When the Body Itself Cries Out to Serve
From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitzהרב דוד מתתיהו בן יחיאל יהושע רבינוביץProfile ›
Shemos 1:1
וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַבָּאִים מִצְרָיְמָה אֵת יַעֲקֹב אִישׁ וּבֵיתוֹ בָּאוּ
And these are the names of Bnei Yisrael who came to Egypt; with Yaakov, each man and his household came.
1“And these are the names of Bnei Yisrael who came to Egypt …”1 Chazal said that wherever the Torah says ve'eileh, “and these,” it adds to what came before.2 So what does the verse come to add here to the passing of Yaakov Avinu and Yosef HaTzaddik, told earlier in Parshas Vayechi?
וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַבָּאִים מִצְרָיְמָה וְגוֹ׳ (א, א), הִנֵּה אָמְרוּ חז״ל, שֶׁכָּל מָקוֹם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ׳וְאֵלֶּה׳ מוֹסִיף עַל הָרִאשׁוֹנִים (בראשית רבה יב, ב), וְיֵשׁ לָדַעַת מַה בָּא הַכָּתוּב כָּאן לְהוֹסִיף עַל עִנְיַן הִסְתַּלְּקוּת יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ ע״ה וְיוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיק, הָאֲמוּרִים לְעֵיל בְּפָרָשַׁת וַיְחִי.
In shortSince ve'eileh always adds, what does the opening of Shemos add to the passing of Yaakov and Yosef?
2The Midrash says: “Israel is equal to the host of heaven. Here it says ‘names,’ and of the stars it says ‘names,’ as it is said, ‘He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by names.’ So too, when Israel went down to Egypt, the Holy One, blessed be He, counted how many they were, and because they are likened to the stars, He called them all by names.”3 But what does it mean to compare Bnei Yisrael to the host of heaven?
וּבַמִּדְרָשׁ (שמות רבה א, ג) אִיתָא, שְׁקוּלִים הֵן יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּצְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם, נֶאֱמַר כָּאן ׳שְׁמוֹת׳ וְנֶאֱמַר בַּכּוֹכָבִים ׳שְׁמוֹת׳, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קמז, ד) ״מוֹנֶה מִסְפָּר לַכּוֹכָבִים לְכוּלָּם שֵׁמוֹת יִקְרָא״, אַף הקב״ה כְּשֶׁיָּרְדוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִצְרַיִם מָנָה מִסְפָּרָם כַּמָּה הָיוּ, וּלְפִי שֶׁהֵם מְשׁוּלִים לַכּוֹכָבִים קָרָא שֵׁמוֹת לְכוּלָּם. וְצָרִיךְ בֵּיאוּר עִנְיַן דִּמְיוֹן בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לִצְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם.
- Shemos Rabbah 1:3; Tehillim 147:4. ↩
In shortThe Midrash likens Israel to the host of heaven, since both are counted and called by name; but what does the comparison mean?
3Let us begin with the words of my holy father and teacher, zt"l, on the verse “All the commandment that I command you this day you shall take care to do, so that you may live …”4 He explained that just as in the body's physical life the body itself reminds a person when he must attend to its needs, such as eating and drinking, so it must be in avodas Hashem, the service of Hashem. When the time comes to do the mitzvos, doing them should be in the spirit of “so that you may live”: the body should feel that the mitzvos are its very life, and then the body itself will remind the person that he must do them. With this my holy father explained “We will do and we will hear.”5 “We will do,” na'aseh, alludes to the body, as in the verse “and the souls that they had made in Charan.”6 In other words, from na'aseh, the body, we will “hear,” nishma: the body itself will remind us that we must keep and do the whole Torah. Those are his holy words.
וְנַקְדִּים אִמְרֵי קוֹדֶשׁ כ״ק אאמו״ר זצללה״ה עַל הַכָּתוּב (דברים ח, א) ״כָּל הַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם תִּשְׁמְרוּן לַעֲשׂוֹת לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּן״ וְגוֹ׳. וּבֵיאֵר בָּזֶה, שֶׁכְּמוֹ שֶׁלְּעִנְיַן הַחַיּוּת הַגַּשְׁמִית שֶׁל הַגּוּף, הֲרֵי הַגּוּף מַזְכִּיר לָאָדָם בְּעֵת שֶׁהוּא צָרִיךְ לְהִתְעַסֵּק בִּצְרָכָיו כְּגוֹן לֶאֱכוֹל וְלִשְׁתּוֹת, כָּךְ צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת גַּם לְעִנְיַן עֲבוֹדַת ה׳ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, שֶׁבְּעֵת שֶׁיָּבוֹא עֵת קִיּוּם הַמִּצְוֹות, צָרִיךְ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה זֹאת בִּבְחִינַת ׳לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּן׳, שֶׁיַּרְגִּישׁ הַגּוּף שֶׁהַמִּצְוֹות הֵם חַיּוּתוֹ, וְאָז הַגּוּף עַצְמוֹ יַזְכִּיר לְהָאָדָם שֶׁהוּא צָרִיךְ לְקַיֵּים הַמִּצְוֹת. וּפֵירֵשׁ בָּזֶה עִנְיַן ״נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע״ (לקמן כד, ז), ׳נַעֲשֶׂה׳ רוֹמֵז לְהַגּוּף, כְּמַאֲמַר הַכָּתוּב (בראשית יב ה) ״וְאֶת הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן״, וְהַיְינוּ שֶׁמִּבְּחִינַת ׳נַעֲשֶׂה׳ שֶׁהוּא הַגּוּף, מִמֶּנּוּ ׳נִשְׁמָע׳ יַזְכִּיר לָנוּ שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לִשְׁמוֹר וְלַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת כָּל הַתּוֹרָה כּוּלָּהּ, עכד״ק.
- Devarim 8:1. ↩
- Shemos 24:7. ↩
- Bereishis 12:5. Na'aseh, “we will do,” shares its root with asu, “they had made,” in this verse; the Rebbe's father takes “making” as a hint to the physical body. ↩
In shortWhen the mitzvos are the body's very life, the Rebbe's father taught, the body itself reminds a person to do them.
4To explain all this, we may say the following. In the exile of Egypt, as is well known, both the body and the soul were in exile. The bodies of Bnei Yisrael were tormented and enslaved under the harsh bondage, and beyond that, it was very hard for them to serve the Creator. My holy father used to comment on the verse “And Bnei Yisrael groaned from the labor and cried out, and their cry rose up to God from the labor.”7 He noted the two verbs, “they groaned” and “they cried out,” and the repeated words “from the labor.” While they were in exile in Egypt, he explained, body and soul alike were in exile. Of the pain of the body's exile the verse says “they groaned”: all they did was groan, with the kind of groan that breaks a person's body.8 But of the exile of the soul, the harshness of their spiritual bondage, the verse says “they cried out.” Over the exile of their souls they cried out and prayed more loudly than over the exile of their bodies.
וּלְבָאֵר כָּל זֶה אֶפְשָׁר לוֹמַר, דְּהִנֵּה יָדוּעַ שֶׁבְּגָלוּת מִצְרַיִם הָיוּ שְׁרוּיִים בַּגָּלוּת הֵן הַגּוּף וְהֵן הַנְּשָׁמָה, שֶׁכֵּן מִלְּבַד הֱיוֹת גּוּפָם מְעוּנֶּה וּמְשׁוּעְבָּד בְּקוֹשִׁי הַשִּׁעְבּוּד, הָיָה לָהֶם גַּם קָשֶׁה מְאֹד לַעֲבוֹד אֶת הַבּוֹרֵא יִתְבָּרֵךְ. וְכַאֲשֶׁר הָיָה כ״ק אאמו״ר זצללה״ה אוֹמֵר עַל הַכָּתוּב (ב, כג) ״וַיֵּאָנְחוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִן הָעֲבוֹדָה וַיִּזְעָקוּ וַתַּעַל שַׁוְעָתָם אֶל הָאֱלֹקִים מִן הָעֲבוֹדָה״, וְדִיֵּיק בְּכֶפֶל הַלְּשׁוֹנוֹת ׳וַיֵּאָנְחוּ׳ ׳וַיִּזְעָקוּ׳ וּבְכֶפֶל הַתֵּיבוֹת ׳מִן הָעֲבוֹדָה׳. וּבֵיאֵר, כִּי בִּהְיוֹתָם בְּמִצְרַיִם בַּגָּלוּת, הָיוּ הַגּוּף וְהַנְּשָׁמָה שְׁרוּיִים בַּגָּלוּת, וּלְעִנְיַן צַעַר גָּלוּת הַגּוּף אָמַר הַכָּתוּב ׳וַיֵּאָנְחוּ׳, שֶׁרַק נֶאֶנְחוּ אֲנָחָה הַשּׁוֹבֶרֶת גּוּפוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם, אַךְ לְעִנְיַן גָּלוּת הַנֶּפֶשׁ וְהַנְּשָׁמָה בְּקוֹשִׁי הַשִּׁעְבּוּד בְּרוּחָנִיּוּת אָמַר הַכָּתוּב ׳וַיִּזְעָקוּ׳, שֶׁעַל גָּלוּת נַפְשָׁם זַעֲקוּ וְהִתְפַּלְּלוּ בְּקוֹל גָּדוֹל יוֹתֵר מֵאֲשֶׁר עַל גָּלוּת הַגּוּף.
- Shemos 2:23. ↩
- See Berachos 58b: a groan breaks half of a person's body, and R' Yochanan says, even the whole body. ↩
In shortIn Egypt body and soul were both in exile, yet Bnei Yisrael only “groaned” over their bodies and “cried out” over their souls.
5We know that the work of a Jew in serving Hashem is to make the body into soul, to turn matter into form.9 As the verse says, “My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God”:10 even the flesh of the body is to sing for joy and give thanks to the living God. It is said of Dovid HaMelech that he lived the words “But I am prayer.”11 Every bone of his body was prayer, so that his body prayed too, and not only his soul. In the same way, when Bnei Yisrael were in Egypt, “the iron furnace,”12 they themselves toiled to turn matter into form.
וְהִנֵּה נוֹדַע אֲשֶׁר עֲבוֹדַת אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל הוּא לַעֲשׂוֹת מֵהַגּוּף בְּחִינַת נְשָׁמָה, לְהַפֵּךְ הַחוֹמֶר לַצּוּרָה, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (תהלים פד, ג) ״לִיבִּי וּבְשָׂרִי יְרַנְּנוּ אֶל אֵל חָי״, שֶׁגַּם בְּשַׂר הַגּוּף יְרַנֵּן וְיוֹדֶה לָאֵל חַי. וְכָאָמוּר בְּדָוִד הַמֶּלֶךְ שֶׁהָיָה בִּבְחִינַת ״וַאֲנִי תְפִילָּה״ (תהילים קט, ד), שֶׁכָּל עַצְמוֹת גּוּפוֹ הָיָה בְּחִינַת תְּפִילָּה, שֶׁגַּם הַגּוּף הִתְפַּלֵּל וְלֹא רַק הַנְּשָׁמָה. וְכֵן בִּזְמַן שֶׁבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיוּ בְּמִצְרַיִם כּוּר הַבַּרְזֶל, עָמְלוּ בְּעַצְמָם לַהֲפוֹךְ הַחוֹמֶר לַצּוּרָה.
- Matter (chomer) is the physical substance of a thing and form (tzurah) its spiritual essence. To “turn matter into form” is to make the physical itself a vessel for the spiritual. ↩
- Tehillim 84:3. ↩
- Tehillim 109:4. ↩
- Devarim 4:20. ↩
In shortA Jew's task is to turn the body itself into soul, as Dovid's whole being was prayer; in Egypt, Bnei Yisrael toiled at this.
6We can find a hint of this in the same verse, “And Bnei Yisrael groaned from the labor.” A groan comes from deep inside the heart, so first they groaned over what is inward, over the soul. Then the verse says “they cried out,” and a cry is a shout heard on the outside. Even from the body, an outward thing, a cry was heard: the body cried out that it wanted to serve Hashem. This lets us understand the Midrash's words, that Israel is equal to the host of heaven. Just as the host of heaven does only the will of its Maker and has no other business at all, so the goal of Bnei Yisrael's service is to toil until they reach this level, where all their desire and will are for avodas Hashem alone.
וְזֶה יֵשׁ לְרַמֵּז בְּמַאֲמַר הַכָּתוּב ״וַיֵּאָנְחוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִן הָעֲבוֹדָה״, שֶׁאֲנָחָה מוֹרָה עַל פְּנִימִיּוּת הַלֵּב, שֶׁתְּחִילָּה נֶאֶנְחוּ עַל הַפְּנִימִיּוּת עַל הַנְּשָׁמָה, וּלְאַחַר מִכֵּן נֶאֱמַר ׳וַיִּזְעָקוּ׳, זְעָקָה מוֹרֶה עַל צְעָקָה הַנִּשְׁמַעַת בְּחִיצוֹנִיּוּת, שֶׁגַּם מֵהַגּוּף שֶׁהוּא דָּבָר חִיצוֹנִי נִשְׁמְעָה צְעָקָה, שֶׁהַגּוּף צָעַק שֶׁהוּא חָפֵץ לַעֲבוֹד ה׳. וּבָזֶה יֵשׁ לְפָרֵשׁ מַה שֶׁאָמְרוּ בַּמִּדְרָשׁ שֶׁשְּׁקוּלִין יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּצְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם, כִּי כְּשֵׁם שֶׁצְּבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם עוֹשִׂים אַךְ וְרַק רְצוֹן קוֹנָם, וְאֵין לָהֶם שׁוּם עֵסֶק אַחֵר, כְּמוֹ כֵן תַּכְלִית עֲבוֹדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַעֲמוֹל וּלְהַגִּיעַ לְמַדְרֵיגָה זוֹ, שֶׁכָּל חֶפְצָם וּרְצוֹנָם יִהְיֶה אַךְ וְרַק עֲבוֹדַת ה׳.
In shortThe groan is the soul's pain, the cry the body's call to serve; like the host of heaven, Israel toils to want only avodas Hashem.
7In light of this, the word ve'eileh, whose vav adds to what came before, becomes clear. It adds to what we are told at the end of Parshas Vayechi, that Yaakov Avinu and after him Yosef HaTzaddik passed from the world. We know that the bodies of tzaddikim are not consumed by worms.13 This is because the body of a true tzaddik becomes soul: he turns matter into form, and so his body is not consumed by worms. As the holy Ohr HaChaim wrote, the tzaddikim of Israel did not decay after their death; perhaps Yosef did not know this secret, and that is why he commanded that Yaakov Avinu be embalmed.14 Those are his holy words. Since the tzaddik's body is turned into soul, and its matter into form, during his lifetime, his body is not harmed even after his death. That is why the verse here says ve'eileh, which adds to what came before: the Bnei Yisrael who went down to Egypt also toiled to reach perfection in this service of turning matter into form, as Yaakov and Yosef had.
וּלְפִי זֶה יִתְבָּאֵר הַכָּתוּב ׳וְאֵלֶּה׳ בְּו׳ הַמּוֹסִיף עַל הָרִאשׁוֹנִים, שֶׁמּוֹסִיף עַל הַנֶּאֱמָר בְּסוֹף פָּרָשַׁת וַיְחִי שֶׁנִּסְתַּלֵּק יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ וְאַחֲרָיו יוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיק מִן הָעוֹלָם, וְנוֹדַע שֶׁהַצַּדִּיקִים אֵין גּוּפָם נַעֲשֶׂה רִימָּה, וְהוּא מֵחֲמַת שֶׁאֵצֶל הַצַּדִּיקִים הָאֲמִיתִּיִּים הַגּוּף נַעֲשֶׂה נְשָׁמָה, עַל יְדֵי שֶׁמְּהַפְּכִים הַחוֹמֶר לַצּוּרָה, וְלָכֵן אֵין גּוּפָם נַעֲשֶׂה רִימָּה. וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַב בְּאוֹר הַחַיִּים הַקָּדוֹשׁ (בראשית נ, ב) שֶׁצַּדִּיקֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא הָיוּ מַסְרִיחִין אַחַר מוֹתָם, וְאֶפְשָׁר שֶׁלֹּא יָדַע יוֹסֵף מִסּוֹד זֶה, וְלָכֵן צִוָּה לַחֲנוֹט אֶת יַעֲקֹב אע״ה, עכד״ק. כִּי כֵּיוָן שֶׁהַגּוּף נֶהְפַּךְ לַנְּשָׁמָה וְהַחוֹמֶר לַצּוּרָה בְּחַיִּים חַיּוּתוֹ, שׁוּב גַּם לְאַחַר מוֹתוֹ אֵין הַגּוּף נִפְגַּם. וְלָכֵן נֶאֱמַר כָּאן וְאֵלֶּה מוֹסִיף עַל הָרִאשׁוֹנִים, הַיְינוּ שֶׁגַּם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַיּוֹרְדִים לְמִצְרַיִם, עָמְלוּ בָּזֶה לְהַגִּיעַ לִידֵי שְׁלֵימוֹת הָעֲבוֹדָה הַזֹּאת לַהֲפוֹךְ הַחוֹמֶר לְצוּרָה, כְּמוֹ יַעֲקֹב וְיוֹסֵף.
In shortTzaddikim who turn matter into form do not decay, and ve'eileh says Bnei Yisrael in Egypt toiled at this as Yaakov and Yosef had.
8In the days of Moshiach, knowledge will increase in Israel.15 Then everyone will reach this level of making form out of matter, and the body will be nothing but soul. So may Hashem grant that we be privileged to serve Him completely, and may we soon reach this level with the coming of the righteous Redeemer. Amen, may it be His will.
וְהִנֵּה בִּימוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ יִרְבֶּה הַדַּעַת בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאָז יַגִּיעוּ כּוּלָּם לִבְחִינָה זוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת מֵהַחוֹמֶר צוּרָה, וְהַגּוּף יִהְיֶה רַק בִּבְחִינַת נְשָׁמָה, כֵּן ה׳ יְזַכֵּנוּ לַעֲבוֹד אוֹתוֹ בִּשְׁלֵימוּת, וְנִזְכֶּה כְּבָר לְמִידָּה הַזֹּאת עִם בִּיאַת גּוֹאֵל צֶדֶק, אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן.
- See Daniel 12:4. ↩
In shortThe Rebbe prays that we serve Hashem completely and soon reach, with Moshiach, the level where the body becomes pure soul.
Takeaway
Serving Hashem is not for the soul alone: the goal is for the body itself to feel that the mitzvos are its life, as it feels hunger and thirst, and to cry out that it wants to serve. Our fathers in Egypt cried out more over their spiritual exile than over their bodily one, and they toiled to turn matter into form. Like the host of heaven, which does nothing but its Maker's will, we too can work until avodas Hashem is all we want.
Learn this in the merit of Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz. His yahrzeit and life ›
English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.