Pesach - Mashiach: Bnei Ephraim Paves the Way

1:57 Nevertheless, we're left with a question: Why does the pasuk in Shmos add the 30 years dating back to the zman of Bris Bein Habesarim? If the gullus began already at the time of the Bris Bein Habesarim, so then why does Hashem tell Avram that the gullus will only be 400 years and not 430 years? If the galus begins only from the time of the birth of Yitzchak, then why does our pasuk in Shmos tell us that the galus was four hundred and thirty years? It should only be four hundred years. So mimanav shachet doesn't seem to make any sense. Just to be absolutely clear, in case I wasn't clear Four hundred years is from Yitzchak to the time of Yitzias Mitzrayim. The extra thirty is from the time of Bris Bein HaBasarim until Yitzchak. So mimanav shach. Either the gullus was four hundred thirty years or it was four hundred years. So why tell us it was four hundred thirty years at the very end? Is the gullus really begin from the time of Bris Banim B'sharim? Just say it was four hundred years. Or if the gullus really began from Bris Banim B'sharim, then I called Baruch Hu should have told Avram Avinu it's going to be for four hundred thirty years.

3:02 So what's the pshat? The Gemara in Shabbos Ten B says as follows: Amar Rav Bar Maksia Amar Rav chama bar gurya, amar Rav. A person should never treat one son differently than his other sons, because on account of two slums, the weight of fine wool that Yaakov gave Yosef more than his other sons made the brothers envious of Yosef HaTzaddik, and as a consequence, everybody had to go down to Mitzrayim. There's an obvious question. Tosis asks the question. So Tosis gives a very famous question and an interesting answer. He says, "How could the Gemara say?" That the reason why we went down to Mitzrayim was because of the jealousy that existed between Yosef Etzadik and his brothers. We know that Klal Yisrael was going down to Mitzrayim already from the time of the Bris Manna Basarim. So Taisa says as follows: Taisa answers. He says perhaps one could say that the Inui, the oppression of the Mitzrim, was not decreed on Klal Yisrael.

4:34 And really, the fact that the 400 years began 30 years before Yitzchok was born demonstrates to us that the length and the harshness, the oppression of the gullus, was not necessarily preordained. It's difficult to understand exactly what Taisus means, but the shlah gives us an insight into the pesha and Taisus. The shlah says as follows: Really, 400 years begins from the night of the Bris Manabazar. And Avram Avinu had tremendous tsar Because his children were going to have to go down to Mitzrayim, and because there was going to be oppression of Klal Yisrael. Because of Avram Avinu's tsar, the gullus was considered that it began already on that night. Really, four hundred years begins from the night of Bris Bein HaBasarim. And really, Klal Yisrael should have had to leave Mitzrayim after four hundred years, and not after four hundred and thirty. However, the jealousy of the Shvatim.

5:33 Caused them to sin Because they saw that Yaakov Avinu loved Yosef Hatzadik more than any of the other brothers, that was the reason they sold Yosef Hatzadik into slavery, and as a result, he suffered until he was thirty years old. What happened when Yosef Hatzadik was thirty years old? At that point, he was made into the viceroy of Mitzrayim. So to be mechaper for those thirty years that Yosef Hatzadik had to suffer. Thirty years were added to the gollus of Mitzrayim, and that's why they had to stay total for four hundred thirty years. So it's fascinating. Now we understand that four hundred years started from the time that Avram Avinu was told that his children were going to go down to gollus. There were an extra thirty years tacked on because of the thirty years of tsara that Yosef Etzadik suffered in his life from the jealousy of his brothers.

6:27 And as a result, those thirty years became a part of the chesed, and therefore went from four hundred to four hundred thirty. At the very end of the story of Sefer Yosef Mitzrayim, Hakadosh Baruch Hu tells us we stayed in Mitzrayim not for four hundred years, but for four hundred thirty years because of the chid of Mechiras Yosef. A beautiful, beautiful pshat. The Shvile Pinchas takes this pshat and he goes somewhere wild with it. Absolutely unbelievable. The Gemara in Sanhedrin ninety two b. Says uman nihu mesim shahay yecheskel amarav elu bnei ephraim shamanu laketz v'tau. Who were the dead that Yecheskel resurrected? We know that Yecheskel Anavi resurrected these bones. Who were these bones that Yecheskel resurrected? Rav says these were the Bnei Ephraim that calculated the time that they were meant to leave Mitzrayim. But they made a mistake and they left too early.

7:24 Rashi explains that they calculated the four hundred years of galus from the zman of bris ben abesarim and not from the birth of Yitzchak. The Medrash in Shmos Raba says that thirty thousand members of Shevet Efrayim died as a punishment for leaving Mitzrayim thirty years before they were supposed to. So we see that Benay Efrayim understood this chesed very well. They understood the chesed that there were four hundred years from the time of bris ben abesarim. And there were thirty years after they said that thirty years is not mina cheshbin. They made a mistake, and therefore they left early. As a result, thirty thousand people from Bnei Yisraim died. And this is why the pasuk tells us. It came to pass when Paro did let Klal Yisrael finally go. Hakadosh Baruch Hu did not want to lead them. Through the land of the Plishtim, because Hakadosh Baruch Hu said, lest the people are going to reconsider when they see the war and they return to Mitzrayim. What did Hakadosh Baruch Hu not want them to see? He didn't want them to see the scattered bones of Bnei Ephraim that had been killed by the Plishtim at Gath.

8:39 So now we see an unbelievable thing that the Bnei Ephraim counted, like Taisa suggested, based on the explanation of the Shlach. That the four hundred years began from the night of the Bris Ben Bizarim, and the thirty years were tacked on afterwards. Verchuz Mechiras Yosef, the Bnei Yisroel said four hundred years are over, so they left and didn't wait the extra thirty years. The Shaila is what was the Cheshbon of Bnei Yisroel? Why did they leave? So perhaps one could say that the Gemara that suggests that Kol Yisrael areivim zelazeh only applies when a person has an opportunity to be meicha. Has an opportunity to say stop, you're doing the wrong thing, and he fails to be meicha, so then he's responsible. But Ephraim made a chesed like this. They said we were not involved in the tzar of Yosef. We were not involved in Mechiras Yosef because Ephraim was obviously the child of Yosef. He wasn't born at the time of Mechiras Yosef.

9:37 So Ephraim said to themselves, why should we wait an extra thirty years? Because of the Tsar of Yosef HaTzaddik, that had nothing to do with us. You'll say, 'Kol Yisrael areivim zel azeh.' But that's only when you have the opportunity to be ma'iche, when you have the opportunity to stand up and say, 'Don't do this.' We never had that opportunity to protest Mechiras Yosef. Therefore, this is not a situation of "Kol Yisrael areivim zel azeh," and therefore they said we don't have to wait an extra 30 years. The 400 years of Bris Bein Be'esarim from the time of Avram Avinu is done. And therefore, Bnei Ephraim made a chesed, and they said we should leave Mitzrayim now. So the shaila is, what was their mistake? Because we see ultimately that Menashe, also the son of Ephraim, and Binyamin, who was also not present at the time of Mechiras Yosef They did not leave.

10:31 So what was the mistake of Bnei Ephraim? So there are several answers that are suggested. Perhaps one could suggest that Yosef, in a certain way, was also responsible for the way that his brothers treated him. It takes two to tango, so because Yosef HaTzaddik spoke the Basam Ra, because he spoke Lashan Hara about his brothers, maybe he was also Nichalal in the thirty years extra that had to be served in Mitzrayim because he was part of that dynamic, and therefore Ephraim was also shyach to that thirty years. Another answer, perhaps, is that the words Pakod Pakaditi, which were the secret words that were going to be told to Klal Yisrael at the time of the beginning of Yitzias Mitzrayim had not yet been spoken, so they should have known that. Especially as the children of Yosef, Yosef was the one that gave over the secret of Pakod Pakaditi, so perhaps that was inappropriate.

11:23 The ultimate answer, and I think this is a very beautiful answer. In a certain sense, Shevet Efrayim did to Klal Yisrael exactly what the Shvatim did to Yosef. They were insensitive about their brother's condition. In other words. What was so terrible about the way that the brothers treated Yosef HaTzaddik? What's so terrible about being jealous of your brother? When someone is jealous of somebody else, it's so uncomfortable. It's so painful for a person to live in the shadow of another person's jealousy. But the brothers weren't concerned about Yosef HaTzaddik's condition. They didn't care about Yosef HaTzaddik. Obviously, Kehot Asayra. Obviously, goes without saying that the Shvatim were tremendous tzaddikim. But on their level, they didn't care about their brother's condition. They were able to throw him in a pit and they were able to paskin him lemisah and they were able to sell him down to Mitzrayim.

12:17 In a certain sense, Bnei Yisrael were doing exactly the same thing. Maybe Ainah Hanami, maybe you have a chesedin that 400 years is up, and for you it's shayach to leave because you weren't involved in Mechiras Yosef. But how could you leave? How could you leave Mitzrayim? How could you go free when your brothers are still enslaved? So they were shyach in a certain sense to the chait of the shvatim Because in a certain sense they did exactly the same thing. The same way the shvatim were insensitive about Yosef Atzadik's condition, the brothers were insensitive. Bnei Ephraim was insensitive about the rest of Klal Yisrael's condition, and therefore ultimately they deserved to be killed as they left Mitzrayim early, but still were bothered. We're left with the question: Lameisa and Asher and Binyamin did not leave. They were not pereish menatzibur. So Ephraim must have had some chesven. The Bnei Ephraim must have had some chesven that it was shayach specifically for them to leave, and not Menashe and not Binyamin.

13:22 What was the difference between Ephraim on the one hand and Menashe and Binyamin on the other? Why do Bnei Ephraim say four hundred years is up? We're not shayach to the thirty years of Mechiras Yosef, whereas Menashe and Binyamin, who also weren't shayach to Mechiras Yosef. Why were they not parosh menatzeber? Why did they stay in Mitzrayim? So there's an unbelievable medrash that the Shvile Pinchas brings. The pasuk in Yeshaya says, "Madua adom levushecha ubegadecha kedorech begas." Why is your clothing red? And your attire like that of one who trud in a wine press? The medrash explains the pasuk as follows: After Bnei Yisrael were killed Hakadosh Baruch Hu took the blood of Bnei Ephraim, and he dipped his garments in it, so to speak. And Hakadosh Baruch Hu said, "I will not be consoled until I avenge Bnei Ephraim." In other words, at the time of the ultimate geula, Hakadosh Baruch Hu will wear garments that are immersed in the blood of Bnei Ephraim.

14:25 And Klal Yisrael will then ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu, "madua adom l'vushecha" Why is there red on your clothing? Why are your garments so red that it's like somebody tread in gas? What happened there? The Medrash insinuates that the Bnei Ephraim who were killed as a punishment for leaving Mitzrayim early, Hakadosh Baruch Hu by the ultimate Gula will revenge their blood. What's the pshat? We just got done saying that Bnei Ephraim did the wrong thing, that they were punishment at Zibur, that they did exactly what to Klal Yisrael what the Shvatim did to Yosef at Tzadik. And therefore, it was inappropriate, and they had to be punished for leaving thirty years early. If that's true, then why does Hakadosh Baruch Hu wear garments dipped in the blood of Bnei Yisrael, causing Klal Yisrael to say, Hakadosh Baruch Hu, why are you wearing these red clothing? And Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, I will not be consoled until their death is avenged. What's the pshat?

15:25 So the Gemara says as follows: the Gemara in Sukkah 52a says as follows: Tanhuma Mashiach Ben David. The Chachamim said that Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to Moshiach Ben David, who will be revealed swiftly in our times, "Ask me anything, and I'll give you whatever you want." So Shalmi, so V'kiven Shairah, Mashiach ben Yosef Shneirag. Once Mashiach ben David saw that Mashiach ben Yosef was killed, because we know that Mashiach ben Yosef comes before Mashiach ben David, and ultimately Mashiach ben Yosef is killed in Melchemes Gogu Magu. So Amar Lefanos, so Mashiach ben David says to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, Rebbe Nishalalim Ani Mivakeish Mecha Elachaim. All I desire from you is to live. So amar losa, Hakadosh Baruch Hu says back. The messiah ben david Chayim ad shalow amarta kfaris navi alecha david avicha shenem ar chayim shal mimcha nasata lo. Hakadosh Baruch Hu said, 'Life? What do you mean? David Am Melech, right? From whom you descend, already had a nevuah about you, precisely about this issue, and he said, Chayim Shal Mimcha Nasata Lo, that the life that he asks of you, you're going to give it to him. So we see. That Mashiach ben Yosef is killed'

16:57 And Mashiach ben David desires to live. The Marsha explains why does Mashiach ben Yosef die? So Mashiach ben Yosef comes to save Klal Yisrael, but who will he be killed by? He'll be killed by the idolaters that will return to Yerushalayim. And ultimately it's through those Oved Avodah Zara that kill Mashiach ben Yosef And the complete geula will not come until Mashiach ben David. Is it for sure going to be that Mashiach Ben Yosef is killed in Mechametz Gogu Maguk? The Arizal says that when we say in Davening V'chise David Adecha Mehera L'soicha Tachin The throne of David Malchus and Mashiach, your servant, should be established speedily, right in your midst. It is a tefilla that Mashiach Ben Yosef should not die in the war of Gogu Maguk. In other words, that Mashiach ben David's arrival should be mehira le'sayicha tachin. It should not be delayed until Mashiach ben Yosef dies as a result of those of the Avodah Zara. Rather, Hakadosh Baruch Hu should send Mashiach ben Yosef fast, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu should forgive us and he should give us kapara for all the aviras that we've done.

18:10 So even though Mashiach ben Yosef, the Gemara says, will die and Mashiach ben David will ultimately desire life. The Arizal says that it is possible for us to daven that Mashiach ben Yosef will not die in Melchamas Golgo Magog. What's the significance of the fact that Mashiach ben Yosef comes first and Mashiach ben David comes second? Because whether or not Mashiach ben Yosef will die or won't die, one thing is clear: Mashiach ben Yosef comes first, Mashiach ben David comes second. So the Medrash Vayikra Rabba 32:5 says an unbelievable thing: Yosef HaTzaddik went down to Mitzrayim first. And he had the nesoyin of Eshas Potifar And because he was not nichshal with Eshas Potifar, in his schus, Klal Yisrael was safeguarded from any immorality in the realm of inappropriate relationships. Klal Yisrael was saved because Yosef HaTzaddik paved the way by overcoming the potential avera with Eshas Potifar.

19:12 And then. Only after that, when everything is set up, Yehuda is sent down to Mitzrayim to start a yeshiva in Goshen. The Meneh Saster says as follows: We know that the Arizal says that Mitzrayim encompasses all the other gullus that would come after it. All the four galiyosin, all the four exiles that come after Mitzrayim, are really all encompassed in the gullus of Mitzrayim. In a certain way, Mitzrayim is like a foreshadowing of everything that's going to happen after it. Just as Mashiach ben Yosef comes before Mashiach ben David, Yosef HaTzaddik comes down to Mitsrayim, and then only later Yehuda joins him in Goshen. And we know that the gematria of Goshen is three hundred and fifty-eight, which is the same gematria as Mashiach. In other words, exactly how Mitsrayim happens is how the ultimate geulah will happen. Just as in Mitsrayim, Yosef HaTzaddik goes down first and paves the way for Yehuda to come, which ultimately becomes Mashiach ben David and starts a yeshiva in Goshen.

20:16 Which is the gematria of Mashiach. So too, Lasalavo in the ultimate geula, first will come Mashiach ben Yosef, and then will come Mashiach ben David. The Zohar in Parshas Meshevatim and in Parshas Pinchas says an unbelievable thing: Where does Mashiach ben Yosef come from? Mashiach ben Yosef that comes first. He comes from none other than Shevet Efrayim. As the pasuk in Yeshaya says, V'sara kenas Ephraim, V'tzara Yehuda ikaresu. Ephraim lo yikane es Yehuda, V'Yehuda lo yatsar es Ephraim. The envy of Ephraim shall cease, the adversaries of Yehuda shall be cut off. And Ephraim shall not be jealous of Yehuda, nor shall Yehuda be jealous of Ephraim. And Rashi explains, What does it mean, Ephraim lo yikane es Yehuda? Moshiach ben Yosef u'Moshiach ben David lo yikanu ze bezeh. The ultimate prophecy of Yeshaya here is that the Mashiach ben David and Mashiach ben Yosef shall not be jealous of each other. In other words, the whole Yosayid of all of Galus Mitzrayim that we've been speaking about this entire She'er is that Klal Yisrael gets those extra thirty years because of the jealousy of the brothers, and in the ultimate Geula, there will be no more battle anymore between Ephraim and Yehuda, namely between Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David, there's no more jealousy.

21:40 There's no more jealousy in that time. Everybody works together. Everything works together. That's the ultimate prophecy here. But what do we see? We see that Mashiach ben Yosef comes from Shevet Ephraim. Why is this important? Because with this in mind, we can now understand what was the chesbun of Bnei Ephraim that they came early, that they left early, thirty years early. Not that they said, 'Only we're not nichlol.' In the chid of Mechiras Yosef, they said something even deeper. Because if it was only about the chid of Mechiras Yosef, then Binyamin should have also left, and Menashe should have also left. So what was Bnei Yisraim specifically thinking? They said we know that Mitsrayim is just a microcosm of what will ultimately happen in the ultimate redemption in Yomayim Shemashiah. In the beginning of the story, Yosef comes first, and then Yehuda comes down to Mitsrayim. So too, when we leave Mitzrayim, Mashiach ben Yosef needs to leave first, and only afterwards Mashiach ben David can come. And who is Mashiach ben Yosef? Shemuel Ephraim said, Mashiach ben Yosef comes from us. Therefore, they said we should leave early.

22:49 So that Yosef HaTzaddik can once again pave the way for Mashiach ben David. Just as Yosef HaTzaddik, in a certain sense, risked himself by coming down to Mitzrayim alone, Ephraim risked their lives leaving Mitzrayim, even though they were great warriors. They knew that there was a very high likelihood that they were going to be killed when they left Mitzrayim. But they said that's just like Mashiach Ben Yosef, who has a high likelihood that he's going to be killed as Mashiach. As the whole process of Mashiach unfolds, so they said, our leaving is just foreshadowing what's ultimately going to happen. In Yemaisa Mashiach, and if we die, so we'll die just as Mashiach ben Yosef dies. But just as Mashiach ben Yosef's death paves the way for Mashiach ben David, so too our deaths will pave the way for Klal Yisrael to leave. What was their mistake? Their mistake was that Yosef HaTzaddik didn't choose to go down to Mitzrayim; he was sold down to Mitzrayim. And Mashiach ben Yosef only comes when Hakadosh Baruch Hu instructs Mashiach ben Yosef to come. Bnei Ephraim left early, and therefore they were punished. However, they were l'shem shamayim.

23:57 And because they were l'shem shamayim, Hashem says ultimately I will avenge them, and the process of geulah does not fully unfold until Hakadosh Baruch Hu takes care of Bnei Yisrael who were killed by the Plishtim. Because Hakadosh Baruch Hu says they made a mistake in order to pave the way for Klal Yisrael to leave Mitzrayim, and with this in mind. The Shvile Pinchas explains another Gemara in Sanhedrin ninety two b that says as follows. At the time that Nebuchadnezzar threw Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the fiery furnace, and we know that they miraculously survived. Said to Yeheskel Lech. V'hachi'as amesim v'bikas dura Go and revive the dead. Perform a tchias amesim on those that were dead in the Dura Valley, and we know already from the Gemara that who were those bones that needed to be resurrected in the Dura Valley? It was none other than Bnei Ephraim.

25:08 This begs the question: Why does the Kodesh Baruch Hu specifically tell Yeheskel to do tchias amesim on the Bnei Ephraim? After Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were thrown into the Kibshanai Ma'in Yansmita Eitzah Yerushimai. What does one of these things have to do with the other? What does the story of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah have to do with the Bnei Ephraim that left Mitzrayim early and were killed by the Plishtim as they were leaving? But now, based on what we've been saying, the answer is obvious. Just as Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were rescued because they were willing to die al Kiddush Hashem, Hakadosh Baruch was saying even though Bnei Ephraim made a mistake and they left early. But they too deserve, in a certain sense, just like Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, had in a certain sense a tchiasa mesim, and they were rescued from the kifshana esh because they were willing to die al kadosh Hashem. So too the Bnei Yisrael deserve a tchiasa mesim, because even though they made a mistake, their sacrifice on behalf of their brothers that they should be able to leave Mitzrayim, because that's what the Bnei Yisrael thought: if we die, so we die, but we'll pave the way for Klal Yisrael to leave Mitzrayim, just as Moshiach Ben Yosef's death paves the way for Moshiach Ben David to come.

26:15 So as a result of that self-sacrifice, Hakadosh Baruch Hu says we have to revive Bnei Yisrael. We owe a debt of gratitude in a certain sense to Bnei Yisrael, even though they were mistaken. La Ma'isa they were L'shem Shamayim. Rabbi said this is an unbelievable mussar for us. This entire she'er circles around one fundamental element: what is our relationship with our brothers? What is our relationship to the rest of Klal Yisrael? Thirty years of galus were tacked on. Because of the way that brothers treated each other. Bnei Ephraim made the mistake of leaving early, insensitive to their brothers who remained in Galus Mitzrayim. And they were punished for that, and they were killed for that. But ultimately, we see that they were Leshem Shamayim, and that their chesedin was to leave early for our brothers. It was a mistake. But they were leaving early in order to pave the way, even though they knew it might result in their own deaths. They were leaving early in order to pave the way for their brothers to leave Mitzrayim.

27:19 We cannot leave Mitzrayim in our lives alone. We're not capable of Yisces Mitzrayim on our own. The only way that we are going to get to the ultimate geula, Bemheira B'Yamino. Is if we deeply connect to the tzar of our brothers, if we're emo anochi betzarah We can't leave Mitzrayim early and leave people behind. When we go out, it has to be with the intention that we're paving the way in order for Mashiach to come. If we leave Mitzrayim, if we leave the constriction of our lives, it cannot be that we're leaving our brothers behind. We have to take them with us. We have loyalty to all of our family. As a parent, the one thing that you know for sure, and all the parents know this, and all the chevrut in yeshiva as Hashem will learn this in the right time. But as a parent, you know one thing: there's nothing that drives a parent crazier than when siblings don't get along.

28:14 When siblings get along, yishmak, great family time over Pesach. Hopefully, there was no fighting. Hopefully, there was only shalom bayis. When family gets along, it's a birur, it's a clarification that we all belong to the same parents. When Klal Yisrael is living b'shalom with each other, when we truly love each other, it's a siman that we're all connected to the Rebbeinu Shlom. And then we're zayecha to geula. But as long as we stay with our fighting, even though the fighting might be over important issues But as long as we're fighting against each other and not fighting for each other, we're not going to be zayecha to geula shleima. So we have to have the l'shem shamayim aspect of Bnei Yisrael. And we have to say whatever we do it for Eretz Yisrael. We do it because we want to get closer to our brothers and sisters. Because we want to reveal that we are all the one family of our Kadosh Baruch Hu. And by Eztz Hashem, in that s'chus, we should be zayecha to g'ulah shlema. This shi'ishal Pesach, by Sutah of Mashiach, we should be zayecha to hear the shofar of Mashiach Sedkenu blowing his horn and calling us all back to Eretz Yisrael to Yerushalayim Havnuyah.