We make
a big fuss over Kriyas Yam Suf, an extraordinary miracle, yet we find in the
first Perek of the Chullin 7a (18 lines from the bottom) (מאי בהמתן של צדיקים דרבי פנחס בן יאיר הוה קאזיל לפדיון שבויין פגע ביה
בגינאי נהרא אמר ליה גינאי חלוק לי מימך ואעבור בך אמר ליה אתה הולך לעשות רצון
קונך ואני הולך לעשות רצון קוני אתה ספק עושה ספק אי אתה עושה אני ודאי עושה אמר
ליה אם אי אתה חולק גוזרני עליך שלא יעברו בך מים לעולם חלק ליה הוה ההוא גברא
דהוה דארי חיטי לפיסחא אמר ליה חלוק ליה נמי להאי דבמצוה עסיק חלק ליה הוה ההוא
טייעא דלווה בהדייהו אמר ליה חלוק ליה נמי להאי דלא לימא כך עושים לבני לויה חלק
ליה אמר רב יוסף כמה נפיש גברא ממשה ושתין רבוון דאילו התם חד זימנא והכא תלתא
זימנין ודלמא הכא נמי חדא זימנא אלא כמשה ושתין רבוון) that a Tanna was able to split the waters in order to cross.
Pinchas Ben Yair was Chileik Nahar Gina’i. When he had to cross a river he
caused it to split so that he would cross. Of course Pinchas Ben Yair was a
great person one of the greatest Tannaim. Still the majesty of the event of
splitting the Yam Suf is presented here in the Torah and is part of our
Davening. It is a major event in the history of Klal Yisrael as something that is
so extraordinary. Yet we find that a Tanna someone many generations later was
able to do the same miracle. This is something that needs some sort of explanation.
When the
Navi Shiur began many years ago, one of the first events that we learned about
at the beginning of Shmuel Aleph was the taking of the Aron by the Pelishtim in
battle. The Pelishtim captured the Aron Hashem which had been taken into battle
by Klal Yisrael. That Aron was later returned because of different tragedies
that befell the Pelishtim in every place that the Aron was kept.
The Aron
was returned by being put on a wagon and cows were attached to the wagon and
left to walk wherever they desired. They went straight back to Beis Shemesh to
a city of Klal Yisrael. Chazal teach us in Shmuel Aleph Perek 6:12 (וַיִּשַּׁרְנָה הַפָּרוֹת בַּדֶּרֶךְ, עַל-דֶּרֶךְ בֵּית
שֶׁמֶשׁ, בִּמְסִלָּה אַחַת הָלְכוּ הָלֹךְ וְגָעוֹ, וְלֹא-סָרוּ יָמִין
וּשְׂמֹאול; וְסַרְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים הֹלְכִים אַחֲרֵיהֶם, עַד-גְּבוּל בֵּית
שָׁמֶשׁ) and Rashi brings that
the animals miraculously sang Hallel as they came back to Beis Shemesh. The
question we asked then was a very similar question to the one that I am asking
here today. The Torah makes such a big deal about the speaking of Bilam’s
donkey. Ad K’dei Kach, it is considered such an extraordinary miracle that the
Mishnah in Maseches Avos says in the 5th Perek (עשרה דברים נבראו בין השמשות--פי הארץ, פי הבאר, פי האתון, והקשת, והמן,
והמטה, והשמיר, והכתב, והמכתב, והלוחות. ויש אומרין אף המזיקין, וקבורתו של משה,
ואילו של אברהם. ויש אומרין אף צבת בצבת עשויה) a number of things were created Bain Hashmashos and one of them
is the Pi Ha’ason (פי האתון). The idea that an animal can speak is considered to be so
extraordinary and it is presented that way regarding Bilam, yet here we find that
cows miraculously sang Shirah.
At that
time we found in one of the Rishonim (I think it was the Chiddushei HaRaivad on
Maseches Makkos) who said that the Ikkur of a miracle is the first time
something happens. That such a thing can happen in the world. The fact that it
repeats is not as miraculous because all of nature is a miracle that repeats
itself. So every time it rains, water coming down from heaven is a miracle. But
nature is a miracle that repeats itself. So although an animal speaking will
forever be considered a miracle, still the first time it happens it has a
special level of miracle.
Now I
have found that this Yesod is brought by Rav Shimon Sofer who printed the
original printing of the Chasam Sofer’s Toras Moshe (Divrei Torah on the
Chumash) and anywhere in the Toras Moshe that you have a paragraph with an
asterisk at the beginning of the paragraph that asterisk denotes that the
paragraph is a Chiddush of Rav Shimon Sofer.
Rav
Shimon Sofer on the Posuk of V’shilachti Es Yadi discusses this Yesod on his
own. He says anything that already had been before, that is the source of miracles
that repeated themselves. Then it is not
as extraordinary when it repeats itself. With that he explains here by Kriyas
Yam Suf. The fact that Kriyas Yam Suf is such an extraordinary miracle and yet
we find that the miracle repeats itself by Pinchas Ben Yair. So this is the
Yesod that he said.
I would
add that based on this we can understand that the first time that the Man fell
it was an extraordinary miracle and not so when it repeated itself and became
nature to the people who grew up in the Midbar. That would explain why the
first Man was put away (was hidden) L’doros. This is because the first Man was
with an extraordinary miraculous power and therefore, that was hidden.
If you look at the Chasam Sofer he explains with
this a Dvar Torah regarding Purim as well
אין תגובות:
הוסף רשומת תגובה