Datan and Abiram and the splitting of the sea 5779 This Saturdaynight is our dad’s Yahrzeit. It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years. Idrove by the Aventura hospital yesterday and it literally felt like yesterday,pulling in and out of that parking lot at all hours of the day and night, as weall kept him continuous company. On the other hand, we’ve been blessed so muchin these last five years with children, grandchildren, great grandchildren andeven great great grandchildren, ken yirbu, that every minute can be counted. Sowas it yesterday or long ago? Time is so strange. When the rabbistell us that no one feels the loss of a loved one as much as a spouse, one canreally understand what they meant and see how the loss weighs on that spouseeven after so much time passes. Sitting with my mom on Shabbat, we spoke of mydad. Sixteen hour workdays were not unusual for Joe R Bibi, in fact they werethe norm. Between the office, the factory, the synagogue, the school, thesenior citizen’s center, the Torah center and whatever else came his way, hewas a diligent worker, always there to serve and do for others, and nevercomplained about the work load. It really was a seven day job. He worked withhis head, but also worked with his hands, blessed with the ability to repairand fix so many things. They called him a community leader, but he referred tohimself as a community worker toiling on behalf of the kahal, but tremendouslyblessed for having been given the opportunity. He never shied away from lendinghis shoulder to lighten the burdens of others even when the weight of it all wouldhave crushed a normal person. He often scarified on the altar of service of hisown blood, sweat and tears. What wasremarkable is that he was a very powerful person, physically and with apresence, but he never demanded from others and he never demanded from us. Henever pressed us into service verbally. He never told us what to do or requiredthat we join this or that. He did set a model of what it was to volunteer andtaught by example. Eventually each of us in our own way followed that exampleand through us my dad truly lives on. It’s heartwarming to hear people dayafter day share their memories of him and of what it was like to work with himand how inspired they were seeing such dedication and self-sacrifice. On Mondaymorning we were reviewing the reading of the first portion of this week’sPerasha. Many of us are familiar with the verse which tells us that theChildren of Israel went out chamushim which we see also in the book of Joshuameans that they were armed. Many of us are also familiar with Rashi who quotesthat this word indicates a fifth; and that is only a fifth of the people leftEgypt. Four fifth who didn’t want to leave lost their lives during the plagueof darkness. Now although some commentaries vehemently disagree with this, wecan certainly understand why many didn’t want to leave and often expressed adesire to return. With Egyptdecimated, the people realized that there was a country filled with resourcesand supported by the Nile which was ripe for taking over. Crossing into Canaanwas beyond their wildest dreams. How does one find water, food and shelter fortwo million people? Why search for a new land, when they had a land they knewfor the previous two centuries and which could be theirs for the taking? And if we couldimagine leaving anyone behind, who would we leave? Who were the worst two guysfrom the moment Moses first encountered them beating on each other before hehad to flee to Midian? Who were the two who caused trouble time and again inthe desert? Who were the brothers behind each rebellion? And who in factremained behind in Egypt with Pharaoh in the palace while their brothersmarched out of Egypt and sat at the edge of the Red Sea? They were none otherthan Edward G Robinson and Frank DeKova – I mean Datan and Abiram! Week after weekand year after year, in enlightening shiurim, Rabbi Pinchas Friedman, mayHashem bless him, forces us to look atwhat we think we know with very different eyes. We see thatafter the nation has departed Egypt and made a U Turn in the desert, The Torahquotes Pharaoh 14:3 as saying to “ Bnei Yisrael, ‘They are confined in theland; they are closed in by the midbar.” The question is how will Pharaoh be able tosay such a thing to Bnei Yisrael after they have already left his realm and hispresence? Targum Yonatan explains that we are being informed that Pharaoh isaddressing members of Bnei Yisrael who remained behind in Egypt, namely Datanand Abiram. The Machzor BetYisrael for Pesach, presents a fascinating idea in the name of the Midrash.Datan and Abiram originally remained in Mitzrayim with Pharaoh; they were notwith Bnei Yisrael when the sea split for them. Afterwards, however, when theywitnessed the miracle of the splitting of the sea, and how the waters fell backupon the Egyptians, they regretted their ...
