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Judy’s Progress
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A weekly Dvar Torah published in loving memory of Mrs Judy Feiglin A"H Nylgyyp y"n ldn[m Mjnm 'r /b h"[ hwj ltyg /rm /mvn ywl[l
Vol 3 No. 15 10 Shevat 5774 January 11 2014 Beshalach
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Parshas Beshalach
The splitting of the sea was one of the most momentous events in history. The verse in Tehillim, that we say in Hallel states "" "הים ראה וינוסThe sea saw and fled." The Medrash in Tehillim explains this verse. What was it that the Yam Suf 'saw' that caused it to flee? The coffin of Yosef entering the water. Hashem said that the water should flee (and part) before the one who fled - as it states when Yosef ran from Potifar's wife, "He fled and went outside". So too the sea should flee in front of him.
Hashem is to flee from spiritually dangerous places - we must distance ourselves from trials as much as possible. One should not get to a challenging situation and fight with the Yetzer Hara face to face - that is the most difficult thing for a person to overcome. Even if one does not feel the pull of the evil inclination at times, if one is in a situation of challenge, the Yetzer Hara will undoubtedly prevent one from distancing themself completely. One will remain on the constant verge of sin and spiritual danger.
Rav Chaim Shmulevitz זצ״לasks what was exceptional about Yosef's fleeing, that in the merit of this act the entire Jewish nation merited salvation through the miracultous splitting of the sea? Yosef received his reward for not succumbing to his temptation with Potifar's wife - by becoming the second in command of Egypt. The Medrash details how each of Yosef's limbs was rewarded for refraining from sin. How, then, can the reward of fleeing outside be explained? Not only that, but this reward of the sea splitting was far greater than what Yosef received prior to that - being a ruler pales in comparison to the completely miraculous splitting of the sea and salvation of the Jewish people!
Yosef wanted to distance himself from the potential sin at the earliest possible moment - the few moments in which he could have retrieved his cloak would have meant placing himself in spiritual danger for that short period longer. This was what Yosef was fleeing from despite the fact that leaving his clothing behind meant leaving solid evidence for Potifar's wife to frame him. He sacrificed himself and his honour to distance himself as early and as quickly as possible from a potentially disasterous situation.
There is a very basic idea that we can see from here, something that should affect how we serve Hashem. There is an expression that "According to thepain is the reward". We can determine the difficulty of an act by looking at the reward granted. This suggests that Yosef's act of fleeing the house was far greater than the actions his limbs performed to refrain from sin. When Yosef left his clothing with Potifar's wife as he fled, although he was certainly stronger than her and could have retrieved it, he chose to run. The Ramban states that this teaches us that the essential part of serving
Additionally, we see a similar idea in this week's Parsha - Hashem did not lead the Jewish people the most direct way out of Egypt, through the land of the Plishtim, in order to prevent the temptation of returning to Egypt. In order to prevent this danger, Hashem led the nation through a longer route of desert. This idea should be an inspiration to us, to better ourselves and ensure that everything we do keeps us distant from spiritual dangers, and in that merit we hope that Hashem will grant us the redemption with miracles that Chazal tell us may dwarf even those seen at the Exodus.
This week's Dvar Torah is dedicated in loving memory of our grandfather, Isaac Feiglin ר׳ יצחק בן ר׳ מאיר דוב פייגלין ע״הwhose Yahrtzeit is on Tu Bishvat.
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Additionally, this Dvar Torah is in memory of Mrs Jenny Abzug ע״ה, a dear family friend who passed away last week.
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Vol 3 No. 15 10 Shevat 5774 January 11 2014 Beshalach
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Judy’s Progress
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d"[v/ tbv 'y jlvb /vrp
Dear Family and Friends, We hope you are enjoying the Divrei Torah every week.We hope that they bring some additional Torah thoughts to some Shabbos tables around the world! If you would like to support Torah learning in Israel in Judy's h"[ merit, we have added a "Donate" button to the blog proceeds go directly to Kollel Zichron Pinchas Meir in Yerushalayim. ($US only at this time). Anyone who is interested in contributing/writing a Dvar Torah for a particular week or sponsoring an edition please email us at
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