Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Jewish history has many authentic heroes who reached the ultimate heights of spirituality. This special group includes, but is not limited to, the Avot (Patriarchs) Emahot (Matriarchs), Moshe, Aharon, the Nevi’im (Prophets), and Chazal (Torah Sages throughout the ages). These individuals created the foundations of the Jewish world in which we live, and modeled the ethical behavior that we should ideally emulate.
 
In my estimation, one of the truly great heroes of the spirit was the Chasidic Master, Rav Levi Yitzchak ben Meir of Berdichev, Russia (1740-1810). His most famous work, Kedushat Levi, contains Torah analyses that are quite often novel and always thought- provoking. One such example occurs in reference to Parashat Zachor. Rav Levi Yitzchak was challenged by a conceptual and psychological problem regarding Amalek: “How can we maintain such a strong emotional revulsion against a people that no longer exists and whose heinous behavior took place in the 13th century BCE?” After all, according to Mishnah Yadayim 4:4, Sennacherib, the King of Assyria (720-683 BCE approx.), destroyed the ethnic cohesiveness of nearly all the nations of his time. They were decimated, and their members cast to the wind and consequently lost in the sands of time. Since this is the case, why does the Torah instruct us to “Remember what Amalek did to you,” and mandate three separate and eternal mitzvot regarding a people that is no more? How are we to understand this seeming anomaly?
 
In his analysis of these issues, Rav Levi Yitzchak suggests that remembering what Amalek did to us and blotting out his accursed memory are only a part of the obligations that are incumbent upon us. Rather, in an interpretive tour de force, he removes the concept of Amalek from its historical roots and transfers it to the innermost part of our being: “Each and every individual among the Jewish people is mandated to wipe out the evil portion [of his personality] that is called ‘Amalek’ that is hidden in his heart.” (All translations my own)  Suddenly, these three mitzvot are very relevant, since Amalek is no longer a historically bound figure, but a very real psychological challenge that each of us must encounter:
As long as the “seed of Amalek” is found in the world, as man is considered to be a “small world [unto himself],” there therefore exists the reality of Amalek [as the causative element of] the power of evil in each person. This [power ceaselessly] awakens anew to cause a person to sin. This is precisely why the Torah reminds us: [“Remember what Amalek did to you…”]
 
 
Rav Levi Yitzchak further suggests that when we are involved with Torah study and heartfelt prayer, the Amalek that lurks within can do us little harm, for at these holy moments we are surrounded by Hashem’s divine light and holy presence. When, however, we are not immediately engaged in these mitzvot, whereby we experience an overflow of the Almighty’s chane v’chesed v’rachamim (favor, kindness, and mercy), we run the risk of falling under Amalek’s hypnotic spell. Rav Levi Yitzchak therefore teaches us that we must never deviate from the path of serving Hashem, for when we live lives as authentic ovdei Hashem — servants of Hashem — then, and only then, do we have: “a formidable reminder to never allow the great power of Amalek to cause us to err.”
 
May Hashem give us the wisdom to recognize our true Jewish spiritual heroes, and may we develop the heartfelt desire to emulate them in all that we do. Then, too, may He help us recognize the Amalek that resides within, and may we overcome its overwhelmingly pernicious power through Torah study, wholehearted prayer and the joyous fulfillment of Hashem’s holy Torah. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rav Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The focus of our parasha is the construction of the Mishkan (Portable Desert Sanctuary) and its kalim — the holy vessels contained therein. As the Torah declares: “And they [the Jewish people] shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst.” (Sefer Shemot 25:8, this and all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, brackets my own)  Over time, the menorah has emerged as the best-known of the kalim, perhaps because of the Chanukah story and the small amount of oil that miraculously burned for eight days, a nearly universal symbol of light that can dispel even the deepest darkness and offer hope to a suffering world.
 
The Torah introduces the construction of the menorah in the following words: “And you shall make a menorah of pure gold. Mikshah tei’aseh hamenorah — The menorah shall be made of hammered work; its base and its stem, its goblets, its knobs, and its flowers shall [all] be [one piece] with it.” (25:31)  In his Commentary on the Torah on our pasuk, the Ibn Ezra (1089-1167) notes that the word “tei’aseh” can be spelled with or without the letter yud, and that “if it does have a yud it is a milah zarah —a highly unusual word.” This observation is preceded by the following fascinating observation:

I have seen Torah scrolls that were meticulously checked by the Sages of Tiberius. 15 of their sages have sworn they have carefully reviewed every word and every vowel as well as every full and incomplete spelling within them. They attest that there is a yud in the word, “tei’aseh.” I have never found this before in the scrolls of Spain and France and in those from ma’avare hayam — over the sea. (Translation and brackets my own)
 
Clearly, at this point in the middle of the 12th century, there were spelling variations of the word tei’aseh in the Torah scrolls in different geographically based communities as to whether it was spelled maleh — with a yud, or chaser — without a yud. The eighth or ninth century work, Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Beha’alotecha III, however, deploys the maleh form and presents the following fascinating drasha based upon this spelling:

When [Hashem] recognized that the menorah was too difficult [for Moshe] to construct, the Holy One blessed be He said to Moshe: “Take a talent [sixty four pounds] of gold and toss it into the fire and bring it out therefrom — and it [the menorah] will be created by itself...” [Once Moshe removed it from the fire, Hashem said to him:] “And now, you are to strike it with a hammer, and it will be created by itself.” This is the reason why the Torah states: “Mikshah tei’aseh hamenorah,” with a yud so that the spelling of tei’aseh is maleh, rather than chaser without a yud...This teaches us that the total menorah [with all of its parts] was created by itself. (Translation and brackets my own)
 
Rashi (1040-1105) apparently knew our midrashic passage and synopsized it in his Commentary on the Torah on our verse in the following manner:

the menorah shall be made: By itself. Since Moses found difficulty with it [that is, how to form the menorah], the Holy One, blessed is He, said to him, “Cast the talent [of gold] into the fire, and it will be made by itself.” Therefore, it is not written ta’aseh [without a yud], but tei’aseh [with a yud]. (Underlining and emendations my own)
 
In my view, Rashi’s summation of our midrash leaves out a crucial part of its text, namely, “And now [said Hashem], you are to strike it [that is, the talent of gold] with a hammer, and it will be created by itself.” This leads us to ask a classic exegetical question: “If Hashem was going to perform a great miracle with the talent of gold so that the menorah would be created by itself, why did Moshe need to do anything at all — let alone strike the gold with a hammer?”

I believe that Moshe striking the gold and its subsequent transformation into the menorah is similar in kind to what transpired at Kriyat Yam Suf — the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds: “The L-rd said to Moses, Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel and let them travel. And you raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and split it, and the children of Israel shall come in the midst of the sea on dry land.” (Sefer Shemot 14:15-16)  It certainly seems that Hashem, and Hashem alone, was to split the Yam Suf. Yet, as the midrashic tradition repeatedly attests, this wondrous event did not transpire until Nachshon ben Aminadav courageously jumped into the roiling waters: “And Nachshon was the first to jump up and go into the Sea. In so doing, he sanctified His great Name in the eyes of all. [As a result,] under the Tribe of Yehudah’s leadership [that was led by Nachshon], the entire Jewish people followed their lead and entered the Sea.” (Midrash Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, Chapter 22, translation my own)  Clearly, Nachshon’s courageous act of kiddush Hashem was the “trigger” for Kriyat Yam Suf.
 
In my estimation, we can learn a crucial lesson from Nachshon’s literal leap of faith and Moshe’s seemingly minor act of striking the talent of gold: While in both instances a Nature-defying deed was planned and executed by the Almighty, He nonetheless waited patiently for a spiritually-infused individual to join Him in the performance of the miracle. In sum, the Master of the Universe split the Yam Suf and created the Menorah — but not before Nachshon and Moshe became His beloved partners in His holy task.
 
We are not on the level of Nachshon and Moshe; nonetheless, each of us, in our own unique manner, can become partners with Hashem. While this requires great effort and unceasing dedication on our part, we must always remember the stirring words of Ben Hei Hei in Pirkei Avot, “l’fum tza’ara agra — According to the effort is the reward.” (V:21)  May we ever strive to partner with the Almighty to be metakane ha’olam b’malchut Sha-dai — improve and perfect the world under His sovereignty . With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may this be so. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Na’aseh v’nishmah —We will do, and we will hear and understand — are two of the most celebrated words that appear in Parashat Mishpatim. (24:7)  In some ways, this phrase builds upon an earlier expression found in Parashat Yitro: “All that Hashem has spoken na’aseh —we will do,” that is preceded by the introductory statement, “And all the people replied yachdov — in unison…” (19:8)  This leads us to ask a classic exegetical question: “Why does the Torah utilize the term, ‘yachdov’ in reference to ‘na’aseh,’ but refrain from doing so when it states our forebears proclaimed, ‘na’aseh v’nishmah in our parasha?’”
 
One very beautiful answer to our question is offered by the Chortkover Rebbe zatzal, as summarized by Rabbi Yaakov Neuberger, a rosh yeshiva at Yeshivat Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Theological Seminary:

The [Chortkover Rebbe] suggests that when it comes to performing mitzvos, simply na’aseh, we seem unified and in fact do all the same activities. Yet we differ in the way that we understand the mitzvos and in the manner in which they impact upon us and inspire us. Thus, the “na’aseh” of Torah is “yachdov” but the “nishmah” of Torah will be as different as our hearts, minds and souls are from each other. (Personalized vs. Standardized Observance of Mitzvot, Parashat Mishpatim, 2010, Torahweb.org, underlining my own)
 
In sum, the Chortkover Rebbe differentiates between ma’aseh hamitzvah (performance of the mitzvah) and havanat hamitzvah (comprehension of the mitzvah). Since na’aseh, the ma’aseh hamitzvah, is universal in nature, the Torah uses yachdov to indicate that all Jews perform the mitzvot in nearly the same manner. Nishmah, or havanat hamitzvah, is an entirely different matter, as it reflects our differentiated cognitive abilities and the degree of emotional and spiritual engagement that we have with the mitzvah. Therefore, yachdov is not used in reference to nishmah, since the act of understanding is unique to each individual.
 
The change from na’aseh b’yachdov in Parashat Yitro to na’aseh v’nishmah without yachdov in our parasha may now be viewed as a positive transformation, rather than a loss of achdut — unity. It represents our nascent spiritual development as a nation comprised of very different people — all searching for Hashem and performing His mitzvot in their own individual manner. As Rav Neuberger suggests:

We then realized how differently we perceived the very same facts, how they touched us distinctively and inspired us idiosyncratically. Through the appreciation of meaningful Torah study [that is, nishmah], we allowed ourselves to cede the “yachdov” and embrace, through the practice of the very same mitzvot, a depth that was private and personal.
 
With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may we ever sound the clarion call of na’aseh v’nishmah as we stand as new links in the great chain of Jewish being forged so long ago, and forevermore, on Mount Sinai. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha contains one of the three places in the Torah where the phrase, “atem ra’eitem — you have seen,” is found. (Sefer Shemot 20:19)  The other instances are Sefer Shemot 19:4 and Sefer Devarim 29:1. One of the essential principles of Torah analysis is the singular import of every word and verse in the Torah’s text. This is particularly the case when a word or phrase, such as, “atem ra’eitem,” is repeated, which almost always indicates its crucial significance.
 
In our parasha, Hashem deploys atem ra’eitem to urge Moshe to remind the Jewish people that He had spoken to them from the heights of Heaven. The verse, and the usage of this expression, is a natural prologue to the prohibition of creating golden or silver images of other gods. To paraphrase: Since I, Hashem, directly communicated with you (the Jewish people) during the Revelation on Mount Sinai, you are thereby proscribed from making idolatrous silver or gold images of other gods:

The L-rd said to Moses, “So shall you say to the children of Israel, ‘Atem ra’eitem that from the heavens I have spoken with you. You shall not make [images of anything that is] with Me. Gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.’” (20:19-20, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Sefer Shemot 19:4 and Sefer Devarim 29:1 utilize atem ra’eitem as a reminder of the wonders and miracles that Hashem performed for us in Egypt: “Atem ra’eitem what I did to the Egyptians, and [how] I bore you on eagles' wings, and I brought you to Me…And Moses called all of Israel and said to them, ‘Atem ra’eitem all that the L-rd did before your very eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land.’”
 
As we have seen, our three pasukim (verses) each use atem ra’eitem to refer to two different actions of Hashem that were witnessed by our entire nation, namely, the Holy One’s verbal communication with the Jewish people during the Revelation at Mount Sinai, and the eser makkot (Ten Plagues) against Pharaoh and his people. Why did the Torah specifically choose this expression to reference these pivotal events in our nation’s history? We are fortunate that in his Commentary on the Torah on Sefer Shemot 19:4, Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch zatzal (1808-1888) addresses this very question. He begins by noting: “Atem Ra’eitem — The basis of your knowledge of G-d and of yourself does not rest on belief, which can, after all, allow an element of doubt. It rests solidly on the evidence of your own senses, on what you have seen with your own eyes, have yourselves experienced.” (This and the following quotations, The Pentateuch Translated and Explained by Samson Raphael Hirsh, translated from German by Isaac Levy, 2nd edition, The Judaica Press, New York, 1971.)
 
In Rav Hirsch’s view, undeniable experiential knowledge of the Exodus and the Revelation ensures that the Jewish people will forever recognize the unquestionable historical truth of these two pivotal events:

The two fundamental truths on which the whole of Judaism rests, the Exodus from Egypt [in part predicated upon the eser makkot] and the Lawgiving on Sinai, stand firmly on the actual evidence of your senses, and as they were seen, heard, felt, and experienced simultaneously by so many hundreds of thousands of people, every possibility of deception is ruled out.
 
For Rav Hirsch, the very foundation of authentic Judaism is built upon the incontrovertible knowledge that the Exodus and the Revelation were witnessed by multitudes of our ancestors in both Egypt and at Mount Sinai. As Rav Hirsch emphasizes:
Both these fundamental truths accordingly share the highest degree of certainty, are completely out of the realm of mere believing or thinking, are within the bounds of what we know with certainty, and are, accordingly, irrefutable facts which must serve as the starting-point of all our other knowledge with the same certainty as our own existence and the existence of the material world we see about us.
 
In sum, these shared transformative events, and the experiential knowledge they endow, are the shared legacy of the entire people that reverberates until our own historical moment. With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may this legacy infuse our thoughts and actions forevermore. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, the Kedoshim of Har Nof and Pittsburgh, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
This Shabbat is called “Shabbat Shirah,” as our parasha contains the 21-verse song of exaltation sung by our forebears in response to the miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf (Splitting of the Sea of Reeds):

And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, the entire force of Pharaoh coming after them into the sea; not even one of them survived. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the water was to them like a wall from their right and from their left. Az Yashir — Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the L-rd, and they spoke, saying, “I will sing to the L-rd, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea.” (Sefer Shemot 14:28-29, 15:1, these and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) 
 
Fascinatingly, our ancestors did not sing a single verse of praise following Yetziat Mitzrayim (The Exodus from Egypt). This notable difference led my rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, to ask the following question:

…strangely at the time that the Jews left Egypt, neither Moses nor the people sang hymns of praise for the amazing miracle they had experienced. Only seven days later, after the splitting of the Red Sea, did Moses and the people sing Az Yashir. Why did Israel wait a week to give thanks? (Derashot HaRav: Selected Lectures of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, summarized and annotated by Arnold Lustiger, p.171, brackets and underlining my own)
 
According to the Rav, the answer to this question is to be found in the very different nature of these two nissim (miracles). Yetziat Mitzrayim was performed solely by Hashem and banned our people’s participation: “…and you shall not go out, any man from the entrance of his house until morning. The L-rd will pass to smite the Egyptians…” (12:22-23)  This idea is famously elaborated upon in Midrash Sifrei, Ki Tavo and emphasized in the Haggadah: “I [Hashem] and not an angel, I and not a seraph, it is only Me and no other.” The Rav labels such a miracle, wherein Hashem acts exclusively on His own, a “yeshuah — an act of deliverance,” and observes; “The paradigmatic historical event signifying yeshuah was the Exodus from Egypt. No one — not an angel, not man — abetted G-d on the wondrous ‘night of watching.’” Our role on this amazing evening was severely circumscribed; we remained in our homes, ate the Korban Pesach (Paschal Lamb) and passively watched the unfolding of this miracle and the fulfillment of the Holy One’s promise.
 
The miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf stands in stark contradistinction to Yetziat Mitzrayim. Now, the entire Jewish people actively worked to save themselves from Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen, and the Almighty joined them in achieving this great goal. The Rav conceptualizes this type of nase (miracle) as “ezrah — help from the Master of the Universe.” As such, Kriyat Yam Suf was a time when:

…the Creator offered the Israelites a role in their own redemption. He required a leap of faith: a jump into the water prior to the parting of the sea (Sotah 36-37a). The shock of cold water, the fear of drowning thus became Israel’s minute “contribution” to the miracle. At that moment they became partners with G-d, and as a result Moses and the people full-throatedly sang the majestic Az Yashir in gratitude. (Page 171, underlining my own)
 
Rav Soloveitchik notes that, on the surface, “one would assume that Hashem should be thanked more for yeshuah [herein, Yetziat Mitzrayim] than for ezrah [herein, Kriyat Yam Sum],” since in the former He, and He alone, brought about the nase. Scaffolding on this line of thinking, we should have had our “Az Yashir moment” when we left Egypt, rather than at the Yam Suf! Nothing, however, could be further from the truth:

We nonetheless arrive at the opposite conclusion: the more man participates in the effort needed [to achieve the Torah-sanctioned goal], the more he must thank the Creator. Our gratitude is increased in the case of ezrah [Kriyat Yam Suf], because we must bless G-d for the privilege of allowing us to be His partner. (Page 170, brackets and underlining my own)
 
In sum, when we are privileged to join the Master of the Universe as His partners in bringing forth a nase, we have the greatest obligation to praise and extol Him. This, then, is why we sang Az Yashir at Kriyat Yam Suf, rather than something similar-in-kind following Yetziat Mitzrayim. May it be Hashem’s will and our fervent desire to ever be His partners, as we continue on the grand march of Jewish history toward the time of the Mashiach and our ultimate redemption. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd
 
*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.