In the long winter Friday nights of 5784, HaRav Ginsburgh dedicated part of the classes he taught to Keter Shem Tov, the anthology of the Ba’al Shem Tov’s teachings. In this excerpt from one of these classes, he taught the Ba’al Shem Tov’s innovative understanding of the Almighty’s reluctance to take the people through Philistia on the short road to the Land of Israel.
This class was first published in Hebrew in the Beshalach 5784 issue of Nifla’ot.
One of the principles taught by the Ba’al Shem Tov is that the Torah’s words are eternal, which means that they are applicable in every generation, for every person. The principle holds true for the opening verse of our parashah. And so, we find the following teaching in Keter Shem Tov, one of the earliest collections of teachings heard from the Ba’al Shem Tov:
On the verse, “When Pharaoh sent the people out, and God did not lead them via Philistia because it was near. For God said, ‘The people may have a change of heart when they see war and will return to Egypt.’”[1] The inner meaning of this verse is that man is considered a microcosm [of reality], and contains within “Pharaoh” and “Egypt,” etc. And the Torah instructed that the path of teshuvah [return to God] be gradual, even roundabout, and not all at once causing him to completely nullify himself.
Every individual who decides to return to God is essentially escaping from their own internal Pharaoh and the Egypt by which they themselves are surrounded. They are running away from them and aiming to reach holiness. This necessarily motivates the ba’al teshuvah (the returnee) to want to complete the entire process all at once. But this can lead to a shattering of the individual’s vessels—his or her ability to function. The sudden change can lead to disaster. When teshuvah is performed in one grand leap, it tends to cause us anxiety and nervousness, which in turn can lead to a breakdown.
To prevent this from occurring, the process must be gradual. Instead of following the direct route from Egypt to the Holy Land—the Land of Israel representing their destination, a life of holiness—by traveling through the Land of the Philistines, “God diverted the people via the desert road toward the Red Sea.” The verb used to describe this diversion is וְיָסֵב, which the sages[2] add also means to recline (הֲסָבָה). Reclining is a requirement during the Seder night, our yearly commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt. To return to God properly, it is necessary to do advance slowly, to recline and take it easy, to do things gradually, and thereby succeed in adopting a calm and balanced attitude.
Via Philistia (דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים) is the epitome of “a shorter, longer path” (דֶּרֶךְ קְצָרָה וַאֲרֻכָּה), since it is the shortest path from Egypt to the Land of Israel. It thus represents the shortest path from the kelipah—the husk that masks the Divine revelation in life—to holiness—the revelation of God’s Presence in everyday life. At the same time, it is a longer path, because pursuing it can annihilate the individual’s being altogether, preventing him or her from ever reaching their goal of leading a life of holiness. Instead, the individual seeking to do teshuvah should turn and take a longer path, one that although it seems like a diversion, a detour, and takes longer, is actually a shorter path, as it encourages a sense of calm reserve and securely reaches the destination of true inner transformation.[3]
Caution on the Road of Teshuvah
This teaching from the Ba’al Shem Tov continues with the following insight:
When the masculine [letters] come first in Havayah [י-הוה], meaning that the two letters yud and vav [יו] precede the two letters hei [הה],[4] then loving-kindness dominates, but if they do not, then forgetfulness, represented by Pharaoh, dominates. This is the meaning of the words, “When Pharaoh sent the people out,” where [the people refer] to the person’s organs, which until now were in submission to Pharaoh, and now he has set them free. “And God did not lead them via Philistia” because there is a dimension known as “via” [or “road” (דֶּרֶךְ)]—whose gematria [224] is the sum of the Name whose value is 63 and the Name whose value is 161—from which even the wicked can be sustained.
Similar to how matter can be broken down into separate elements, the Arizal breaks words down into building blocks made up of the different values of God’s Names. Thus, the word “way” or “via” (דֶּרֶךְ) whose value is 224 is the sum of the filling of God’s essential Name (י-הוה), which equals 63 (יוד הא ויו הא) and the filling of God’s Name Ekyeh (אֶהְיֶה), which equals 161 (אלף הי יוד הי). These two fillings correspond to the sefirah of understanding,[5] which itself represents teshuvah—returning to God—as in the verse, “And his heart will understand, he will return and be healed.”[6] Apart from representing teshuvah, 63 is also the Name associated with the Shattering of the Vessels in the World of Chaos. Hence even though the road can be one of teshuvah, “the way of the righteous”[7] (“the way of faith”[8]), it is also be the root of a negative path, “the way of the wicked.”[9] Why are the wicked able to sustain themselves from the root of teshuvah?
Because the blemishes and sins of mundane beings cannot reach it [understanding]. About this the verse says, “If you (are wicked) [sin], how can you affect Him.”[10]
The sefirah of understanding is the source of teshuvah because it is not affected by the actions of mundane beings—either positively, or negatively. Thus, at the level of understanding, what can be viewed as a negative act can be reinterpreted and regarded in a positive light. In fact, an argument that was used to demand punishment for a specific act can become an argument proving that there should be no punishment for that act.[11] Good and evil as separate judgments are only relevant in the realm of the emotional faculties (from loving-kindness and further down). That is why teshuvah is associated with the sefirah of understanding and as quoted above, “And his heart will understand, he will return and be healed.”
The Keter Shem Tov continues:
Therefore, teshuvah is effective, because the sin has not affected it; even if one has sinned with debauchery, it only awakens love there. It is only further down that the sin makes a negative impression. But when he does teshuvah, it makes a good impression, all is mended, because he has returned those levels to understanding [binah], to the Name Ekyeh [lit., “I will be”]. And he [the Ba’al Shem Tov] said that there are deep wonders in these words, and the discerning will understand them.
At the root, in the sefirah of understanding, all is good. Therefore, even if the actions below are considered negative, above they are considered positive. That is why when a person returns to God out of great love (תְּשׁוּבָה מֵאַהֲבָה רַבָּה), returning all the way to the sefirah of understanding, he can pull the positive assessment of his actions down below and overturn the negative impression his actions left behind. He can literally transform his iniquities into merits. The example brought is of an act of debauchery—whose Hebrew word’s (זְנוּת) numerical value is equal to the value “understanding” (בִּינָה). At its root, a sin of this nature stems from a fallen love. Returning to God out of love—love for all that is moral and good, all that God represents—reveals the negative act’s source in love even below. This itself provides a new interpretation of what teshuvah out of love means: pulling down the primordial love from understanding, transforming even immoral acts of love into something positive. The example goes so far as to say that not only immoral thoughts of debauchery can be mended in this manner, but even actual acts.
However, echoing the danger of taking the shorter longer path, the spiritual root where all sins can be rectified can also become the root of the sin itself. Precisely because the sefirah of understanding can tolerate both the negative and the positive assessments of an action (recall that good and bad are relevant only from the emotive sefirot and below), it can sustain and even promote the sin. Therefore, we should be careful not to reach this level at the beginning of doing teshuvah:
This is why the Torah continues, “God did not lead them via Philistia” because that path can feed the kelipot, represented by Philistia.
The Kelipah of Forgetfulness
The Ba’al Shem Tov teaching continues:
God did not lead them on that path, “because it was near.” These words mean that forgetfulness, represented by Pharaoh, is nearby. If a person pursues this path, he will become forgetful. The moment he entertains this idea, he will be quick to return to Pharaoh, quick to forget; therefore, “God diverted them.”
Following the road through Philistia[12] feeds the kelipot and can bring one to a state of forgetfulness, represented by Pharaoh. The faster one tries to change and pursue a path of holiness, the more one tends to forget one’s past failings. King David is famous for having stated, “And my sins are always before me.” When David was confronted by the prophet Nathan for his conduct with Batsheba, he immediately confessed his sin. Though he did teshuvah immediately and “cleansed his hands” promptly of all transgressions, he was always careful to remember the past so as not to fall into a state of pride in having become a ba’al teshuvah.
The beginning of the kelipah is arrogance, feeding off Pharaoh’s statement, “My Nile is mine, and I have made myself,” which immediately leads to forgetfulness, as the Torah states, “Your heart shall grow haughty, and you will forget….”[13] This is not just a theoretical connection. In practice, we see that throughout Moses’ interactions with Pharaoh, Pharaoh makes promises that he does not keep because he does not remember having made them. Every lie begins with forgetfulness (שִׁכְחָה), which in Hebrew is a rearrangement of the letters of “darkness” (חֲשֵׁכָה)—the darkness of the world of deceit that conceals Godliness.
[1]. Exodus 13:17.
[2]. Shemot Rabbah 25:7.
[3]. As explained in various sources, the “shorter longer path” reaches the perimeter of the destination but does not penetrate it. Therefore, though superficially it seems that the person has changed, their interior remains the same and ultimately, they will revert back to their old habits, or will simply shatter under the weight of holiness.
[4]. There are 12 possible permutations of the four letters of Havayah, God’s essential Name (see Wonders issue 179). In 2 of them, the letters vav and yud precede the two letters hei, as they do in the first word of our verse, “when” (וַיְהִי).
[5]. God’s essential Name, Havayah, has 4 major fillings (whose values are 72, 63, 45, and 52) that correspond to wisdom, understanding, beauty, and kingdom (or the four letters of Havayah), respectively. The Name Ekyeh has only 3 major fillings (whose values are 161, 143, and 151) with the first, 161, corresponding to both wisdom and understanding and the two remaining fillings corresponding to beauty and kingdom, respectively.
[6]. Isaiah 6:10.
[7]. Psalms 1:6
[8]. Ibid. 119:30.
[9]. Ibid. 1:6.
[10]. Job 35:6.
[11]. The most famous example is with respect to Noah’s flood. Just before God’s decision to flood the world, the Torah writes that, “God saw how great man’s wickedness was and that every impulse of the thoughts of his heart was only for evil, all day long” (Genesis 6:5) and because of this decided to destroy the world. But just after the flood, we hear a similar argument causing God to decide to never again destroy the earth because of man, “God said to Himself, ‘I will never again curse the soil because of humanity, for the impulse in man’s heart is evil from his youth. Never again will I strike down all life as I have done’” (Ibid. 8:21).
[12]. The initials of “Philistia” (אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים) spell the Hebrew word for “even” (אַף), the word that separates the three higher spiritual Worlds (states of consciousness) from the lowest World, the World of Action. For more see Wonders issue 177, p. 3.
[13]. Deuteronomy 8:13. The Talmud (Sotah 5a) cites this verse as the source prohibiting arrogance and arrogant behavior.
