Parashat Beshalach 5786: Faith in the Almighty – The Secret of Redemption: The Main Thing Is Not to Be Afraid at All of the Gentiles

By: Yekutiel Ben Yaakov

How appropriate is the reading of the weekly portions that tell of the plagues that Hashem inflicted on Pharaoh and the Egyptians, especially at this time, when the current headlines scream about the modern Pharaoh in Tehran who continues to threaten the Jewish people and who hardens his own heart despite the blows he has already received from the previous round in the Twelve Day War – twice as much as the Six Day War. “Have you not yet known that Iran is lost?” The pathological hatred of the Persian Supreme Leader against Israel blinds him completely, just like Pharaoh who insisted on not recognizing Hashem.

In the end, Pharaoh broke down and gave in to Moshe’s demand “Let my people go.” The plagues did achieve their purpose – as it is written – “When the Holy One, Blessed be He, exacts retribution from the nations, His name is sanctified and glorified in the world,” (Tanhuma Beshalach 7).Precisely “as the downfall of Israel is a desecration of His name,” (Rashi to Yechezkel 36:20). God brought the plagues upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt so that both Pharaoh and Israel would know that he is God. This is the purpose of the plagues, this is the purpose of the creation of the world, and this is the purpose of redemption.

“And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them, I the Lord their God.” (Exodus 29:46).

All that is called by My name and for My glory I have created it. (Isaiah 43:7)

The process works as follows: Israel is pressed and reaches a nadir, and prays for the salvation of Hashem when there is no one else to rely on but Hashem. “There is no one to lean on but our Father in Heaven.” As the cry to Hashem began to set the wheels of redemption in motion in Egypt: “And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians are holding captive, and I have remembered My covenant.” (Exodus 6:5)

But without acts that express faith in Hashem, redemption in Egypt had not yet come. The splitting of the sea was not accomplished solely by prayer, “And Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the Children of Israel and let them journey,'” (Exodus 14:15.)

And so too in our own day. For what good is redemption to a people who do not recognize the hand of God, and who do not come to the recognition of God through the miracles and salvation? Who is a candidate for redemption? A person who anticipates and prays for redemption, and a person who recognizes the salvation of the Lord – as stated, the recognition of the Lord and the knowledge of the Lord – is the purpose of redemption, and out of this knowledge and recognition the people of Israel will keep the Torah and the commandments: Rabbi Binyah said: “The world and its fullness was created only for the sake of the Torah, (Proverbs 3:19): “The Lord founded the earth with wisdom.”” The prophet Yehezkel repeatedly mentions  that the redemption will not cone because we necessarily merit it, but rather for G-d’s name sake which was desecrated and defiled by the Jewish presence in the Exile. Because there could be no greater desecration to the name of G-d than the Holocausts and pogroms perpetrated against G-d’s people.

By singling out Israel – the representatives and chosen of Hashem in the world – for salvation, the recognition of Hashem – the G-d of Israel who saves His people Israel – is achieved. It is therefore clear that a situation must be created in which the victory and salvation are attributed to Hashem – i.e., a situation in which it is impossible to attribute the victory to any other factor than Hashem. Not Trump, not the UN, and not even our own might and main – maximum clarity is required that we know that everything is from Hashem.

If redemption is contingent upon prayer, anticipation of redemption, and recognition of the power and hand of Hashem that turns all things, and if practical expression of this faith is a prerequisite for the coming of the Redeemer, then we must express this faith and perform acts that demonstrate and demand faith. In the Exodus from Egypt, the Jewish people were indeed redeemed by acts of faith, expressed in the blood of circumcision and the blood of the Paschal sacrifice. In the Paschal sacrifice – the slaughter of the lamb – the god of Egypt, and there could be no greater defiance of a slave to his master than to desecrate the master’s god and slaughter it (Mekhilta Shemot 12). The Holy One, Blessed be He, gave them two commandments, the blood of the Paschal lamb and the blood of circumcision, to occupy themselves with, so that they would be redeemed, as it is said, “And I passed over you and saw you wallowing in your blood” (Ezekiel 16:6). And as it is written, “The exiles will not be gathered in except for the sake of faith” (Mekhilta).

The future/present redemption will be similar to the redemption from Egypt, as it is said, “As in the days of your going out of the land of Egypt I will show you wonders.” Therefore, just as then faith brought about the exodus from Egypt, so too today. Therefore, we must contemplate and ask what acts of faith are required of us.

And as we read in Beshalach, “Then sang Moses” – the song of redemption that came immediately after “And they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant,” (Exodus 15:31). What are the commandments that express our faith in Hashem in this era? How can we show by our actions that we believe that Hashem is all-powerful and stronger than the Arabs, the Americans, and the entire world combined? By keeping the “dangerous” commandments that may lead to the isolation of Israel – by ignoring world public opinion, when we overcome the fear of what the gentiles will say: by using the necessary force to defeat Iran and our enemies, by unlimited settlement in the entire promised land, by building the Temple, by expelling our enemies, and so on.

And for the Jew in the Diaspora, his faith is expressed in his identification with Israel and his immigration to Israel in spite of all the ostensible dangers and obstacles that prevent him from returning home before it is too late.

One cannot but be awed by the prophecies written in the Bible that are being fulfilled before our very eyes. It is difficult to know the exact manner in which the redemption will continue to unfold, but it seems that we are approaching the words of the Pesikta that are also brought in the famous Yalkut Shimoni:

The Midrash states: “Rabbi Yitzchak said: In the year that the Messiah will be revealed, all the kings of the nations will be provoked against each other, the king of Persia (Iran of today) will provoke the king of Arabia, and the king of Arabia will go to Aram (Iraq and the United States) to take counsel from them, and the king of Persia will return and destroy the entire world (Iran’s nuclear threats and capabilities).

And all the nations of the world are trembling and terrified and falling on their faces and are seized by labor pains like those of a woman in childbirth (great fear of the Iranian danger), and Israel is trembling and terrified and saying: Where shall we go (for the king of Persia is about to destroy Israel), and He says to them (the Holy One Blessed be He to Israel): My children, do not be afraid, all that I have done I have done only for you. “Why are you afraid? The time of your redemption has come, and the last redemption is not like the first redemption, for after the first redemption you had suffering and subjugation to the nations, but after the last redemption you will have no suffering and subjugation to the nations.”

Right on the headlines, the world media today is full of the great fear of the Iranian reaction.

It is well known that prophecy was given to fools, “Since the Temple was destroyed, prophecy was taken from the prophets and given to fools and children” (Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 12b), and therefore the custom was established to turn to children with mental retardation or autism and ask them what will be. Published today on the web by the parents of an autistic child who asked him if we should worry about the war situation: And this is how the special child answered them:

“Shabbos will probably be attacked only if Hashem decides otherwise. But there will be miracles, Abba, you don’t have to worry, everything will be fine, you just need faith, that’s our weapon, that’s our strength, I wish you lots of strength.”

On the other hand, we must take note of the harsh decrees and events that should cause us to reflect on our actions and return in repentance, such as the deaths of the kindergarten children and the earthquakes that have occurred in the land in recent days, and in the words of the Rambam:

“This is one of the ways of repentance: When a calamity befalls them, they cry out to Him; they know that it is because of their wicked ways that evil has befallen them, as it is said, “Your iniquities have caused this” (Jeremiah 5:25), and this will cause them to remove the calamity from them. But if they do not cry out, and do not blow the shofar, but say that this is the way of the world, and that this misfortune is a mere accident—this is the way of cruelty, and it causes them to cling to their evil deeds, and the trouble will increase and other troubles will come: this is what is written in the Torah, “And you shall walk with Me in chance, and I will walk with you in the chance of wrath” (Leviticus 26:27-28). That is, when I bring a trouble upon you, in order that you should repent—if you say that it is a mere coincidence, I will add to you the wrath of that coincidence.”

“Repentance, prayer and charity avert the evil decree! It is incumbent upon the leaders to proclaim a day of fasting, to sound the shofar and to deliver words of rebuke to the people!”

If, G-d forbid, the Iranians succeed in sinking American warships, or planes, or hitting a significant target in Israel or around the world, then the words of the Midrash will be screaming, but even without the nightmare scenario, it seems that we are approaching a situation where the whole world will see the salvation of the Lord in the redemption of Israel, and in revenge when he pours out his wrath on all the nations “who do not know you” – as stated in the prophecy of Isaiah as a clear sign of redemption “For the day of vengeance is in my heart and the year of my redemption has come.” If events play out that Israel is left alone, without America playing a central role, for whatever the reason, then this could become the endgame, attributing the great victory to Hashem, may it be God’s will.