וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ. שֶׁלֹּא אֶחָד בִּלְבָד עָמַד עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ, אֶלָּא שֶׁבְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִים עָלֵינוּ לְכַלוֹתֵנוּ, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַצִּילֵנוּ מִיָּדָם.
And it is She that has stood for our ancestors and for us; since it is not [only] one [person or nation] that has stood [against] us to destroy us, but rather in each generation, they stand [against] us to destroy us, but the Holy One, blessed be He, rescues us from their hand.
2. Who is She? Jot down some ideas.
In Hebrew all words are either feminine or masculine (or rarely both). The Hebrew word for promise is הבטחה/havtacha, which is feminine -- that is, a she. So too, the Hebrew word for Divine (Godly) Presence is שכינה/Shechina, which is also feminine. Finally, Exodus in Hebrew is יציאת מצרים/Yetziat Mitzrayim, which is also feminine.
(יג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְאַבְרָ֗ם יָדֹ֨עַ תֵּדַ֜ע כִּי־גֵ֣ר ׀ יִהְיֶ֣ה זַרְעֲךָ֗ בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ לֹ֣א לָהֶ֔ם וַעֲבָד֖וּם וְעִנּ֣וּ אֹתָ֑ם אַרְבַּ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָֽה׃ (יד) וְגַ֧ם אֶת־הַגּ֛וֹי אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַעֲבֹ֖דוּ דָּ֣ן אָנֹ֑כִי וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵ֥ן יֵצְא֖וּ בִּרְכֻ֥שׁ גָּדֽוֹל׃ (טו) וְאַתָּ֛ה תָּב֥וֹא אֶל־אֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ בְּשָׁל֑וֹם תִּקָּבֵ֖ר בְּשֵׂיבָ֥ה טוֹבָֽה׃ ... (יח) בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא כָּרַ֧ת יקוק אֶת־אַבְרָ֖ם בְּרִ֣ית לֵאמֹ֑ר לְזַרְעֲךָ֗ נָתַ֙תִּי֙ אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את מִנְּהַ֣ר מִצְרַ֔יִם עַד־הַנָּהָ֥ר הַגָּדֹ֖ל נְהַר־פְּרָֽת׃
(13) And [God] said to Abram, “Know well that your offspring [descendants] shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years; (14) but I will execute judgment on the nation they shall serve, and in the end they shall go free with great wealth. (15) As for you,
You shall go to your ancestors in peace;
You shall be buried at a ripe old age. ... (18) On that day God made a covenant [everlasting agreement] with Abram: “To your offspring I assign this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates [in Iraq, Syria and Turkey of today]—
(8) And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may be dwell [live, or be a [Divine] Presence] among them.
תַּנְיָא, רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַי אוֹמֵר: בּוֹא וּרְאֵה כַּמָּה חֲבִיבִין יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁבְּכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁגָּלוּ — שְׁכִינָה עִמָּהֶן. גָּלוּ לְמִצְרַיִם — שְׁכִינָה עִמָּהֶן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הַנִּגְלֹה נִגְלֵיתִי לְבֵית אָבִיךָ בִּהְיוֹתָם בְּמִצְרַיִם וְגוֹ׳״. גָּלוּ לְבָבֶל — שְׁכִינָה עִמָּהֶן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״לְמַעַנְכֶם שֻׁלַּחְתִּי בָבֶלָה״. וְאַף כְּשֶׁהֵן עֲתִידִין לִיגָּאֵל — שְׁכִינָה עִמָּהֶן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְשָׁב ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ אֶת שְׁבוּתְךָ״. ״וְהֵשִׁיב״ לֹא נֶאֱמַר, אֶלָּא ״וְשָׁב״. מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שָׁב עִמָּהֶן מִבֵּין הַגָּלִיּוֹת.
§ ... Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai says: Come and see how beloved the Jewish people are before the Holy One, Blessed be He. As every place they were exiled, the Divine Presence went with them. They were exiled to Egypt, and the Divine Presence went with them ... They were exiled to Babylonia, and the Divine Presence went with them ... So too, when, in the future, they will be redeemed, the Divine Presence will be with them ... It does not state: He will bring back, i.e., He will cause the Jewish people to return, but rather it says: “He will return,” which teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, will return together with them from among the various exiles.
(א) והיא שעמדה לאבותינו ולנו כו'. ר"ל היציאה ממצרים עמדה לאבותינו ולנו, שלא נזוז מאמונתנו בהקב"ה ית"ש ע"י פירסום גדולתו ושינוי טבעי דצח"מ, והמופת לזה שלא אחד בלבד עמד עלינו לכלותנו, ר"ל כליה נקרא שנשכח שם הדבר לגמרי, היינו שנשליך מעלינו עול קדשו ית"ש ולא יזכר שם ישראל עוד, והקב"ה מצילנו מידם, ר"ל במה שעשה כל הנסים הללו דומה כאלו כל פעם מצילנו מידם:
(1) It is she which stood by our ancestors and by us: The words, "It is she" is a reference to the story of the Exodus. This story has strengthened our faith in God throughout the ages. They have risen to destroy us,‟ the word destroy has the connotation [an idea which a word makes us think about in addition to its actual, literal meaning] to make us forget our faith in God. By recalling the miracles in Egypt and the greatness of God, it is as if God has performed these miracles anew each time and has saved us from the hands of our enemies.
(9) As I see them from the mountain tops,
Gaze [look steadily] on them from the heights,
There is a people that dwells [lives] apart,
Not reckoned [considered or regarded] among the nations,
2. Are Texts 1 and 8 a cause of a Jewish national collective group trauma or are Texts 1 and 8 a result of or a representative expression of already existing group trauma? Explain your answer.
3. Do these texts put us on a "war footing" -- for example, making us neurotic, thinking that everybody might be out to get us, thinking that antisemites are everywhere, etc.? Are these good or bad texts in terms of collective mental health? Why? Are they "true" texts? Why/why not?
(ב) ... כי בזה שמציל אותנו בלי הריגתם נתפרסם אהבת אלקים כי כשמציל ע"י הריגתם יש לומר שעושה זה משנאתך וישראל הם שבט אפו ח"ו אבל בהצלה ע"י הגנה נתברר אהבת אלקים. וזהו שנא' באברהם אל תירא אנכי מגן לך כי אברהם היה ירא בהריגת המלכים אולי היה הוא שבט אפו ח"ו. לזה השיב לו אנכי מגן לך כי הצלה היה ע"י הגנה שלך וזהו מאמרם שזה עמדה לאבותינו במה שנתברר להם אהבתו ית' במה שמצילנו מידם עכ"ש. וטעם סדורן זה אחר זה מה שמקודם בפיסקא דמתחלה עובדי ע"א אמר שהגלות טובה גדולה לנו כמ"ש ואומר אח"כ שברוך הוא שבגלות לא שכחנו וכל עזבנו.
(2) ... What is it that has sustained us? The fact that God has allowed us to survive against overwhelming odds not by destroying those who hated us but simply by allowing us to remain alive. If God had used us to punish the other nations than it would have appeared that we were simply God’s means of punishment for others. The fact that we survived regardless of the other nations was a sign of God’s love rather than God’s anger. Israel’s survival is a sign of God’s love.
2. Do you agree with it? Is our God a God of love and not a God of anger? Are these opposites? Could God be both at different times?