Parshas Bo (5) - The Ramban at the End of Parshas Bo

I think it's kedai to speak out another ha'ara related to this week's parsha. So, in Chumash we're holding parshas Boi. This week's parsha is parshas Boi. So, we have the benefit of the Chumash here really being dover b'ito matoiv. So, I think it's kedai to speak out one ha'ara and it's it's really not a ha'ara. It's a foundational rate by It's one of the dvarim omdim b'rumo shel Olam. It's arguably the most famous Ramban al ha'Torah, the Ramban in the end of parshas Boi. So, just to set it up. The theme of the latter part of parshas Boi is makas b'choros, yetzias Mitzrayim and the many mitzvos that Hakadosh Baruchu gave Klal Yisrael to observe zecher l'yetzias Mitzrayim. If you take a look at the Sefer HaChinuch from mitzvah hey through mitzvah chof gimmel, every single mitzvah is a mitzvah that's related to yetzias Mitzrayim. Just going to mention them really quickly. Mitzvah shchitas ha'pesach. The mitzvah to eat from the basar of a carbon pesach. There's a lo sa'aseh, you're not allowed to eat the carbon pesach if it's noo, right? Al gebroten um'vushal or if it's cooked. You're not allowed to leave over from the basar of the carbon pesach. There's a mitzvah sa'aseh of tashbisu. There's a mitzvah to eat matzah. There's a lav of baal yair motzei. You're not allowed to eat something that has even a taruves of chametz in it. You're not allowed to give from the carbon pesach to a benecha. You're not allowed to give it to a ger toshav. There's a unique psul yotzei that the basar of a carbon pesach has. You're not allowed to break the bone of a carbon pesach. An orel, someone not circumcised, is not allowed to eat from a carbon pesach. You have the mitzvah of b'choros, which is zecher l'makas Bechirais. You know that you eat chametz on Pesach. There's a lot of Bal Yera'eh. "Vi'higadeta levincha bayom hahu leimor." What we know is the mitzvah of Sleeper Yetzias Mitzrayim. And then you have two mitzvahs that relate to a firstborn donkey. The mitzvah Pidyon Peter Chamor and the mitzvah of Areifas Peter Chamor. If you count 19 mitzvahs in Parshas Boi that are related to the idea that a Yid has to remember Yetzias Mitzrayim. Truth is, there are many other mitzvahs that are Zecher Yetzias Mitzrayim. The mitzvah of tfillin, which by the way, the Chinuch doesn't count in Parshas Boi, but it's also mentioned twice in Parshas Boi. In the Parsha of Kadesh Li Kol Bechor and in the Parsha of V'haya Ki Yavi'acha. That's why those are two of the four Parshas that every single Yid has inside his tfillin. The mitzvah of mezuzah is a Zecher le Yetzias Mitzrayim. Even though the Parsha of Kadesh Li Kol Bechor and V'haya Ki Yavi'acha are not in the mezuzah, but we'll see. So, the mitzvah of mezuzah is also a Zecher Yetzias Mitzrayim. Shabbos is Zecher Yetzias Mitzrayim. We say it by Kiddush. Sukkos is Zecher Ananei HaKavod. When we did we get Ananei HaKavod? When we left Mitzrayim, right? Shavuos also we say in the Nusach of Davening and we say in Kiddush, it's related to Yetzias Mitzrayim. So, if you sit down, there's so many mitzvahs that we have Zecher Yetzias Mitzrayim. And the question is, why is Yetzias Mitzrayim so critical? Why is it so important that the Torah gave us so many mitzvahs where the purpose of the mitzvah is not even so much what you're doing, but do this to remind you of Yetzias Mitzrayim. Do that to remind you of Yetzias Mitzrayim. From the fact that Yetzias Mitzrayim has so many reminders, and some of them are huge ones, right? It must be that Yetzias Mitzrayim is something that a Yid is really, really, really never allowed to forget. And the question is, why? So, the Ramban in the end of the parsha is by itself a very, very, very long Ramban. It would be very good schmuck to go through the Ramban from beginning until end in the evening, but that would be like learning another daf now. So, we're not going to do that, but there are some excerpts that I think are worth just reading and hearing the golden words of the Ramban, and I think it's just good idea to go with through inside. Says the Ramban, "The time I'm going to give you now a principle, a general rule that relates to many mitzvahs." He says now. From the time that the Zohar came from the time that descended onto the world, tracing back all the way to Enosh, so the deya is started getting very confused as it relates to meaning people's faith became corrupt. There were those that started to deny the existence of God. They said that the world's always been there. There was no berashis asah shamayim v'et ha'aretz. The world is kadman, the world's always been around. There was nothing that created the world. The Ramban quotes a pasuk in Yirmiyahu where Yirmiyahu quotes and refers to certain kofrim as saying, "Ki chashu b'Hashem." They denied the existence of Hashem. They said he doesn't exist at all. Mayhem, there were other kofrim that acknowledged that God exists. However, They denied the fact that Hashem has any idea, that he has a clue of what's going on in the world. Amru, they said, quoting a pasuk in Tehillim, How's it possible that God knows and he has any idea what's going on over here? Mayhem, there were others They acknowledged the fact that God existed. They acknowledged even the fact that God knows what's going on. However, they denied the fact that he supervises and that he's actually paying attention. Meaning he knows, but that he cares and would ever do something about it. They also they treated men as if they're fish. So they ask you how can they have that God is not paying any attention to them. He's not overseeing them in any way. There any moment as a result there's no consequences to anything good or bad that they do. There's no such thing as that but these people would quote the quote from that the God talked about and that is yeah, he exists. Yes, he knows what's going on, but he's doesn't really care. In other words, the sets up there were three types of there were the that were you may all barricade. doesn't exist. He's not there. There were those that said yeah, capital line give them. Yeah, I know he exists, but at the same time does he have any idea what's going on? And then there were those that said what the describes in and that is as the because you can maybe had. But when I shows favor to a group of people or to an individual. They would mean and he's going to go ahead he's going to perform a miracle that's going to involve a deviation from the natural course of how the world runs. He through that it will be clear to all but they all of these heretical ideas that I just explained said the because because in the event that you have some supernatural Moses that shows all we can that there must be some God that's making this Moses happen. Because you have my face on who makes a tree with pin off it. And if that my face doesn't just happen, but it's actually predicted to happen through a movie, then you spy on me man. You know what else will be clear? Not only that there's someone behind the my face, but also a meter sound of wood. The fact that that movie is telling the truth, that also will be clear. Can you double the chemist Adam? Feel the glass of the air above the bottom of the air. Through the novel playing itself out, but will be an inspirer that I could just borrow who communicates to man. And he's McGowen fighting the movie. With the sky in himself through the cooler. And through that, anything that that movie is going to go and share with his people are going to be proven to be true. Says the robber. Well, he ain't going to make a cause of my face. Being that through my face, a person can come to a hacker or that not only does a boy really own, but the the boy really owns what's going on and that the boy really owns and cares about what's going on. It's for that reason when you look at all the my face and that my face and I been over the movie when I had and performed, you'll see the shining is that bring out this point. That's why it says the man take the key on the ocean the caravan. Well, I was a lot of scoffing because through the miracles it was clear that I could just borrow who's mush gear. Because if he's not mush gear and there's no scoffing in this, so why is he punishing the Egyptians, right? Clearly he placed a mirror to die to him. You see clearly he didn't just abandon the world like a lot of people thought he did. The arm of the possible also says the man take the key on the ocean the war ends. That through the miracles it was evident that I could just borrow who owns the world. Well, I was a lot of scoffing because if I could just borrow who could be mush gear in the world, must be he created it. Can you aim shall I say borrow me iron? The arm of the possible also says the man take the key on the ocean the war ends. You know what else we saw by the miracles? Well, I was a lot of scoffing. You see from the hell powerful I could just borrow who is. So shall it be called that he rules over everyone. They might could be a lot of nobody can get in his way. Keep the whole set. All of these things, the fact that he exists, the fact that knows, the fact that pays attention, and the fact that all these things are the they either denied outright or at the very least they were agnostic about. In case and if that's the case they don't All the miracles that took place in are eating them on them. They are trustworthy witnesses that in the that we have that created the world and also in the entire it's a that created the world. Why? Because how could do this if he didn't create the world? It's also a in the entire why is there a says in a more nuanced way because all of what happened was predicted it came about with a forewarning from which implies that was tapped in and if was tapped in that means that was tapped in and it's for that reason the miracles of were not only they weren't only a revelation on existence and his power etc etc but also of meaning if there would have been miracles but would not have been the of these miracles so yeah the miracles would be a right that created the world but who said the is but being that it happened through this is part and parcel of this being that it happened through so comes out that the miracles are not only being on on the of it's also on the of because they came through and this is the that was telling the truth says the but Here's the punch. before being that the that in the that but the way he created the world is that he's not going to perform miracles like this in every generation. Not every door and not every person that is missoupi in his amuna is going to be to see Marcus or crazy I'm so or all the miracles that he didn't witness. It's for that reason it's commanded us that we should constantly make reminders and signs to go over and to never forget what we saw when we left Egypt. And we should transmit it to our children and to our grandchildren and tell them to transmit it to their children and grandchildren until the last generation. The heck and being that there's so much at stake in terms of being this Messiah, it's for that reason the table was very about it. Right, we eat the so many on Pesach is right if someone doesn't eat from the carbon Pesach is correct. Not just that the the Torah said that it's not enough that you know one time a week a year for a week you're going to remember and you're going to remember with the severity of chorus. I want constantly this should be a reminder on your hand and between your eyes and that's why we wear to fill in the next up about the Moses. And then the Torah said that I want that every single time you walk in and out of a room you're going to look at the Zuzu and you're going to see in the Zuzu it's the same time. Not just that we should ask if you know you should say that in your mouth every morning and every evening. Right, we say and in the third part of we talk about the time because this is so important that they wish that we want that we should say it twice every single day. Not just that and we should go ahead and we should make a Sukkah every year. There's so many mitzvahs and everything is for the same reason. We always so we should have in every generation a we should have witnesses wonders shall I shall we should not forget It's like this a that's going to want to deny the existence of God won't have the ability to do it cuz you're going to tell him it's it's that happened thousands of years ago but if we make these reminders in the right way then it's something that could be alive today and that's the way to go ahead and to deny the coin it says the mezuzah if somebody purchases a mezuzah mezuzah a for one measly zloty he puts it on his door and it's been and he's what the idea of the mezuzah is through doing mitzvahs of the what we get is a in the and the trustworthiness of the which is really the of it says the one that being that it's something that was so critical it was such an important thing for us for future generations that wanted that we should remember it and now we made sure we remember it he gave us 19 mitzvahs in by all of almost all of them associated with the with the seven days of but in addition to that he said constantly constantly remember when we put on what are we remembering we're remembering right you remember cash to the he asked him that I don't understand why do women not wear filling? We should say they drink cuz what do you with filling? Say it's a matter of boy, right? Let's not forget that. So but we put on filling because we're trying to wrap this concept on our hand and we're trying to wrap it between our eyes, right? On our hand connected the wave and between our eyes connected the Maya. And then we put it on literally on the door post of our house and then we say it twice a day constantly remembering it's yes but try and it's yes but try and what's that void of remembering it's yes but try and that void that is because through that we remember that created the world and knows what's going on in the world and this and that the tactic and that being that it was all forward and every single thing played out exactly how it said it was going to play out. So we remember that I'm which means that I'm of these are this is what makes a year. It's yes but try and is the core principle of and it's for that reason says that I'm it's so critical it's so important to remember it's yes but try and I might continue skipping all the way to the end. He says when I need some for some of them of the mighty and I started to him you said that I this is the one that we spoke about already many times but I'm going to go back into that but this is the part of the one that we need for right now and that is is the reason there's so many that is yes but try and is because I am you know is very much contingent upon the miracles that took place when the unit left but try and the truth is everyone knows this and then the boy. The repeats this idea in many many places. Just want to mention two very very because we know that I mentioned twice in the the I mentioned in parshas Yes right say for sure and it's also mentioned in parshas In parshas Shmos Why? Why do you keep Shabbos? Al kein berech Hashem es Yom haShabbos vayikadeish right? Why do we keep Shabbos? It's zecher l'maaseh bereishis because Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world in six days. He rested on the seventh. And when we rest on the seventh day, we're remembering the fact that Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world. In parshas Va'eschanan, do you know what it says? Shamor es Yom haShabbos l'kadshei k'asher tzivcha Hashem Elokecha Sheshes You know what it says? You don't say this in kiddush, so we don't remember this. Al kein tzivcha Hashem Elokecha laasos es Yom haShabbos. So the Ramban in parshas Va'eschanan brings from Ibn Ezra who was very bothered. He had a stira. And he brings it from the Rambam and the Moreh Nevuchim who was also very bothered. He had the same stira. That in parshas Yisro, the Torah says that why do we keep Shabbos? zecher l' maaseh bereishis ki sheshes And in parshas Va'eschanan we say b'Mitzrayim, it's mashma zecher l'tziyas Mitzrayim. So afraid the Ramban, which one is it? Is it zecher? Is it zecher l'maaseh bereishis or is it zecher l'tziyas Mitzrayim? So the Ibn Ezra and the Rambam and the Moreh, they all struggle very much to come up with a pshat. But says the Ramban The Ramban says Being that yetziyas Mitzrayim is the raya that is Elohecha Kadmoni mechadesh chofetz veyochal. Kasha Berashis like I was meforesh already. Al kein omer Bechaan im yaalovu vovcho sofek al Shabbos. If you're going to have a sofek about Shabbos, al Moyra al achdus v'eifus v'eichoylos, which is really the story of creation. If you're not sure about creation, tiska remember Mashiro anachnu yetzias Mitzrayim. Remember what you yourself saw by yetzias Mitzrayim. Shehelocha raya vezichara. That's the raya. So says the Ramban if that's the case, beautiful ocean. Vehinei Hashabbos zecher yetzias Mitzrayim veyetzias Mitzrayim zecher leshabbos. What emerges is Shabbos is zecher yetzias Mitzrayim and yetzias Mitzrayim is zecher leshabbos. You know why Shabbos is zecher yetzias Mitzrayim? The reason we observe Shabbos is not, oh, so I could remember Mitzrayim. The reason you observe Shabbos is to remember Berashis Bara Elohim es hashamaim ve'es ha'aretz. But you're going to say Berashis Bara Elohim es hashamaim ve'es ha'aretz, you'll start thinking Rachmana litzlan like the kata koifrim. What's the tshuvas to the koifrim? Yetzias Mitzrayim. So inevitably by keeping Shabbos, you're going to end up by yetzias Mitzrayim. So Shabbos is a zecher yetzias Mitzrayim and yetzias Mitzrayim is a zecher leshabbos because through knowing yetzias Mitzrayim you're going to come to Shabbos. Another place that the Ramban says is very bekitzer and this is right by the aseres hadibros. When Hakadosh Baruch introduced himself to man for the first time, what did Hakadosh Baruch introduce himself as? Anochi Hashem Elohecha, right? Wow, this is the introduction. Anochi Hashem Elohecha that what? Asher hotzeisicha me'eretz Mitzrayim mibeis avadim. Like the Ramban. Anochi Hashem Elohecha Asher hotzeisicha me'eretz Mitzrayim mibeis avadim. Saying good, say better. Anochi Hashem Elohecha Asher Bara es ha'olam. I'm the creator of the world. Dr. Ramban, they say creator of the world. You know what the right is? You just saw it all happen. I am that God. I am have value that made all that happen. Because you see this is the right on the the reason there's so many is because our whole comes from right. It's an interesting thing. You know, the what's the so that we got to tell the whole world. The is we we don't eat and we do all the they and even so many there are and why we doing this? Why are we doing this? They'd be mocking to think the reason we're doing this is Thank you that's why we're doing it. Right? We always have to give isn't that the theme of the yeah, it's for sure one of the things. It's for sure one of the things to give but that's not the the is what we're doing is to remember it's the inculcate in our bones so it should be real to us because through that we're going to get the in our that it is that we need. You know, people sometimes travel you know, from one end of the world to the other end of the world to try to you know, understand the mysteries of life and and these are the in the but the truth is the Torah told us what we're supposed to do to remember. We're supposed to over the and we're supposed to understand it and we're supposed to back it into our and by us doing that we're going to get the the night of the is a night of giving of course how could now we we were taken out so of course we you know, we lift the second glass of wine and then the I got it. Of course that's something that we need to do but that's not the of the the of the we got to tell the whole world. It's remember it says Mitzrayim. We do it every single day when we put on tefillin zecher l'yetziat Mitzrayim. We kiss the mezuzah zecher l'yetziat Mitzrayim. When we say the third parsha of Krias Shema ba'havah every single day, it's zecher l'yetziat Mitzrayim. And then on the Layla Seder, it's a seven-day or in chutz la'aretz it's an eight-day boot camp of zecher l'yetziat Mitzrayim, zecher l'yetziat Mitzrayim. Every sandwich that you eat involves matzah. And it just it's non-stop zecher l'yetziat Mitzrayim because that's the one time a year where we have to drill it into the kishkes. And over there it's so chomer that if somebody violates chametz, he violates Pesach. He's even going to be chayav kores. Kores is like probably the zore'a chul Shabbos. Yeah, because our faith is contingent upon this. This is so so critical. But says the Ramban, look around, you're going to see zecher l'yetziat Mitzrayim everywhere. And you want to know why you see zecher l'yetziat Mitzrayim everywhere, this is the reason. You know, I was thinking one of the things we say by the Seder is vihisha om dilavi seino v'lonu. Sheloi echod b'vad imdomaleinu l'chaleitzainu al sheb'chol dor v'dor, right? It's something that we deal with in the Why does that come into the the Haggadah shel Pesach? What's pashut pshat? What comes there in vihisha om da? Maybe this is pashut into the Haggadah shel Pesach. So pashut like we're giving hodah, we're acknowledging the fact that Hakadosh Baruch Hu saved us then. So we have to say thank you Hashem for everything. We have to give, you know, todah l'Keil Yisbarach for b'chol dor v'dor cuz they're always oimdim aleinu l'chaleitzainu ela she'Hakadosh Baruch Hu matzilenu miyadam. But I think the pshat is deeper than that. It's Yedu'os Yaakov Emden writes in one of his seforim that when he thinks about the fact that Klal Yisrael exists as a nation ad hayom hazeh, when he thinks about the fact that we are chayav kayam today, he gets a bigger chizuk in emunah than when he thinks about all the nisim and nifla'os that took place at the time that they went out of Mitzrayim. He said the fact that the Jews who have been so persecuted for over 3,000 years are around to tell the tale. And all the people that persecuted us are footnotes in world history. He said the hisik of emunah that he gets is so crazy. He said more than the nisan of floist that when he thinks about of you two is mitzrayim. It's a famous line that writes in one of his smora. Then a voida of the leila seder is it's the hisik of emunah. The active emden said, you know where he got emunah from? When he used to be mis- playing in this Indian. The hisha and the love is saying of Alano. Right, every generation the saying of akodesh baruch me Adam. In a certain way, in a certain way a person can come to the hisik and emunah that he needs. A person can arrive in that place from thinking about the hisha like David said, shift the mishan hema kamuni. I got so much kama from the torah of klal Yisrael. A yid sometimes is in galus and you know you're sitting by the leila seder right in the Warsaw ghetto or wherever. And you know he's not holding. He's not he can't even think. The hisha can get you to the same place. The torah is the Warsaw ghetto is the is a raya as by the and that is your idea and that is mashkiya and that is a bal chailas. Right, it's the same raya. It's the same raya. The hisha plays so much into the depths of the theme of what it is the leila seder. But either way, this is the Indian. The Indian is we have a to remember mitzrayim and the ramban says the reason we have a to remember the Indian of mitzrayim is because our entire emunah, our entire faith, our entire emunah, our entire faith is predicated on that. Either way, this is just a again, it's an excerpt. It's a rather large excerpt of maybe the most famous ramban you know when you wrote in the the chumash rashi the ramban you should learn and you should teach ki hu roish emunah omen because it's the foundation of our emunah. There's no question that in the pen of the Chasam Sofer, there was a little wink wink, a little shout out to this ram line. This is definitely Rosh Hashanah emunah. Amen is the foundation of our emunah. The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh talks about the foundation of our emunah. Either way, with this we'll conclude today's daf and parshas boi.