Datan and Abiram and the splitting of the sea 5779 

This Saturdaynight is our dad’s Yahrzeit. It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years. Idrove by the Aventura hospital yesterday and it literally felt like yesterday,pulling in and out of that parking lot at all hours of the day and night, as weall kept him continuous company. On the other hand, we’ve been blessed so muchin these last five years with children, grandchildren, great grandchildren andeven great great grandchildren, ken yirbu, that every minute can be counted. Sowas it yesterday or long ago? Time is so strange. 

When the rabbistell us that no one feels the loss of a loved one as much as a spouse, one canreally understand what they meant and see how the loss weighs on that spouseeven after so much time passes. Sitting with my mom on Shabbat, we spoke of mydad. Sixteen hour workdays were not unusual for Joe R Bibi, in fact they werethe norm. Between the office, the factory, the synagogue, the school, thesenior citizen’s center, the Torah center and whatever else came his way, hewas a diligent worker, always there to serve and do for others, and nevercomplained about the work load. It really was a seven day job. He worked withhis head, but also worked with his hands, blessed with the ability to repairand fix so many things. They called him a community leader, but he referred tohimself as a community worker toiling on behalf of the kahal, but tremendouslyblessed for having been given the opportunity. He never shied away from lendinghis shoulder to lighten the burdens of others even when the weight of it all wouldhave crushed a normal person. He often scarified on the altar of service of hisown blood, sweat and tears. 

 

What wasremarkable is that he was a very powerful person, physically and with apresence, but he never demanded from others and he never demanded from us. Henever pressed us into service verbally. He never told us what to do or requiredthat we join this or that. He did set a model of what it was to volunteer andtaught by example. Eventually each of us in our own way followed that exampleand through us my dad truly lives on. It’s heartwarming to hear people dayafter day share their memories of him and of what it was like to work with himand how inspired they were seeing such dedication and self-sacrifice.  

 

On Mondaymorning we were reviewing the reading of the first portion of this week’sPerasha. Many of us are familiar with the verse which tells us that theChildren of Israel went out chamushim which we see also in the book of Joshuameans that they were armed. Many of us are also familiar with Rashi who quotesthat this word indicates a fifth; and that is only a fifth of the people leftEgypt. Four fifth who didn’t want to leave lost their lives during the plagueof darkness. Now although some commentaries vehemently disagree with this, wecan certainly understand why many didn’t want to leave and often expressed adesire to return. 

 

With Egyptdecimated, the people realized that there was a country filled with resourcesand supported by the Nile which was ripe for taking over. Crossing into Canaanwas beyond their wildest dreams. How does one find water, food and shelter fortwo million people? Why search for a new land, when they had a land they knewfor the previous two centuries and which could be theirs for the taking?  

 

And if we couldimagine leaving anyone behind, who would we leave? Who were the worst two guysfrom the moment Moses first encountered them beating on each other before hehad to flee to Midian? Who were the two who caused trouble time and again inthe desert? Who were the brothers behind each rebellion? And who in factremained behind in Egypt with Pharaoh in the palace while their brothersmarched out of Egypt and sat at the edge of the Red Sea? They were none otherthan Edward G Robinson and Frank DeKova – I mean Datan and Abiram!  

 

Week after weekand year after year, in enlightening shiurim, Rabbi Pinchas Friedman, mayHashem bless him, forces us to look atwhat we think we know with very different eyes.  

 

We see thatafter the nation has departed Egypt and made a U Turn in the desert, The Torahquotes Pharaoh 14:3 as saying to “ Bnei Yisrael, ‘They are confined in theland; they are closed in by the midbar.” The question is how will Pharaoh be able tosay such a thing to Bnei Yisrael after they have already left his realm and hispresence? Targum Yonatan explains that we are being informed that Pharaoh isaddressing members of Bnei Yisrael who remained behind in Egypt, namely Datanand Abiram. 

 

The Machzor BetYisrael for Pesach, presents a fascinating idea in the name of the Midrash.Datan and Abiram originally remained in Mitzrayim with Pharaoh; they were notwith Bnei Yisrael when the sea split for them. Afterwards, however, when theywitnessed the miracle of the splitting of the sea, and how the waters fell backupon the Egyptians, they regretted their decision and opted to rejoin thepeople. So how did they get across?  

 

In yearspassed, we examined the apparent redundancy between verses 22 and 29 of Chapter14. The two verses with a couple of slight changes are strangely repeated soclosely together. Why?  

 

Let’s examinethe verses. First the splitting of the sea: “Moshe stretched out his hand overthe sea, and Hashem moved the sea with a strong east wind throughout the entirenight, and he turned the sea to damp land and the waters split. AndBnei Yisrael entered the sea on dry land; and the water formed a wall for themon their right and on their left.”  

 

Then asrelating to the Egyptians: “Mitzrayim pursued and came after them — every oneof Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen — into the midst of the sea. . . Hashem said to Moshe, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, and the waterswill go back over Mitzrayim, over its chariots and over its horsemen.” Moshestretched out his hand over the sea, and toward morning the water went back toits power . . . The waters came back and they covered the chariots and thehorsemen of the entire army of Pharaoh, who were coming behind them in the sea— there remained not a one of them.” 

 

So we think thedrama has ended, but then we find that almost word for word repeated verseagain: “And Bnei Yisrael went on dry land in the midst of the sea; the waterformed a wall for them, on their right and on their left.”  

It is suggestedthat the first verse refers to Nachshon Ben Aminadab who followed by the tribeof Judah enters the water with complete faith that G-d will do something andwhen it reaches his mouth, the water splits and he is standing on draw landwith strong walls of faith to his right and two his left. 

 

In the secondverse the word for wall – chomah- is deficient missing the vav and can be readchamah, meaning anger. We are told that these Benai Yisrael step into a dry bedwithin a water that is reluctant to split and surrounded, not by walls offaith, but walls of anger who truly wish to come down upon them. And as verse29 follows the account of the return of the waters of the sea crushing theEgyptians, this seems to be a second splitting after the fact.  

 

The Be’er MayimChayim sees this second splitting referring to “Benai Yisrael”. And these arethe same “Benai Yisrael” who remained in Pharaoh’s place after everyone elsehas been forced out of Egypt. He suggests the minimum plurality is two; so whenthe verse states that Bnei Yisrael entered on dry land, it is referring to amere two members for whom the sea split, and they are none other than Datan andAbiram — with regards to whom our rabbis taught that they remained behind andthe sea subsequently split for them alone. This viewpoint is also expressed inthe Chiddushei Maharil Diskin. I find this all absolutely amazing and it fitsin so well that their walls are not walls of faith, but walls of anger whotruly wish to come down upon these two wicked brothers. 

 

And now the$64,000 question, a perplexing matter with which the commentaries struggle. Weknow that Datan and Abiram were already wicked while in Egypt, as is evidentfrom that which is written regarding Moshe (Shemos 2, 13): “he went out on thesecond day and, behold, two Jews were quarreling with one another. He said tothe wicked one, “Why would you strike your fellow?” Rashi comments: These twoJews were none other than Datan and Abiram, the same two who left over some ofthe “mahn.” Both are referred to aswicked.  

 

So, we mustendeavor to explain why these two wicked men were allowed to live and to leaveEgypt. Why didn’t they perish during thethree days of darkness along with all of the other wicked ones? The matter is even more inexplicable in lightof the Midrash which teaches us that the sea split a second time especially forDatan and Abiram. How did these two wicked men merit such a feat? (My brotherVictor offered an amazing answer a few weeks ago in his shiur on Shemot, titledDatan and Aviram.) 

Rabbi YehoshuaLeib Diskin, ztz”l. offers us a wonderful explanation and that leads to awonderful lesson. Based on the pesukim, he advises that the guards of the BneiYisrael, who had been appointed by Pharaoh’s taskmasters, were Datan and Abiramand when the people failed to meet their brick quota, it was Datan and Abiramwho received beatings on behalf of Yisrael. They in essence paid for theircrossing with their own blood, sweat and tears.  

The rabbisteach us and compare the difficulty one has in earning a living and thedifficulty in finding a proper wife and raising a family with the splitting ofthe sea. As difficult it is to go against nature and split the sea, this is howdifficult it is to find sustenance and how difficult it is to find a good wife.So what do we do? 

 

Hashem in hismercy created a paved path for all Yisrael throughout the generations. Wheneverthey will require sustenance or a proper mate — which are as difficult as“Kriat Yam Suf” — they will be deemed worthy in the merit of their physicaltoiling in the study of Torah and the fulfillment of mitzvoth. Furthermore, if they extend themselvesphysically or financially to assist their fellow Jews, they will be no lessworthy than Datan and Aviram to merit “Kriat Yam Suf.” In this manner, theywill merit earning a living and finding a wife and raising a family which areas difficult as the splitting of the sea.  

 

What an amazinglesson for all of us. Although we may not be Moshe Rabeynu who raises his handsand splits the sea. And we may not be Nachshon with his faith who steps intothe sea and proceeds until it splits. Perhaps we are not the great scholar whofinds learning so easy. And perhaps we are not the Mitzvah Man dedicating ourdays to doing kindness.  

 

We see that weare not only judged based on the results. We are judged based on the effort. Wehave to “kill ourselves” trying. We need to “break our teeth” over the page weare studying. We need to bend our back to take the burden from our friends andfamily and strangers too. We must put in the time and energy into helpingothers and doing misvot and in this way we merit with Hashem’s help a goodfamily and a good living.  

 

May the exampleour father set, be the example followed by our children and grandchildrenalways. 

 

Shabbat Shalom, 

 

David Bibi