שמות פרק יג, יח וַחֲמֻשִׁ ים עָלוּ בְנֵי-י שְרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מ צְרָי ם:
"And the B'nei Yisrael left the Land of Egypt armed (Chamushim)" (Shmos 13:18).
R. Bachye points out, the word "Chamushim" is missing a 'Vav' (which now reads 'Chamishim'), a hint to the fifty-day period between the time Yisrael left Egypt and Matan Torah, which was the main objective of Yetzi'as Mitzrayim. (Interestingly, this was already hinted to Moshe, when G-d informed him at the Burning Bush that, upon leaving Egypt, Yisrael would serve Him on that very mountain, and where the word "Ta'avdun" contains an extra 'Nun' (Shmos 3:12)).
The fifty days were a progression. Obviously, the Jews were not at the same place on the first day as they were on the seventh day, or the forty-fourth day. At the beginning of the process, the Jews had not obtained full emunah. In fact, the first day of going out of Egypt was related to the time on the seventh day at the Sea (bookends of the “goings out of Mitzraim”).
At the Sea, the Jews were in four groups, each lacking a key element in complete emunah. Possibly, the explanations of the preparation of the Jews at the outset of leaving Egypt חמשים, reflects the same four groups of Jews that were specified later at the Sea (fighters, conformists, escapists, believers).
וחמשים – There are a number of translations:
FIGHTERS
1) ARMED for war. (Rashi, Targum Onkelos, M.R. The word indicates five weapons, as per Yechezkel 39:9.)
CONFORMISTS (Survivor’s guilt)
2) One FIFTH of the bnei Yisroel, as four fifths died during makas choshech. (Rashi, Mechilta 14)
3) Targum Yonoson ben Uziel says the bnei Yisroel left with FIVE children per family. The Holy Admor of Belz explains that since four fifths of the B’nei Yisroel died during makas choshech, there were orphans of four families. The survivors adopted the orphans, so each family had FIVE families of children, its own, plus those of four other families.
4) Rav Yehonoson Eibshitz offers another Pshat. He says that Chamushim means FIVE OUT OF SIX went out Mitzrayim. Hashem created a Teva, a natural ebb and flow otherwise known as bechira which give a person the leeway to choose evil if he wishes. This only applies to things Hashem created through Teva, but anything created L'Maala Min HaTeva through a Nes cannot do evil. Therefore since in Mitzrayim the women miraculously gave birth to six babies at a time, the one natural child can become a Rasha but the other five who were born through a Nes cannot. Therefore the one brother died while the other five, the Chamushim, safely left Mitzrayim.
5) One FIFTIETH. (Mechilta 14). The M'galeh Amukos translates "chamushim" as 50. The bnei Yisroel were to have remained in Egypt for 480 years, and they left "chamushim," 50 years earlier. The Asoroh Maamoros says that the power of Lilis, whose numerical value is 480 and has 480 layers, "klipos," of impurity, was upon the bnei Yisroel. They therefore were to remain in bondage for 480 years. This negative power was reduced one "klipoh" per year, until 480 years after the redemption from Egypt King Shlomo built the Beis Hamikdosh. Hashem began reducing the power of this impurity by drowning Paroh's army, "sus Paroh," whose numerical value is also 480 (plus "alef”1 hakollel). Miriam sang praises to Hashem for diminishing this power with the use of a drum, "tof," whose numerical value is also 480.
6) One FIVE-HUNDRETH. (Mechilta 14)
PREPARATION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY
Five, Fifty or Five Hundred?
R. Bachye cites a Medrash that explains it either as 'one in five', 'one in fifty' or as 'one in five hundred'. Similarly, he cites another Medrash, which interprets the words "ve'sholishim al kulo" (14:6 [which generally translates as 'and captains over all of them']) either as 'Three, thirty or three hundred Egyptians for each Yisrael'. And the two sets of numbers, he says, are correlated.
According to the first interpretation of the first set of Medrashim, Yisrael before the plague of darkness numbered three million, corresponding to each of which three hundred Egyptians gave chase (even though Yisrael now numbered only six hundred thousand).
According to the second interpretation, Yisrael had originally numbered thirty million, corresponding to each of which thirty Egyptians gave chase.
Whilst according to the third interpretation, it was three Egyptians who chased each of the three-hundred-million B'nei Yisrael.
According to all three explanations, says R. Bachye, there were nine hundred million Egyptians pursuing six hundred thousand Jewish men (plus their families) three million B'nei Yisrael. And correspondingly, the Medrash tells us that G-d sent against the Egyptians ninety thousand destructive angels (perhaps the word 'Ribu' [ten thousand] is missing).
ESCAPISTS
7) PREPARED with FOOD, as in Bereishis 41:34, "v'chimeish es artzo." (Chizkuni)
8) Grouped into FIVE CAMPS. Degel macha'neh Yehudoh in the east, Reuvein in the south, Efrayim in the west, and Dan in the north, as enumerated in Bemidbar chapter 2. The fifth camp is macha'neh Levi which was situated in the center. (Trumas Hadeshen)
9) The bnei Yisroel were one-FIFTH of those who left. The Targum Yonoson ben Uziel says in 12:38 that 2,400,000 "eruv rav" left with the bnei Yisroel. This makes a total of 3,000,000, of whom the B’nei Yisroel were one fifth.
BELIEVERS
10) The Jews were prepared with FIVE TYPES OF WEAPONS (Yerushalmi Shabbos 87): sword, lance, bow, shield, and club.
The Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe (Sefer Ma’amarim תש"ח) explains that the five types of weapons relate to five times during prayer:
- Sword – verses of praise (זמר עריצים); beginning process of nullifying the Yetzer HaRa.
- Lance – (רמח) 248 words of Krias Shema; when done properly complete nullification.
- Bow – requests of Shmoneh Esreh (see Onkeles Bereshis 48,12).
- Shield – Talis and Tefillin that are worn during prayer protecting against outside influences.
- Club – soft words do not affect the Yetzer HaRa.
