Monday, April 18, 2016

Passover \ Psalm 114 - Joy and Wonder


1. When Israel left Egypt, the house of Jacob [left] a people of a strange tongue,
א. בְּצֵאת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרָיִם בֵּית יַעֲקֹב מֵעַם לֹעֵז:

2. Judah became His holy nation, Israel His dominion.
ב. הָיְתָה יְהוּדָה לְקָדְשׁוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל מַמְשְׁלוֹתָיו:

3. The sea saw and fled; the Jordan turned backward.
ג. הַיָּם רָאָה וַיָּנֹס הַיַּרְדֵּן יִסֹּב לְאָחוֹר:

4. The mountains danced like rams, hills like young sheep.  
ד. הֶהָרִים רָקְדוּ כְאֵילִים גְּבָעוֹת כִּבְנֵי צֹאן:

5. What frightens you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn backward?
ה. מַה לְּךָ הַיָּם כִּי תָנוּס הַיַּרְדֵּן תִּסֹּב לְאָחוֹר:

6. You mountains, that you dance like rams; you hills, like young sheep?
ו. הֶהָרִים תִּרְקְדוּ כְאֵילִים גְּבָעוֹת כִּבְנֵי צֹאן:

7. From before the Master, Who created the earth, from before the God of Jacob,
ז. מִלִּפְנֵי אָדוֹן חוּלִי אָרֶץ מִלִּפְנֵי אֱלוֹהַּ יַעֲקֹב:

8. Who transforms the rock into a pond of water, the flint into a fountain of water.
ח. הַהֹפְכִי הַצּוּר אֲגַם מָיִם חַלָּמִישׁ לְמַעְיְנוֹ מָיִם:



On Passover, like other Jewish holidays, the Hallel is recited. It is part of the Pesach Seder, recited as part of the morning service, and some include it in the evening service for the first day of Passover as well. It is a group of six psalms starting with Psalm 113 and ending with Psalm 118. The shared theme is thanksgiving to G-d for salvation from desperate straits. Psalm 114 specifically gives thanksgiving for the salvation from slavery in Egypt. Many Ashkenazim follow the custom of the Vilna Gaon to say it as the psalm of the day on the first of Passover. Hasidim, though, say it during the evening service.

Psalm 114 is a song of jubilation for being redeemed from Egypt and particularly for being saved by the parting of the Red Sea. It also contains allusions to the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai as well as the miracle of receiving water from a rock. There are also hints about Israel’s special role in the world as well as the omnipotence of the Holy One Blessed be He.


The Psalm starts with the phrase, “When Israel left Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people with a foreign language”. The Malbim explains that the exodus from Egypt was significant because it was at this time that Divine Providence over the nation began. In an amazing way they became the lot of Hashem and stopped being under the providence of nature. They became governed by all sorts of miracles, signs, and wonders, until it was clear to all that Hashem was overseeing them. The miracles of the exodus were meant to show the Divine Providence over Israel. The term “House of Jacob” refers to the Divine Providence that was over the ordinary people. This is different from “Yisrael” which refers to the best of the nation.

The Psalm continues, “Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion”. The most common use of the word sacred is religious. However it more specifically means dedicated or exclusive. In the case of Yehuda it is special because it is the royal tribe and the one which brought forth King David and his dynasty. The Radak explains that it was at the Red Sea, though, that HaKadosh Baruch Hu made them an independent kingdom and dominion not under the control of another rather under His authority. This is like it says later in the Chumash that they became separated from the other nations, a holy nation, and a kingdom of priests. Yehuda though was special because they became the head and traveled first because G-d had sanctified them from among Israel.

There is a legend in the Talmud (Sota 37a) which explains how Yehuda sanctified the name of the Almighty in the midst of all Israel: When the Israelites stood by the Red Sea . . . each tribe was unwilling to be the first to enter the sea. Then sprang forward Nahshon the son of Amminadab [chief of the tribe of Yehuda] and descended first into the sea . . . At that time Moses was engaged for a long while in prayer; so the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, ‘My beloved ones are drowning in the sea and you prolong prayer before Me!’ He spoke before Him, ‘Lord of the Universe, what is there in my power to do?’ He replied to him, Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward. And lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thy hand etc. For that reason Judah was worthy to be made the ruling power in Israel, as it is said: Judah became His sanctuary, Israel his dominion. Why did Judah become His sanctuary and Israel his dominion, because the sea saw [him] and fled.

“The sea saw and fled; the Jordan turned backward”, comes to emphasize and add to the miracle of the splitting of the Red Sea. The Redak explains that it was as if the water was fleeing in dread from the children of Israel. The phrase that the Jordan River turned backwards is an allusion to the splitting of the Jordan River when it was crossed in the days of Joshua at the start of the conquest of the holy land. There are also legends that when the Red Sea split so too did every body of water in the world.

The line about the mountains and hills dancing like sheep is often understood as referring to the revelation on Mount Sinai. It says in the Chumash that the mountain shook in anticipation of G-d appearing to speak to the nation of Israel. However one can also understand it as not only did the Red Sea split but the earth also shook at the same time. So to speak the mountains reply that they are shaking before the G-d who performed these great miracles and rules over not only nature but the entire world as well.

The last line comes to emphasize the mastery of Hashem on everything by recalling the miracle of Moshe getting water out of a rock. Flint is a very hard rock. Never the less it became the source of a pool of fresh water for the people when they were thirsty. The Psalm is meant to arouse joy and wonder so as to add meaning and beauty to the holiday of Pesach and the Pesach Seder.


  
לע"נ ה אמה מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז בנוסן תשנ"ח
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