Parshat Beshalach
By: Moshe Goodman, Kollel Or Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
Seeking the Shechina in Our Holy Land
" Till Your People pass, HaShem" - refers to the first entrance (to the Land), "till the People You have acquired will pass" - refers to the second entrance (to the Land) - from this (The Sages) inferred - worthy was Israel that a miracle be performed for them in the time of Ezra (second entrance) similar to that was performed in the time of Yehoshua (first entrance to the Land), but sin caused (this not to happen)" (Brachot 4a).
Maharsha on Yoma 9b explains this passage saying that because the whole (or at-least majority) People did not come to the Land (but rather a minority portion) in the time of Ezra, therefore they did not merit miracles as in the time of Yehoshua. May HaShem grant miracles upon us, in our present third entrance, as He did to our ancestors in the era of Yehoshua.
Based on our discussions in previous weeks, connecting the presence of the People in The Land to the presence of the Shechina, it is especially clear why our parsha's verse talking about the People's entrance to the Land is juxtaposed to the entrance of the People to the Temple mount... When the Shechina rests among Israel in the Land there is special Divine aid in making a Temple for the Shechina. Indeed, when it is clear before the World that the Holy Presence rests among Israel, the barriers blocking our People from our Holy sites in Hebron and Jerusalem will be much more easily removed. Then it will be clear before all, that HaShem, who showed His Majesty in the past to our ancestors, is King in the Present, Ruler of all in the future - "HaShem will be King forever".
Tu Beshvat teaches us a unique lesson on God's special Providence and Majesty in the Land of Israel. Tu Beshvat is the New Year in regard to counting the number of years for fruits of trees in the Shemita cycle and Maaser cycle. For example, if one has a tree in the Land of Israel that has already grown even small fruit at the date of Tu Beshvat, those fruit on the tree are rendered to be of the previous halachic year in regard to mitzvoth of the Land.
Say, for instance, that a fruit budded on the third year of the Maaser cycle before Tu Beshvat, thus being liable for the tithe to the poor, a similar fruit that however budded after Tu Beshvat is considered to be in the fourth year, liable for the second tithe to be brought to Jerusalem instead.
Why is Tu Beshvat the turning point in regard to fruits of the tree? The Talmud in Rosh HaShana 14a teaches us that at this date the majority of rains have fallen. This means that by Tu Beshvat the primary biological basis for the growth of fruit, i.e. rainfall, has been established and thus Tu Beshvat is the decisive date as to the maturity of fruit-growth. However, looking deeper this explanation is still not sufficient. If what is important is simply the bio-ecological setup of fruit-growth, then why isn't rainfall simply checked retro-actively after about two months to find its mid-point? Why is the Hebrew date used?
The Torah in Breshit 8, 22 tells us that the year is divided into 6 seasons: "seed, harvest, cold, heat, summer, and winter". Our sages explain in Baba Metzia 106b that "winter" is from mid-kislev till mid-shevat subsequently beginning the period called "cold". Is this climate depiction accurate in all locations? Definitely not. Rather, it is especially in the Holy Land that nature operates according to the classic Divine plan and according to the Hebrew calendar , and thus Tu Beshvat is mid-shevat, signaling the end of the period called "winter" which the sages notified as being the point at which most rainfall has fallen. May we notice HaShem's Majesty over nature always.
Real-life Providence Story #2 - One person recounts: "I have been looking to buy real-estate for a number of years. Once, I was about to buy a house, had shook hands, etc. One day, my wife decided to ask someone randomly about the house we planned to buy, a matter she has never done all these years (randomly). The first person she asked randomly, did not only know the house, but he "happened" to be an engineer who worked on repairs on the house about 16 years ago. He told us crucial information on certain problems we had no idea of before. Ultimately, we cancelled the agreement to purchase, based on the seller's admission".
