Rabbi David Etengoff

ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ

“And one [of the Seraphim] called to the other and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the entire earth is full of His glory.’” (Sefer Yeshayahu 6:3) This is one of the most celebrated pasukim in Tanach, as it is recited twice every weekday, and at least three times a day on Shabbat, the Yamim Noraim, Yom Tov and Rosh Chodesh. It explicitly declares, “the entire earth is full of His glory.” As such, what need is there for the pasuk and mitzvah in our parasha: “v’asu Li mikdash v’shachanti b’tocham--And you shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them?” (Sefer Shemot 25:8) After all, if the entire universe is full of Hashem’s glory, what can the Mikdash, whether in the form of the Mishkan or the Beit HaMikdash, possibly add to kavod Hashem?

The Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194-1270) helps us answer this question in his introduction to our parasha. He opines that the Jewish people were a holy nation at this moment in time; accordingly, it was fitting “for there to be a Mikdash so that His Schechinah (Divine Presence) would infuse [its glory] among them.” (Commentary on the Torah, translation my own) In other words, beyond a doubt “the entire earth is full of His glory,” yet, this universal statement does not speak to the singular intimacy that Hashem sought to foster with b’nai Yisrael. In order to achieve this goal, Hashem knew He needed to make His Schechinah manifest among our people and, therefore, commanded us to build the Mishkan.

My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, was deeply influenced by the Ramban. Accordingly, he too asserts that the underlying purpose of the Mishkan was to enable Hashem’s Schechinah to permeate among them. At the same time, however, the Rav intriguingly states: “God wanted Moshe to build a Mishkan…because He wanted a home.” (This and the following quotations, Darosh Darash Yosef: Discourses of Rav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik on the Weekly Parashah, Rabbi Avishai C. David editor, page 180) Once again we can readily ask, if “the entire earth is full of His glory,” why would Hashem want a “home?” We are fortunate that the Rav addresses this question in a manner that sheds new light on the unique nature of the Mishkan:

God wanted a Mishkan that would attract and inspire the Jewish people. This could not be accomplished by means of hukotav (its decrees), but primarily through tzurotav (its form). The Mishkan had to radiate an aura of inspiration, beckoning the individual to reach out to new horizons. This is the real tzurah of the Mishkan.

The Rav’s answer is very profound. Of course, Hashem did not need a home for Himself. As Yeshayahu says, “the heavens are My throne, and the earth is My footstool.” (66:1) Instead, “God wanted a Mishkan [that is, a home] that would attract and inspire the Jewish people…beckoning the individual to reach out to new horizons.”

May the time come soon, and in our days, when we will experience the aura of inspiration of the rebuilt Beit HaMikdash, and may we be able to reach new spiritual horizons as we encounter the Almighty in His home once again. V’chane yihi ratzon.


Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my website: http://reparashathashavuah.org

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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].

*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach

*** 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
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
“Na’aseh v’nishmah—We will do, and we will hear and understand,” are two celebrated words that appear in Parashat Mishpatim. This expression builds upon an earlier statement in Parashat Yitro: “All that Hashem has spoken na’aseh—we will do,” which is preceded by the introductory statement, “And all the people replied yachdov—in unison…” (19:8)  This leads to a classic exegetical question: “Why does the Torah utilize the term, ‘yachdov’ in reference to ‘na’aseh’ in Parashat Yitro, but refrains from so doing regarding ‘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 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 Parashat Mishpatim may now be viewed as a positive transformation, rather than the loss of achdut. In reality, it represents our nascent spiritual development as a nation comprised of very different people, each one searching for Hashem and performing His mitzvot in their own unique 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.
 
May we ever sound the clarion call of na’aseh v’nishmah as members of the great chain of Jewish being forged on Har Sinai, for all time. 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
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
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 phrase, such as, “atem ra’eitem,” is repeated, which almost always indicates crucial significance.
 
The Torah utilizes atem ra’eitem in our parasha to urge Moshe to remind the Jewish people that Hashem had directly spoken to them from the heights of Heaven which, in turn, serves as the mandate for proscribing molten gods:

Hashem said to Moshe, “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 Moshe 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 deploy 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 against Pharaoh and his people. Why did the Torah specifically choose this expression to reference these pivotal events in our nation’s history? Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch zatzal (1808-1888) addresses this question In his Commentary on the Torah on Sefer Shemot 19:4. He begins by noting: “Atem Ra’eitem--The basis of your knowledge of God 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, 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 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 foundation of Torah-true 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 he emphasizes:
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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 Jewish people that echoes until our own historical moment. With Hashem’s help, may this legacy infuse our thoughts and actions forevermore.

V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** 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
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
This Shabbat is called “Shabbat Shirah,” after the song of exaltation in our parasha sung by our ancestors in response to the miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf:

Az Yashir—Then Moshe and b’nai Yisrael sang this song to Hashem, and they spoke, saying, “I will sing to Hashem, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea.” (Sefer Shemot 15:1, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) 
 
In stark contrast, our ancestors did not sing a single verse of praise following Yetziat Mitzrayim. 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 may be found in the very different nature of these two nissim. Yetziat Mitzrayim was performed solely by Hashem and excluded the Jewish people’s participation: “…and you shall not go out, any man from the entrance of his house until morning. Hashem will pass to smite the Egyptians…” (12:22-23)  This idea is elaborated upon in Midrash Sifrei, Ki Tavo and underscored 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 notes; “The paradigmatic historical event signifying yeshuah was the Exodus from Egypt. No one—not an angel, not man—abetted God on the wondrous ‘night of watching.’” Our role on this amazing evening was severely circumscribed; we remained in our homes, ate the Korban Pesach and passively watched the unfolding of this miracle and the fulfillment of Hashem’s promise.
 
The miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf was very different. The entire Jewish people actively worked to save themselves from Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen, and the Almighty joined them in achieving this outcome. The Rav conceptualizes this type of nase (miracle) as “ezrah—help from the Master of the Universe.” Therefore, 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 God, and as a result Moses and the people full-throatedly sang the majestic Az Yashir in gratitude. (Page 171, underlining my own)
 
The Rav notes that on the surface, “one would assume that Hashem should be thanked more for yeshuah [Yetziat Mitzrayim] than for ezrah [Kriyat Yam Suf],” since in the former He, and He alone, brought about the nase. Following 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 God for the privilege of allowing us to be His partner. (Page 170, brackets and underlining my own)
 
In sum, we have the greatest obligation to praise the Master of the Universe when we join Him in bringing forth a nase. This is why we sang Az Yashir at Kriyat Yam Suf and refrained from so-doing following Yetziat Mitzrayim.
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May we ever be Hashem’s partners as we continue on the grand march of Jewish history toward our ultimate redemption. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** 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.