Rabbi Pinches Friedman
Parshas Beshalach 5784
Shabbas Kodesh parshas Beshalach approaches auspiciously. Since it contains Shiras HaYam, it is affectionately referred to as Shabbas Shirah. It opens with the words (Shemos 15, 1): "אז ישיר משה ובני ישראל את השירה הזאת לה'"—then Moshe and Bnei Yisrael sang (will sing) this song to Hashem—and is a tribute to the miraculous splitting of the sea—Krias Yam Suf. As we know, the turbulent waters initially split to allow Yisrael safe passage on dry land; yet it returned to its initial daunting strength and fury to drown the Egyptians who pursued Yisrael. After all the miraculous feats, including the Ten Plagues, that HKB”H visited on Mitzrayim, why did He see fit to conclude galus Mitzrayim with the miracle of Krias Yam Suf?
Now, we learn a fundamental principle in the Gemara (Berachos 12a): "הכל הולך אחר החתום"—everything follows the conclusion. Thus, we can conclude that HKB”H chose to conclude galus Mitzrayim with the miracle of Krias Yam Suf for a specific reason—to leave a lasting impression and send a crucial message to all future generations. We will endeavor to explain the vital lesson that we are supposed to learn from this incredible miracle.
Otniel ben Kenaz Is Nachshon ben Aminadav
To illuminate the profound significance of Krias Yam Suf in a practical manner that is relevant to each and every one of us, we will begin by introducing a precious teaching from the divine kabbalist Rabbi Menachem Azaryah of Pano, ztz”l, who was a disciple of Rabbi Yisrael Srug, who was a disciple of our illustrious teacher the Arizal. Here is a translation of what he writes in the sefer Gilgulei Neshamos (Ma’arechet 70, 6):
Otniel ben Kenaz is Nachshon ben Aminadav. Just as he sanctified the name of Heaven by descending into the torrential waters of the sea; so, too, as Otniel, he now descended (delved) into the waters (sea) of the Torah with his acumen of pilpul. Thus, he restored 300 halachos that were forgotten during the mourning period of Moshe Rabeinu, a”h. Now, the letters of (the name) נחשו"ן are an anagram of חננ"ו ש'; and if we also take the letters א"ל from the name עתניא"ל, we get חננ"ו א"ל ש' (he was graciously granted the intuition to perceive the 300).
For the sake of clarity, we will present the source for this teaching. Here is how HKB”H commanded Moshe to initiate the miracle of Krias Yam Suf (ibid. 14, 13):
"ויאמר ה' אל משה מה תצעק אלי דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו, ואתה הרם את מטך ונטה את ידך על הים ובקעהו ויבואו בני ישראל בתוך הים ביבשה". Hashem said to Moshe, “Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to Bnei Yisrael and let them move forward. And you, lift up your staff and extend your arm over the sea and split it. Then Bnei Yisrael will come into the midst of the sea on dry land.”
According to the Ohr HaChaim hakadosh, HKB”H was advising Moshe how to intensify the aspects of “chesed” and “rachamim.” He was instructed to speak to Bnei Yisrael, so that they would intensify their emunah with all of their heart and proceed into the sea before it actually split. In other words, they should move forward trusting that Hashem would perform a miracle on their behalf. On account of this, “rachamim” would prevail. So, when Moshe raised his staff, the sea split miraculously, since that trust and emunah was significant enough to establish their merit and warrant a good outcome. And so it was! The first tzaddik to do so was Nachshon ben Aminadav; he entered the sea until it reached his neck; the sea did not split until he proclaimed that the water had reached a life-threatening level.
The source for the fact that Nachshon ben Aminadav jumped into the sea even before it split and became dry land is found in the Gemara (Sotah 37a). For, when Moshe commanded Yisrael to move into the stormy sea, they were overcome with fear: This one (tribe) said, “I am not going down into the sea first”; and this one (tribe) said, “I am not going down into the sea first.” So, Nachshon ben Aminadav jumped forward and went down into the sea first . . . Of him it explains in Scriptures (Tehillim 69, 2): “Save me, O G-d, for the waters have reached until the soul. I am sunk in the mire of the shadowy depths.”
Otniel ben Kenaz Restored 300 Forgotten Halachos by Means of His Pilpul
Now, in keeping with the notion of (ibid. 25, 14): "סוד ה' ליראיו"—the secret of Hashem is revealed to those who fear Him—the Rama of Pano reveals to us a teaching that was transmitted to him by his teachers: Nachshon ben Aminadav reincarnated into Otniel ben Kenaz, who, by means of his “pilpul”—erudition and dialectic—restored 300 halachos that had been forgotten during the period that Yisrael grieved over the passing away of Moshe. Here is a pertinent passage from the Gemara (Temurah 16a):
"אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל... אמרו לו ליהושע שאל"—Rav Yehudah said in the name of Shmuel: The people of Yisrael were upset that these halachos had been lost. So, they said to Yehoshua, “Ask.” In other words, they pleaded with Yehoshua to inquire via “ruach hakodesh” to have Hashem reveal to him the halachos that were forgotten. He responded to them, “It (the Torah) is not in heaven”—i.e., I cannot do that. From the moment that the Torah was given to Yisrael at Har Sinai, halachos cannot be determined or clarified in heaven; this can only be done down on earth through the study of Torah.
Further on in the Gemara, Rav Yehudah in the name of Rav reveals to us the reason Yehoshua was punished in this manner—that 300 halachos were forgotten during the period of mourning of Moshe:
"אמר רב יהודה אמר רב, בשעה שנפטר משה רבינו לגן עדן, אמר לו ליהושע, שאל ממני כל ספיקות שיש לך, אמר לו רבי כלום הנחתיך שעה אחת והלכתי למקום אחר, לא כך כתבת בי ומשרתו יהושע בן נון נער לא ימיש מתוך האהל, מיד תשש כוחו של יהושע ונשתכחו ממנו שלש מאות הלכות ונולדו לו שבע מאות ספיקות... אמר רבי אבהו אף על פי כן החזירן עתניאל בן קנז מתוך פלפולו".
Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: When Moshe Rabeinu passed away to Gan Eden, he said to Yehoshua, “Ask me any uncertainties you have (regarding Torah law).” He (Yehoshua) replied to him, “Rebbe, did I leave you even for a moment and go to another place? Have you not written about me (Shemos 33, 11): ‘And his servant, Yehoshua bin Nun, a lad, would not stir from within the tent’?” So, why should I have any uncertainties? Immediately, Yehoshua’s strength was impaired. As a consequence, he was made to forget three hundred halachos, and seven hundred uncertainties occurred to him . . . Rabbi Avahu said: Nevertheless, Otniel ben Kenaz restored them through his “pilpul” (Talmudic dialectic and erudition).
Now, as a general rule, HKB”H rewards individuals “midah k’neged midah”—measure for measure—as we are taught in the Mishnah (Sotah 8b): "במדה שאדם מודד בה מודדין לו"—by the measure that a man measures others, they (the heavenly court) measure him. Similarly, this principle is expressed by the following passuk (Tehillim 62, 13): "ולך ה' חסד כי אתה תשלם לאיש כמעשהו"—and Yours, Hashem, is kindness, for You repay each man according to his deeds. Thus, it behooves us to explain how Nachshon ben Aminadav’s reincarnation into Otniel ben Kenaz—to restore the three hundred forgotten halachos to Yisrael—constitutes a case of “midah k’neged midah.”
