At the beginning of the Parsha Shemot, when the episode of the burning bush, Moses is seen directed to "take this stick in his hand" ( Shemot 4, 17), the very man who had previously changed into a snake, because "it is through him that you perform all the miracles" in Egypt. It turns out that this cane was actually anything but ordinary since the verse refers to then as "The stick of the Lord" (verse 20). Trying to trace through traditional sources pathways and the implications of this stick ... prodigious
In fact, this staff seems to follow the fate of the Jews throughout their many journeys Numb: all the miracles of the Ten Plagues of Egypt were accomplished with his "help" and it is by waving the Red Sea opened before the children of Israel (Shemot, 14, 16). It was he who gave them fresh water in the rock hitting two reprisb his (see Shemot, 17, 5 and Bamidbar, 20, 8), and it was he who raised towards the sky, gave the victory to Israel face Amalek (Shemot, 17, 8).
Now it appears that in reality, this stick Providence earned its designation as " Verge of the Lord" not only by virtue of the many miracles that opera as many sources confirm that its origins are among the that are more supreme ...
Since the beginnings of Creation ...
If it is in itself interesting to see how this wonderful club arrived in the hands of the savior of Israel, these descriptions will help us further to understand their nature and try to discover the secret.
In Pirke Avot (chapter 5, 6), the Mishnah lists ten creations that were born the "twilight", ie before the first Shabbat concludes the Work of the World.
It is particularly "arc-en-ciel, Manna, and the stick." Contrary to what some may believe, that stick was in fact nothing of a branch of wood on many occasions, the Talmudic tradition (Yalkut Shimoni ibid. and Chapter 261, Zohar page 272) describes it as being cut from a material called " Sanpirinon " (which is close - certainly wrongly - sapphire) which were also engraved with the Tablets of the Law ( Zohar Shemot, page 84 / b). On this staff, were registered on the divine name, the names of the Patriarchs and the ten plagues of Egypt in the form of acronyms that are formulated in Haggb gada Pesach "Datsa'h Adach Béa'hav" (DeRabbie Pirke Eliezer, chapter 40).
Going in the same sense that this Mishna, the Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Shemot 173) for his part described the many vicissitudes of this staff since the day of its creation:
"'You shall take the same stick with you': this stick which was created at dusk was donated to the premlier Adam man in the Gan Eden when he was expelled from the Garden of Eden, Adam brought with him and sent it to ' Hanoch which in turn gave it to Chem ; Chem transmitted it to Avraham, Avraham Yitzchak to , to Yitzchak and Yaacov Yaakov prevailed with him to Egypt where he gave it to Yosef . On the death of Joseph, all his possessions were seized and stored in the palace of Pharaoh. In those days, Jethro was one of the magicians of Pharaoh, and seeing the stick, he coveted. He seized it, took him home and planted it in his garden. But since then, he could not approach him ... When Moshe went to Midian, he entered the yard of Jethro and seeing the stick, he read the inscriptions were engraved, he reached out and grabbed him. Seeing this, Jethro said: 'This man is one who will deliver Israel from Egypt, and that is why he gave him his daughter to wife Tsipora.
It is understood easily: the "object" was no ordinary because during all those generations, he found himself always in the hands of the most important of their time.
a divine instrument
Made in the dawn of creation and transmitted across generations with infinite care, the stick seems to have always been invaluable, and it is also through him that were all made many miracles of the epic of Hebrews just before, during and after the Exodus from Egypt.
But what was the exact nature of this special club?
is certainly in that other traditional way - from the Midrash Tanchumah (Vaéra, 8) - that will draw more precisely, in our view the essence of this Instrument miracle: "... Because the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, granted a part of His honor those who fear Him. (...) Why? In a king of flesh and blood, it never takes place on his throne, but the Holy One Blessed be He seated King Shlomo on His throne! (...) In a king of flesh and blood, it never uses his scepter, but the Holy One, blessed be He gave his scepter to Moshe as he says: 'Moshe took the baton in his hand of the Lord' ! .
" Charvis - scepter - represents, both in Jewish tradition for all the monarchies of history, power and authority placed in the hands of a monarch. As shown in Ibn Ezra (Esther, 4, 11), the term "Charvis" has the same etymological root as the word "head" - that is to say "sticks" per se - since it symbolizes the ultimate coercive power and the influence exercised by an authority over a nation. We see for example that it is through his scepter the king Ahasuerus granted - or refused - the grace to those who came to his court without being invited. Also, in a passage where King Shlomo surprised that his mother plans to give the hand of the Avichag Shunammite his rival Adonijah, the king of Israel said, "What do you ask for him the kingship? "(Kings I, 2) - Rashi says that expression by this picture:" From when it will use the scepter of the king, his power will resume! . Thus, if in mortal kings scepter stands as a symbol of absolute power is in the same spirit as we develop this "stick of the Lord", ie the scepter of the King of kings ... Indeed , the sages teach us that there are three "key" that the Holy One, blessed be He sometimes book, depending on the circumstances, in the hands of His servants, the key to fertility, the key to the rains and the key resurrection of the dead (see Rabbeinu Bé'hayé, Bereshit, 30, 2).
Defying the rigor of nature, these different "keys" are those that open doors belonging to God and, in some situations quite exceptional, are sometimes carried out by men of a very high level. This was particularly the case in the episode where the prophet Elisha revived the dead child of Shunammite miraculous way. If these three keys provide power to men to whom they are assigned, their influence is limited however to their own domain: each key is likely to open a single door ...
The key of keys
But it is here that there is indeed "a key keys", that is to say an instrument by which man holds in his hands all the powers of nature : stick to the Lord - this divine scepter which alone represents the divine right over all the forces of nature!
is in this vein that one of the great masters of Chassidut, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchov zatsal, wrote in his book "Kédouchat Levi" (on Béchala'h) that " mate "[stick] derives in Hebrew the idea of "tipping" [léhatot] elements. That is why, says the author, Moshe said before starting the battle against Amalek: " will stick in my hand " - by implying: "This power that God has Blessed be He, to tip the world and direct it according to His will, it is here in my hand, insofar as I can tilt the world according to my will! This rod of God was not just a "symbol " of power as can be conceived for ordinary scepters since appeared instead as the true "Channel" through which the divine miracles were conveyed. In this sense the Midrash may declare that the Creator gives a part of Her honors those who fear to the extent, by assigning the scepter Moshe God gave him the power to actually control the nature and to change the rules at will!
Moreover, if the Pirke Avot mention that this was one stick of creations befallen the world on the eve of the first Shabbat, the relationship between these various elements seem to present as evidence: indeed, as explained The Rambam in his commentary on the Mishnah, the various works created in extremis all have in common is that they extract themselves completely from the scope of the laws of nature. Now at first glance, this stick - due to his appearance - seems to be nothing "supernatural", contrary to the "mouth of the ass" of Balaam shamir or worm capable of grinding stone without producing waste that were fundamentally exceptional in nature. But as we have seen, if the stick of Moses so defied the laws of nature, c'en'est not so much by its physical form but rather by virtue of its power ... because it was essentially the key on which nature had no control over.
Yonathan Bendennoune
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