In this week’s parsha, parshas Shemos, we read about the first time HKB”H revealed Himself to Moshe Rabeinu. This otherworldly revelation occurred on Har Sinai, the divine mountain on which Yisrael were destined to receive the Torah (Shemos 3, 1):
"ומשה היה רועה את צאן יתרו חותנו כהן מדין, וינהג את הצאן אחר המדבר ויבוא אל הר האלקים חורבה , וירא מלאך ה' אליו בלבת אש מתוך הסנה, וירא והנה הסנה בוער באש והסנה איננו אוכל, ויאמר משה אסורה נא ואראה את המראה הגדול הזה, מדוע לא יבער הסנה. וירא ה' כי סר לראות, ויקרא אליו אלקים מתוך הסנה ויאמר משה משה ויאמר הנני, ויאמר אל תקרב הלום של נעליך מעל רגליך, כי המקום אשר אתה עומד עליו אדמת קודש הוא".
Moshe shepherded the flocks of his father-in-law Yisro, the priest of Midyan; he guided the sheep far into the wilderness, and he arrived at the Mountain of G-d, toward Chorev. An angel of Hashem appeared to him in a flame of fire from within the thorn bush. He saw and behold!—the bush was burning in the fire, but the bush was not consumed. Moshe thought, “Let me turn aside now and see this great sight—why will the bush not be burned?” Hashem saw that he turned aside to see; and G-d called out to him from amid the bush and said, “Moshe, Moshe,” and he replied, “Here I am!” He said, “Do not come closer to this spot, take your shoes off of your feet, for the place upon which you stand is holy ground.”
The Revelation of Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli
We will begin to shed some light on the matter by presenting a fascinating teaching brought down in the sefer Marganita D’Rav (Vayechi), authored by the brilliant Rabbi Baruch Te’omim, in the name of the great Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli, ztz”l. He addresses the teaching of Chazal in the Gemara (Pesachim 56b):
"ביקש יעקב לגלות לבניו קץ הימין ונסתלקה ממנו שכינה, אמר שמא חס ושלום יש במיטתי פסול כאברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל ואבי יצחק שיצא ממנו עשו. אמרו לו בניו שמע ישראל ה' אלקינו ה' אחד, אמרו כשם שאין בלבך אלא אחד כך אין בלבנו אלא אחד, באותה שעה פתח יעקב אבינו ואמר ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד".
Yaakov wanted to reveal to his sons the end of days (when the final geulah would be), but the Shechinah abandoned him (he lost his power of nevuah). He said, “Perhaps this has happened because, chas v’shalom, one of my offspring is unfit, as was the case with Avraham, from whom Yishmael emerged, and like my father Yitzchak, from whom Eisav emerged.” They responded to him, “Hear, O Yisrael, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One.” They declared, “Just as there is only One in your heart, so too, there is only One in our hearts.” At that moment, Yaakov Avinu said, “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.”
To explain the matter, the great Rabbi Shimshon focuses on the reason that Yisrael were exiled to Mitzrayim for 210 years. He notes that ten were involved in the sale of Yosef—nine shevatim plus the Shechinah. They needed a quorum of ten to impose a “cheirem”—banishing anyone who informed their father Yaakov of what they had done. The act of “mechiras Yosef” created a blemish in the name אהי"ה, whose numerical value is twenty-one. Since ten were involved in the act, the galus in Mitzrayim had to provide atonement for ten times אהי"ה—accounting for the 210 years Bnei Yisrael were in exile there.
With this in mind, Rabbi Shimshon interprets the underlying, cryptic implication of the narrative related to the phenomenon of the “burning bush” (ibid. 4): "וירא ה' כי סר לראות"—Hashem saw that he turned aside to see. Moshe Rabeinu turned aside—ס"ר— because he was of the opinion that the brothers had blemished the blessed name Havaya when they sold Yosef; its numerical value is 26. If so, the galus in Mitzrayim would need to be ten times 26 years to accomplish the necessary atonement—the gematria of the word ס"ר (260).
This then is the interpretation of the passuk: "וירא ה' כי סר לראות"—HKB”H saw that Moshe was of the opinion that Yisrael needed to be in galus in Mitzrayim ס"ר (260) years. That being the case, they had not yet completed their required galus, since it had only been 210 years. This elicited the remark from HKB”H (ibid. 5): "אל תקרב הלום"—do not come closer to this spot. In other words, do not think that they blemished the name Havaya; that is impossible. They only blemished the name אהי"ה. Hence, they only need to be in exile in Mitzrayim 210 years.
Yaakov Avinu Attempted to Reveal to His Sons the End of Galus Mitzrayim
Now, Yaakov Avinu was aware that they only blemished the name אהי"ה; he was not aware, however, that they had the Shechinah join them. Thus, he thought that there were only nine participants involved in the sale of Yosef. As we know, Binyamin and Reuven were not there with the other shevatim at the time of the sale. So, he thought that they only had to atone for nine times אהי"ה, which would amount to 189 years of galus in Mitzrayim. In other words, they would be set free in the year ק"ץ (190). This is what the Gemara meant by the statement: "ביקש יעקב לגלות לבניו קץ הימין"—Yaakov tried to inform his sons that they would exit Mitzrayim in the 190th year—the year equal to ק"ץ. Then, the Gemara explains that he was unable to do so, because: "ונסתלקה ממנו שכינה"—Yaakov was unaware that the Shechinah was involved, because the shevatim needed a quorum of ten for the “cheirem.”
Hence, when Yaakov perceived that they would not exit the galus of Mitzrayim in the 190th year, he suspected that they had sinned with something else, as well. So, in a state of anguish, he inquired: “Perhaps this has happened because, chas v’shalom, one of my offspring is unfit, as was the case with Avraham, from whom Yishmael emerged, and like my father Yitzchak, from whom Eisav emerged.” In other words, perhaps you are guilty of an additional sin besides “mechiras Yosef,” and that is why the galus in Mitzrayim will extend beyond 189 years.
To which they reassured their father: “Hear, O Yisrael, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One.” They declared, “Just as there is only One in your heart, so too, there is only One in our hearts.” With this declaration, the shevatim informed Yaakov that due to their sincere, unquestioning emunah in the oneness of Hashem, they had the Shechinah join them, so to speak, since nothing can be accomplished without Him. Thus, they kept the matter hidden from Yaakov but required an additional 21 years of galus to achieve the necessary tikun—i.e., ten times אהי"ה. This is the gist of the insight of the holy Rabbi Shimshon, ztz”l.
