Shemot/Exodus13:17 – 17:16
Blessing for the Torah:
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam, asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the Universe,
you have selected us from among all the peoples, and have given us your Torah.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah. Ameyn.)
Torah Readings:
- 13:17 – 14:8
- 14:9 – 14:14 (Ashkenazim); 14:9-25 (Sefardim)
- 14:15-25 (A); 14:26 – 15:26 (S)
- 14:26 – 15:26 (A); 15:27 – 16:10 (S)
- 15:27 – 16:10 (A); 16:11-29 (S)
- 16:11-36 (A); 16:30-36 (S)
- 17:1-13
- Maftir: 17:14-16
Haftarah: Judges 4:4 – 5:31 (A); 5:1-31 (S)
General Overview:
In this week's reading, Beshalach, Pharaoh pursues the Israelites into the desert. The Red Sea splits, the Israelites cross the sea while the Mitsrites’/Egyptian army is drowned. Moshe and the Yisraelites sing a special song thanking YHVH for this miracle. The Yisraelites complain about a lack of food and drink. YHVH sends Manna and quail for them to eat, and miraculously produces water from a rock. Amalek attacks the Israelites and is soundly defeated.
Aliyah Rishon 13:17-14:8
Exo 13:17 And it came to be, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that Elohim did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, though that was nearer, for Elohim said, “Lest the people regret when they see fighting, and return to Mitsrayim.”
When the time comes for us to return to the land we are not going to just pack our bags and walk out of Mitsrayim/Egypt or this present world system.
As believers we don’t like to admit that we are in bondage to anything, but if we honestly consider our present position in this world, we realize that we need to be set free from the hold that this world has over each one of us, whether we admit it or not.
Once again herein lays a very important truth for us to understand this Torah portion as well as end time events. Note that Pharoah had a legal right over the people of his country. YHVH was not going to steal His people. Pharoah eventually set them free because they had become too much trouble for him. It was Pharoahs stubborn foolishness that got him killed and he no longer had any right of ownership over the people of YHVH.
We need to relook at our eschatological understanding of the end times in the light of these truths. We are not going to return to the land of Israel until the Pharoah of this present world system also “sets us free” or “Be shalach”
NOTE WHO IS LEADING THEM! YHVH LEADS THEM OUT OF MITSRAYIM.
The Midrash Rabba states that “The tribe of Ephraim had erred and departed from Egypt 30 years before the destined time, with the result that three hundred thousand of them were slain by the Philistines... and their bones lay in heaps on the road... YHVH therefore said: If Israel behold the bones of the sons of Ephraim strewn in the road, they will return to Egypt...”
“Lest the people regret when they see fighting, and return to Mitsrayim.” The Hebrew word for regret comes from a root word meaning to have compassion. This verb appears in the text as a “niphal” verb and therefore conveys a passive meaning. In other words the people would feel sorry or have feelings of compassion when they saw war. Why? I believe it is possible if they took the short route they would have seen the bodies of the Ephramites strewn across the desert and would have felt very sorry for them.
The moral behind this is that when a people fight the enemy in their own strength according to their own wisdom they are bound to come to grief. Perhaps the Father wants to save a remnant by protecting them from witnessing the destruction that comes upon a people who seek to do warfare in their own strength and power.
Exo 13:18 So Elohim led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Sea of Reeds. And the children of Yisra’ĕl went up armed from the land of Mitsrayim. (“The Red Sea is called “Yam Suf” in Hebrew. It means “the Reed Sea”. The name “Red Sea” is probably a result of a translation error. In the first English translations it was written as “Reed Sea”, but it seems as though those who used that English translation of the Bible when making a new translation, mistook the word “reed” for “red”. The Reed Sea is not red at all. When one is there, everything looks quite blue, just like all the other seas on the earth. The Reed Sea is the name of the whole sea, including the inlets of Suez and Aqabah”).
Maybe their “arms” were not carnal weapons of warfare, but the promises of YHVH and His Torah.
“armed” 2571 “Chamushim” this is the only place this word is used in the Tenach and its meaning is uncertain.
Chamushim can mean "armed"... Another interpretation: one in five (chamesh) among the children of Israel came out of Egypt; four-fifths died during the three days of darkness [because they did not want to leave Egypt].(Rashi)
Rabbi Joshua interpreted it thus: fivefold they came out of Egypt, for five times their number in converts were gathered into the people of Israel upon their departure from Egypt. (Midrash Tanchuma)
Midrash Rabbah – “This is comparable to a king who had a son to whom he wished to bequeath an inheritance, but he argued: "If I give it to him now that he is small, he will not know how to take care of it. I will therefore wait until my son studies the writings and comprehends the value [of the property], then I will bequeath it unto him." This is what YHVH said: I shall first give them the Torah, and then bring them into the Land.”
Exo 13:19 And Mosheh took the bones of Yosĕph with him, for he certainly made the children of Yisra’ĕl swear, saying, “Elohim shall certainly visit you, and you shall bring my bones from here with you.”
The Hebrew word for "bone" (etzem) also means "essence." This verse can therefore be understood to mean that Moshe took Yosef's very essence with him, and this served as inspirational guidance for them as they crossed the desert. Yosef represents so much of who the Messiah is and so in these last days we too can expect a Messianic essence in all our preparation in returning to the land.
1Co 10:1 For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brothers, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,
1Co 10:2 and all were immersed into Mosheh in the cloud and in the sea,
1Co 10:3 and all ate the same spiritual food,
1Co 10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed, and the Rock was Messiah. (Shaul/Paul quotes the midrash rabba)
Exo 13:20 And they departed from Sukkoth and camped in Ětham at the edge of the wilderness.
Note they leave out detail recorded in Bemidbar/Numbers chapter 33. Num 33:5 Then the children of Yisra’ĕl departed from Ra’meses and camped at Sukkoth.
I believe that the Torah wants us to focus more on the events that took place at the various locations. They carry a certain prophetic significance for an end time generation that will follow a similar pattern of redemption and return. Later on in Bamidbar/Numbers 33 we will consider more detail of the 42 places or stages of the wilderness journey.
Ramases – “child of the sun” . We will leave Mitsrayim because we no longer desire to submit ourselves to any form of sun worship what so ever .
First stop – Sukkot/Succoth. (Should remind us of our annual camp at Chapmans Peak – or wherever the readers of this Blog were camping)
- Sukkot or temporary shelters – Tells us that for 42 months(Book of Revelation) we are going to be pilgrims and sojourners in the truest sense of the word wandering through the wilderness waiting for our Messiah to return and establish his kingdom on earth and in Yerushalyaim - looking for a city with foundations, whose builder and maker is Elohim. - Heb 11:10
- The second stop was “Etham” which means contemplation or plowshare.
Luk 9:62 But יהושע said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the reign of Elohim.
Exo 13:21 And יהוה went before them by day in a column of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a column of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.
Exo 13:22 The column of cloud did not cease by day, nor the column of fire by night, before the people.
Note once again Who it is who is leading them. It is the presence of YHVH. Moshe was their leader because he more than any other person was willing to lay down his life and obey YHVH no matter what the consequences.
This should once again remind us of our Messiah who only did what he was told by YHVH.
Yochanan/Joh 8:28 So יהושע said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Aḏam, then you shall know that I am He, and that I do none at all of Myself, but as My Father taught Me, these words I speak.
Joh 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.”
This Hebrew expression “lift up” means that when we lift up something towards heaven we are acknowledging this lifted up gift HAS COME FROM THE FATHER AND CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. In the case of Yahshua it also meant that the “lifting up” or impaling on an execution stake would also be the will of YHVH.
Exo 14:1 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Exo 14:2 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, that they turn and camp before Pi Haḥiroth, between Miḡdol and the sea, opposite Ba’al Tsephon – camp before it by the sea. (“Al hayam” means ‘on the sea’)
‘Pi Hachiroth’ - or mouth of freedom or freedom valley. This is possibly where the slaves were brought to be set free. For the Hebrews freedom only comes when we take on our shoulders the yoke of Torah. YHVH Himself will open up the Reed Sea or do anything else for our freedom if this is what is required.
Now, the evil inclination is called the ‘tzephoni’ - the hidden one, like it says (Yoel 2,20): “And the hidden one (northerner) I will distance from you”, because it is concealed and hidden in the chambers of a person’s heart, as Chazal have said. This is what the posuk (verse) is saying “between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal Tzephon - in a place of idol worship, and before the concealed evil inclination. In front of it you shall be, and you will subdue your inclination. And therefore “opposite this”, in return for this, “you shall rest on the sea”, you shall rest on dry land within the sea –
It is here before the great deliverance of the sea that opens up for bnei Yisrael (children of Yisrael) that YHVH wants to deal with our evil inclination in a decisive manner. It was because bnei Yisrael failed to be convinced of YHVH’s ability to deliver them that they were so easily controlled by their evil inclination.
Exo 14:3 “For Pharaoh shall say of the children of Yisra’ĕl, ‘They are entangled in the land, the wilderness has closed them in.’
Exo 14:4 “And I shall harden the heart of Pharaoh, and he shall pursue them. But I am to be esteemed through Pharaoh and over all his army, and the Mitsrites shall know that I am יהוה.” And they did so.
Exo 14:5 And it was reported to the sovereign of Mitsrayim that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people. And they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Yisra’ĕl go from serving us?”
Exo 14:6 So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him. (Why is Pharoah still alive - was he not a firstborn??? And why is he preparing his own chariot, this is not what kings did)
Exo 14:7 And he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Mitsrayim with officers over all of them.
Exo 14:8 And יהוה hardened the heart of Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim, and he pursued the children of Yisra’ĕl, but the children of Yisra’ĕl went out defiantly.
When we are ultimately set free, we too will not take the shortcut back to the land. Before we possess our inheritance we will be tested and our obedience to the detail of this Torah instruction may greatly assist us in possessing our inheritance.
We will not take another 40 years through a wilderness, but maybe the 42 months spoken of in the book of Revelation.
Rev 12:1 And a great sign was seen in the heaven: a woman clad with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. (12 tribes Israel – Gen 37:9 Yosef’s dreams)
Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by Elohim, to be nourished there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. (42 months)
Rev 12:14 And the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, to fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
Rev 12:15 And out of his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river after the woman, to cause her to be swept away by the river.
Rev 12:16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to fight with the remnant of her seed, those guarding the commands of Elohim and possessing the witness of יהושע Messiah.
The miracle of the earth opening its mouth can be compared to the Reed sea opening up for the Israelites to cross over.
Aliyah Sheni 14:9-14:25
Exo 14:9 And the Mitsrites pursued them, and all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Haḥiroth, before Ba’al Tsephon.
Exo 14:10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Yisra’ĕl lifted their eyes and saw the Mitsrites coming up after them. And they were greatly afraid, so the children of Yisra’ĕl cried out to יהוה.
Exo 14:11 And they said to Mosheh, “Did you take us away to die in the wilderness because there are no graves in Mitsrayim? What is this you have done to us, to bring us up out of Mitsrayim?
Exo 14:12 “Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Mitsrayim, saying, ‘Leave us alone and let us serve the Mitsrites?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Mitsrites than to die in the wilderness.”
Exo 14:13 And Mosheh said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the deliverance of יהוה, which He does for you today. For the Mitsrites whom you see today, you are never, never to see again.
Exo 14:14 “יהוה does fight for you, and you keep still.”
Silent - to be silent, be dumb, be speechless, be deaf.
Some of the greatest battles in your life will be won through your silence
Exo 14:15 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Why do you cry to Me? Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, and let them go forward.
Exo 14:16 “And you, lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and let the children of Yisra’ĕl go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
Exo 14:17 “And I, see I am hardening the hearts of the Mitsrites, and they shall follow them. And I am to be esteemed through Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen.
Exo 14:18 “And the Mitsrites shall know that I am יהוה, when I am esteemed through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
Exo 14:19 And the Messenger of Elohim, who went before the camp of Yisra’ĕl, moved and went behind them. And the column of cloud went from before them and stood behind them,
Exo 14:20 and came between the camp of the Mitsrites and the camp of Yisra’ĕl. And it was the cloud and the darkness, and it gave light by night, and the one did not come near the other all the night.
Exo 14:21 And Mosheh stretched out his hand over the sea. And יהוה caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.
When Moshe stretches forth his rod or hand to perform a miracle it is not his rod or action that is the cause of the miracle BUT HE HAS PROPHETIC KNOWLEDGE THAT A MIRACLE IS ABOUT TO OCCUR.
Exo 14:22 And the children of Yisra’ĕl went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right and on their left.
Exo 14:23 And the Mitsrites pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.
Exo 14:24 And it came to be, in the morning watch, that יהוה looked down upon the army of the Mitsrites through the column of fire and cloud, and He brought the army of the Mitsrites into confusion.
Exo 14:25 And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty. And the Mitsrites said, “Let us flee from the face of Yisra’ĕl, for יהוה fights for them against the Mitsrites.”
Aliyah Shlishi 14:26-15:26
Exo 14:26 Then יהוה said to Mosheh, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let the waters come back upon the Mitsrites, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.”
Exo 14:27 And Mosheh stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its usual flow, at the break of day, with the Mitsrites fleeing into it. Thus יהוה overthrew the Mitsrites in the midst of the sea,
Exo 14:28 and the waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them, and not even one was left of them.
Exo 14:29 And the children of Yisra’ĕl walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right and on their left.
Exo 14:30 Thus יהוה saved Yisra’ĕl that day out of the hand of the Mitsrites, and Yisra’ĕl saw the Mitsrites dead on the seashore.
Exo 14:31 And Yisra’ĕl saw the great work which יהוה had done in Mitsrayim, and the people feared יהוה, and believed יהוה and His servant Mosheh.
"One who believes in Moses, believes in YHVH" (Mechilta)
Yoch/Joh 5:46 “For if you believed Mosheh, you would have believed Me, since he wrote about Me.
Joh 5:47 “But if you do not believe his writings,1 how shall you believe My words?” Footnote: 1Lk. 9:33, Lk. 16:31, Mal. 4:4-5.
Exo 15:1 Then Mosheh and the children of Yisra’ĕl sang this song to יהוה, and spoke, saying, “I sing to יהוה, for He is highly exalted! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!
Take note:
1. they “sang to YHVH”, not to people. That is true worship! It is directed to the true Elohim our Creator, our Father and its purpose is to please Him and not men.
2. Stones Chumash page 376 point out that the verb “to sing” is “shir” is written in the imperfect tense “yashir” and “ashira” they say that “ the sages derive a Midrashic allusion to the future tense that YHVH will bring the dead back to life in Messianic times - and they will sing YHVH’s praises once again”
Exo 15:2 “Yah is my strength and song, and He has become my deliverance. He is my Ěl, and I praise Him – Elohim of my father, and I exalt Him.
Exo 15:3 “יהוה is a man of battle, יהוה is His Name. (See also Scriptures like: Yeshayahu/Isaiah 42:13-15; 51:22; Zephaniah 3:17; Nehemiah 4:20.)
Exo 15:4 “He has cast Pharaoh’s chariots and his army into the sea, and his chosen officers are drowned in the Sea of Reeds.
Exo 15:5 “The depths covered them, they went down to the bottom like a stone.
Exo 15:6 “Your right hand, O יהוה, has become great in power. Your right hand, O יהוה, has crushed the enemy.
Exo 15:7 “And in the greatness of Your excellence You pulled down those who rose up against You. You sent forth Your wrath, it consumed them like stubble.
Exo 15:8 “And with the wind of Your nostrils the waters were heaped up, the floods stood like a wall, the depths became stiff in the heart of the sea.
Exo 15:9 “The enemy said, ‘I pursue, I overtake, I divide the spoil, my being is satisfied on them. I draw out my sword, my hand destroys them.’
Exo 15:10 “You did blow with Your wind, the sea covered them, they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Exo 15:11 “Who is like You, O יהוה, among the mighty ones? Who is like You, great in set-apartness, awesome in praises, working wonders?
Exo 15:12 “You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them.
Exo 15:13 “In Your kindness You led the people whom You have redeemed, in Your strength You guided them to Your set-apart dwelling.
Exo 15:14 “Peoples heard, they trembled, anguish gripped the inhabitants of Philistia.
Exo 15:15 “Then the chiefs of Eḏom were troubled, the mighty men of Mo’aḇ, trembling grips them, all the inhabitants of Kena’an melted.
Exo 15:16 “Fear and dread fell on them, by the greatness of Your arm they are as silent as a stone, until Your people pass over, O יהוה, until the people, whom You have bought, pass over.
Exo 15:17 “You bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O יהוה, which You have made for Your own dwelling, the set-apart place, O יהוה, which Your hands have prepared.
The work of the righteous is greater than the work of heaven and earth. For in regard to the creation of heaven and earth it is written (Isaiah 48:13): "My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has spread out the heavens" ("My hand," in the singular). But in regard to the work of the hands of the righteous it is written, "In the sanctuary, O YHVH, which Your hands have established" ("Your hands," in the plural) (Talmud, Ketubot 5a)
Exo 15:18 “יהוה reigns forever and ever.”
Exo 15:19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and יהוה brought back the waters of the sea upon them. And the children of Yisra’ĕl went on dry ground in the midst of the sea.
Exo 15:20 And Miryam the prophetess, the sister of Aharon, took the timbrel in her hand. And all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
Exo 15:21 And Miryam answered them, “Sing to יהוה, for He is highly exalted! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!”
Exo 15:22 And Mosheh brought Yisra’ĕl from the Sea of Reeds, and they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
Exo 15:23 And they came to Marah, and they were unable to drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. So the name of it was called Marah.
Exo 15:24 And the people grumbled against Mosheh, saying, “What are we to drink?”
Exo 15:25 Then he cried out to יהוה, and יהוה showed him a tree. And when he threw it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a law and a right-ruling for them, and there He tried them.
Exo 15:26 And He said, “If you diligently obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim and do what is right in His eyes, and shall listen to His commands and shall guard all His laws, I shall bring on you none of the diseases I brought on the Mitsrites, for I am יהוה who heals you.”
Aliyah Reviee 15:27-16:10
Exo 15:27 And they came to Ělim, where there were twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees. And they camped there by the waters.
A spring for each tribe (12) and a palm tree for every nation on earth (70).
Exo 16:1 And they set out from Ělim, and all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Ělim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their going out of the land of Mitsrayim.
Exo 16:2 And all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl grumbled against Mosheh and Aharon in the wilderness.
Exo 16:3 And the children of Yisra’ĕl said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of יהוה in the land of Mitsrayim, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to satisfaction! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to put all this assembly to death with hunger.”
Exo 16:4 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “See, I am raining bread from the heavens for you. And the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, in order to try them, whether they walk in My Torah or not.
Exo 16:5 “And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”
Exo 16:6 And Mosheh and Aharon said to all the children of Yisra’ĕl, “At evening you shall know that יהוה has brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim.
Exo 16:7 “And in the morning you shall see the esteem of יהוה, for He hears your grumblings against יהוה. And what are we, that you grumble against us?”
Exo 16:8 And Mosheh said, “In that יהוה gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfaction, for יהוה hears your grumblings which you make against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against יהוה.”
Exo 16:9 And Mosheh said to Aharon, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl, ‘Come near before יהוה, for He has heard your grumblings.’ ”
Exo 16:10 And it came to be, as Aharon spoke to all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl, that they looked toward the wilderness and see, the esteem of יהוה appeared in the cloud.
(Emphasis our own)
Aliyah Chamishi 16:11-29
Exo 16:11 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Exo 16:12 “I have heard the grumblings of the children of Yisra’ĕl. Speak to them, saying, ‘Between the evenings you are to eat meat, and in the morning you are to be satisfied with bread. And you shall know that I am יהוה your Elohim.’ ”
Exo 16:13 And it came to be that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp.
Exo 16:14 And the layer of dew went up, and see, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
Exo 16:15 And the children of Yisra’ĕl saw, and they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Mosheh said to them, “It is the bread which יהוה has given you to eat.
Exo 16:16 “This is the word which יהוה has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, an omer for each being, according to the number of beings. Let every man take for those who are in his tent.’ ”
Exo 16:17 And the children of Yisra’ĕl did so and gathered, some more, some less.
Exo 16:18 And they measured it by omers, and he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered according to his need.
Exo 16:19 And Mosheh said, “Let no one leave any of it until morning.”
Exo 16:20 And they did not listen to Mosheh, so some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Mosheh was wroth with them.
Exo 16:21 And they gathered it every morning, each one according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.
Exo 16:22 And it came to be, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Mosheh.
Exo 16:23 And he said to them, “This is what יהוה has said, ‘Tomorrow is a rest, a Sabbath set-apart to יהוה. That which you bake, bake; and that which you cook, cook. And lay up for yourselves all that is left over, to keep it until morning.’ ”
Exo 16:24 And they laid it up till morning, as Mosheh commanded. And it did not stink, and no worm was in it.
Exo 16:25 And Mosheh said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to יהוה, today you do not find it in the field.
Exo 16:26 “Gather it six days, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there is none.”
Exo 16:27 And it came to be that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.
Exo 16:28 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “How long shall you refuse to guard My commands and My Torot1? Footnote: 1Torot - plural of Torah, teaching.
Exo 16:29 “See, because יהוה has given you the Sabbath, therefore He is giving you bread for two days on the sixth day. Let each one stay in his place, do not let anyone go out of his place on the seventh day.”
Aliyah Shishi 16:30-36
Exo 16:30 So the people rested on the seventh day1. Footnote: The seventh day of the week, the weekly Sabbath, was observed before the Ten Words were given on Mt. Sinai.
Exo 16:31 And the house of Yisra’ĕl called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like thin cakes made with honey.
Exo 16:32 And Mosheh said, “This is the word which יהוה has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it, to keep for your generations, so that they see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim.’ ”
For forty years the Children of Israel were sustained by "bread from heaven," instilling in them the recognition that sustenance comes entirely from YHVH; that no matter how much one toils to earn his livelihood, he receives no more, and no less, than what has been allotted him from Above.
The challenge is to retain this recognition also after entering the land and making the transition to "bread from the earth." Even when we are nourished by bread which we earn by "the sweat of our brow," we must remember that, in truth, our sustenance comes from YHVH, and that we never receive an iota more or an iota less than what is allotted us from Above.
Hence the connection between the manna and the mitzvah of Shabbat. Shabbat, too, carries this lesson, serving as a weekly reminder that our sustenance comes from YHVH. On the face of it, it might seem that ceasing work one day a week would lessen one's income; but the Jew knows that his earthly labor is only the channel through which YHVH chooses to supply him what is essentially "bread from heaven," and that the best and most efficient conduit is one that conforms to the will of Him who supplies sustenance to all His creatures. (The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
Exo 16:33 And Mosheh said to Aharon, “Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and set it down before יהוה, to keep for your generations.”
Exo 16:34 As יהוה commanded Mosheh, so did Aharon set it down before the Witness, to keep.
Exo 16:35 And the children of Yisra’ĕl ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Kena’an.
Exo 16:36 And an omer is one-tenth of an ĕphah.
Aliyah Sheviee 17:1-16
Exo 17:1 And all the congregation of the children of Yisra’ĕl set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the command of יהוה, and camped in Rephiḏim. And there was no water for the people to drink.
Exo 17:2 Therefore the people strove with Mosheh, and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Mosheh said to them, “Why do you strive with me? Why do you try יהוה?”
Exo 17:3 And the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Mosheh, and said, “Why did you bring us out of Mitsrayim, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
Exo 17:4 Then Mosheh cried out to יהוה, saying, “What am I to do with this people? Yet a little and they shall stone me!”
Exo 17:5 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Pass over before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Yisra’ĕl. And take in your hand your rod with which you smote the river, and go.
Exo 17:6 “See, I am standing before you there on the rock in Ḥorĕḇ. And you shall smite the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people shall drink.” And Mosheh did so before the eyes of the elders of Yisra’ĕl.
Exo 17:7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meriḇah, because of the ‘strife’ of the children of Yisra’ĕl, and because they ‘tried’ יהוה, saying, “Is יהוה in our midst or not?”
Exo 17:8 And Amalĕq came and fought with Yisra’ĕl in Rephiḏim.
Amalek is the essence of doubt, of irrational challenge to truth. (Thus the Hebrew word Amalek has a numerical value of 240 -- the same as the word safek, "doubt"). Because the people of Israel had succumbed to the Amalek within their own souls, they became vulnerable to attack by Amalek the nation (The Chassidic Masters)
Exo 17:9 And Mosheh said to Yehoshua, “Choose for us men and go out, fight with Amalĕq. Tomorrow I am stationing myself on the top of the hill with the rod of Elohim in my hand.”
Exo 17:10 And Yehoshua did as Mosheh said to him, to fight with Amalĕq. And Mosheh, Aharon, and Ḥur went up to the top of the hill.
Exo 17:11 And it came to be, when Mosheh held up his hand, that Yisra’ĕl prevailed. And when he let down his hand, Amalĕq prevailed.
“Did then the hands of Moses wage war or break war? Not so; but so long as Israel looked upwards and subjected their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they prevailed; and when they did not, they fell “ (Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 29a)
Exo 17:12 But Mosheh’s hands were heavy, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aharon and Ḥur (Pronounced as Chur) supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
Exo 17:13 And Yehoshua defeated Amalĕq and his people with the edge of the sword.
Exo 17:14 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “Write this for a remembrance in the book and recite it in the hearing of Yehoshua, that I shall completely blot out the remembrance of Amalĕq from under the heavens.”
Exo 17:15 And Mosheh built an altar and called its name, יהוה Nissi,
Exo 17:16 for he said, “Because a hand is on the throne of Yah, יהוה is to fight against Amalĕq, from generation to generation.”
If we take the Hebrew names of Aharon, Chur/ Hur and Moshe and turn them back to front we get”
Moshe becomes Ha Shem – (Mem shin hey.)
Chur/Hur spelled “Chet vav reish” becomes “Ruach
Aaron spelled “aleph hey reish nun” becomes the “nir of aleph” the candle of aleph, which could be a reference to Messiah in Rev 21:23 speaks of the Lamb as the lamp of the New Yerushalayim.
The Father has sent us His Ruach (Spirit) and His Son (Yahshua) to point us and restore us back to Him.
Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam,
asher natan lanu Toraht-emet,
v’chay-yeh o’lam nata-b’tochenu.
Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe,
you have given us your Torah of truth,
and have planted everlasting life within our midst.
Blessed are you, Yahweh giver of the Torah.
Ameyn.)
Please note these notes are under construction and are subject to correction and are in no way a final authority on any subject.
No comments:
Post a Comment