Shabbat-B'Shabbato – Parshat Bo No 1607: 6 Shevat 5776 (16 January 2016) AS SHABBAT APPROACHES "Bnei Yisrael had Light in their Dwellings" - by Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg, Rosh Yeshiva, Kerem B'Yavne When the Torah wanted to show the difference between Bnei Yisrael and Egypt in the previous plagues, it was written that the plague did not have any effect on Yisrael. For example, in the plague of Wild Animals, "And that day I will separate the Land of Goshen... no wild animals will be there" [Shemot 8:3]. In the Epidemic of the cattle we read, "From the livestock of Bnei Yisrael not one died" [9:6]. For Hail, it is written, "Only in the Land of Goshen... there was no hail" [9:26]. Why is it that for Darkness, it is not written that it was not dark for Bnei Yisrael but rather in a positive manner, "All Bnei Yisrael had light in their dwellings" [10:23]? According to the Mishna in Pirkei Avot, the world should have been created with one declaration, but it was created with ten in order to give a reward to the righteous people who maintain the world, which was created with ten separate statements. What this means is that if the world had been created with only one statement everybody would have clearly seen how the Holy One, Blessed be He, created everything, and no room would have been left for human activity and free choice. Therefore, the world had to be created in a way that hid the word of G-d in creation, and it was created in ten steps, going from one to the next until the last one, our world, appeared. Our sages taught us that the Ten Plagues corresponded to the ten statements by which the world was created. Their purpose is to reveal the hidden facets of the ten statements. That is why with respect to the Plagues, the Torah emphasizes such elements as, "... so that you will know that there is no other like Me" [9:14]. However, the sequence of revelation in the Plagues is the opposite of the hidden elements of the Creation. In the first statement, "In the beginning," [Bereishit 1:1], little is hidden. It is written, "One day" [1:5], and not "the first day," because there were not yet any other statements, only "One G-d." Much more is hidden in the last statement. On the other hand, the goal of the first Plague, that of the Blood, is to reveal a small measure of the large hidden element in the last statement of Creation, while the purpose of the last Plague, of the Firstborns, is to remove the cover of the remaining hidden elements. And that is why it is written, "I will go out into Egypt" [11:4], which is translated in the Targum as, "I will be revealed." The revelation in this Plague was most prominent: "'And I will pass through Egypt' [Shemot 12:12] – I and not an angel, I and not a messenger, I am G-d" [Hagadda for Pesach]. The Plague before the last one is Darkness, and this corresponds to the second statement of Creation, "And G-d said, Let there be light, and there was light" [Bereishit 1:3]. The sages point out that it is not written, "And it was so," but rather, "There was light," because the original light that was created was not suitable for evil people, and it was stored away for the righteous in the distant future. In the Plague of Darkness, the situation was restored to its rightful status, and "The darkness will be palpable" [Shemot 10:21]. This is like the first day, before the light was created. But for Yisrael, not only was there no darkness as was the case for the Egyptians – rather, there was light, the very same light which will be revealed to the righteous people in the future. In the book "Maor Vashemesh" it is written that the numerical value of the acronym of the verse, "All Bnei Yisrael had light in their dwellings," is 26, the same as the numerical value of the name of G-d. This is a hint that the light was the original light that had been stored away. The darkness that the Egyptians felt is described as "darkness from above." The special privilege of Bnei Yisrael was that not only didn't they experience the darkness of Egypt but they saw and felt the unique light from above. 1 POINT OF VIEW Budget Cuts for the Chief Rabbinate of the IDF - by Rabbi Yisrael Rozen, Dean of the Zomet Institute According to recent news reports, the threat of budget cuts in the IDF includes the Rabbinate. This "decree" could be justified if it is being undertaken in the interests of greater efficiency, modernization, and the like. The Chief of Staff is leading a multiyear program of budget cuts in the parts of the army which are not directly involved in combat, by reducing staff and making changes in contracts of outside workers, along with other elements. I wish him well! Here is a news item from a few months ago giving some more details: "The IDF is proposing an across-the-board reduction of about 6% in staff as part of the multiyear 'Gideon' plan. The reduction will have an effect on such departments as military censorship, the Rabbinate, the legal department, the education corps, the department of behavioral science, the trackers, and others." Among other things, the commander-in- chief stated his position that there is no justification to pay for Galei Tzahal, the IDF radio station, from the budget of the Defense Ministry. More power to him! On the other hand, those who defend Galei Tzahal feel that a country like Israel which is under constant siege and is surrounded by enemies must operate a "spare" radio service for emergencies – but this is not our topic for this article. In the realm of the IDF Rabbinate, I feel that there are three separate issues, and I would like to comment on them. They are: (1) Dissolution/ reduction of the "Jewish awareness" branch of the service, or transferring it to the Education Corps; (2) Transfer of kashrut issues in the IDF into civilian hands, doing away with the uniformed Kashrut supervisors; and (3) Demotions of a large number of rabbis to lower military ranks. The Jewish Fighting Spirit When the "Religious Service" of the IDF was founded in 5708 (1948), as a precursor of the IDF Rabbinate, it did not have a defined mission of "Instilling a Fighting Spirit" within the army. This branch was established by the Chief Rabbi Yisrael Weiss, and it was greatly strengthened by his replacement, Rabbi Avichai Ronsky. (As it happens, the first head of the "Religious Service" was my late father-in-law, Natan Gordi, who was in charge of these matters in the Haganah, before the State of Israel was formed. The "Chief Rabbinate" of the IDF was established when Rabbi Shlomo Goren was appointed as its head.) I fully support this mission of the fighting spirit, which is in line with the task of the "Kohen anointed for war," whose role was to encourage and to nurture high morale among the soldiers in ancient times. The success of this department was greatly begrudged by the "secular" Education Corps in the IDF. Much noisy and troublesome criticism was whispered into the ears of the Chiefs of Staff for many generations by the "education" officers who were jealous of their newer "colleagues." The "Jewish Awareness" branch is a case where the Chief Rabbinate put aside its more mundane tasks involving the utensils in the kitchens, supplying religious articles, and organizing funerals (all very important roles), and broke out into the realm of waging war. The branch fit very well with the growing trend of an increase in the number of religious soldiers in command positions. Those who oppose this trend invented a new derogatory term for this situation: "Hadata" – to make the army more religious! As far as I am concerned, it would be best to cancel this function of "Jewish Awareness" in the IDF rather than hand it over to the Education Corps. Evidence of the "Jewish values" which characterize this body is the fact that an important position within the Corps is held by a woman who is a Reform "Rabbah." Privatization of Kashrut in the IDF 2 As far as this issue is concerned, I am not one of those who react to the idea with "astonishment, shock, and agitation." More than once I stated my position in this column in favor of privatization of religious services, first and foremost in the realm of kashrut. Of course, this means that the Chief Rabbinate of the IDF will continue to be the "regulator" – in charge of setting standards, and hiring and firing the enterprises which will provide the service. But the actual kashrut supervisors will not necessarily wear an IDF uniform. On the contrary – in my dim memories of army service, I find it hard to remember meeting any soldiers who were highly motivated to be kashrut supervisors. I am not at all sure that privatization of the kashrut in the IDF will save any money, and I do not see an eager work force just waiting to fill the ranks of the new companies. In any case, if food preparation will be removed from the direct responsibility of the IDF, and the legendary army cooks will be replaced more and more by external "catering services," there is no reason for kashrut alone to remain as a strictly military task.