The lessons of the Rebbe, Rabbi Josiah Pinto, Shlita are renowned in the Jewish world. They combine Hasidism and thought, along with tips for a better life. We have gathered pearls from his teachings relevant to our daily lives. And this week: Parashat Bashalah
And he put the sea to ruin, and the waters split (Exodus 14:21).
Our holy gentlemen tell us in Tractate Sota (2:1): Rabbi bar Chana said, Rabbi Yochanan Vakshin said to their pair as the splitting of the Red Sea. And regarding man’s livelihood, the Gemara says (Pesachim 118.) Rav Shizbi of Shemiah Darbi Elazar ben Azariah Kashin noted that a person’s food is like splitting the Red Sea.
And here we must understand, in the holy Torah, it is said,”and the waters shall split,” and we were “hatching” the Red Sea, while the Sages used “tearing” the Red Sea. What is the difference between hatching and tearing?
Another question – if mating and livelihood are as tricky as the splitting of the Red Sea, what was it in the Red Sea that gave us the privilege of tearing it apart, and thanks to which man will earn a living and mating?
One can explain and say a significant element, the first time a thing is cut in half is hatching. Tearing, on the other hand, is in something whole and cut, glued, and again cut is tearing – when what was already intact, is torn a second time.
According to this, it is possible to explain what our holy gentlemen say, when the Israelites left Egypt and reached the Red Sea, G-d tore up the sea for them, but there were two people, Datan and Aviram, who did not go with the Israelites who remained in the land of Egypt to help Pharaoh. Regarding Pharaoh’s words, “They are embarrassed in the land, the desert closed on them,” says the Targum Jonathan, “And Pharaoh said to Datan and to their knight, the children of Israel, Damshiron in Egypt” – Datan and Aviram stood with Pharaoh and he told them that the people of Israel were perplexed in the desert, And when Pharaoh started chasing the Israelites, they went with him. But when Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea, Datan and Aviram wanted to cross the Red Sea and God performed a miracle for them and the sea was torn apart for them again.
Our holy gentlemen teach us that there were two ruptures of the Red Sea – the sea was torn twice in two. The first time the sea was split for the Israelites and the Israelites passed through the sea by land, then the water returned to the Egyptians and they drowned in the sea. The second time, after the Egyptians drowned in the sea, the sea was again torn apart by Datan and Aviram and they crossed the sea by a great miracle – alone.
According to this, it can be explained and said, when the Torah speaks of the “splitting” of the Red Sea, this is the first time that the sea was split in two. But when the Sages say that Adam’s food and the pairing of Adam as the splitting of the Red Sea are difficult, we are talking about the second rupture – the one that took place for Datan and Aviram. This is already tearing, not hatching.
And here is the place to ask, what did Datan and Aviram gain when the sea was torn apart for them?It is said by our holy gentlemen that Datan and Aviram were policemen
in the land of Egypt. When the Egyptians enslaved the Israelites, they would put a responsible Jew to be a policeman for every group of Jews who had to work. If the Jews did not work according to the harsh demands, the Egyptian policemen would beat the Jewish policemen and beat the Jews who would work. Our holy gentlemen say that Datan and Aviram were among these policemen, But even though they were wicked, they still did not want to upset the Israelites at work, if a Jew did not do the work as the Egyptians asked him they would be beaten, but on the other hand they did not beat that Jew or pressure him.So, because Datan and Aviram were sorry and received blows from the Egyptians and did not pressure the people of Israel, the
Red Sea was torn apart for both of them – even though they were wicked, even though they remained with Pharaoh, and even though in the desert whenever there was a crisis they would cause Moses and the people of Israel great sorrow. And yet, since they received blows from the Egyptians and did not upset the people of Israel, After all, the Red Sea was torn apart for them privately.This is the great
virtue of a Jew who is sorry and not distressing Jews. Such a Jew gains the great virtues to the point where the Red Sea will be torn apart for him.According to this, it is possible to explain the words of the Sages: it is difficult to identify a person as the splitting of the Red Sea, and the difficulty of a person
‘s livelihood as the splitting of the Red Sea – if a person wants to know because of why the sea was torn apart for Datan and Aviram for the second time, the answer is because of what they regretted for the people of Israel and did not upset the people of Israel.So a person who is looking for a virtue for a livelihood and a virtue for mating, a person who
wants to find his mate quickly, a person who sees that his livelihood is difficult. The virtue that will save him is to be sorry for Jews, not for Jews. If there is something that distresses Jews and a person can take it upon himself and prevent sorrow from Jews, it is because of these actions that he will get a decent match quickly and because of the sorrow that he is sorry and not unfortunate, He will earn a living with profit and abundance.
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