Refidim: Torah That Reaches the Hands
From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitzהרב דוד מתתיהו בן יחיאל יהושע רבינוביץProfile ›
Bamidbar 33:14
וַיִּסְעוּ מֵאָלוּשׁ וַיַּחֲנוּ בִּרְפִידִם וְלֹא־הָיָה שָׁם מַיִם לָעָם לִשְׁתּוֹת
They journeyed from Alush and encamped in Refidim, and there was no water there for the people to drink.
1“And they encamped in Refidim, and there was no water there for the people to drink.”1 The Ramban asks why the Torah tells here what happened at Refidim. Something happened to Bnei Yisrael at many of their journeys, such as the coming down of the manna and the like. Why, then, does the Torah tell what happened only at Refidim, of all the journeys? He answers in these words: “It did not mention the miracle of the water at Marah, nor the manna in the Wilderness of Sin. But what happened at Refidim was a great matter: they tested Hashem, and the place was called Massah and Meribah; He was sanctified before their eyes when He brought water out of a rock for them; and the war of Amalek came upon them there. So it mentioned briefly, ‘and there was no water there for the people to drink,’ for that is what the place is known by.”2 Those are his holy words.
וַיַּחֲנוּ בִּרְפִידִים וְלֹא הָיָה שָׁם מַיִם לָעָם לִשְׁתּוֹת (לג, יד). הִקְשָׁה הרמב״ן ז״ל, לָמָּה פֵּרֵט כָּאן מַה שֶׁאֵירַע בִּרְפִידִים, הֲרֵי בְּהַרְבֵּה מֵהַמַּסָּעוֹת אֵירַע לָהֶם אֵיזֶה מְאוֹרָע, כְּגוֹן מַעֲשֵׂה יְרִידַת הַמָּן וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּזֶה, וְלָמָּה מִכָּל הַמַּסָּעוֹת רַק בִּרְפִידִים פֵּירֵט מַה שֶׁאֵירַע לָהֶם שָׁם. וְכָתַב לְתָרֵץ וז״ל, לֹא הִזְכִּיר בְּמָרָה נֵס הַמַּיִם וְלֹא בְּמִדְבַּר סִין עִנְיַן הַמָּן, אֲבָל בַּעֲבוּר הֱיוֹת עִנְיַן רְפִידִים דָּבָר גָּדוֹל, שֶׁנִּיסּוּ אֶת ה׳ וְנִקְרָא הַמָּקוֹם מַסָּה וּמְרִיבָה, וְנִקְדַּשׁ לְעֵינֵיהֶם לְהוֹצִיא לָהֶם מַיִם מִסֶּלַע, וּבָאָה אֲלֵיהֶם שָׁם מִלְחֶמֶת עֲמָלֵק, עַל כֵּן הִזְכִּיר בִּקְצָרָה ׳וְלֹא הָיָה שָׁם מַיִם לָעָם לִשְׁתּוֹת׳, כִּי הוּא הַמָּקוֹם הַנִּיכָּר וְהַנּוֹדָע בּוֹ, עכל״ק.
- Bamidbar 33:14. ↩
- Ramban on Bamidbar 33:14. The events he lists: Marah, Shemos 15:23–25; the manna, Shemos 16; Massah and Meribah, “testing” and “strife,” and the war of Amalek, Shemos 17:1–16. ↩
In shortRefidim alone has its story mentioned, the Ramban explains, because the testing of Hashem, the water from the rock and Amalek's war made it known.
2This can be understood more fully, along with why the verse mentions only “and there was no water for the people to drink,” through a saying of Chazal: “Refidim means nothing other than rifyon yadayim, slackness of the hands. Because they let their hands grow slack from words of Torah, the enemy came upon them, for the enemy comes only when there is slackness of the hands in Torah.”3 But what do Chazal mean? And why do they say “they let their hands grow slack”? It would have been enough to say that they grew slack in words of Torah.
וּלְהָבִין הָעִנְיָן בְּיֶתֶר בֵּיאוּר, וְגַם לְהָבִין מַה שֶׁבַּפָּסוּק לֹא הוּזְכַּר אֶלָּא ׳וְלֹא הָיָה מַיִם לָעָם לִשְׁתּוֹת׳, יִתְבָּאֵר עַל פִּי מַאֲמַר חז״ל (תנחומא בשלח כה, ילקוט שמעוני בשלח רסז, ועיין גם בתרגום יונתן כאן) אֵין רְפִידִים אֶלָּא רִפְיוֹן יָדַיִם, לְפִי שֶׁרִפּוּ יְדֵיהֶם מִדִּבְרֵי תּוֹרָה לְכָךְ בָּא הַשּׂוֹנֵא עֲלֵיהֶם, לְפִי שֶׁאֵין הַשּׂוֹנֵא בָּא אֶלָּא עַל רִפְיוֹן יָדַיִם מִן הַתּוֹרָה. וּלְהָבִין כַּוָּונַת דִּבְרֵיהֶם, וְכֵן מַהוּ הַלָּשׁוֹן ׳שֶׁרִפּוּ יְדֵיהֶם׳, וְהָיָה לוֹ לוֹמַר שֶׁנִּתְרַפּוּ מִדִּבְרֵי תּוֹרָה.
- Midrash Tanchuma, Beshalach 25; Yalkut Shimoni, Beshalach §267; see also Targum Yonasan on Bamidbar 33:14. ↩
In shortChazal read Refidim as hands grown slack from Torah, which brought the enemy; but why speak of hands, and why mention only the water?
3This will become clear from what we find in the holy sefer Maor VaShemesh on this verse. These are his holy words:4 “‘They journeyed from Refidim and encamped in the Wilderness of Sinai.’5 The sefarim teach that these verses allude to the levels through which Bnei Yisrael rose, from one level to the next. When the yetzer hara leads a person astray from the good path, Heaven forbid, it first puts laziness into his heart. If he does not overpower it with all his strength and become zariz, quick and eager, then his laziness about rising in the morning to serve his Creator leads him to bittul Torah, neglect of Torah study. And because he does not engage in Torah, he falls prey to evil desires, Heaven forbid. So the main thing in overcoming one's inclination is for a person to make it his whole aim to acquire the middah of zerizus, the character trait of alacrity. Through it he spurs himself on to engage in Torah, and the Torah teaches him to guard himself from evil desires and evil deeds.
וְיִתְבָּאֵר עַל פִּי מַה שֶׁמָּצִינוּ בְּסֵפֶר הַקָּדוֹשׁ מְאוֹר וְשַׁמָּשׁ עַל זֶה הַפָּסוּק וְזֶה לְשׁוֹן קָדְשׁוֹ, ״וַיִּסְעוּ מֵרְפִידִים וַיַּחֲנוּ בְּמִדְבַּר סִינָי״ (לג, טו), בַּסְּפָרִים אִיתָא שֶׁהַפְּסוּקִים אֵלּוּ מְרַמְּזִים עַל הַמַּדְרִיגוֹת שֶׁבָּאוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמַּדְרֵיגָה לְמַדְרֵיגָה. וְהִנֵּה הַיֵּצֶר הָרַע כְּשֶׁמַּתְעֶה אֶת הָאָדָם מִדֶּרֶךְ הַטּוֹב חָלִילָה, בַּתְּחִילָּה מֵשִׂים בְּלִבּוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם עַצְלוּת, וְאִם הָאָדָם לֹא יִתְגַּבֵּר עָלָיו בְּכָל כּוֹחוֹ לִהְיוֹת זָרִיז, מִתּוֹךְ שֶׁהוּא מִתְעַצֵּל לַעֲמוֹד בַּבּוֹקֶר לַעֲבוֹדַת בּוֹרְאוֹ, הוּא בָּא לִידֵי בִּיטּוּל תּוֹרָה, וּמִתּוֹךְ שֶׁאֵינוֹ עוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה הוּא בָּא לִידֵי תַּאֲוֹות רָעוֹת חָלִילָה, עַל כֵּן הָעִיקָּר לְהִתְגַּבֵּר עַל יִצְרוֹ צָרִיךְ הָאָדָם לִרְאוֹת וְלַעֲשׂוֹת כָּל מְגַמָּתוֹ שֶׁיָּבֹא לִידֵי מִדַּת הַזְּרִיזוּת, וּמִתּוֹךְ כָּךְ הוּא מִזְדָּרֵז אֶת עַצְמוֹ לַעֲסוֹק בַּתּוֹרָה, וְהַתּוֹרָה מְלַמְּדוֹ לְהִזָּהֵר מִתַּאֲוֹות רָעוֹת וּמִמַּעֲשִׂים רָעִים.
In shortLaziness leads to neglect of Torah and then to desire, the Maor VaShemesh teaches, so the key is alacrity, which brings a person to Torah.
4a“This is the explanation of the verses. ‘They journeyed from Refidim’: once they had moved away from slack hands, that is, from laziness, ‘they encamped in the Wilderness of Sinai,’ meaning that they engaged in Torah. ‘They journeyed from the Wilderness of Sinai’:6 by engaging in Torah, they no longer needed to devise strategies for overcoming their inclination in order to learn, except at the beginning. After that the words of Torah became sweet to them, and the Torah taught them how to break desire. This is ‘and they encamped in Kivros HaTaavah,’ the Graves of Desire: they buried desire, so that they no longer craved evil things.
וְזֶהוּ בֵּיאוּר הַכְּתוּבִים, ׳וַיִּסְעוּ מֵרְפִידִים׳, פֵּירוּשׁ כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִסִּיעוּ עַצְמָם מִן הָרִיפּוּי יָדַיִם הַיְינוּ מִן הָעַצְלוּת, ׳וַיַּחֲנוּ בְּמִדְבַּר סִינָי׳, הַיְינוּ שֶׁהָיוּ עוֹסְקִים בַּתּוֹרָה. ׳וַיִּסְעוּ מִמִּדְבַּר סִינָי׳, פֵּירוּשׁ שֶׁעַל יְדֵי עֵסֶק הַתּוֹרָה לֹא הָיוּ צְרִיכִים עוֹד לַעֲשׂוֹת תַּחְבּוּלוֹת לְהִתְגַּבֵּר עַל יִצְרָם לַעֲסוֹק בַּתּוֹרָה רַק בַּתְּחִילָּה, וְאַחַר כָּךְ נַעֲשָׂה דִבְרֵי תוֹרָה עֲרֵבִים עֲלֵיהֶם, וְהָיְתָה הַתּוֹרָה מְלַמְּדָם אֵיךְ לְשַׁבֵּר הַתַּאֲוָה, וְזֶהוּ ׳וַיַּחֲנוּ בְּקִבְרוֹת הַתַּאֲוָה׳, פֵּירוּשׁ שֶׁקָּבְרוּ אֶת הַתַּאֲוָה, שֶׁלֹּא הָיוּ מִתְאַוִּים לְתַאֲוֹות רָעוֹת.
- Bamidbar 33:16. ↩
4b“‘They journeyed from Kivros HaTaavah and encamped in Chatzeros,’7 whose name means ‘courtyards.’ As long as a person's heart still leans toward any desire of this world, even the slightest, even once a year, he must remain a yoshev ohel, one who sits in the tent of study. He cannot yet come and go in courtyards and streets, lest the yetzer hara lead him to sin, Heaven forbid. But if he has broken all his desires and his heart is under his control, as the hearts of the tzaddikim are under their control,8 he can come and go in the streets and courtyards, and still the fear of Hashem is on his face and he does not sin at all. This is ‘they journeyed from Kivros HaTaavah’: they had broken all their desires and reached a still greater level, where they could come and go in courtyards and streets. And this is ‘and they encamped in Chatzeros.’” Those are his holy and wondrous words.
׳וַיִּסְעוּ מִקִּבְרוֹת הַתַּאֲוָה וַיַּחֲנוּ בַּחֲצֵרוֹת׳, דְּהִנֵּה כָּל זְמַן שֶׁלִּבּוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם נוֹטֶה עוֹד לְאֵיזֶה תַּאֲוָה שֶׁל עוֹלָם הַזֶּה אֲפִילּוּ כָּל דְּהוּא אֲפִילּוּ פַּעַם אַחַת בַּשָּׁנָה, צָרִיךְ הוּא לִהְיוֹת יוֹשֵׁב אוֹהֶל וְלֹא יוּכַל עוֹד לָצֵאת וְלָבֹא בַּחֲצֵירוֹת וּבָרְחוֹבוֹת פֶּן יַחֲטִיאֶנּוּ הַיֵּצֶר הָרַע חָלִילָה, אֲבָל אִם שִׁיבֵּר כָּל הַתַּאֲוֹות וְלִבּוֹ הוּא בִּרְשׁוּתוֹ, כִּי הַצַּדִּיקִים הוּא לִבָּם בִּרְשׁוּתָם, יָכוֹל הוּא לָצֵאת וְלָבֹא בָּרְחוֹבוֹת וּבַחֲצֵרוֹת וְאַף עַל פִּי כֵן יִרְאַת ה׳ עַל פָּנָיו וְאֵינוֹ חוֹטֵא כְּלָל. וְזֶהוּ ׳וַיִּסְעוּ מִקִּבְרוֹת הַתַּאֲוָה׳, פֵּירוּשׁ שֶׁכְּבָר שָׁבְרוּ כָּל הַתַּאֲוֹות וּבָאוּ לְמַדְרֵיגָה גְּדוֹלָה מִמֶּנָּה שֶׁהָיוּ יְכוֹלִים לָצֵאת וְלָבֹא בַּחֲצֵרוֹת וּבָרְחוֹבוֹת, וְזֶהוּ ׳וַיַּחֲנוּ בַּחֲצֵרוֹת׳, ע״כ דְּבָרָיו הַקְּדוֹשִׁים הַנִּפְלָאִים.
In shortThe journeys trace a path: from laziness to Torah, through Torah to buried desire, and on to walking the world's courtyards without sin.
5aThis lets us understand more fully Chazal's words that “they let their hands grow slack from words of Torah.” On the verse “And it was, when Moshe raised his hand, Israel prevailed …,” Chazal said: “Do Moshe's hands make war or break war? Rather, it tells you that as long as Bnei Yisrael looked upward and subjected their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they prevailed,” and defeated Amalek.9 This shows that the hands stand for “And you who cleave to Hashem your God”:10 looking upward, and cleaving and holding fast to Hashem, blessed be He. Through this they broke the kelipah of Amalek, its husk of impurity; for Amalek had come because they let their hands grow slack from words of Torah.
וְעַל פִּי זֶה יִתְבָּאֵר בְּיֶתֶר בֵּיאוּר עִנְיַן אוֹמְרָם ז״ל שֶׁרִפּוּ יְדֵיהֶם מִדִּבְרֵי תּוֹרָה, דְּהִנֵּה חז״ל אָמְרוּ (ראש השנה כט, א) ״וְהָיָה כַּאֲשֶׁר יָרִים מֹשֶׁה יָדוֹ וְגָבַר יִשְׂרָאֵל״ וְגוֹ׳, וְכִי יָדָיו שֶׁל מֹשֶׁה עוֹשׂוֹת מִלְחָמָה אוֹ שׁוֹבְרוֹת מִלְחָמָה, אֶלָּא לוֹמַר לְךָ כָּל זְמַן שֶׁהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִסְתַּכְּלִין כְּלַפֵּי מַעְלָה וּמְשַׁעְבְּדִין אֶת לִבָּם לַאֲבִיהֶם שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם הָיוּ מִתְגַּבְּרִים וְנוֹצְחִים אֶת עֲמָלֵק. מְבוֹאָר מִכָּאן שֶׁעִנְיַן הַיָּדָיִים מוֹרֶה עַל עִנְיַן ״וְאַתֶּם הַדְּבֵקִים בַּה׳ אֱלוֹקֵיכֶם״, שֶׁמִּסְתַּכְּלִים כְּלַפֵּי מַעְלָה וּדְבוּקִים וַאֲחוּזִים בּוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, וּבָזֶה הָיוּ שׁוֹבְרִים קְלִיפַּת עֲמָלֵק שֶׁבָּא מִשּׁוּם שֶׁרִפּוּ יְדֵיהֶם מִדִּבְרֵי תּוֹרָה,
5bFor Torah must be learned in the spirit of “Fortunate is he who comes here with his learning in his hand,”11 since “the goal of Torah is teshuvah and good deeds.”12 That is, the purpose of learning Torah is to return in teshuvah, to refine one's deeds and to cleave to the Creator; to keep all that the Torah teaches a person, and to remember Hashem his God. This is the point of the word “hands” in “Refidim, because they let their hands grow slack.” They did learn Torah, but not on this desired level of “his learning in his hand,” cleaving to the Creator of the world. That is why the war of Amalek came.
וְהַיְינוּ כִּי לִימּוּד הַתּוֹרָה צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת בִּבְחִינַת (פסחים נ, א) אַשְׁרֵי מִי שֶׁבָּא לְכָאן וְתַלְמוּדוֹ בְּיָדוֹ, דְּתַכְלִית תּוֹרָה תְּשׁוּבָה וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים (ברכות יז, א), הַיְינוּ שֶׁהַתַּכְלִית בְּלִימּוּד הַתּוֹרָה הוּא לָשׁוּב בִּתְשׁוּבָה וּלְזַכֵּךְ הַמַּעֲשִׂים וְלִידָּבֵק בְּבוֹרֵא יִתְבָּרֵךְ, לִשְׁמוֹר כְּכָל אֲשֶׁר תּוֹרֶה לוֹ הַתּוֹרָה לְאָדָם, וְלִזְכּוֹר אֶת ה׳ אֱלוֹקָיו. וְזֶהוּ כַּוָּונַת הַלָּשׁוֹן רְפִידִים שֶׁרִפּוּ ׳יְדֵיהֶם׳, שֶׁאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלָּמְדוּ תּוֹרָה אֲבָל לֹא לָמְדוּ בְּמַדְרֵיגָה הַנִּרְצֵית הַזֹּאת שֶׁל בְּחִינַת תַּלְמוּדוֹ בְּיָדוֹ, לְהִתְדַּבֵּק בְּבוֹרֵא עוֹלָם, וְלָכֵן בָּאָה מִלְחֶמֶת עֲמָלֵק.
- Pesachim 50a. “Here” is the World to Come. ↩
- Berachos 17a, where the wording is “the goal of wisdom.” ↩
In short“Their hands” means their learning was not “in hand”: it did not lead to teshuvah, good deeds and cleaving to Hashem, and so Amalek came.
6This makes clear why it is at Refidim, of all places, that the Torah tells what happened to Bnei Yisrael: to show how much we need to learn Torah on the level of “his learning in his hand.” That is also why the Torah wrote only “and there was no water for the people to drink.” They had drifted away and fallen from the “water,” and “water means nothing other than Torah,”13 the kind meant by “for the people to drink”: Torah that brings people to live by the Torah, in deveikus, cleaving to Hashem.
וּבָזֶה מְבוֹאָר הֵיטֵב מַה שֶׁדַּוְקָא בִּרְפִידִים הִזְכִּירָה הַתּוֹרָה אֶת אֲשֶׁר אֵירַע לָהֶם, לְהַרְאוֹת גּוֹדֶל נְחִיצוּת לִימּוּד הַתּוֹרָה בִּבְחִינַת זוֹ שֶׁל תַּלְמוּדוֹ בְּיָדוֹ. וְלָכֵן כָּתְבָה הַתּוֹרָה רַק ׳וְלֹא הָיָה מַיִם לָעָם לִשְׁתּוֹת׳, שֶׁנִּתְרַחֲקוּ וְנָפְלוּ מִלִּהְיוֹת הַמַּיִם, אֵין מַיִם אֶלָּא תּוֹרָה, בִּבְחִינַת ׳לָעָם לִשְׁתּוֹת׳, לַהֲבִיאָם לִחְיוֹת עַל פִּי הַתּוֹרָה בִּדְבֵיקוּת בַּה׳.
- Bava Kamma 82a. ↩
In shortRefidim is singled out to show the need for Torah held in hand; the missing “water” was Torah that brings people to live by it.
7In this light we can also explain Chazal's saying that Yerushalayim was destroyed only because they based their words on the words of Torah. The Gemara concludes there that this means they did not act beyond the letter of the law.14 At first glance this is hard to understand. Would so great a punishment come just because they did not go beyond the letter of the law? Rather, we may see a hint here. “They based their words on the words of Torah” means that the Torah they learned was only a matter of speech; they never reached the point of holding the words of Torah with their “hands” as well. So their acquisition of the Torah was lacking, and this is what led to the destruction.
וּבָזֶה אֶפְשָׁר לְפָרֵשׁ מַה שֶׁאָמְרוּ חז״ל (בבא מציעא ל, ב פח, א) שֶׁלֹּא חָרְבָה יְרוּשָׁלַיִם אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהֶעֱמִידוּ דִּבְרֵיהֶם עַל דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה, וּמַסְּקִינַן שָׁם דְּהַיְינוּ שֶׁלֹּא עָשׂוּ לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין, וְלִכְאוֹרָה אֵינוֹ מוּבָן וְכִי מִשּׁוּם שֶׁאֵין עוֹשִׂים לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין מַגִּיעַ עוֹנֶשׁ גָּדוֹל כָּזֶה. אֶלָּא יֵשׁ לִרְמוֹז הַכַּוָּונָה בָּזֶה, דְּ׳שֶׁהֶעֱמִידוּ דִּבְרֵיהֶם עַל דִּבְרֵי תּוֹרָה׳ הַכַּוָּונָה שֶׁהַתּוֹרָה שֶׁלָּמְדוּ הָיְתָה רַק בִּבְחִינַת דִּיבּוּר, וְלֹא בָּאוּ לְמִידָּה זוֹ לְהַחְזִיק גַּם ׳יְדֵיהֶם׳ בְּדִבְרֵי תּוֹרָה, וּמִמֵּילָא הָיָה חָסֵר לָהֶם בְּקִנְיַן הַתּוֹרָה, וּמִתּוֹךְ זֶה הִגִּיעוּ לִידֵי הַחוּרְבָּן.
- Bava Metzia 30b; 88a. At 30b the Gemara says that they based their judgments on Torah law and did not go beyond it; the wording “their words on the words of Torah” is from 88a, said of the shops of Beis Hino. ↩
In shortYerushalayim fell because the people's Torah stayed in speech and never reached their hands, so they never truly acquired it.
8May Hashem grant that we be privileged to reach this level: “to learn and to teach, to keep and to do, with love.”15 May our learning show us how to keep the Torah, how to draw close to Hashem and how to do His will. Through this may we bring near the building of the Beis HaMikdash, the Chosen House. Amen, may it be His will.
יִתֵּן ה׳ שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה לְהַגִּיעַ לְמִידָּה זוֹ, לִלְמוֹד וּלְלַמֵּד לִשְׁמוֹר וְלַעֲשׂוֹת בְּאַהֲבָה, שֶׁהַלִּימּוּד יִהְיֶה בְּדֶרֶךְ הוֹרָאָה אֵיךְ לִשְׁמוֹר הַתּוֹרָה וּלְהִתְקָרֵב לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרֵךְ וְלַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנוֹ, וּבָזֶה נְקָרֵב אֶת בִּנְיַן בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה, אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן:
- From the blessing before the morning Shema. ↩
In shortThe Rebbe prays that our learning lead us to keep the Torah and draw close to Hashem, bringing near the building of the Beis HaMikdash.
Takeaway
We can learn Torah and still let our hands go slack, when the learning stays in words and never reaches our deeds. The way out begins with simple alacrity, which brings us to Torah, and the Torah in turn teaches us to master our desires. Learning held “in hand,” leading to teshuvah, good deeds and cleaving to Hashem, is the water we need.
Learn this in the merit of Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz. His yahrzeit and life ›
English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.