has a road to something, somewhere
? we know not what
? In this story the road leads to the promised land
?
Each of us is commanded in the Haggadah
Bechol dor vador in every generation
Chayav adam every person is obliged
Lirot et utzmo to look at himself
Ki iloo hoo yatzah mimitzraim as if he went out of Egypt
Lo et avoteinu it was not only our forefathers
bilvad gaal alone who were redeemed
Ela af otanu gaal imahem but we were redeemed with them
To experience redemption
To relive the experience as if
We,
That is
You and I, were there
Is of supreme importance
So that the generations can be linked
Across millennia
So that time can appear as if it were fluid and in a continuum
So that the final destination ?the
Messianic era can be comprehended
I know the importance of this commandment
But I have always the greatest difficulty
Feeling and empathizing its depth
Troughthis parsha however
I have reached some insights
Put ourselves as a dagesh in our mothers womb
While we are but a seedling
And all our cells contain the genetic makeup
Of everybody who came before us
And we feed and we multiply
And our cells reach a critical number
And when we are ripe- and we have no idea of when we are ripe-
But it comes at about 40 weeks
There is a spitting of the waters
The beth opens its side and
We battle our way through the
Birth canaldirected by
Timely forces that are beyond us
With a crash and a bang
A guiding shove and a push
Severance of the cord and we attain
Final and complete freedom-
(no way going back)
only to find ourselves on wide open spaces, dry and dangerous land
and we cry out for food and water
and we receive mana from mama and the
nurture protection and guidance of loving parents
and we are on the road to something, somewhere-
at that time
we knew not what
the parallels with our story are astounding
In Beshallach our infant nation gains its
Final and complete independence from its 400 year old
Amniotic hold in Egypt
It was no doubt a symbiotic relationship
Controlled by the Egyptians
But we were at leastfed, allowing us to
Survive and
Multiply
So that our numbers could accumulate to a critical mass
To transform us from a family into a
Nation of a ripe 2 million-
There is a splitting of the waters
The beth opens its side and
We battle our way through the
Yam Suf directed by
Timely forces that are beyond us
With a crash and a bang
A guiding shove and a push
Severance of the cord and we attain
Final and complete freedom-
(no way of going back)
only to find ourselves on wide open, dry and dangerous land
and we cry out for food and water
and mana comes from
I am because I am
Am am backward = mama
We on the other hand
Cannot be because we are
We have to deal with the elements of
Time survival, and faith that are central to
Beshallach
But more importantly we have to raise the question
And get some perspective of our
Final destiny
At 18 we thought we were ripe and knew where we were going-
Did we understand how much we had still to learn and see?
Do you remember your need to extricate yourselves from parental hold
And how hard it was for your parents to let go
Otr for you as parents to let go
At 24 I distinctly remember feeling a need for my own
Exodus out of the warmth of my home in South Africa
To the cold unloving wide world of North America ? a sense of freedom
That was mixed with many months of wanting to crawl back into the
Warmth of my home and youth
And at 30 and 40 and 50 the same feelings exist
At 75 and 80 we may have final insight into ourselves but
On the other hand we may not
And more so
What do we know of the
Cycle and destiny of our nation?-
What a humbling Parsha
Before my conclusion I want to walk through the symbols of the parsha which reflect the themes of time survival and faith
Firstly TIME
?Vayehi? isolated and complete and it came to pass
with yuds and hays of haya and it was
And of yiheye and it will be
And the yud hay vav hay of divine intervention
And the vav of connectivity
Seeming to be a matter of time, connectivity, and the presence of God
Time seems to come in multiples and moments of
40 (or derivatives thereof)
it took Moses 40 days and nights on Har Sinai
there is a 40 week gestation
there wer e400 years of gestational slavery
there were 40 years for the aging of the slave nation in the desert
the same 40 years for the maturation of a new and free generation
it took me 40 days and nights to prepare this parsha
and 40 years to begin to understand it
A 10 day trip or 40 year trip?
Through the land of Plishtim and of blood and war or a
Meandering tour of the safer dry wilderness?
The answer
13:18 ?derech hamidbar yam suph? ? the 40 year trip by way of the desert sea of Reeds
shirat hayam
gives us
adonai yimloch leolam vaed God in time is forever
and Beshallach ends
L?dor Vador from generation to generation
Secondly SURVIVAL
The elements of survival and the duality have strong symbols in this parsha
Water plays a big part on this trip
Moshe ?because I drew you out of the ?water?
Survived in the water
In a basket of reeds
And leads the children through the wter
Via the sea of reeds
Velo matzo mayim and they did not find water
Mayim mimara
Kiy marim haim the first waters from town called ?Bitterness?
Well ?..it was bitter
Vayimtakoo hamayim Moses threw a piece of wood at the water
and it became sweet
Water is used as a sustence but also as a weapon of death
And you will be surprised sometimes because this water of sustenance will come from the driest sources ? right from the middle of the rock
17:6
Vehikita vatzur and you will strike the rock
ve yatzoo memenu mayim and water will issue from it
Rocks feature strongly in this Parsha as well
Rocks may sink right to the bottom of the water
15:5
yardoo bimtzolot
kemo even they went down like a stone
and Moses cried out to God
what will I do with this people
befor long they will stone me
and they may be used as a weapon of injury
17:4
vaytzak Moshe el adonai and Moses cried out to God
muh e eseh laam what will I do with this people
od me ?at oos kalooni before long they will stone me
but at other times they ? the rock will sustain you
17:12
viyday Moshe kvaydim
vayikchoo even
vayasiymoo tachtav
and the hands of Moses grew heavy
so they took a rock
and they put it under him
and if you pay special attention you may see my
ten easy and essential ways to live your life
written on two rocks
but sometimes the rocks will come as sand
and this sand may be a safe way to lead you
through the water
15:19
halchoo bayabasha betoch hayam walk on dry ground right through the sea
it may on the other hand
act as a trap for the wheels of the chariots
FOOD
The need for food for survival comes as mana from heaven
Kol hakahal haze bera-av
This whole congregation was starving
Hinani mamtir lachem lechem
Min hashamaim I will rain down food from the sky
And each day they will collect a portion for one day
Ish lephi ochlo each according to his need
And on the sixth day
Yilkatoo yom yom
You shall gather for two days
Mana from heaven
When I hear this phrase I always want to start singing
?Pennies from Heaven? by Bing Crosby ? 1936
or its modern equivalent
Its raining men
Or Barneys versionof
?If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops
The idea of taking just what you need every day but for the
Sixth when you shall gather for two days
Is beautiful idea to aspire to
If only we could practice that today
Lastly relating to survival and duality
Are the battles of our lives
The hands up hands down
Of the ups and downs of physical survival
With the Amaleks of the world?
FAITH
Symbopls of faith
God knows how tough this one is and there is no shortage of
Miracles in BeShallach
The dark cloud with its guiding light
Splitting the sea
Splitting the rock
Sweet water from bitter
Manah
And hands up hands down ? all closely linked to survival
And so we sit around the seder table and we wander ?
Wonder when the food is coming
No-
Wander why and
Especially how we can
Fulfil the obligation
Bechol dor vador in every generation
Chayav Adam every person is obligated
Lirot et utzmo to look at himself
Ki iloo hoo yatzeh mimitzraim as if he went out of Egypt
Lo et Avoteinu bilvad gaal Not only our forefathers alone
Who were redeemed
Ela af otanu gaal imahem but we were redeemed with them
Imagine yourself as a
Dagesh in the beth, and try and
Telescope and contract time
So that the past can in a moment in time be the present
?Vayehiy? the first word of the PArsha
bring late parents into the beth
for one more smile and a comforting hug
bring never seen grandparents into the
warmth of this bethfor a hug and a kiss never felt
bring victims of Nazi germany in for a moment of comfort in exchange for their terrible petrified final moments
bring in the maccabees and David and Joshua, Deborah, Noah, Sarah and Abraham
and of course Moses
ointo our warm beth ? all together
and now that we have linked the past and present
look to open the door of Beth with Eliahu in attendance
and look toward the final destination far in the distance
experience the path of the Israelites and bring this experience into the beth of a single moment
and by doing this we may have a chance
to see our final destiny ? the Messianic era
to comprehend what it is all about
The Messianic era seems to be our destination our destiny and our redemption