Words From Rabbi White

Dear mitpallelim

I am writing from my son’s house in Boca. I miss Chevra Shaas and all my Montreal friends very much, but I can’t say that I miss the snow and cold temperatures.

Benai yisrael are finally escaping from Egypt.

They get to the yam suf, cross over the sea, and then begin the journey through the desert to erets yisrael.

How did they know the direction? How is it possible to travel without Waze?  Well, they had the best gps system ever! For Hashem was leading them with a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire.

The Torah says “lo yamish” the pillar of cloud during the day, and the pillar of fire during the night, in front of the people. Most of the classical commentators understand “lo yamish” as being what your English teacher would call a transitive active verb. that is, Hashem would precisely alternate the clouds at the proper moment.

The commentary Baal haturim noted that the only other place in the entire bible where the words “lo yamish” appear in combination are in reference to Joshua’s devotion to Moses. Joshua was at Moses’ side every evening when the pillar of fire appeared, and every morning as soon as the pillar of cloud appeared.

The Baal haturim learns an important lesson from here: that devotion of student to teacher is why Joshua eventually merited to go in front of the people and to lead them into Canaan.

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I am always happy to hear from you. I can be reached at whitemenahem@hotmail.com Or by phone at 201-836-6750 or 551-206-0395

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Menahem White