Chasidut sur Avot 5:6

עֲשָׂרָה דְבָרִים נִבְרְאוּ בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, פִּי הָאָרֶץ, וּפִי הַבְּאֵר, וּפִי הָאָתוֹן, וְהַקֶּשֶׁת, וְהַמָּן, וְהַמַּטֶּה, וְהַשָּׁמִיר, וְהַכְּתָב, וְהַמִּכְתָּב, וְהַלּוּחוֹת. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף הַמַּזִּיקִין, וּקְבוּרָתוֹ שֶׁל משֶׁה, וְאֵילוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף צְבָת בִּצְבָת עֲשׂוּיָה:

Dix choses ont été créées la veille du sabbat au crépuscule, [c'est-à-dire à la veille du sabbat de la création, avant son achèvement]: la bouche de la terre [pour engloutir Korach et sa congrégation], la bouche du puits [de Miriam, qui a accompagné Israël dans le désert dans tous ses voyages. (Certains disent qu'il a ouvert la bouche et a chanté (Nombres 21:17): "Lève-toi, ô, bien, chante-lui!"], La bouche de l'âne de [Bilam], [Au crépuscule, il a été décrété qu'il parle avec Bilam ], l'arc-en-ciel, [comme signe de l'alliance selon laquelle un deuxième déluge ne se produirait pas], la manne [qui est descendue pour Israël quarante ans dans le désert], le bâton [de saphir], [avec lequel les signes ont été accomplis], le shamir [un type de ver de la grosseur d'un grain d'orge. Lorsqu'ils le tenaient sur les pierres figurées avec de l'encre, ils se fendaient d'eux-mêmes. Avec lui, ils formaient les pierres de l'éphod et du choshen, c'est-à-dire (Exode 28:20) ): «Avec leurs remplissages (exacts)»], l'écriture, [la forme des lettres gravées sur les tablettes], l'inscription, [leur lecture des quatre côtés] et les tablettes. [Elles étaient en saphir. Leur longueur était de six (ells); leur largeur était de six, et leur épaisseur était de trois, comme une pierre, dont la longueur et la largeur et l'épaisseur sont uniformes. Il a été divisé en deux. Et ils ont été roulés et taillés à partir de t il orbe solaire.] Certains disent, aussi le mazikkin, [les démons. Après que le Saint béni soit-Il ait créé Adam et Eve, Il était préoccupé par leur création, et quand Il a créé leurs esprits, Il n'avait pas créé leurs corps par l'avènement du Sabbat, de sorte qu'ils sont restés des esprits sans corps], et le tombe de Moïse et le bélier de notre père Abraham. [Il a été décrété au crépuscule qu'il soit pris dans le fourré par ses cornes]. Certains disent: aussi les pinces, fabriquées à partir d'une pince. [La pince est fabriquée uniquement à partir d'une autre pince. Et qui a fabriqué les premières pinces? Force est de constater qu'il a été fait par lui-même (c'est-à-dire par le ciel); et il a été créé au crépuscule. Ceci est rejeté par la Gemara (Pesachim 54a), qui déclare que les premières pinces auraient pu être coulées dans un moule et forgées à la fois.]

Sha'ar HaEmunah VeYesod HaChasidut

In the Midrash Rabbah (Beshalach) we find the statement, “When God created the world, He made a condition with the sea that it would split when the children of Israel would leave Egypt.” If so, how is this considered a miracle, if it was instilled in the nature of creation? Pirkei D’Rebbi Eliezar (chap. 18) gives numerous examples of miracles that were programmed into the creation from its outset.³³⁵Such as the manna in the desert, the miraculous rock that gave water, the hole in the earth that swallowed Korach and his cohorts. See, also, Pirkei Avot 5:6. For, if it were said that they were not preprogrammed into nature, one could claim that God changed His will.³³⁶That is, G-d’s deciding to change the order of nature, which He established with the very creation of the world, implies a change in His will or intention in response to events in this world. Yet, G-d’s immutability is an axiom of Jewish faith. The Maharal of Prague discusses this at length in the introduction to his book, Gevurot Hashem, and provides many opinions on this subject. After presenting these opinions, he explains that there are two forms of Divine governance: a natural governance, and a miraculous governance. Both are worked into the general order of Divine governance. The difference is that natural governance is always happening, while miraculous governance is revealed only at the time of the miracle. Furthermore, the order can be changed in response to the recipient. For instance, if the Egyptians had repented, the sea would not have split, even though its splitting was set as a condition in the very fabric of creation. This is because the natural order follows the attribute of God’s judgment, and the miraculous order follows the attribute of God’s mercy. ³³⁷Again, the contradiction is, “If God made a condition with the Red Sea that He would create it only if it would split before the Children of Israel at the time of the exodus, then how could the Sages teach us that if the Egyptians had repented at the time, it would not have split?” This is resolved by seeing the splitting as a part of “natural governance,” or God’s judgment, and the revelation of the miracle as part of “miraculous governance,” flowing from God’s mercy. Ironically, the splitting of the sea was not a miracle, since it was preprogrammed in the creation. The miracle would have occurred had the Egyptian soldiers repented, and the sea not split. Because of this, the mode of governance can change according to the status of the receiver. This does not imply any change whatsoever in God’s essence, for no actions can affect any change in His essence.³³⁸As the verse states: “For I am G-d, I do not change” (Malakhi 3:6) Changes in the Divine governance of the world do not indicate a change in God’s essence. In the same passage, the Maharal explains the miracle of the sun standing still for Yehoshua (Yehoshua 10); for the sun was moving and standing still at the same time.³³⁹That is, the sun stood still in the sky for the Israelites, until they defeated their enemies in battle, while for the rest of the world, it moved through the sky normally. According the natural governance, the sun was moving as usual, and according to “miraculous governance’, it stood still. Two opposites existed in the same event. This is a synopsis of his words, which are correct, and (Mishlei, 24:26) “every man shall kiss the lips of one who gives a true answer.” There are many proofs and real wonders, for with miracles, two opposites can exist simultaneously.

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Kedushat Levi

Numbers 23,22. “the G’d Who has brought them out of ‎Egypt.” Rashi draws our attention to the fact that ‎Bileam had to retract a statement he had made when speaking to ‎G’d in answer to His question who the men were that had come to ‎visit him. (Numbers 22,9) At that time he had attributed Israel’s ‎exodus from Egypt as being due to their own efforts, i.e. ‎העם ‏היוצא ממצרים‎. He has now been forced to admit publicly that it ‎was G’d Who had brought the Jewish people out of Egypt.
We have a rule that “awakening, initiative,” can start either ‎in the celestial regions or in the terrestrial regions. Every person ‎can be the cause of G’d relating to him with the attribute of ‎Mercy by simply improving the number of credits he accumulates ‎through his good deeds. Based on this he may appeal to G’d to use ‎His attribute of mercy in dealing with him. Invoking the merits of ‎the patriarchs, however, in other words, mobilizing forces of ‎mercy whose sources are in the “higher world,” is something only ‎members of the Jewish people are able to do.
‎[Very doubtful, as King Chiskiyah, invoking his merits ‎when asking G’d to let him live longer, was told by G’d that he ‎was granted this extension only due to the merits of his ancestor ‎David. Compare Kings II 20,1-5. Ed.]‎
This is what the wicked Bileam referred to when he said to G’d ‎הנה העם יצא ממצרים‎, “here we have this nation that departed from ‎Egypt, etc.” When crediting the Exodus to the Jewish people ‎themselves, Bileam meant that this people by dint of their own ‎merits aroused sufficient forces of the attribute of Mercy to bring ‎about their redemption.‎
In order to show how wrong Bileam was, our sages in ‎‎Avot chapter 5, list 10 “trials that the Jewish people had ‎subjected G’d to, i.e. 10 collective sins, instead of ten collective ‎merits which had resulted in their redemption. G’d indicated to ‎Bileam that the attribute of Mercy which after being “awakened” ‎by our patriarchs reminded G’d of His promise to them, that the ‎Exodus was put in motion. It was the accumulated merits of the ‎patriarchs which were the major factor in the redemption of the ‎Jewish people from their cruel fate in Egypt. This is a factor that ‎may come to the aid of the Jewish people, but never to the aid of ‎the gentiles.‎ ‎

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