The Gemara in Pesachim (Pesachim tractate), daf (page) kuf yud chet, masechet (tractate), is dedicated b'shalom Binyamino, bi'refuat Miryam bat Sultana, refuah shelemah, Miryam bat Ima Shalom, Ima Shalom bat Nakdam, and El na refa na betoch she'ar cholei Yisrael, amen (Please heal among all the sick of Israel, amen).
We begin today's daf on kuf yud zayin, amud bet (second side of the page), and we're at the Mishnah. Matnitin (our Mishnah): Mazgu lo kos (cup) shelishi: they poured him the third cup of wine. Mevarech al mezono: of course, he makes Birkat HaMazon (Grace after Meals). Revi'i gomer alav et haHallel: the fourth cup; it says that he completes the Hallel (Psalms of praise), and ve'omer alav Birkat HaShir (blessing of the song). We will see what Birkat HaShir is.
Bein hakosot halalu, im rotzeh lishtot yishteh: between these cups, if he wants to drink, he may. The Rashbam ultimately learns that this means between the first and second cups and between the second and third. Although here mashma (it implies) that he does not allow you to drink between the first and second, lema'aseh (in practice), later on he says clearly that you're allowed to drink between the first and second and between the second and third. But bein shelishi lirevi'i lo yishteh: you shall not separate between the third and fourth cups.
Matnitin. Rashbam: Birkat HaShir, Gemara mefaresh: the Gemara explains it. Bein hakosot halalu: between the first two and the last two, im ratzah lishtot yishteh. You see from the Rashbam where it sounds like the permission is between the second and third. Bein shelishi lirevi'i lo yishteh. Matzati beGemara Yerushalmi (I found in the Jerusalem Talmud): Lamah lo yishteh? Why may he not drink? Kedei shelo yishtaker: so that he won't get drunk. That's a good reason. You don't want to get drunk. Vetuv lo matzi lememar Hallel: he won't be able to say Hallel when drunk.
They object there: Parchei hatam: Vahalo kevar meshukar hu sheshatah kevar... What are you talking about? He already drank two cups. If he's not—he drank three cups, so he's already drunk. What do you mean? Now you're worried that between the third and fourth cups the next cup is going to tip him over? What happened to the first three cups? He already drank a lot during his meal. The reply is: Sheshatah kevar harbeh bise'udato? Umeshani: Yayin shebetoch hamazon eino meshaker (intoxicating), shele'achar hamazon meshaker. The wine he drank during the se'udah (meal), we're not so worried about. During the se'udah, it's going to get absorbed by the food. It's after the se'udah is over that the wine is meshaker.
Vehu hadin nami deyayin shelifnei hamazon eino meshaker. I have another question: what about the wine you drank, the two cups before the meal? That also is not meshaker, because it's followed by a meal. Ve'im ratzah lishtot bein rishon lesheni yishteh. Clearly, here you see that the Rashbam gives us his real opinion: even between one and two is permissible. Deha lo mema'et hatanna ela bein gimmel ledalet. Beautiful.
The Gemara: Amar lei Rav Chanan leRava: Shema mina Birkat HaMazon te'unah kos. From here you see that Birkat HaMazon needs a cup, from the fact that the Mishnah said that the third cup is al hamazon. Why? There's obviously some sort of controversy over this Rashbam, because in masechet... Berachot, it isn't stated explicitly that it requires a cup; we infer it from a diyuk (inference). The Gemara says at the beginning of the chapter: “Shemat minah meha matnitin telat? Shema minah: Birkat HaMazon te'unah kos.” Right, it was an inference made from a Mishnah. But here you see it explicitly: the Mishnah is saying that you need Birkat HaMazon and a cup.
The Gemara says, actually, no. Amar lei Rav Chanan leRava: Shema mina Birkat HaMazon te'unah kos. Amar lei: Arba'ah kasei takinu Rabbanan derech cheirut, kol chad vechad na'avid bah mitzvah (commandment). The Rabbis want you to drink four kosot, and they want you to drink them derech cheirut (freedom), so they placed them where you're doing a mitzvah. This means that on a normal night you would not necessarily need to make a cup for Birkat HaMazon. But on leil Pesach (Passover), they established four cups derech cheirut and placed them at points where you're doing a mitzvah. So you have no proof that on a regular night you have to make a cup for Birkat HaMazon.
Arba'ah kasei takinu... That's what the Rabbis established. Vechol chad vechad na'avid bah mitzvah. That is, it is appropriate to perform a mitzvah with each one. But during the rest of the year, a cup isn't required, because even here the cup isn't coming on account of Birkat HaMazon. The cup isn't for Birkat HaMazon; it's for cheirut. It's for Pesach. So you have no proof.
Revi'i gomer alav et haHallel ve'omer alav Birkat HaShir. With the fourth cup, you say Hallel and Birkat HaShir. Mai Birkat HaShir? What is Birkat HaShir? Good question. Rabbi Yehudah says: Yehalelucha (May they praise You) Hashem Elokeinu. That's the berachah (blessing) we say after Hallel. The Rashbam says: Vegomrin bo... “Baruch attah Hashem Melech mehulal batishbachot.” Vezo hi Birkat HaShir dematnitin, kelomar Birkat HaShir. That's the berachah acharonah of Hallel.
VeRabbi Yochanan amar: Nishmat kol chai (The soul of every living being). Nishmat kol chai. Fine. The Rashbam says: “Af Nishmat, dehainu Birkat HaShir dematnitin, de'ilu Yehalelucha anu omrim bechol yom she'omrim bo et haHallel. Umah shna leil Pesach denakat, im lo lehosif od berachah acheret?” Right, it follows automatically: you said Hallel, so you have to say Yehalelucha. That's no chiddush (novel insight). Birkat HaShir must be something besides Yehalelucha. What is it? Nishmat kol chai.
Vehainu de'amar: Hahalachah keRabbi Yochanan betarvaihu. Betarvaihu means both Yehalelucha and Nishmat; that is, you do both. Ukeva'uhu le'achar Hallel HaGadol (the Great Hallel). That's what we do: we say Hallel HaGadol, then Nishmat, and then we close. Shetzarich le'omran kedilekaman: we haven't learned Hallel HaGadol yet, but we'll get to it. Dehashta ika berachah bechol chada vechada vehachi havya milta shapir kach nireh be'einai. So there's a berachah on each cup, and therefore you have a berachah on the last cup as well. What's the berachah on the last cup? Yehalelucha. Basically, every cup gets a berachah.
Tanu rabanan: Revi'i gomer alav et haHallel ve'omer Hallel HaGadol. A new item: you have to say Hallel HaGadol. It means tzafun. Veyesh omrim Hashem ro'i lo echsar. Interesting. We don't do that, but the Gemara has a shitah (opinion) that says you can say Mizmor leDavid (A psalm of David).
Mehechan Hallel HaGadol? Where does Hallel HaGadol start? We know the answer ourselves: from the beginning of the chapter, Hodu l'Hashem ki tov ki le'olam chasdo (Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His kindness is everlasting). However, the Gemara has different opinions here. Rabbi Yehudah says, “MeHodu ad Naharot Bavel,” which is that chapter. Which chapter is that? 1 136. 137? Yes, 136 is Hodu and 137 is Al Naharot Bavel. So basically, say chapter 136 from beginning to end. Rabbi Yochanan says, “Mishir hama'alot ad Naharot Bavel,” which is actually 134 to the end. Rav Acha bar Yaakov says, “Miki Yaakov bachar lo Yah ad ad Naharot Bavel.” Yaakov bachar lo Yah is 135, pasuk (verse) 4.
Velamah nikra shemo Hallel HaGadol? Why do they call it Hallel HaGadol? It's not so big; it's 26 lines, basically. Why is it called Hallel HaGadol? Amar Rabbi Yochanan: ShehaKadosh Baruch Hu yoshev berumo shel olam, umchalek mezonot lechol beriyah. The Creator of the world is in the upper worlds and distributes sustenance to every creature. That's where you see God's greatness. Gadol is an expression of chesed (kindness). When we say in the Amidah (standing prayer), “HaEl haGadol haGibor vehaNora,” gadol is chesed, gibor is gevurah (might), and nora is rachamim (mercy), corresponding to Avraham (Abraham), Yitzchak, and Yaakov.
So where do you see God's greatness, God's mercy? In the fact that He gives parnasah (livelihood) to all living beings, whether they deserve it or not. Therefore, it's called Hallel HaGadol. Where do you see in Hallel HaGadol that it talks about this? It says, “Noten lechem lechol basar ki le'olam chasdo.” It's also called Hallel HaGadol because it has 26 pesukim (verses), corresponding to the 26, the name of Havayah (the Tetragrammaton), which is the great name. As we say in Birkat HaMazon, Ashkenazim say “Ba'avur shemo hagadol,” which means “His great name” is the name of parnasah.
Amar Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: Hani esrim veshisha Hodu keneged mi? These 26 “Hodu”s correspond to what? Keneged chof-vav dorot shebara haKadosh Baruch Hu be'olamo, velo natan lahem Torah, vezan otam bechasdo. The first 26 generations before Matan Torah (Giving of the Torah): there are 10 generations from Adam (Adam) to Noach (Noah), 10 generations from Noach to Avraham, and six generations from Avraham to Moshe (Moses). Those 26 generations lived before there was Torah. Therefore, God sustained the whole world with kindness.
I once saw a sefer that goes through each “Hodu” and explains each generation. “Hodu l'Hashem ki tov” is Adam, and the next one is Kayin (Cain), and then the next one—it goes through the 26 generations, until you get to Matan Torah.
Amar Rav Chisda: Mai dechtiv Hodu l'Hashem ki tov? What does “Hodu l'Hashem ki tov” mean? Hodu l'Hashem: thank God, shegoveh chovato shel adam betovato. God takes His bill, takes payment from the good that He bestows on the person. Ashir beshoro: instead of taking the rich person himself, He takes his ox. Sometimes He gives him the ox so that He can take it away from him and thereby save and spare his life. Ani besheyo: for a poor person, He takes his sheep. Yatom bevetzato: the orphan—what does he have? An egg. He takes his egg. Almanah betarnegolta: what does a widow have? A chicken. So what do you see? Hodu l'Hashem. Why “ki tov”? Because He takes payment through a person's possessions, not the person himself.
Amar Rabbi Yochanan: Kashim mezonotav shel adam, kiflayim keyoledah. A person's sustenance is difficult, even twice as hard as childbirth. Because of childbirth, the verse says “Be'etzev”—“Be'etzev taldi vanim”—so be'etzev means it will be difficult. What does it say about sustenance? “Be'itzavon.” Itzavon is like double, so much harder. You have to tell your wives that making a living is much harder than giving birth. Now they'll tell us, “Okay, giving birth is”—you never gave birth, okay? You never tried to make a living. So the Gemara says it's twice as hard: etzev and be'itzavon. It's Gemara meforeshet: be'itzavon is twice as hard. And by the way, you only do that for nine months; we've got to do that for 70 years. You know what I mean? Whatever, just to make a point.
Amar Rabbi Yochanan: Kashim mezonotav shel adam yoter min hage'ulah. A person's sustenance is difficult. So who's in charge of the ge'ulah? “Hamalach hago'el oti mikol ra”—an angel, nothing more. Not only the future redemption: generally, whenever a person is saved, it can be done by an angel. Yaakov Avinu was blessed—he blessed his children with “Hamalach hago'el oti mikol ra yevarech et hane'arim.”
Ve'ilu bimezonot ketiv, “Ha'elohim haro'eh oti.” Parnasah has to come from God directly, lo al yedei mal'ach. Actually, it comes from the name Elohim, which is interesting.
Here's the famous chiddush they say: why, when a person goes up to the sefer Torah, do we say “Barechu et Hashem hamvorach,” whereas for Birkat HaMazon we say “Nevarech Eloheinu she'achalnu mishelo”? Why do we use Shem Havayah for the sefer Torah, and Shem Elohim for Birkat HaMazon? As it says here again, “Ha'elohim haro'eh oti.” Why is the name Elohim used? The kavanah (intention) is midat hadin (the attribute of judgment).
The explanation is that when a father brings a child into the world, from the perspective of din he has to support him. He can't say, “I'm not supporting you. You brought me into the world; you owe me parnasah.” So parnasah comes from the perspective of din. Torah, however, was a gift. Just because God brought us into the world doesn't mean He has to give us Torah. It's a present. So it comes from the name Yud-Kei-Vav-Kei. Yud-Kei-Vav-Kei is rachamim. For the sefer Torah, you say “Barechu et Hashem hamvorach”; for Birkat HaMazon, “Nevarech Eloheinu”—you owe it to us. You brought us into this world; you have to support us. “Ha'elohim haro'eh oti.”
Amar Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: Besha'ah she'amar HaKadosh Baruch Hu le'Adam, when God told Adam Harishon, “Vekotz vedardar tatzmi'ach lach,” that the fields were going to grow thorns and thistles, zalgu einav dema'ot: his eyes filled with tears. He thought God was telling him he would eat the same food as an animal, the food animals eat. Amar lefanav, “Ribono shel Olam (Master of the universe), ani vehachamor nochal be'evus echad?” Am I and my donkey going to eat from the same trough? That's animal food; it was a shame. Adam hasechel—was he to lower himself to such shame, to eat the same food as an animal?
Keivan she'amar lo, “Beze'at apecha tochal lechem,” “You didn't understand Me”: the fields would grow thorns and thistles, and he would have to work the fields to produce wheat and turn it into bread, which is brain food. Nitkarerah da'ato: he was reassured. That means he accepted that he would have to work hard to get bread.
The Gemara says he shouldn't have accepted it. Amar Resh Lakish: Ashreinu im amadnu barishonah. We would have taken the first option. Why? Ve'adayin lo paltinan minah, deka achlinan isba dedabra. We eat herbs, we eat grass, we eat things that grow from the ground. That would have been better! Take the thorns and thistles and keep quiet. Things grow; you don't have to work, and you can learn Torah without having to work so hard. He should have said, “Okay, thorns and thistles. You don't have to eat animal food; we still eat herbs. Don't we eat things that grow wild in the fields?” So it wouldn't have been so bad if Adam Harishon had just—if it had happened that way.
Let's read. So it sounds like that by asking, he ended up—Hashem changed it. Right, right. It sounds like the request made it worse. He should have stopped there; he should have said thank you. No effort, exactly, less effort. Celery juice.
Zeh HaKadosh Baruch Hu yoshev umefarnes olam. We saw that: “Noten lechem lechol basar,” betov uve'ayin tovah shemashpi'a lo. Fine. Ashir beshoro, fine. Mafsid mamon, itzavon, keri'at Yam Suf (Sea of Reeds)—we haven't seen that yet. Amar Rav Shezbi mishmeih deRabbi El'azar ben Azaryah: Kashin mezonotav shel adam kekri'at Yam Suf. What's the connection? Dechtiv “Noten lechem lechol basar,” which is in Hallel HaGadol, vesamich leh “Legozar Yam Suf ligezarim.”
What does kashin mean? We explained it based on the Zohar that we studied the other night in parashat Terumah. The Zohar Hakadosh explained as follows: what does kashin mean? The kavanah: something's difficult for the Holy One, blessed be He? It was difficult when there was a kitrug (prosecution). When we came out of Egypt, at the splitting of the Yam Suf (Sea of Reeds), it wasn't easy to split the sea, because the angels in heaven said, “Halalu ovdei avodah zarah vehalalu ovdei avodah zarah.” When there's a kitrug like that in heaven, the Creator of the world has to overcome the prosecutions, rise up to chesed, and do it nonetheless. At that time, He really saved wicked people, which is difficult for the Holy One, blessed be He: He had to fight against the prosecutions.
It's the same with parnasah. Parnasah comes to the world for the righteous and the wicked. Everybody gets it. Doesn't Hashem give parnasah to the wicked? So that's difficult, because there are prosecutions: why are You giving them parnasah? Just as keri'at Yam Suf shows that when the Creator of the world brings shefa (abundance) to the righteous and the wicked, that is the issue of difficulty, because they don't deserve it, so too with parnasah: you see that the world is sustained. It's not only the righteous who get parnasah; everybody gets parnasah. That's the issue of difficulty.
Amar Rabbi El'azar ben Azaryah, kashin—no, machuk. Rashbam? I had a question there. Read it. Please read that; I'll read it. “Kekeri'at Yam Suf,” kelomar, “nes gadol oseh lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu lemi shenoten lo mezonot, ka'asher asah leYisrael shekara lahem et hayam, venafka mina lemib'ei rachamei.” What does it say? At keri'at Yam Suf, did you have a question whether you had to pray? You knew you had to pray because you needed a miracle. Some people think parnasah is natural. No, it's just as big a miracle for money to come into your pocket. So the practical implication: what did they do at keri'at Yam Suf? Nobody had to tell them to pray; it was automatic. They saw the Egyptians behind them and the Yam Suf in front of them. There was no choice; they had to rely on God to do something. So they're telling you: don't think your parnasah is natural, as if you go to work and get a paycheck. It's just as big a miracle. Therefore, the practical implication is that you have to pray for it to happen. It's not something to take for granted.
The Gemara continues: Amar Rabbi El'azar ben Azaryah: Kashin nekavav shel adam. Wow, nekavav—a person's, I guess, what? Constipation? Rashi says, “Kesheyehe atzur,” when he is constipated; “keyom hamitah,” it's like the day of death, lo aleinu. “Kekeri'at Yam Suf,” shene'emar, “Miher tzo'eh lehipate'ach,” referring to opening his bowels, uchtiv batreih, “Roga hayam vayehemu galav.” It's serious when a person is constipated. You need a miracle like keri'at Yam Suf to get out of it.
Ve'amar Rav Sheshet mishum Rabbi El'azar ben Azaryah: Kol hamivazeh et hamo'adot, ke'ilu oved avodah zarah. We saw the Zohar this week, which brings the exact same pesukim. The Zohar says whoever eats chametz on Pesach is as if he worshipped idols, because the verse says, “Elohei masechah lo ta'aseh lach,” uchtiv batreih, “Et Chag HaMatzot tishmor.” Here the Gemara is speaking more generally: anybody who is mevazeh et hamo'adot, who disrespects the festivals, is as if he worshipped idols.
There's an amazing Rashbam here, rabotai, a famous one. “Kol hamivazeh et hamo'adot”—“She'oseh melachah becholo shel mo'ed.” Ah, chazak uvaruch! It's not Yom Tov (festival day). I don't need the Gemara to tell me about Yom Tov; it's Chol HaMo'ed (intermediate festival days)! Whoever disrespects Chol HaMo'ed is as if he worshipped idols.
I think I once saw the Ben Ish Chai (Ben Ish Chai) in Ben Yehoyada (Ben Yehoyada) say what the pshat (plain meaning) is. The Jewish people worshipped the calf, right? The calf was avodah zarah, and that's a sin that still haunts us to this day. It says that they worshipped the calf for six hours, because six hours later, it says, “Vayar ha'am ki voshesh.” It says “beshesh”: they worshipped for six hours. They were a little off on the time, and then Moshe Rabbeinu came.
The Ben Ish Chai says that to nullify the avodah zarah of six hours, you need bitul beshishim (nullification by sixty). How much is sixty times six hours? 360. So he says, if you do the math, how many festival days do we have altogether? We have seven days of Pesach, seven days of Sukkot (Sukkot), and, let's say, one day of Shavu'ot (Shavuot). That's 15. What's 15 times 24? 360. So you see here that the regalim nullify the avodah zarah by sixty! That's why you need the festivals. If you don't have Chol HaMo'ed, you won't nullify the avodah zarah. You need those intermediate days to count as part of the calculation. Shene'emar: the verse says, “Elohei masechah lo ta'aseh lach,” uchtiv batreih, “Et Chag HaMatzot tishmor.”
Ve'amar Rav Sheshet mishum Rabbi El'azar ben Azaryah: Kol hamsaper lashon hara (harmful speech), whoever speaks lashon hara, vechol hamekabel lashon hara (and whoever accepts harmful speech), vechol hame'id edut sheker bachavero—whoever testifies falsely against his fellow—is ra'ui lehashlicho lakelavim, fit to be thrown to the dogs. Shene'emar, “Lakelev tashlichun oto.” And what does it say after that? Uchtiv batreih, “Lo tisa shema shav.” Not only “lo tisa,” but don't—we read it as “lo tasi.” “Lo tasi” means don't promote it; don't speak it.
Read Rashi: “Rashbam hamekabel lashon hara. Shemekabelo uma'amino al chavero.” Ah, that's two things. Mekabel—the pshat is that you believe it. Because the Gemara says in Erchin (Arakhin tractate) that we learned you're allowed to be choshesh (be concerned) about it, right? You can be choshesh, but here he's saying ma'amin: you believe it, accept it as fact. That's the sin.
Mihu? Afilu hachi, tarvayhu, lekabulei lo miba'ya leh, lemeichash leh miba'ya leh, ked'amrinan beMasechet Niddah (Niddah tractate). In Masechet Niddah, exactly.
Now, why do you have lemeichash? What do you say for lemeichash? One time, Chacham Baruch was at one of his rallies in the shul, in the terrace room those nights, and he was speaking about a certain rabbi. Rabbi Betzalel Toledano, may he live and be well, was next to him. One of the wiseguys from the other side said, “Isn't what you're saying there lashon hara?” Rabbi Betzalel jumped up and said, “Lemeichash miba'ya!” He said, “So don't believe me, but you have to be choshesh!” Wow, he got him. He told him, “Okay, don't believe me, believe me. But lemeichash—you have to be choshesh. And I'm telling you something serious.”
Vechi me'achar de'ika Hallel HaGadol, anan mai ta'ama amrinan hai? Why do we say the other Hallel? If we're saying Hallel HaGadol, why do we say Hallel Mitzri, “Halleluya halelu avdei Hashem”? You're already saying Hallel, Hallel HaGadol. The Gemara says: Mishum sheyesh bo chamishah devarim halalu. There are five things unique to Hallel Mitzri: yetziat Mitzrayim (Exodus from Egypt), keri'at Yam Suf, Matan Torah, Techiyat hametim (resurrection of the dead), and chevlo shel Mashiach (Messiah). We'll see each of the five.
Yetziat Mitzrayim, dechtiv, “Betzet Yisrael miMitzrayim”; keri'at Yam Suf, dechtiv, “Hayam ra'ah vayanos”; Matan Torah, dechtiv, “Heharim rakdu che'eilim”—that's the mountains at Matan Torah. Techiyat hametim, dechtiv, “Ethalech lifnei Hashem.” Chevlo shel Mashiach, dechtiv, “Lo lanu lo lanu.” As we say, “Don't bring Mashiach for our purpose; bring him for Your purpose.”
The Gemara continues: Amar Rabbi Yochanan, “Lo lanu Hashem lo lanu”—zeh shi'bud malchuyot. This refers to the time when God will bring the kings and all the governments under the power of the Holy One, blessed be He. Ika de'amrei: Amar Rabbi Yochanan, “Lo lanu lo lanu lo lanu Hashem lo lanu”—zo milchemet Gog uMagog (Gog and Magog), the final war. Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak says: Mipnei sheyesh bo milut nefashot shel tzadikim miGeihinam (Gehenna). One reason we say it is that this Hallel mentions the rescue of the righteous from Geihinam. Shene'emar, “Annah Hashem maltah nafshi.” Save my soul from Geihinam.
Chizkiyah amar: Mipnei sheyesh bo yeridatan shel tzadikim lechivshan ha'esh va'aliyatan mimenu. This chapter mentions how the righteous went down into the fiery furnace and Hashem saved them. Who are the righteous? Chananyah, Mishael, ve'Azaryah (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah), who were thrown into the fiery furnace in the time of Nevuchadnetzar (Nebuchadnezzar). A miracle happened to them, and they were saved.
Yeridatan, dechtiv, “Lo lanu Hashem lo lanu.” In the fiery furnace, they were praying to God: “Don't do it for our sake. Lo lanu Hashem lo lanu, ki leshimcha ten kavod al chasdecha al amitecha.”
Amar Chananyah. These are the three righteous men: Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah. Each one said a different verse. Amar Chananyah, “Ki leshimcha”—Chananyah said, “Lo lanu Hashem.” “Ki leshimcha ten kavod,” amar Mishael. “Give honor to Your name,” said Mishael. “Al chasdecha ve'al amitecha”—Your kindness and Your truth—amar Azaryah. “Lamah yomru hagoyim?” Amru chulam: “Why should the nations say, ‘Ayeh Eloheihem’—where is their God?”
Aliyatan mi—amru chulam. Aliyatan mikivshan ha'esh: how do we know they came out? Dichtiv: “Halelu et Hashem kol goyim.” Who said that? Amar Chananyah: let the nations now praise God. “Shabchuhu kol ha'umim”—let the nations praise God—amar Mishael. “Ki gavar aleinu chasdo,” amar Azaryah: His kindness prevailed over us. “Ve'emet Hashem le'olam haleluya,” amru chulam. Emet: Hashem is true forever. They all said it together.
Veyeish omrim, “Ve'emet Hashem le'olam”—Gavriel (Gabriel) amaro. Actually, Gavriel said it. When did he say it, and why? Besha'ah shehipil Nimrod harasha et Avraham Avinu letoch kivshan ha'esh. Remember last night's shiur? When Avraham Avinu was thrown into the fiery furnace in the time of Nimrod (Nimrod), amar lifnei HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Gavriel is the angel of fire, so gevurah. Gavriel came to the Holy One, blessed be He, and said, “Ribono shel Olam, ered ve'etzanen ve'atzil et hatzadik mikivshan ha'esh. Let me go down and cool the fire for him, and I'll save Avraham.” He wanted the merit.
Amar lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu: “Ani yachid be'olami”—what a Gemara! God says, “I am unique in My world, and he is unique in his world.” And therefore, “Na'eh leyachid lehatzil et hayachid.” It is fitting for the unique One above to go save the unique one below.
Ulefi sheHaKadosh Baruch Hu eino mekape'ach sechar kol beriyah: God says, “I'm not going to take away Gavriel's merit. Gavriel wanted the merit; I'm going to pay him back.” When? “Tizkeh vetatzil sheloshah mibenei vanav.” Who are they? Chananyah, Mishael, ve'Azaryah. Later, when Gavriel went down to save them, he said, “Ve'emet Hashem le'olam.” Hashem is true; He paid me back! “I wanted to earn the merit in the time of Nimrod, but Hashem wanted to save the unique one because he is unique. But the Creator of the world kept His word later.” Ma'aseh avot siman labanim (deeds of fathers are signs for children). “Ani velo mal'ach.” “Ani velo mal'ach”—oh, nice! The same thing. “Ani velo mal'ach.” That means it was connected to yetziat Mitzrayim (Exodus from Egypt), but we'll see in tomorrow's shiur that there is a connection between yetziat Mitzrayim and Avraham. “Pesach keneged Avraham”—that's the Tur.
Darash Rabbi Shimon HaShiloni: you know what? Besha'ah shehipil Nevuchadnetzar harasha et Chananyah, Mishael, ve'Azaryah letoch kivshan ha'esh. When he threw them into the fire, amad Yurkamo. Who's Yurkamo? Sar habarad, the one in charge of snow and hail before the Holy One, blessed be He. He was the one to go in and cool it down. “Ribono shel Olam, ered ve'atzenan et hakivshan”—let me go cool off the furnace with ice—“ve'atzil latzadikim halalu...” save them from the fire, mikivshan ha'esh.
Amar lo Gavriel. Gavriel comes along and says, “Ein gevurato shel HaKadosh Baruch Hu bekach.” There's no chiddush in that, “she'atah sar shel barad, vehakol yodim shemayim mechabbim et ha'esh.” That's no miracle. Sending a firefighter to take water and put out a fire isn't a chiddush. Send fire to put out the fire! Then show them the real might of Hashem. “Ela ani sar shel esh, ered va'akorer mibifnim.” That means I'll move the fire away from the inside, move it to the outside to burn everyone on the outside, and they'll be insulated inside. “Va'akdi'ach mibachutz, ve'e'eseh nes betoch nes” (a miracle within a miracle).
What's a nes betoch nes? The sar of esh will come and put away the fire. So who's going to get burned? All the wicked people will be burned on the outside. We'll move the fire away from the middle so they are saved, and put the fire on the extremities. “Nes betoch...” Amar lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu: “Red,” go down. He told Gavriel, “Go do it.” Be'otah sha'ah, patach Gavriel ve'amar: “Ve'emet Hashem le'olam,” because he had already wanted to do this in the time of Nimrod. Gavriel opened and said, “Ve'emet Hashem le'olam,” because it was really Yurkamo's job, but the Holy One, blessed be He, gave it to Gavriel to pay him back.
Rabbi Natan says, “Ve'emet Hashem le'olam”—the fish in the sea said it. Who said “Ve'emet Hashem le'olam”? The fish in the water. KideRav Huna, de'amar Rav Huna: Yisrael shebe'oto hador—meaning the generation of yetziat Mitzrayim—miktannei amanah hayu. They didn't have too much emunah (faith), as we said. Kiddedrash Rabbah bar Mari, mai dichtiv: “Vayamru al yam beyam suf.” They rebelled against God even at Yam Suf. Why? Melammed shehimru Yisrael be'otah sha'ah, ve'amru: “Keshem she'anu olim mitzad echad, kach Mitzrayim olim mitzad acher.”
That's yetziat Mitzrayim. Keri'at Yam Suf is like a horseshoe. They crossed and basically made a U-turn. They thought that, just as they had come out on one side, in a few minutes the Egyptians would come out on the other side and they'd be stuck again. They didn't trust that the Egyptians were going to drown.
Amar lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu lesar shel yam: “Pelot otam layabashah”—spit out all the Egyptians so they can see them dead. Meanwhile, the fish were about to eat them. As they were about to eat them, the sar said, “Uh-uh, dinner's canceled. Send them all out so the Jews can see them.” Amar lefanav: “Ribono shel olam, kelum yesh eved shenoten lo rabbo matanah vechozer venotel heimenu?” There are no backsies! What kind of thing is this? You gave us these fish, you gave us this food to eat, this bait, and now you're taking it away from us? Does a master give his servant a gift and then take it back?
Amar lo: “Etten lecha echad umechtzah shebahem.” Don't worry; I'll pay you back with interest. I'll pay you back for whatever you're supposed to eat, and I'll give you one and a half times as much. Amar lo: “Ribono shel olam, yesh eved shetove'a et rabbo?” The sar shel yam says, “Listen, are we going to make a claim against You? We can't make a claim against You. We want You to give us a guarantee, so we don't have to come to You. What's the guarantee?” Amar lo: “Nachal Kishon (Kishon River) yehei li arev.” I said, “Go to the guarantor. The guarantor who will pay this debt if I don't pay it will be Nachal Kishon. You don't have to ask Me. I'm telling you when it will happen. When you see Nachal Kishon, collect your debt from Nachal Kishon.”
Miyad palat otam layabashah, uva'u Yisrael vera'u otam, shene'emar: “Vayar Yisrael et Mitzrayim met al sefat hayam.” They saw the Egyptians dead. How did they see them dead? The sea had spit them out onto dry land.
Mai echad umechtzah shebahem? What does it mean that he paid the fish back one and a half times? De'ilu beFar'oh ketiv: “Shesh me'ot rechev bachur.” How many chariots did Pharaoh have? 600. Ve'ilu beSisera, which is by Nachal Kishon, ketiv: “Tesha me'ot rechev barzel.” Eventually, all those 900 chariots ended up in the water, and the fish ate them. So 900 is one and a half times 600.
Ki ata Sisera: now we get to the story of Sisera. Ata aleihu bedikrei defarzela. I think they had swords or spears made of metal, made of iron. What happened? Hotzi HaKadosh Baruch Hu aleihem kochavim mimesilotam. The Holy One, blessed be He, brought out the stars, and they basically heated everything. The metal objects in their hands became boiling hot. The horses got hot, and the soldiers got hot, so they went to the water to cool off. Dechtiv: “Min shamayim nilchamu hakochavim.” Keivan denachitu kochvei shemaya aleihu, akdiru hani dikrei defarzela. The iron spears became hot. Nachitu le'akrurei: they went down to cool themselves off, lemischi nafshayhu, to swim, cool off, and relieve themselves, beNachal Kishon.
When they reached Nachal Kishon, amar lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu leNachal Kishon: “Lech vehashlem ervoncha.” Go pay the debt. God told Nachal Kishon, the guarantor, to pay them back—the fish. Miyad gerfam Nachal Kishon. It was only a river, but now it was going to spit them into the sea. Apparently, Nachal Kishon opens into a sea. So suddenly Nachal Kishon became torrential and pushed them into the sea, shene'emar: “Nachal Kishon gerfam.” Gerfam means it emptied them out, cleared them out, like gerufah uktumah, gerof.
What happened? “Nachal Kedumim.” And he put them in Nachal Kedumim. What is Nachal Kedumim? The early river. Mai Nachal Kedumim? Nachal shena'asah arev mikedem. This is the river that became the guarantor from early on.
Be'otah sha'ah, what did the fish say? Patchu dagim shel yam ve'amru: “Ve'emet Hashem le'olam.” Right? The Creator of the world kept His word. You see why? The Creator of the world keeps His word. He told us He would pay us back, and He pays us back.
I once saw a beautiful midrash (Midrash) that this is why we eat fish on Shabbat. What does the Creator of the world say? “Levu alai va'ani pore'a.” God says, borrow for Shabbat and I will pay you back. You don't lose out. Where do you learn that God pays back? From the fish. So when you eat fish, you say, “Don't worry; you're not going to lose out.” You spent money—or you didn't go to work on Shabbat. “Oh, I didn't go to work on Shabbat; I'm losing all this money.” You're not losing any money. The Creator of the world says that if He pays the fish back, kal vachomer (all the more so) He'll pay a human being back for keeping Shabbat. “Ve'emet Hashem le'olam,” “Halleluyah.”
Amar Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: Mai dichtiv, “Moshivi akeret habayit.” What is this verse? This is part of Hallel: “Moshivi akeret habayit.” Amrah Keneset Yisrael (the community of Israel) lifnei HaKadosh Baruch Hu: “Ribono shel Olam, samuni vanecha kechuldah zu hadarah be'ikarei batim.” The rabbis of the time said that Your children have made me like a weasel that lives under houses. What is this talking about?
Amrah Keneset Yisrael. “Hazekenim hachashuvim shebahen amru, af she'einam chashuvim kol kach, kedei mashma em habanim, sheha'em tzo'eket al habanim shesamuha akeret habayit.” That is, the elders of that generation were complaining to the Holy One, blessed be He, that because of the children's sins, they had been put in the position of the akeret habayit. They were put in the basement; they didn't get the respect they deserved. “Samuni vanecha, merov chatatam bagalut, kechuldah zo hadarah be'ikarei batim, vehaynu akeret habayit.” Right, akeret doesn't mean the main part of the house. It means the basement of the house. The elders were complaining to Hashem: because of the sins, we have no power. They disrespect us and put us in the akeret habayit, in the low-lying areas of the house.
Darash Rava: Mai dichtiv, “Ahavti ki yishma Hashem.” What does “Ahavti ki yishma Hashem” mean? Amrah Keneset Yisrael: “Ribono shel Olam, eimatai ani ahuvah lefanecha?” When do I see the love You have for me? “Bizman shetishma kol tachanunai,” when I see You answer my tefillot (prayers). Once again, “Ahavti”—when do I see Your love for me? “Ki yishma Hashem”—when You answer me. “Daloti veli yehoshia”: I'm poor, but You will save me.
Amrah Keneset Yisrael lifnei HaKadosh Baruch Hu: “Ribono shel Olam, af al pi shedalah ani bemitzvot”—even though I'm poor in commandments and don't have enough mitzvot—“lecha ani,” I am Yours, “veli na'eh lehoshi'a.” So I still believe in You, and therefore, “li na'eh lehoshi'a”: You should save me.
Amar Rav Kahana: Keshechalah Rabbi Yishmael berabbi Yose, when Rabbi Yishmael berabbi Yose became ill, shalach lo Rabbi. Rabbi sent him a message: “Emor lanu shenayim usheloshah devarim she'amarta lanu mishum avicha.” Before he passes away, tell us two or three things you heard from your father, Rabbi Yose. He wanted to hear some teachings. Shalach lo: Rabbi Yishmael sent back, “Kach amar Abba.” First: Mai dichtiv, “Hallelu et Hashem kol goyim.” Let all the nations praise God. “Umot ha'olam mai avidtayhu?” What are the nations doing praising God? Let the Jews praise God! “Hachi ka'amar: Hallelu et Hashem kol goyim agvurot venifla'ot de'avid bahadayhu.” If the nations have to praise God for all the wonders He does for them, kol sheken anu degavar aleinu chasdo. No nation has more kindness from God than the children of Israel. So if even the nations have to praise God, all the more so we do, because His kindness has prevailed over us.
I once heard from Rav Chaim Weintraub, alav hashalom, who said—I think from Rav Aharon Kotler—about this verse: why do the nations have to praise God? He learned it from Bil'am, right? Bil'am knew what he wanted to do to us, and he knew his plan had failed. We never knew about it. We didn't know about Bil'am, that he was on the mountain trying to curse us. We only learned about it later, when Moshe gave us the Torah and we read parashat Balak. We said, “Whoa, we never heard the story.” This happens thousands of times: the nations try to do something, and only they know how Hashem foils their plans.
So read the verse this way: “Hallelu et Hashem kol goyim”—let the nations praise God—“ki gavar aleinu chasdo,” because they know how much kindness God does. We don't know it. “Le'oseh nifla'ot gedolot levado”: only Hashem knows, and the nations know, because they're planning against us.
The second pshat he told us was based on the story of Rabbi Avraham haGer. Avraham haGer was a famous ger tzedek (righteous convert), from the Potocki family, which was a royal family in Europe, and he converted. It was a big scandal for his family, because they were the royal family of the nations. They came along after he converted and said they were going to kill him. And they did kill him. When they killed him, they threw him into a fire and burned him in front of the whole square.
What he said to the people who killed him was, “I don't forgive you for what you're doing to me here today, but it doesn't matter anyway.” Then they did what they did. They asked the Gaon miVilna (Vilna Gaon), who was there, what he meant. I'll tell you what he meant. He gave a mashal (parable). He said, “A prince is seven years old, a kid, and his friends come over to the palace to play. They're playing marbles, and a commoner takes a marble from the prince's hand. The prince says, ‘One day I'm going to become king, and on the day I become king, I'm going to kill you for what you just did.’”
“The other kid is scared his whole life, waiting for this boy to become king. Sure enough, the king dies 15 years later, and now the young prince becomes king. They're having the coronation ceremony, and the childhood friend comes running to the carriage, crying, ‘Forgive me! Forgive me! Forgive me!’ The king says, ‘Although you did something wrong to me when I was young, look at all the honor and all this. You think I care about these marbles? Go away!’”
The Vilna Gaon said that Rabbi Avraham was saying, “I don't forgive you.” He meant, “When I get to Olam haBa (the World to Come), Olam haBa is going to be so great and so amazing that it will make all the troubles we had in Olam haZeh (this world) irrelevant. It will make them seem petty to us. So when they come and ask, ‘Do you want to take nekamah (revenge) against this guy?’—nonsense. It will be so overwhelming.” So he says, “Hallelu et Hashem kol goyim,” let the nations praise God, because we're going to forgive them. Why? “Ki gavar aleinu chasdo”: God is going to be so good to us in Olam haBa that going after someone who did something like that will be child's play. Olam haBa will eclipse all the troubles we'll have. “Ki gavar aleinu chasdo be'Olam haBa.” Let the nations praise God.
Amar lo: “Ve'od chada”—there's another teaching here. “Atidah Mitzrayim shetavi doron leMashiach.” In the future, when Mashiach comes, Egypt will bring gifts to Mashiach. Kasvar: “Einam mekablin mehem.” They will think the gifts won't be accepted; Mashiach won't accept them. Amar lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu leMashiach: “Kabel mehem.” Why not? Accept them from the Egyptians. “Achsanya asu levanai beMitzrayim.” Listen, we were in Egypt, and they hosted us. We lived there for many years, so, hakarat hatov (gratitude): if they want to give Mashiach a gift, accept it. Miyad: “Ye'etayu chashmanim mini Mitzrayim.” Fine, chashmanim are the gifts we'll take from Egypt.
“Nas'ah Kush (Cush).” Now Kush, Ethiopia, came: “Kal vachomer be'atzmah.” What about the Egyptians, who enslaved us but also hosted us? God told Mashiach to accept their gift. “Kakh, ani shelo nishta'abadti bahem”—I did not make the Jewish people work. “Lo kol sheken?” Amar lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu: “Kabel mehem.” Yes, accept from Cush too. Miyad: “Kush taritz yadav l'Elohim.” What does “taritz yadav” mean? “Kush taritz yadav”: Kush will hasten its hands for God, meaning to give a gift.
“Nas'ah Malchut Romi (Rome) haresha'ah.” Now Rome came. Europe, North America: they came along and also want to give a gift to Mashiach. They said, “Kal vachomer be'atzmah: u'mah halalu she'ein acheihem”—Kush isn't our brother—“kakh,” and still they could give Mashiach a gift; “anu she'anu acheihem,” we're the brothers, Esav. “Halo ach Esav leYa'akov.” “Lo kol sheken?” Shouldn't we be able to give a gift?
Amar lo HaKadosh Baruch Hu leGavriel: “Ge'ar chayat kaneh.” What does “ge'ar chayat kaneh” mean? Rome is being called a wild beast. Ge'ar means to chastise or rebuke, and it's called kaneh, “chayat kaneh.” “Geyor chayah u'kneh lecha edah.” Go rebuke the wild beast, and “u'kneh” here is taken as “acquire”; acquire the congregation. Who is the congregation? The children of Israel. That means: go destroy Rome and acquire them. So “kaneh” in this verse—there are three explanations we're going to have, I think. Here it's “ge'ar chayah,” “chayat kaneh.” Kaneh means what? “Kneh Am Yisrael,” “kneh edah.”
Davar acher: “Ge'ar chayat kaneh,” “shedarah bein hakanim”—the wild animal that lives among the reeds. Here kaneh means reeds. Dichtiv: “Yecharsemenah chazir miya'ar veziz sadai yirenah.” So it's just discussing the reeds where the Romans, or the Malchut Romi, are situated.
Amar Rabbi Chiya bar Abba amar Rabbi Yochanan: “Ge'ar bechayah.” Another explanation: chastise the wild beast, which is Romi, “shekol ma'aseha nichtavim bekulmos echad.” Kaneh here means a reed—not a reed, a quill. Why? Because all their writings say the same thing: the Jews are always guilty. Whenever a Jew goes to court against them, everything is written with one quill: guilty, guilty. So all those who declared us guilty—probably the United Nations, they're talking about—are described as “shekol ma'aseha nichtavim bekulmos echad.” It's always the same quill writing a resolution against Israel. That's what they always do: “kulmos echad.”
“Adat abirim be'eglei amim,” “sheshachatu abirim ke'agalim.” They killed the abirim, the great leaders of the Jewish people, I guess the righteous, like calves. Why? “She'ein lahem be'alim,” like calves that have no owners. The verse says, “Adat abirim be'eglei amim,” like calves that belong—or are open—to the nations. They don't belong to one nation, which means they're hefker (ownerless). That means they killed us as if we had no owners. They slaughtered us like sheep with no owner, with no mercy: “she'ein lahem be'alim.”
“Mitrapes beratzei chasef,” “sheposhtim yad lekabbel mamon.” They take bribes. They take our money, “ve'ein osim retzon be'alim,” but they don't do anything. You bribe them to get a good result, and they still find you guilty. So where was it worth it? “Bizar amim keravot yachpatzu.” Mi geram leYisrael sheyitpazru lebein umot ha'olam? What caused us to go into exile among the nations? “Keiruvo shehayu chafetzim bahem.” God said, “You want to get close to the nations? Honor, now get close to them.” Because we went beyond the boundaries we were supposed to keep, God said, “Fine, now you're close.”
Ve'od: “Shalach lo shelesh me'ot veshishim vachamishah shevakim bikrach gadol shel Romi.” There are 365 marketplaces in the great city of Rome. Maybe that's—who knows what the great city is, maybe it's America; who knows where the great city of Rome is. There are 365 markets, business centers, in the great city of Rome. “Vechol echad ve'echad hayu vo shelesh me'ot veshishim vachamishah biranyot.” In each market there are 365 palaces or towers. “Vechol biranit uviranit,” maybe these are skyscrapers, who knows, “vechol biranit uviranit hayu vo shelesh me'ot veshishim vachamishah ma'alot.” There are 365 steps, maybe 365 units in each of these buildings, like today. All right, you have all these different centers, all these business centers, and big buildings, and the buildings have 365 units each. That's a lot of buildings.
“Vechol ma'alah uma'alah hayu vo kedei lazun et kol ha'olam kulo.” Each step had enough to sustain the whole world. The business is so big that each business can support the whole world. You have Apple in one office over there, and it can support the whole world. They have another good business over there with a lot of wealth, they're saying.
This is an amazing Gemara. This Gemara came true this year. Amar Rabbi Yishmael leRabbi, ve'amar lah Rabbi Yishmael beRabbi Yosei: “Hanei leman?” Who is all this money for? What is all this money that the nations are generating, and for whom? Amar leih: “Lecha ulechavrach velachavrutach.” It's for you, your friends, and your friends' friends. That means for the people of Torah, those who study Torah. Shene'emar: “Sachrah ve'etnanah kodesh laHashem lo ye'atzer,” “velo yechasen,” “ki layoshvim lifnei Hashem yihyeh.” It won't be put in storage; it will be given to those who sit before Hashem.
Mai lo ye'atzer? What does it mean, “It won't be stored”? Tani Rav Yosef: “Lo ye'atzer”—zeh beit otzar. Stuff that goes into a storage house, like a granary, right? “Dagan tirosh veyitzhar.” “Velo yechasen”—zeh beit genizah. That's like money, gold, silver, things that go into the treasury. Who will get it instead? Mai ki layoshvim lifnei Hashem? Amar Rabbi Elazar: “Zeh hamakir mekom chaveiro biyeshivah.” The person in the yeshiva who knows where everybody sits. If you know where everybody sits in the yeshiva, that means you're always there. So that person will get all this money.
Ika de'amrei: Amar Rabbi Elazar, “Zeh hamekabbel penei chaveiro biyeshivah.” The person who receives everybody in the yeshiva—he's the greeting committee. If he's the greeting committee, what does that mean? He's there first. So he's going to get it.
Mai “velimchaseh atik”? And it's yomin, and the one that reveals “atik yomin”—or the one that covers up atik—is “zeh hamechaseh devarim shekisa atik yomin.” Umai nihu? Sitrei Torah (secrets of the Torah). The one who doesn't reveal the secrets of the Torah, meaning he learns Kabbalah (Kabbalah) but is mechaseh atik yomin—he hides the old from the Old God. Ve'ika de'amrei: “Zeh hamegaleh devarim.” Some say the opposite: the one who reveals things that atik yomin covered up. Min. Mai nihu? Ta'amei Torah (reasons of the Torah). Not the secrets, but the reasons of the Torah.
Basically, the talmid chacham (Torah scholar)—what do you see from here, rabotai? In the future, all the people sitting and learning Torah will get the checks. That's the stimulus, that's the PPP, everything. They're sitting and learning Torah over here, and the government is sending them checks every couple of months over there. It's sending the shuls checks; all the kollelim (full-time Torah study group) are getting checks over here. Instead of keeping it in the granaries and keeping it over there, they're sending out free money so the people of Torah can sit and learn. So, baruch Hashem, this is happening in our time. Yehi ratzon, may we be zocheh to the ultimate geulah bimeherah beyameinu, amen (redemption speedily in our days, amen).
Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya (Rabbi Hananiah ben Akashya) says: Ratza HaKadosh Baruch Hu lezakot et Yisrael, lefikach hirbah lahem Torah umitzvot (The Holy One wished to grant merit to Israel, therefore He increased Torah and commandments for them), shene'emar: Hashem chafetz lema'an tzidko, yagdil Torah veyadir (The Lord desired, for His righteousness, to make the Torah great and glorious).