Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Israelites Want Water. The Battle with Amalek

The Israelites Want Water

The Israelites travel from Sin to Rephidim. There is no water there, yet they set up camp.

Although they were not yet thirsty, the Israelites demand that Moshe give them water. Moshe retorts, "Why are you testing G-d like this? Can he give water in an arid land?"

The Israelites then do become thirsty and complain to Moshe, asking him why he took them out of Egypt just so they should die from thirst?

Moshe pleads with G-d, asking what he should do, and says that soon enough, they will stone him!

G-d tells Moshe to go, together with some of the Elders* and take the staff* that he had struck the Nile with, and pass in front of the Israelites. He will then see if they indeed stone him - G-d is upset that Moshe slandered the Israelites in this way.

*The Elders are to serve as witnesses when Moshe goes to get the water, to testify that there was no ancient water fountain set up there, but indeed Moshe will be the one to cause the water to come out of the rock.

**G-d wanted Moshe to use the staff to demonstrate that this staff was not restricted to only punishing acts as it had performed with the Nile, but rather it could do goodness as well, in drawing out water.

G-d tells Moshe that He will stand by a certain rock in Chorev, and Moshe is to strike the rock with the staff and water will come out of it and the Israelites will drink.

Moshe does all of this and so it is. The staff was made of sapphire and thus split the rock from which the water emerged.

Moshe named that area Masah* and Merivah**.

*Literally means "test" as it was there that the Israelites tested G-d

**Literally "argument", due to the Israelites arguing there.

The Battle with the Amalekites

The Amalekites comes to Rephidim and fight with the Israelites*.

*Side note: Rashi here gives an allegory to explain why the story of the battle of Amalek is written about here, after the story of the Israelites quarreling and complaining about the lack of water. He likens it to a father who carries his son on his shoulders. Several times the son asks his father to get him different things and the father always obliges. At some point, they come across another man and the boy asks the man if he has seen his father. The father says, "really? you don't know where I am?" and to teach him a lesson lifts him off his shoulders and puts him on the ground where he now becomes vulnerable and a dog bites him.

Moshe tells Yehoshua to pick out G-d fearing men (possibly men who knew how to fight witchcraft as the Amelikites were sorcerers). Moshe says that the following day, these men (together with Yehoshua) shall fight and Moshe will fast, and will stand with his staff during the battle on top of a hill.

So Yehoshua gathers men for battle and Moshe, Aaron and Chur* (Miriam and Calev (her husband)'s son) stand on top of the hill.

*Side note: From here we learn that on a fast day (Moshe was fasting on that day), three men are required to lead the prayers before the ark.

Whenever Moshe lifted his hands (as a sign that the Israelites hearts were directed towards the Heavens), the Israelites would triumph and whenever he would release his hands down (as a sign that they were no longer focused on G-d), the Amalekites would triumph.

In retribution for Moshe appointing Yehoshua to wage battle against Amelek instead of going to fight himself, his hands become heavy. So Aaron and Chur bring a stone for him to sit on. He refused to sit on something more comfortable like a mattress as he did not want to feel comfortable while the rest of his nation was in pain. Then Aaron and Chur each lift one of Moshe's arms upwards, in a gesture of sincere prayer.

He remains like this until "sunset", which arrived at a much later time than it was supposed to. The Amalekites had astrologically calculated the time they were supposed to be victorious, however Moshe caused the sun to stand still so it did not set at its normal time.

In accordance with the will of G-d, Yehoshua did not kill off all of the Amelikites but rather decapitated their strongest men, leaving behind the weakest.

G-d tells Moshe to write down what had happened as a memorandum, that the Amalekites had come to wage war against the Israelites first, when none of the other nations dared to. He says that Moshe should relay to Yehoshua, who will be the one to lead the Israelites into Israel, that G-d wishes for the memory of Amalek to be erased.

Moshe sets up an alter to G-d and calls the alter "G-d is My Miracle" in commemoration of the miracle that happened there.

Moshe declares that G-d has sworn by His Throne that He will forever be at war with Amaelek and that His throne will not be complete until Amalek is completely destroyed.

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