Rabbi Binyamin Yuhanan Parshat Beshalach 1

good evening we're learning parat B par Bak really starts um in the previous par b means when par sent the Jewish people out but really he sent them out in parat BO and in parad BO we read on page 359 in art scroll that Egypt imposed itself strongly upon the people to hasten to send them out of the land for they said we're all dying so the Egyptians are pushing the je people until now for 210 years they were holding on not letting them go even to bury Yakov who who passed away it was such a big deal they had to ask special permission to take the dead body out and for sure Egyptians don't want to let any living person out of of their country and here they're saying leave and they're pushing them and the people picked up their dough before it could become leav before it became k and they went and they took silver and gold utensils and garments from the Egyptians they borrowed them pretending to borrow them and the Egyptians were so afraid and so uh they were they they kept held Jewish people in such esteem by now that they said yes of course it's going to be our honor take everything and The Exodus began the children of Israel journeyed from rames to sukot the first stop was sukot first the Jewish people all of them assembled from the entire Egypt they came to rames and some say this was a miraculous uh transport On Eagle's Wings to bring all the Jewish people to rames and then they traveled to sukot a place called sukot 600,000 men men plus children plus women plus elderly plus babies right now also a mixed multitude went up with them and their animals and the the [Music] the now we come back to the continuation of the story yes they went out from Rams says to sukot and then what happened we're on page 367 of the AR it happened when parro sent out the people that God did not lead them by the way of the land of Pim of Philistines now here we see how Hashem is orchestrating all the events first of all we read read in the last week's paraa just now that the Jewish people borrowed vessels gold and silver and garments from the Egyptians now Hashem said it for two reasons number one he wants Jewish people to become rich and to be paid for all the hard labor they did for 210 years but there's a second reason and that is so that the Egyptians start regretting why did we let them go and not only we let them go we gave them our gold and silver and precious garments they told us they're going to borrow it and they're not coming back we want our money back so Hashem wanted the Egyptians to become angry to regret that they sent the Jews and to run after them Hashem wanted it to happen this is a lesson for us that whenever the non-jews attack us it's not by chance it's not because they decided so it's because Hashem arranged it so that they should be inspired to attack the Jews sometimes it is because of the fault of the Jew when the Jew is going away from God so Hashem sends a a non-jew to chase him back to God but like it happened in this case sometimes a a non-jew attacks a Jew in order for the Jew to see that God will protect him to see the greatness of of Hashem so Hashem really wants that the Egyptians should run after the Jews because he wants to give them one last makah one last hit but the Egyptians are scared they don't want to pursue the Jews they don't want to get hurt so Hashem has to inite them and one way that he incites them is that they give away their money to the Jews and now they regret they want their money back and the second way Hashem incites them is because it says it happened when power sent out the people Hashem made par think that he let the Jewish people go of his own free choice par didn't realize that it was not his choice anymore if he would not let them go he would die and his entire country would perish but Hashem made it look like it was his choice and since he allowed them to go now he can change his mind and bring them back because par is thinking that it's not God who took them out it's me I let them go that's the second way Hashem turns the screws in par and in Egyptians brains in order to convince them to pursue the Jews the Third Way Hashem convinces the Egyptians is because Hashem did not lead them by the way of the land of pelishtim because it was near he did not lead them on a straight path from Egypt North through the the sector Gaza all the way into the land of Israel instead Hashem said the second reason perhaps people will reconsider maybe the Jewish people themselves if it's so easy to go up maybe they'll go down the same way when they see a war when they have to fight a single War they might get scared and they will return to Egypt so for these two reasons in order to cause par to um think that the Jewish people are lost that's why they're not going straight they're going zigzag par should think that he has a chance to catch them and number two in order to so that the Jewish people should lose their way back they shouldn't find it so easy to come back for these two reasons Verse 18 says God turned the people toward the way of the Wilderness to the Sea of reeds instead of going to Israel Hashem turns them to go to Southeast you're supposed to go north and you're going Southeast and he's taking him towards the Sea of reeds the famous sea that is going to split soon why is Hashem taking them towards the Sea of reeds for the same reason Hashem wants the Egyptians to think that they are lost and they can catch them where they will be stuck by the Sea the Egyptian Army is going to come and and catch the Jews and the Jews will have no way to run and Hashem is arranging this whole situation to trick Egyptians to think that the Jews are trapped because he really wants to punish the Egyptians and he really wants the Jewish people to see his power and his love for us so the children of Israel were armed when they went up from Egypt now this word in Hebrew isim if you read in English what you see is what you get they were armed They Carried weapons why does the Torah need to tell us that They Carried weapons for two reasons number one to tell us that even though they had weapons they did not need to use them in the fight against Egyptians because Hashem took care of them the Jewish people did not need to use their own might they could have but they did not need because Hashem took care of our enemies and the second reason we need to know that the Jewish people had weapons is because soon after the splitting of the sea they will fight amalekites the people of amalik the evil nation and it says that they slaughtered them by the edge of the sword most of them at least so we will ask a question the Jewish people were slaves they ran away from Egypt where did the weapons come from and so the Torah informs us yes they took weapons with them but in Hebrew the word hamim also comes from the word hes and kushim means fif and 1th of the Jewish people came out of Egypt what does it mean and our sages say that only one fifth of the entire Jewish Nation deserved to exit and only one fifth of the Jewish people wanted to leave 80% of the Jews remained in Egypt and died there during the plague of Darkness that means that when we read that there were 600,000 adult males leaving Egypt and together with children and with women and with elderly we estimate about 3 million people that means it is only 1 15th how many Jews were in Egypt as slaves must be there were 15 million Jews in Egypt that's a huge number this is the same number as the number of Jews now right now according to most estimates there are 15 million Jews in the United States and there were I'm sorry in the entire world six in United States seven in Israel plus another couple million around the world just like we started with 15 million Jews 3 and a half thousand years ago we are still with the same 15 million Jews 3 and a half thousand later 3 and a half thousand years later while the Chinese during the same time they went from 15 million to 1 and a half billion and the Indians from the same number went almost to 1 billion but the Jewish people stayed throughout the entire history of the Jewish Nation they stayed on the same number when we were in Egypt we were 15 million people we lost 80% we gained them slowly through the Jewish Commonwealth the the the country of the land of Israel then again we lost 10 tribes out of 12 or out of 13 we lost again 80% of our population then again slowly we gained it then again through Inquisition and Pags we lost many millions and then again we regained it and again through the Holocaust we lost 6 million and now again we regained it and we're back at million and our sages say and it is painful to repeat that at the end of times when mashia will come how many people will married how many people will survive to see mashia and to go to the land of Israel and see the Redemption they say history will repeat itself and again 80% of the Jews around the world world including America and including Israel will not survive only 20% of the entire Jewish population Will Survive not only that to make things Fair our sages say that 2third of the entire world will also not survive in the war of Gog and Magog only onethird of the world will remain it's difficult to say but it's not so hard to imagine anymore with nuclear weapons everything is possible now and even though we have seven or eight billion people we might find Shalom ourselves with only two billion people and surprisingly if we look at potential people who might survive the war of Gog and Magog there's only one criteria and that is whoever wants to survive whoever wants to go to the land of Israel and the land of Israel as opposed to state of Israel land of Israel the land of Torah the land of the sages the land of God the land of Judaism whoever believes in God whoever serves God whoever is committed to God and whoever wants to be redeemed and leave everything he has here and go to the land of Israel will be granted opportunity however whoever doesn't believe in God whoever doesn't keep Torah whoever doesn't want to leave his wealth and go to Israel whoever doesn't believe in mashia will have to remain which means they will remain and perish Shalom voluntarily it's their own choice they don't want to go to Israel so they're not going to go and even people who are in Israel but are dreaming to leave and to to come to United States as we know unfortunately majority of Israelis want to live in America and there are over 1 million Israelis Living in America is Israeli citizens they're living in America why so many the truth is that another 5 million Israelis want to move to America [Music] because that's their goal to be like all the nations and and uh and uh make great wealth but those Jews who love Israel and want to stay in Israel will be allowed to so it's a it's a difficult prediction but the prophecy says that just like the Jewish people lost 80% by the exodus by the Redemption from Egypt we will also lose 80% by the Final Redemption by the war of Goan Magog now we are on verse 19 Moshe took the bones of yourself with him because ysep made the Jewish people promise that when God redeems you take my bones out of Egypt now how did they travel they first we know they travel from raes to sukot now verse 20 said says they traveled from sukot and encamped in aam at the edge of the Wilderness now they're by the Wilderness desert they left the inhabited area what's going to be how are they going to be protected in right away Hashem provides the solution verse 21 Hashem went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them on the way this Cloud was a Divine Cloud it would smoo the way for them all the ditches and mountains would become flat and smooth like paved and it would kill all the Scorpions and snakes and wild animals on the path and it would protect them on all sides from uh hot sun and from cold nights and it would also protect them on top it would be a canopy to protect them from sunlight and from rain and by the way it would also show them where to go where the clouds would would move that's where the Jewish people would go and By Night Hashem went before them in a pillar of fire to give them light Pillar of Fire at night to lead them on the way so that they could travel by day and by night now we turn to page Hashem spoke to Moshe saying speak to the children of Israel and let them turn back and encamp at pirot between mdol and the Sea of reeds before Balon that's a name of an idol you should encamp opposite the idol by the Sea now the Jewish people are confused what is this we're traveling and now we have to turn back and we have to be next to this Idol between the idol and the Sea what did we forget there are we going to the beach why are we by the Sea and Hashem explains verse three par will say of the children of Israel they are imprisoned in the land they are locked in the wilderness has locked them in they don't know where to go this is again to trick par I shall strengthen the heart of par and he will pursue them and I will be glorified through par and his entire Army and Egypt will know that I am Hashem and so they did they listen to Hashem and they put themselves in a vulnerable position they had the sea at their back they cannot Retreat they're stuck why did God ask them to encamp opposite of the idol in order for par to think that this Idol overpowered God Shalom and that it kept the Jews from going and now par the idol worshipper that he is is going to worship this Idol and ask him to deliver the Jewish people in his hand and because par is going to serve the idol he will think that he will succeed and that will give him further courage so that when the sea splits he will blindly go into the sea to be covered so Hashem is carefully arranging everything for the ultimate downfall of parro's AR Army it was now action begins it was told to the king of Egypt that the people had fled six days passed and the Jewish people are not coming back the Jewish people told par we're only going 3 days there we're going to serve God and then three days back six days passed they're nowhere in sight the heart of par and his servants became transformed regarding the people they understood that they were tricked that they were taken the advantage of they were being lied to and they are upset rightfully so and the Heart of par and his servants became transformed regarding the people they said what is this that we have done we have sent away Israel from serving us such a huge nation and as we calculated there were 15 million Jews in Egypt how is it possible there were less Egyptians than 15 million there were no 15 million and some historians say yes that is true there were more slaves in Egypt than there were free people and therefore it makes sense that there were many more Jews in Egypt than Egyptian and that is why parro got scared the the Jewish nation is so numerous if they just Rebel they're going to overthrow us we cannot control such a mob because yes there were more Jews in Egypt Egypt than Egyptians and that's why the Egyptians are saying how foolish can we be why did we let such a good workforce out of Egypt so par harnessed his Chariot and took his people with him by convincing them that I will reward you you will be able to choose from the spoil of War anything you want now we describe his powerful Army he took 600 Elite chariots and plus all the Chariots of Egypt with officers on all of them he pursued the children of Israel but the children of Israel were going out with an appraised arm appraised arm is a symbol of freedom it is symbol of going out not as slaves humbly trying to run away but as Free People proud and unafraid now verse 9 page Egyptian pursued them and overtook them it took Egyptians just a single day to catch the Jews who have been traveling for 6 days already and the Jews were encamped by the Sea they were just relaxing in a camp all the horses and Chariots of par and his Horsemen and army now we turn to page 371 par approached and the children of Israel raised their eyes and behold Egyptians are journeying towards them and they were very frightened n of civilians children women Elders with their animals with their possessions not prepared for war they cried out to Hashem and they complained to Moshe were there no graves in Egypt that you took us out in Wilderness why this whole show and this Escape if we're going back and we're going to die right now what did you do to us to take us out of Egypt it would be better for us to be slaves in Egypt than to die over here and Moshe said to people do not fear stand strong and see the salvation of Hashem that he will perform for you today for as you have seen Egypt today you shall not see them again from here we derive a negative Commandment that we are not not allowed to go to Egypt because mosha said you're not going to see Egyptians again now some say that this only applied to that generation who actually came from Egypt and some say that this only applied while the ancient Egyptians lived in Egypt nowadays it's not the Egyptians it's the Arabs that live in Egypt and therefore it is permitted to go and Moshe reassures them ver verse 14 Hashem shall make war for you and you shall remain silent you don't need to do anything don't even pray don't cry just stand patiently quietly and watch what's going to happen and hasem said to Moshe why are Jewish people crying to me speak to them and let them Journey everything's taken care of they can just continue on their way through the sea and you lift up your staff and stretch out your arm over the sea and split it and the children of Israel shall come into the midst of the sea on dry land now turn to page 373 and I will be glorified through parro Hashem wants the Jewish people and the entire world to see his power and that is why he is enticing parro and Egyptians to come into the sea towards their own death now the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them where it was leading them and went behind them which means the pillar of cloud stood between the Egyptians and the Jewish people to protect them the Egyptians started shooting arrows and throwing Spears and they would get stuck in the cloud and some of them would even bounce back and hit Egyptians and there were cloud and darkness on the side of Egyptians because the night came and there was pillar of cloud on the side of the Jews so they had light but the Egyptians had Darkness while it illuminated the night for the Jews and that's how they spend the night Jews next to the Sea Egyptians on the other side with a cloud in between Egyptians submerged in darkness Jewish people having light verse 21 mosha stretched out his hand over the sea and Hashem moved the sea with a strong East Wind all the night Hashem did not make an open Miracle the mo Moses stretches his hand and all of a sudden the sea splits not like the movie but rather he made both the Jews and the Egyptians think that the wind split the sea so that the Jews will be tested will they trust God and go into this Sea and the Egyptians will think that it just happened there was a strong wind that split the sea and it's safe to go and they will go in not realizing that it's Hashem who split the sea the children of Israel came within this sea on dry land and the water was a wall for them on their right and on their left they were walking through