Week 11 (Book 3): Shem and Being Truthful

SONG OF THE SEA: You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the powerful waters.

HAFTARAH: (when the) forty thousand (went against) Israel? My heart is toward the lawgivers of Israel,

TALMUD SOTAH: Daf 11 - Miracles in exile

GENERATIONS FROM ADAM TO THE LAST KING OF JUDAH: Shem

JOURNEYS IN THE DESERT: They journeyed from Alush and camped in Rephidim, but there there was no water for the people to drink.

On week eleven, week of Yud Kislev, the verses of the Song of the Sea speak of the wind, the sea, and powerful waters. The Hebrew word for wind is the same as the word for spirit and soul, Ruach. Spirituality, and the strength of the spirit, is also what differentiated the Jews from the Greeks in the times of Chanukah. Furthermore, the sea represents hidden wisdom, and water is also a reference to the Torah. (See Fourth Cycle of 22 days) This is connected to Chanukah, but also to Yud Kislev and Yud Tes Kislev.

The Haftorah’s verses speak of the miraculous way in which 40,000 officers of the enemy were defeated, and about the love for the wisemen of Israel. These are similar themes to Chanukah, regarding the miraculous nature of the miracle and the overwhelming number of the enemy, as well as how the inspiration for victory came from the wisemen, in the case of Chanukah, the Kohanim. Perhaps this is also related to the Alter Rebbe and the Mitteler Rebbe, both wisemen and lawgivers, personally saved on Yud Tes Kislev and Yud Kislev respectively.

Daf Yud Alef (Folio 11) of Sotah is primarily about Egyptian enslavement and persecution, and the brave actions of Miriam and Yocheved. It also describes the miraculous ways in which Jewish children were saved. We also celebrate similar miracles during Chanukah.

The 11th generation from Adam is Noah’s son, Shem. As already discussed previously, Shem’s name means “name,” and is connected to the idea of truth. Avraham and all the Jewish (and “Semitic”) people come from him. His brother Yafeth’s name means “beauty,” and Yavan, Greece, is his descendant. The Maccabean war with the Greeks and Greek culture is in actuality a fight between the descendants of Shem and Yafeth.

In the eleventh week, the Jews journey from Alush and camp in Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. Rephidim comes from the word rafeh, weak, and is a reference of a lack of proper devotion to Torah study. The personal journey for this week involves internalizing the concept of using power in a positive, non-corrupt way, and overcoming the weakness that comes with the lack of “water.” This is the fight of Kislev, and also the fight of the Mitteler Rebbe. 

Another key lesson in the service of G-d that we learn from Shem is the need for proper self-reflection, and engaging with ourselves and the world with truth. This is a key aspect of serving G-d, going over our deeds for the day, the week, the month, and seeing what we can improve. This is known as Cheshbon HaNefesh, spiritual accounting, and is also an important part of the Jewish practice of meditation known as Hitbodedut.

Week 12 (Book 3): Arpachshad and the Fiery Furnace

SONG OF THE SEA: Who is like You among the powerful, O Lord? Who is like You, exalted in the holy place?      

HAFTARAH: that offered themselves willingly among the people, (saying,) 'Bless the Lord.' 10. The riders of white donkeys,

TALMUD SOTAH: Daf 12 - Miriam and Moshe

GENERATIONS FROM ADAM TO THE LAST KING OF JUDAH: Arpachshad

JOURNEYS IN THE DESERT: They journeyed from Rephidim and camped in the Sinai desert.

On Week 12, week of Yud Tes Kislev, the verses of the Song of the Sea include the rhetorical question: “Mi Chamocha Ba’Elim Hashem,” Who is like You among the powerful, O Lord?  This phrase is the acronym for the name of the Maccabees. The repetition of the question, “Who is like You?” is also reminiscent of the “two lights” the Alter Rebbe brought to the world, in Halakha (nigleh) and Chassidus (nistar). The verse first talks about Hashem’s revealed greatness (Elim means forces of nature), the second about His hidden one.

The Haftorah’s verses speaks of self-sacrifice for G-d’s sake. It also speaks of “riders of white donkeys.” This appears to be a reference to Mashiach, who will arrive on a (white) donkey. The Alter Rebbe’s work, the Tanya, is connected to Yud Tes Kislev. R. Zusya of Anipoli is said to have predicted: “With the Tanya the Jewish people will go out to greet the righteous Mashiach.”

Daf Yud Beit (Folio 12) of Sotah is primarily about Miriam and Moshe. The Talmud relates that Moshe’s name was also Tuviah, because of the great light that was revealed about him when he was born. This is related to the Alter Rebbe, who was named Shneur because of the two lights he brought to this world. The discussion of Miriam is also pertinent. The Talmud speaks of how Miriam spoke to her father, and how by doing so she convinced him, and consequently all the Jewish people, not to divorce their wives. The Alter Rebbe’s daughter, Devorah Leah, had a similar discussion with the Alter Rebbe about giving up her life in order to add years to her father’s, so that the work of spreading the light of Chassidus could continue.

This week's link in the chain from Adam to the last king of Judah is Arpachshad, the son of Shem. His name in Hebrew can be divided into three words: “ohr” (light), “pach” (vial), “shad” (related to “Sh-dai,” one of G-d’s names, which stands for Shomer Daltot Yisrael,” Guardian of the doors of Israel. This is also the of G-d name placed on each Mezuzah). All three words are all clearly connected to Chanukah. Chanukah is the festival of light. We light the Menorah in honor of the small vial (pach) of pure olive oil that lasted eight days instead of one. According to Jewish law, the Menorah should be lit next to the Mezuzah. The Mezuzah is a symbol of dedication, like the name of Chanukah. In fact, when the Mezuzah is first placed, it is common to ceremony known as Chanukath HaBayit, an inauguration/dedication of the home. 

The Midrash states that the name Sh-dai stands for, “The One who told the world ‘dai ‘(enough).” (Chagigah 12a and Midrash Breishit Rabbah 5:8) The name reflects the fact that when Hashem created the world, set limits and boundaries, while He Himself is limitless and inifinite. This is very much the message of Chanukah as well, which we say how G-d can make miracles that are above nature.

In the twelfth week, the Jews journey from Rephidim and camp in the Sinai desert, where they gather around in unison in order to receive the Torah. The journey of this week is understanding that the weakness that comes from the lack of water comes about only in order that we gain even greater levels of Torah knowledge, such as on Yud Tes Kislev is when we receive the Toras HaChassidus, and Chanukah.

Another important lesson in prayer and Divine service that we learn from Arpachshad is his association with Ur Chasdim.[1] This is where Abraham was thrown into a fiery furnace for his defiance of Nimrod and belief in One G-d. Abraham’s great self-sacrifice and willingness to be thrown into the fire brings to mind the self-sacrifice of the Alter Rebbe, the Maccabees, and the Jews of the times of Chanukah. It also brings to mind the meditation technique of the great rebbe, Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhenk:

Every moment that you are not learning Torah, especially when you are idle and you are alone in your room or lying in bed and unable to sleep, your thoughts should focus on the positive commandment: “V'Nikdashti besoch bnei Yisrael" –I will be sanctified among the Jewish people” (Vayikra 22:32). You should think in your heart and conjure up in your mind there there is a great and awesome fire burning in front of you reaching up to the heavens, and for the sake of the holiness and sanctity of Hashem you are going against your nature and throwing yourself into the flames in sanctification of His Name. “And HaKadosh Baruch Hu joins good intentions with great deeds” (Kiddushin 40a). By doing this, you are no longer sitting idle but rather you are fulfilling a positive Torah commandment.[2]

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpachshad

[2] MiPeninei Noam Elimelech, Tzeitzel Katan, translated by Tal Moshe Zwecker

Week 13 (Book 3): Shelah and Chanukah

SONG OF THE SEA: Too awesome for praises, performing wonders! You inclined Your right hand; the earth swallowed them up.

HAFTARAH: those that sit in judgment, and those that walk on the path, tell of it. 11. Instead of the noise of adversaries, between the places of drawing water,

TALMUD SOTAH: Daf 13 - the Light of Moshe; Jacob and Joseph

GENERATIONS FROM ADAM TO THE LAST KING OF JUDAH: Shelah

JOURNEYS IN THE DESERT: They journeyed from the Sinai desert and camped in Kivroth hataavah.

On week 13, week of Chanukah, the verses of the Song of the Sea speak of praising G-d, Who performs wonders, and Whose miracles led to Jewish salvation. Praising G-d for his miracles is one of the key themes of Chanukah.

The Haftorah’s verses also describe the need to tell of G-d’s miracles, and the fact that the Jews were no longer being persecuted “between the places of drawing water,” a reference to the study of the Torah, which the Greeks were attacking.

Daf Yud Gimmel (Folio 13) of Sotah is primarily about the burial of Jacob and Joseph, although it also starts with a brief mention of how when Moshe was born, the room filled with light. Regarding Jacob’s burial, the Talmud highlights how the fight with Eisav was won, not by logical arguments, but through the lone supra-rational act of Chushim, son of Dan. As mentioned before, Dan connected to Teveth and Chanukah. As Eisav was making a baseless claim, and asking for proof for this and that, Chushim could not bear to see his grandfather’s burial delayed, went ahead and killed him. This is very similar to how the Chanukah revolt started. Matisyahu was asked to slaughter a pig on a pagan altar. Not only did he refuse, he killed the Jew and the Syrian representative that had demanded this.[1]The Talmud’s description of Joseph’s burial is also appropriate, as Yosef HaTzadik himself represents Jewish strength in the face of Greek repression. (See Book 1, Week 11)

Shelah, Archpachshad’s son, has one of the names of Mashiach. Shelah is also the name of Judah’s son, which he did not want to marry to Tamar. Rabbi Yosef Jacobson explains the connection between Shelah and Chanukah:

The Truth Emerges

Rabbi Isaac Luryah wrote that "the judgment that began on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is completed some three months later, during the days of Chanukah." That's why it is at this period of time - three months after the intimate union between Judah and Tamar - that Judah (the metaphor for G-d) is "informed" regarding the spiritual status of Tamar (the Jewish people) and the verdict is issued that Tamar has no future.

"When Tamar was being taken out, she sent word to Judah, saying, 'I am pregnant by the man who is the owner of these articles. Identify, I beg you, these objects. Who is the owner of this seal, cord and staff?'"

During that fateful time, when the "prosecuting angels" have almost been successful in demonstrating to G-d that the Jewish people are a failed experiment, at that very moment, the Jew sends word to G-d, saying, "I am pregnant by the man who is the owner of these articles!" The information you received that I abandoned you, is a blatant lie! If I have gone astray here and there, it is merely a superficial, temporary phase. Gaze into the deeper layers of my identity and you will discover that I belong to You, that my intimacy is shared only with You, G-d. "I am pregnant from Judah and not from anybody else!" the Jew declares.

"Identify, I beg you, these objects. Who is the owner of this seal, cord and staff?" For during the festival of Chanukah - when the judgment of Rosh Hashanah is finalized -- the Jew kindles each night a wick, or a cord, soaked in oil, commemorating the event of the Jews discovering a sealed single cruse of oil after the Greeks had plundered the holy Temple in Jerusalem (9).

The Jew further points to the staff in his arm (10). In order to preserve his faith, he was forced time and time again - for 2000 years - to take the wandering staff in his arm, abandon his home, wealth and security, and seek out new territory where he could continue to live as a Jew.

"Identify, I beg you, these objects. Who is the owner of this seal, cord and staff?" the Jew asks G-d. "It is to this man that I am pregnant!" Our loyalty and commitment remain eternally to the owner of the "seal" and "cord" of the Chanukah flames; our deepest intimacy is reserved to the owner of the "staff" of Jewish wandering.

Who Is the Traitor?

"Judah immediately recognized the articles, and he said, "She is right; it is from me that she conceived. She did it because I did not give her to my son Shelah."

When G-d observes the burning flames of the Chanukah menorah, He immediately recognizes that indeed, His people have never left Him. True, the Jew does fall prey at times to the dominating external forces of a materialistic and immoral world, yet this enslavement is skin deep. Probe the layers of his or her soul and you will discover an infinite wellspring of spirituality and love.

"If the Jew has, in fact, gone astray here and there, it is my fault," G-d says, not his. "Because I did not give Tamar to my son Shelah."Shelah is the Biblical term used to describe Moshiach (11),the leader who will usher in the final redemption. G-d says that for two millennia I have kept the Jewish nation in a dark and horrific exile where they have been subjected to horrendous pain and savage suffering. Blood, tears and death have been their tragic fate for twenty centuries, as they prayed, each day and every moment, for world redemption. But redemption has not come.

How can I expect that a Jew never commit a sin? How can I expect that a Jew never try to cast his luck with the materialistic world about him that seems so appealing, when I held back for so long the light of Moshiach?

"It is I, G-d, who is guilty of treason," G-d says. Not the Jew. Tamar is an innocent, beautiful palm-tree, which still has only one heart to its Father in heaven.[2]

In the thirteenth week, the Jews journey from Sinai desert and camp in Kivroth hataavah. The personal journey is to internalize the concept of receiving the Torat haChassidut, and now focus on the concept of burying one’s physical desires, through the concepts of Itkafiah and Itapcha, basic notions in Chassidic philosophy. (explained previously in the blog) [3]Chanukah, as opposed to other holidays, is primarily a spiritual holiday. There is no commandment to make a holiday meal. It is a holiday to sing praise to G-d spiritually.

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[1] http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Hanukkah/History/Maccabean_Revolt.shtml

[2] http://theyeshiva.net/Article/View/142/Have-We-Betrayed-Our-G-d-Has-G-d-Betrayed-Us

[3] http://www.kabbalahoftime.com/2013/11/explaining-chassidic-concepts-based-on.html; http://meaningfullife.com/oped/2008/06.27.08$KorachCOLON_42_Journeys_Part_3.php:“The Baal Shem Tov (citing Brit Menucha by the 14th century Kabbalist Rabbi Avraham ben Yitzchak of Grenada) interprets the “Graves of Craving” as a state of utter self-nullification through cleaving to G-d when one experiences the “death” of cravings, they become buried with no potential of reviving inappropriate desires.”

Week 14 (Book 3): Eber and Fighting Off Physical Desires

SONG OF THE SEA: With Your loving kindness You led the people You redeemed; You led [them] with Your might to Your holy abode.

HAFTORAH: there they will tell the righteous acts of the Lord, the righteous acts of restoring open cities in Israel.

TALMUD SOTAH: Daf 14

GENERATIONS FROM ADAM TO THE LAST KING OF JUDAH: Eber

JOURNEY IN THE DESERT: They journeyed from Kivroth haTaavah and camped in Hazeroth

On Week 14, also the week of Chanukah, the verses of the Song of the Sea speak of G-d’s redemption and might, leading the Jewish people to His holy abode. This again is a basic theme of Chanukah. This is also the week of Rosh Chodesh Teveth. Teveth is related to the power to multiply, particularly when things seem hopeless.

The Haftorah’s verses continue to describe the Chanukah mitzvah to tell of G-d’s miracles, Pirsumei Nissa. It also speaks of “restoring open cities in Israel,” very much like how the Temple was restored on Chanukah.

Daf Yud Dalet (Folio 14) of Sotah is primarily about the burial of Moshe. Moshe is buried across from (as a protection against) Baal Peor, which is related to promiscuity, intermarriage and idolatry. This is related to Chanukah, as fighting against these negative qualities was one of thr primary ibjextives of the Maccabees. On Daf 14, the tractate also begins a new chapter, returning to the subject of the Sotah ritual. It introduces the topic of the kind of offering that the Sotah brings, which is made of barley, animal food. The actions she is accused of are those of an animal, therefore the offering is also one of an animal. Again, there is a parallel here with Chanukah.

Eber, along with his great grandfather Shem, had established a yeshiva to study God’s laws already back in those days. The destruction of the Temple that took place in Teveth is connected to the fact that Torah study was not given the proper respect. Eber seems to be assisting Shem in the struggle against the values of Yaffeth and his grandson Yavan (Greece). Furthermore, it was by studying Torah in the Yeshiva of Eber that Yaakov prepared to face the deceit and the risk of assimilation in the house of Lavan.

In the fourteenth week, the Jews journey from Kivroth haTaavah and camp in Hazeroth. Hatzeroth is where Miriam slandered Moses, and some say it is also the place where Korach rebelled against him.[1] The personal journey is to use Chanukah to internalize the concept of burying one’s physical desires and focusing on the spiritual. We then turn to focusing on avoiding bad speech and rebellion against our leaders. Lashon Harah is equal to the sins of idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder. (BT Arachin 15b) The Talmud also suggests that it was because of these three things that the First Temple was destroyed. (Yoma 9a)[2]

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[1] http://meaningfullife.com/oped/2008/06.27.08$KorachCOLON_42_Journeys_Part_3.php

[2] http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/3weeks/vol5no8.html

Week 15 (Book 3): Peleg and Evil Speech

SONG OF THE SEA: People heard, they trembled; a shudder seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

HAFTORAH: Then the people of the Lord went down to the cities. Praise! Praise! Deborah.

TALMUD SOTAH: Daf 15 - The Metzorah

GENERATIONS FROM ADAM TO THE LAST KING OF JUDAH: Peleg

JOURNEYS IN THE DESERT: They journeyed from Hazeroth and camped in Rithmah.

On Week 15 is the fast of the 10th of Teveth, which marks the day in which the Babylonian Empire laid siege to Jerusalem, which was eventually destroyed. The verses of the Song of the Sea speak of how the people heard and trembled, and how the Phlistine inhabitants were seized by a shudder. Many years later, it would be the Jewish people that would tremble and shudder with the coming of the Babylonians and the siege they placed on Jerusalem. In the future, the 10thof Teveth day will be a day of celebration.

 The Haftorah’s verses describe how the people of G-d descended to the cities. The Hebrew word for cities used here is Shearim, which also means gates. On the 10th of Teveth, Nebuchadnezar and his people, who the prophets exclaim were sent by G-d, descended upon the city of Jerusalem and surrounded its gates.

Rashi explains that the reason the song states, “Praise, Praise Devorah!” is because the spirit of G-d had left her, because she had praised herself. This is connected to the idea that the First Temple was destroyed (and the spirit of G-d left it) because the people did not make the blessing over Torah study. First and foremost, we must realize that all Torah knowledge and all prophecy comes directly from G-d, and that there is no room to praise oneself.

Daf Tes Vav (Folio 15) of Sotah is continues the explanation of what the Sotahoffering entailed. The entire Daf consists primarily of contrasting the offering of the Sotah with that of the Metzorah, one who had contacted a spiritual skin disease resembling leprosy or psoriasis. The Talmud also notes that the purification of the Metzorah is more severe than that of the Sotah. The Metzorah’s sin is related to Lashon Harah, evil speech/slander, which, as mentioned last week, is equivalent to all three major sins in the Torah (idolatry, adultery, and murder), another reason given for why the First Temple was destroyed. The Metzorah himself must be exiled from the camp, and can only return once purified of his condition. His exile is similar to the exile endured by the Jewish people after the destruction of the Temple.

The Torah explains that Peleg was so named because it was in his days that the Tower of Bavel was made and the world’s population was split and spread into different lands. This “exile” is parallel to that of the Jewish people after the destruction of the Temple. The division also appears parallel to the Metzorah above, who was punished with exile because he had himself caused divisiveness among others with his evil speech.

The Babylonians made a point of exiling most of the Jewish people from the land and bringing a different people to dwell in parts of the Land of Israel. The split between the Jewish community in Israel and that of the Babylonian diaspora was one that remained in place for centuries.

 In the fifteenth week, the Jews journey from Hazeroth and camped in Rithmah. Rithmah, which is also known as Kadesh Barnea, was the place of another major sin of Lashon Harah, when the spies, not learning the lesson from Miriam, slandered the Land of Israel. Their actions, and the acceptance of their words by the Jewish people, led to Tisha B’Av, the date of the destruction of both the First and Second Temple. Rashi states:

Rithmah: Heb. רִתְמָה, so named because of the slander of the spies, for it says,“What can He give you, and what can He add to you, you deceitful tongue? Sharpened arrows of a mighty man, with coals of brooms רְתָמִים” (Ps. 120:3-4). - [Mid. Aggadah]

The slander against the Land was ultimately a slander against G-d. The people did not have faith that G-d could conquer the Land for them. The personal journey is to internalize the concept of avoiding bad speech and rebellion against our leaders, and focus on the concept of not speaking Lashon Harah against G-d and the Land of Israel. The Talmud teaches that whoever does not show gratitude towards his fellow human being will end up not showing gratitude to Hashem Himself.