Parshas Beshalach - The Power of a Jew to Rule Over Nature

00:01 In 5707, the Rebbe was in Paris. At that time, his mother, Rebbetzin Chana, left Russia together with chassidim. After the Second World War, she was finally able to get out of Russia. The Rebbe traveled to Paris to meet his mother and arrange all the documents she needed to reach America. During the three months he spent in Paris—Nissan, Iyar, and Sivan—the Rebbe held many farbrengens with chassidim there. At one of those farbrengens, they spoke about the situation of the chassidim in Russia. It was an extremely difficult time. As is well known, the chassidim in Russia had endured bitter suffering with genuine self-sacrifice, and the Frierdiker Rebbe had left Russia about twenty years earlier and was now in America. Throughout the war, it had been very hard to find out what was happening. There was no clear picture; they did not know exactly what was happening to the chassidim or how they were doing. And the chassidim did not know how the Frierdiker Rebbe regarded the whole matter of the chassidim in Russia, or those who had left Russia. At one of the farbrengens, the Rebbe said to the chassidim: “I want to tell you something, so that you will know how involved the Frierdiker Rebbe is in your exodus from Egypt—in your departure from Russia.”

01:57 “I want to tell you a story.” The Rebbe related that this happened in 5706. One day, in the morning—or rather, in the middle of the day—the doctor came in. As is well known, the Frierdiker Rebbe was [unclear]. His health was very poor, and he could barely move; much of his body was paralyzed. Every movement caused him great pain. That day, around midday, the Frierdiker Rebbe was sitting when the doctor came in to see how he was. The doctor saw him sitting with his head resting on his hands, his face aflame, and his legs moving in very unusual ways. The doctor was truly alarmed and thought that something serious, G-d forbid, had happened to the Frierdiker Rebbe, because his health was so fragile. Anything at all could raise a real fear that something might happen. When the doctor saw these unusual movements, together with that expression and behavior, he became very frightened and immediately called other doctors. They ran out and called the Rebbe, as the Rebbe related. They called the Rebbe, who was the Frierdiker Rebbe’s son-in-law,

03:46 the Ramash, as he was called then, to tell them what to do. The Rebbe entered the room and saw the Frierdiker Rebbe sitting as described, his face aflame, his hands on his head, and his legs moving. When he came closer, he saw that the siddur, the holy siddur, was open to “Az Yashir,” and that the Frierdiker Rebbe was reciting the Song at the Splitting of the Sea. The Rebbe then went out and told the doctors there was nothing to worry about; everything was all right. What emerged? They later checked the timing, and the Rebbe said that this was when the chassidim were leaving Russia. It was an exodus from Egypt in every sense, a veritable Splitting of the Sea. The chassidim who left Russia at that time were in mortal danger, as is well known from the history of those days. They were trying to work out how they could leave Russia; thousands of chassidim left during that period, after the war. They concluded that the only possibility, the only way out of Russia, was to use Polish passports. There were many Polish passports belonging to Jews who had come from Poland and fled the war. And, G-d forbid, many of them

05:22 were not in Poland and Hungary, but now [unclear]. There were a great many passports. The chassidim used them as though they were Polish citizens—that is, Polish nationals who had come from Poland. And [unclear] on the black market. In this way, the government itself allowed them to cross. But it was truly a matter of life and death, G-d forbid. There was no way to know whether the authorities would notice that it was not true, that these people were [unclear]. And something extraordinary happened: three so-called “echelons,” meaning three trains, crossed the border from Russia into Poland. They carried hundreds of chassidim—longtime chassidim from Russia, family after family, generation after generation—and all of them were saved. As chassidim recount, there were three occasions when the Frierdiker Rebbe recited “Az Yashir,” the Song at the Splitting of the Sea. This enabled them, on all three occasions, to cross the sea, to leave Russia for Poland. It was an open miracle. The Rebbe told the chassidim: “You know, you think [unclear] how involved the Rebbe is in every detail? The entire departure from Russia was in the merit of ‘Az Yashir,’ the Song at the Splitting of the Sea, which the Frierdiker Rebbe recited. He was in America while you

06:48 were crossing the sea, crossing the border.” This week’s parsha, Parshas Beshalach, is the parsha of the Song, and in it we read about the Splitting of the Sea. In fact, we also read about the Splitting of the Sea every day in davening. As the sefarim say, it should be read with great fervor. For the Splitting of the Sea is not merely a story about a miracle that happened thousands of years ago; it is central to the avodah of the Jewish people. It is something every Jew needs to contemplate every day, to remember, to revisit and study, and to learn from. The sefarim say, in the name of the holy Shelah, that when reciting the account of the Splitting of the Sea, one should do so with great fervor and joy, with great vitality and enthusiasm. Speaking of the Splitting of the Sea, there is a wonderful teaching, with an entire story surrounding it, that brings out the depth of the Splitting of the Sea and its relevance to all Jews, in every generation and at all times. It is a teaching of the Baal Shem Tov that the Maggid of Mezritch heard from him, and there is also the whole story of how the teaching was passed down from generation to generation. The Maggid of Mezritch heard it from the Baal Shem Tov in 5517. The Rebbe

08:19 recounts in Hayom Yom for 17 Shvat exactly how it happened, carefully noting all the dates. The Baal Shem Tov gave the teaching briefly in 5517. The Maggid of Mezritch was there at the time, and later, a year after the Baal Shem Tov’s passing, in 5521, the Baal Shem Tov appeared to the Maggid of Mezritch and repeated the same teaching to him, with all its additions. Then, in 5529, the Alter Rebbe was with the Maggid of Mezritch, and on that Shabbos Beshalach, the Maggid repeated the teaching and told the Alter Rebbe: “Today the Baal Shem Tov came to me and repeated the teaching once more, with another addition.” The teaching was then passed on by the Alter Rebbe, who conveyed it to the Tzemach Tzedek, and so it passed through our Rebbeim until it reached us. The teaching appears briefly in the Maggid of Mezritch’s Or Torah, while the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching, together with the full story, appears in Reshimos. The central point of the teaching is this: The Midrash says about the verse, “And the sea returned toward morning”

09:39 “to its strength”—the Sea of Reeds returned to its strength. What does “to its strength” mean? As Rashi says, “to its former force.” After the sea split, the Jews passed through it. They saw the sea and walked on dry land, with the water standing like a wall, and thus crossed the Sea of Reeds. Afterward, “the sea returned to its strength,” to its former force. As the sea returned to its strength, the Egyptians met their fate: Hakadosh Boruch Hu cast them into the sea—“He shook Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Reeds”—and the Egyptians fell into it. But the Baal Shem Tov explains: What is meant by “the sea returned to its strength”? The Midrash says that “Hakadosh Boruch Hu made a condition with the sea”: He stipulated that if it opened before the Jews, it would remain a sea; but if it did not open before them, G-d forbid, it would cease to exist as a sea. That is what the Midrash says. This is the meaning of “to its strength”: because the sea obeyed and opened before the Jews, it returned to its strength. The Baal Shem Tov asked: What is the great miracle here, and what does this mean? “Hakadosh Boruch Hu made a condition with the sea”—what was

11:05 the condition that Hakadosh Boruch Hu made with the Sea of Reeds? The Baal Shem Tov said: The sea’s entire existence comes from the word of Hashem, the words of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, who brings the Sea of Reeds into being, gives it life, and sustains it at every moment. And the entire purpose of the Sea of Reeds, which Hakadosh Boruch Hu brings into being, gives life to, and sustains at every moment, creating it from nothing, is to fulfill the will of the tzaddikim; for the sea to fulfill the will of the Jews, the will of the community of Israel, the souls of Israel—the will of the tzaddikim. That is the condition Hakadosh Boruch Hu made with the sea. And the same is true of everything in the world, not only the sea: the entire existence of every created thing in the world is brought about by Hakadosh Boruch Hu at every moment, on condition that it fulfill the will of the tzaddikim. If the sea does not do so, G-d forbid, it means [unclear]. Yes, if the sea does not obey, it will cease to exist as a sea. This means it will cease to exist as a sea as though it had never existed—not merely from that point onward, but as though it had never existed. This can be understood in light of the Baal Shem Tov’s well-known teaching. [unclear] According to the Baal Shem Tov’s well-known teaching, which the Rebbe cites in Tanya, that the coming into being of

12:28 Creation from nothing takes place at every moment; the world is constantly created anew from nothing. But creation from nothing is a wondrous thing. The world is renewed—that is truly wondrous. And we must also recognize that the sea, as the Rebbe says in Tanya, even while it is being created from nothing, if it does not fulfill its purpose, His will—the will of the tzaddikim—then the sea ceases to exist. It is nullified, as the Rebbe says in Tanya, “exactly as before the Six Days of Creation.” Its entire existence is nothing but the Divine power, and that Divine power is given on condition that it fulfill the will of the tzaddikim. If it does not meet that condition, the sea ceases to exist; it is as though it had never existed as a sea at all. This is the meaning of “le’eisano”—to its original strength. That is what the Baal Shem Tov said. He then added: at the time of the Baal Shem Tov’s redemption, after his passing, he added another point to this whole subject. He said that this also relates to the expression... The Gemara says, “They do the will of the Omnipresent.” We find this several times in the Gemara. Yes, the Gemara in Berachos says, “They do the will of the Omnipresent.” What does “they do the will of the Omnipresent” mean? The Gemara says about this, for example, that... The expression appears several times, but the Gemara in Berachos says: the first paragraph says “with all your might,” while the second paragraph does not. That is the difference between “doing the will of the Omnipresent” and “not doing the will of the Omnipresent.” When they are “not doing the will of the Omnipresent,” then...

14:05 Their work is done by themselves, the Gemara says. When they do the will of the Omnipresent, their work is done by others. And what does “doing the will of the Omnipresent” mean? The Baal Shem Tov explains, the Maggid says, that the precise wording is “doing the will of the Omnipresent.” The tzaddik brings about the will of the Omnipresent, but not necessarily what the Omnipresent has said. What does that mean? We find in the Gemara the principle that “Hakadosh Boruch Hu decrees, and a tzaddik annuls the decree.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu decrees, and a tzaddik annuls it. In other words, a tzaddik has the power to annul a decree issued by Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And the Gemara brings a proof for this. [unclear] In other words, a tzaddik has the power to annul decrees of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. How can a tzaddik annul decrees of Hakadosh Boruch Hu? Hakadosh Boruch Hu decreed, rachmana litzlan, that such and such should happen, and the tzaddik comes and changes the will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. What does that mean? This is what the Baal Shem Tov explained: “They do the will of the Omnipresent,” not “they carry out the word of the Omnipresent.” He explained it with an analogy of a father and son. A father is learning Torah with his son and presents an argument in Torah. His son, a sharp boy, listens to what his father says, raises a question, and refutes his father’s entire argument. Is the son thereby going against his father? Surely it is understood that—

16:01 It is obvious that for the father, the greatest joy and pleasure is that his son challenges him and asks questions. It shows how sharp the son is. The father said the argument goes one way, and the son said it goes the opposite way and refuted his father’s argument. Although it goes against what the father said, it is what he wants. The father’s greatest pleasure is for his son to come up with a new argument and say the opposite of what he himself said. That is the father’s true will, his true pleasure. The same applies to the power of the tzaddikim, who are described as “doing the will of the Omnipresent.” They have the power to bring about the will of the Omnipresent: it is the will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, even if it is not what He said. This is what it means that Hakadosh Boruch Hu decrees—that is what He has said—and a tzaddik annuls the decree, because he reveals the will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. A tzaddik has the power to draw forth the deeper will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and through this he can turn decrees to good. That is the power of the tzaddikim. Along these lines, the Baal Shem Tov explained the statement that “Hakadosh Boruch Hu made a condition with the works of Creation”: with the Red Sea, and likewise with everything in the world. Hakadosh Boruch Hu made a condition with everything in the world that it fulfill the will of the tzaddikim—His will. And when the tzaddik says [unclear]—

17:31 That is the will, that is the will. It was established within the very fabric of creation that creation must obey the will of the tzaddik. Therefore, when creation obeys the tzaddik’s will, it fulfills its purpose, its function, and thereby attains its full strength. If, G-d forbid, it does not fulfill that purpose, its entire existence is nullified; in fact, it ceases to exist as though it had never been. The Baal Shem Tov later added this point, [unclear]. This further distinction was conveyed to the Alter Rebbe in the year [unclear], and the Alter Rebbe came. There is also an explanation of this in the story the Gemara in Chullin tells about Reb Pinchas ben Yair. The Gemara relates that Reb Pinchas ben Yair was on his way to redeem captives, accompanied by his entire entourage. When they reached a river called Ginai—Ginai River—he wanted to cross. But the river would not let him pass through its waters. Reb Pinchas ben Yair was in a hurry, and said, “Ginai River, divide your waters for me”—split your waters. The river replied, “What do you mean? You are going to do the will of your Creator. You are going to fulfill the mitzvah of redeeming captives. Very good, and that is indeed the will of the Omnipresent,”

18:56 “But I, too, am doing the will of the Omnipresent. Hakadosh Boruch Hu created me to be a river, and I must fulfill His will.” But Reb Pinchas ben Yair replied: “If you do not split for me, I decree that water shall never flow through you again”—you will no longer be a river. The river then split, and Reb Pinchas ben Yair and his entire entourage crossed it and were able to help those Jews who needed to be redeemed from captivity. The Tzemach Tzedek asks: the river’s claim is a valid one, so where is the answer to it? The river rightly argues: I was created, and you were created. Hakadosh Boruch Hu created you to do His will, and I, too, must do His will. If Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants me to be a river, what is the answer? What does “I decree that water shall never flow through you again” mean? Rather, the Tzemach Tzedek says, building on the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching, the key lies in the words “water shall never flow through you again.” In light of what we have said: since the sea is created by Hakadosh Boruch Hu at every moment, and embedded in the sea’s creation is the requirement that it fulfill the will of the tzaddikim. This

20:13 is embedded in the nature of everything in creation, including the river. Therefore, when it does not fulfill the will of the tzaddikim, it is as though it had never been a river. But what, seemingly, is the explanation for this? This was the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezritch, and the Alter Rebbe. Later, as the story goes on to relate, in the year 5601, I mean, they appeared to the Tzemach Tzedek and repeated the teaching to him with additional details and so on, as we hear in the story. But seemingly, it is not understood: what is the point of “Hakadosh Boruch Hu made a condition”? Why is a condition necessary? After all, Hakadosh Boruch Hu is all-powerful, and He creates the world. Once He creates the world, He can perform miracles; He can do as He wishes. Why must Hakadosh Boruch Hu make a condition—meaning that if the sea does not split, it will cease to exist? What is the need for all this? When the time comes, it will happen. There are several explanations for this—the Rambam discusses it somewhere, I believe—and one explanation is that since “there is nothing new under the sun,” all miracles must be embedded in the world. There are explanations of this in several books and in various ways. But according to the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, the teaching of Chassidus,

21:41 there is a much deeper explanation, a much richer explanation, and one that is fundamental to the whole matter of the world’s coming into being and its creation. As we said earlier, the world is created from nothing by Hakadosh Boruch Hu at every moment. Rashi says about the creation of the world, “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth”: “‘In the beginning’—for the sake of the Torah, for the sake of the Jewish people.” In other words, all of creation was brought into being so that a Jew, through the Torah, would make the world an illuminated place and bring Hakadosh Boruch Hu into the world. “‘In the beginning’—for the sake of the Torah, for the sake of the Jewish people”: the world was created so that a Jew could observe Torah and mitzvos. By observing Torah and mitzvos, a Jew reveals Hakadosh Boruch Hu and brings Him into the world. That was the purpose of creation from the outset. In the well-known words of the Midrash, which I see quoted all the time: “Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired to have a dwelling place in the lower realms.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants the world—the lower, physical world—to be a dwelling place for Him, a dwelling place for His Essence, a dwelling place for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. For the world to become a dwelling place for Hakadosh Boruch Hu means that a Jew, through his service, reveals that the entirety of creation is G-dliness. And for it to be revealed that the entirety of creation is G-dliness, Chassidus explains that the foundation of the world,

23:11 The creation of the world does not mean that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world and, after He created it, the world became an independent reality, as one might naturally understand. No. As the Baal Shem Tov revealed, the coming into being of creation—the creation of the world—takes place at every single moment. “Forever, Hashem, Your word stands firm in the heavens.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s speech, the word of Hashem through which He creates the world, brings it into being, gives it life, and sustains it at every moment, literally from nothing. Therefore, as the Alter Rebbe says in Tanya, “If the eye were given permission to see”—to see not the created thing, but the G-dly power that creates it—we would see that there is only one reality: the G-dly power, and nothing exists independently. And this is the way [unclear] to reveal G-dliness in the world through Torah and mitzvos. But all this is the G-dly power that is enclothed in creation. All this is “In the beginning, Elokim created.” It is the word of Hashem, Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s speech, which contracted and descended from level to level to produce the nature of creation. Elokim, whose numerical value is the same as that of “nature,” is connected with the nature of the world. But there is a deeper intent: to draw down into the world, to bring into the world, not only the contracted level of G-dliness—speech, the name Elokim. The intent for which Hakadosh Boruch Hu creates a Jew in this way

24:33 in the world is to reveal the name Havayah. To reveal the G-dly power that transcends the world. To reveal Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s boundlessness, the Ein Sof, the power of His Essence. And this is revealed primarily through a miracle. A miracle is a revelation of G-dliness: things beyond the world are revealed, and then the name Havayah is revealed. But if a miracle comes in such a way that it originates in a light beyond the world and breaks through the world—as we said, Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted to create the world through the name Elokim; the creation of the world, nature, is the world. And when something like the splitting of the sea or the Exodus from Egypt takes place, and suddenly a miracle appears in the world, originating in a higher light and breaking through the world—that is not something belonging to the world itself. It has no connection to the world’s own reality. Yet the intent is “Bereishis—for the sake of the Torah, for the sake of the Jewish people”: that the world itself, the reality of the world, should be permeated with G-dliness. And which aspect of G-dliness? The G-dliness that transcends the world, the name Havayah, the level of a miracle, above nature. How does that happen? This is what the Baal Shem Tov said [unclear]. “Hakadosh Boruch Hu made a condition with His world”—Hakadosh Boruch Hu placed a condition within it. In other words, it is not merely that there comes

25:52 a miracle that has no connection to the world. When Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world through speech and said, “Let there be a firmament”—that there should be water, land, stone, a natural reality—at that very moment, when He created nature, Hakadosh Boruch Hu placed a condition within nature: when a miracle needs to occur because a tzaddik comes and desires it—the tzaddik desires that a revelation of G-dliness beyond the world should appear here, a will that is higher than speech, “their will, not their word”—when the will of the tzaddik, the will of the Jewish people, is revealed, then nature itself [unclear] in something higher, and it becomes part of nature itself. How does it happen within the world itself, that the world [unclear] the miracle? That is the idea of a condition. As we see in halachah, if a man betroths a woman on a condition and the condition is not fulfilled, the betrothal does not take effect at all. In other words, the condition touches the essence of the matter. A condition means that when you make something conditional, without the condition that entire reality would never have come into being. It follows that when Hakadosh Boruch Hu introduced the idea that “Hakadosh Boruch Hu made a condition with His world,” He made a condition

27:04 with the sea. And the Baal Shem Tov says: with every detail of creation. The point is that this is a condition, and the very existence of that reality depends on its fulfillment. As long as it has not fulfilled the condition, it is a created thing. What does it mean to be a created thing? It is a being that was created, but it belongs to nature. Nature is measured and limited; it undergoes changes, comes into being and passes away. It gradually weakens until its existence comes to an end. It is limited and measured, and its reality is fragile. But when it fulfills the will of Hashem, which is the will of the tzaddikim—“for the sake of the Torah, for the sake of the Jewish people”—and Hakadosh Boruch Hu is eternal, the Torah is true and eternal, and the Jewish people are literally a part of G-d above and are eternal, then the world is given permanence. It receives the permanence of G-dliness by becoming a vessel for what is beyond nature. This is what the Midrash says: “And toward morning the sea returned to its strength”—to its condition. When the Sea of Reeds fulfilled the condition and the will of the tzaddikim, it attained its strength; then strength [unclear], unlimited power, entered the sea. And [unclear] of creation is strength at every single moment [unclear]. But [unclear] the reality of nature. Nature is something that gradually weakens. What makes it

28:33 a reality? [unclear] physicality, even at a time when [unclear], is a reality. It is not a true reality; it is a reality [unclear]. But through the power of the tzaddikim’s will, they are given strength, unlimited strength in their existence. [unclear] nature. [unclear] the true intent in Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s desire for a dwelling in the lower realms. So why physicality? The dwelling must be a dwelling for Him Himself, not merely a dwelling [unclear] higher realms, but a dwelling in which He Himself is present, Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. [unclear] “And all flesh together will see.” That [unclear] a reality with greatness. And [unclear] through the foundation of tzaddikim [unclear]. As they say in the maamar [unclear]. [unclear] the stories about the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezritch, and the Rebbe. This time [unclear] they say in the maamar for Shabbos Beshalach, and they tell a whole story, and [unclear] Boruch Hu [unclear]. After all, [unclear] that even [unclear] the Maggid of Mezritch [unclear]. Anyone can do it, [unclear], when he [unclear] with the will of Hashem. Even so, changing nature is not only for great tzaddikim. These things are said about every Jew. Everyone has this power within them. And then it penetrates [unclear] of Torah from the Maggid of Mezritch. That—

30:19 [unclear] to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and this is the name of the covenant. Anyone can do it when [unclear] what Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants. Master of the Universe, [unclear] this maamar. That in these times, when people study Torah, then [unclear] very much that they should study Torah. And [unclear] Netanya [unclear] from the Baal Shem Tov. So [unclear] each person [unclear], and consequently each person can do it through his conduct. This [unclear] of Rabbi Chaim ben Yoel. So [unclear] the story of Rabbi Chaim ben Yoel. Anyone who sets out to do a mitzvah—when a Jew sets out to do a mitzvah, and he goes with this conviction that the whole world was created for the sake of the Torah, for the sake of the Jewish people, and he is now going to work to redeem captives. He is not even a great tzaddik, not [unclear], but a simple person. Yet he goes with this [unclear], with this connection, with this conviction that the whole world was created to carry out the will of the tzaddikim. Every Jew can [unclear] do this. That [unclear] nature [unclear]. This is the splitting of the sea, [unclear] of nature, the world [unclear]. He can bring the will of G-d into effect and perform the mitzvah, the thing he has to do. And [unclear]. [unclear] when [unclear] Yaakov [unclear]. What does this mean in practical terms? [unclear] When one studies Torah with a Jew, brings a Jew closer to Yiddishkeit, [unclear], brings a Jew closer to Torah and mitzvos, and [unclear]

31:59 [unclear]. And in those times [unclear]. [unclear]. And at a time of mesirus nefesh [unclear] Torah and Jews. When a simple Jew [unclear] and brings someone closer to Torah and mitzvos, then, as the Gemara says, Hakadosh Boruch Hu sets aside for him [unclear], the order of spiritual descent, the natural order, so that a Jew can [unclear]. And the point is, as we say, that just as it is written in the passage of the Song, the passage about the splitting of the sea, this is something entrusted to each and every Jew: through being connected to the tzaddikim and following the path of our Rebbeim. Especially as we now stand in the great days connected with Yud Shvat, the passing and hilula of the Frierdiker Rebbe and the Rebbe’s assumption of the leadership. And now the great days of 15 Shvat are approaching, the New Year for Trees. It is brought in the seforim that the New Year for Trees is connected with the Tree of Life, referring to the tzaddikim. [unclear] that one can be within the natural world, and that a Jew in the world [unclear], that when one is connected to the tzaddikim, this is the will of Hashem. And in this merit, may we soon, in our days, merit the true and complete Geulah through our righteous Moshiach.