Shabbat Table Topics – Parashat Beshalach/0/en

Shabbat Table Topics – Parashat Beshalach

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Physical or Spiritual Provisions?

When describing the events that take place at Marah, the nation’s first stop in the Wilderness, the text shares, "שָׁם שָׂם לוֹ חֹק וּמִשְׁפָּט". This has been understood by different exegetes to refer either to Hashem’s instructing the nation in some of the Torah’s laws,¹ His relaying of the principle of Divine providence,² or to His providing them with physical sustenance.³ See Miracles and Mitzvot at Marah for elaboration.

• Use the one-click concordance to see how the words "חֹק וּמִשְׁפָּט" are used throughout Tanakh and what evidence there is for each of these possibilities.
• What does each position suggest regarding what were the nation's most pressing needs as they emerged from slavery and how Hashem dealt with these?  Is it more important to provide a fledgling nation with a spiritual and moral compass, or to first provide for their physical needs? 
• Those who take the approach that the term refers to Divine commandments differ regarding which laws Hashem relayed.  The possibilities include: Shabbat, honoring parents, civil law, illicit sexual relations and the red heifer ceremony.  What might be the textual and/or conceptual motivation behind each suggestion?

 

 

What were the nation's most pressing needs as they emerged from slavery? They found themselves beginning life anew in the Wilderness with limited physical provisions, no legal code, an uncertain moral compass, and a theological vacuum. Which of these concerns does Hashem decide to deal with when the nation arrives at their first stop, Marah?

¹ See, for example, Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael.

² See R. Saadia Gaon and Ralbag.

³ See R. Yosef Bekhor Shor.