Shoftim 4:4- 5:31

Unprecedented Miracles for Perfect Faith
We often worry about the spiritual decline of most of our nation. Under such challenging moral and ethical conditions can we truly anticipate Hashem’s favor of living in the illustrious era of Mashiach? Can we even entertain the possibility of witnessing the major revelations that will precede Mashiach’s arrival? This week’s Haftarah sheds light on our concern and shows us our proper course of action.

The Sin, Oppression, and Repentance Cycle

After the passing of Yehoshua, Moshe Rabbeinu’s devout disciple, the Jewish people were led by numerous judges. Their authority and influence were so limited that the people would typically fall prey to neighboring Canaanite culture. They would generally fluctuate between periods of sincere devotion to Hashem and periods of severe plunges into repulsive, idolatrous practices. Although Yehoshua left his people as a solid, devout nation, it did not take long for them to become vulnerable to their Canaanite neighbor’s enticing mannerisms. They would typically adopt foreign values and customs and begin a repetitive cycle. Hashem would respond to their inexcusable behavior and order a neighboring power to oppress them. The Jewish people would then recognize their severe offense and would begin their path of return. Hashem would respond to their resolve and would redeem them from their oppressor. The Jewish people would eventually become complacent and succumb to another abhorrent foreign influence and the cycle would repeat itself.

The Prophetess Devorah is Sent

This week’s Haftarah records one of those periods when the Jewish nation severely strayed from the Torah path. Hashem responded to their spiritual slumber and sent the Canaanite King Yovin to conquer and annex them to his mighty empire. After twenty
years of tight Canaanite rule Hashem’s message finally penetrated and the Jewish people began their return to Hashem. During their early stages of repentance Hashem sent them the prophetess Devora to help complete their return. Through her profound efforts and outstanding merit Hashem performed an unprecedented miracle for His people and Devorah composed a moving song of praise in recognition of Hashem’s favor.

The miracle occurred after she prophetically instructed the leading Jewish general, Barak to charge into Yovin’s front lines with ten thousand men. Yovin amassed hundreds of thousands of troops and appointed his general, Sisra, to lead them in a massive attack on the Jewish people. Hashem intervened on behalf of His precious children and produced an enormous illusion that frightened the Canaanites and forced them to retreat. In the midst of that upheaval, Hashem sent blazing heat to the battlefront that led the Canaanites down to the Kishon Brook to cool off. At that moment, Hashem ordered the Kishon to overflow its bank and to drown the massive Canaanite army.
Devora sang about that miracle, “Kishon Brook swept them away, that brook of previous times… my soul treads with strength.” (Shoftim 5:21) Devorah’s reference to the Kishon as the “brook of previous times” seems to connect the brook to an earlier experience of the Jewish people with the overflow of water.

The Kishon Brook and the Sea of Reeds

Chazal explain that indeed the overflowing of the Kishon was directly connected to the Jewish people’s past. They relate its overflow to the drowning of the Egyptians in the Sea of Reeds, recounted in this week’s Parsha. Chazal quote an intriguing discussion
between Hashem and the Heavenly deputy in charge of the sea. The background for this discussion is based on a verse in Tehillim that states, “They were defiant over the sea water inside the Sea of Reeds.” (106:7) Chazal explain that the Jewish people displayed imperfect faith in Hashem after crossing the split sea. Although the entire nation initially believed Moshe Rabbeinu’s prophetic prediction about
Egypt’s destruction, they found it difficult to believe that the massive, mighty Egyptian army that had chased after them and forced them into the sea, no longer existed. In the deep darkness of the night, they were doubtful if the waters behind them had returned to their natural flow immediately after the Jewish people passed through them and had drowned the massive Egyptian army directly behind them or if the chase would continue. Hashem responded to their doubt and ordered the Heavenly deputy of the sea to cast the Egyptian bodies onto the shore. Chazal reveal that our Haftarah actually alludes to the Heavenly deputy’s request at that time. Since the Egyptians were drowned by the water and rightfully belonged to the fish of the sea, the deputy asked for a replacement for the bodies casted onto the shore.
Hashem consented and guaranteed that the Kishon Brook would send appropriate replacements to the sea. The miracle of the Kishon efficiently served its purpose; the drowned Canaanites who were swept through the stream of the brook into the Sea of Reeds amply replaced the earlier Egyptian bodies. Devorah, therefore, referred to the

Kishon as the brook of previous times because of its predicted function, and she sang
about the completed mission. (Pesachim 118b)

Unworthiness of Major Miracles

Although this discussion seems to revolve around fish, let us probe the deeper meaning of Chazal’s words and discover why Devorah included the brook’s predicted function in her song of praise. To do so, we quote an additional statement of Chazal
regarding the potential Egyptian chase. They reveal that the Jewish people’s concern regarding this was so real that, at that moment, Moshe and the people composed the moving segment of the Hallel prayer that pleads with Hashem to save His nation from
the hands of the enemy for the sake of His glory. (Pesachim 117, Rashbam ad loc) We could suggest that the Jewish people based their concern on the unprecedented nature of the miracle. At the brink of death by the hands of the massive Egyptian army, Hashem miraculously split the sea and spared the Jewish people from their tragic end. Because they did not view themselves worthy of a second revelation of that nature, namely, the immediate return of the mighty waters to their natural flow, they doubted if Hashem would have transformed the solid stone walls of water into a powerful waterfall and crushed the Egyptian army while they were still passing through the sea. Hence,
even after the miraculous splitting of the sea, the Jewish people entertained the possibility that the Egyptian army had safely come out of the sea and would continue its chase after the Jewish people.
When the Jewish people saw the Egyptians on the shore, they retroactively understood the purpose of the splitting of the sea. They realized that Hashem arranged the Egyptian chase into the sea replete with the splitting of its waters to lure the Egyptians into the “dry” sea and then to send its forceful, crushing waters directly upon them.

The Sea’s Incomplete Role

Chazal’s cryptic discussion about the fish suggests that the overflowing Kishon Brook filled in, a missing dimension of the miraculous splitting of the sea. It seems that the Jewish people’s imperfect faith produced an incomplete miracle, and that the collective Jewish nation rectified this blemish in Devorah’s time. The splitting of the Sea of Reeds served a dual function: although it rescued the Jewish people from torturous Egyptian hands, its primary purpose was to punish the Egyptians for their brutal treatment of Hashem’s beloved children. The Jewish People
fully appreciated Hashem’s favor of rescuing them at the brink of death, but because of the thick dark cloud that separated them from their chasers, they were unaware of the brutal beating and massacre the Egyptians were receiving immediately following the
Jewish people’s rescue. Therefore, although the mighty sea waters delivered the wicked Egyptians their full share of brutality, the Jewish people were unaware of the primary purpose for the splitting of the sea. Consequently, instead of drowning the Egyptian
bodies, the sea cast them onto the shore and displayed to the Jewish people the brutal, crushing punishment it delivered to the Egyptians.
In essence, the sea played an imperfect role in Hashem’s miraculous scheme. During Hashem’s overwhelming display of favor and grace to His people, they did not recognize the magnitude of His kindness. Although they were permanently rescued from the hands of their brutal oppressors, they were unaware at the time that this had transpired. So, while Hashem was pouring His love and favor on His precious people, they did not sense His full goodness, but instead were wary of the continued Egyptian chase. We could explain that the Heavenly deputy of the sea argued that the sea and its tributaries deserved to play a perfect role in Hashem’s miracles and should be granted future
opportunity to reveal Hashem’s majesty, in full. Hashem informed the deputy that the miracle of the Kishon Brook would provide the sea its opportunity to complete its role of displaying Hashem’s total goodness to His people.

Complete Faith Merits Complete Miracle

Immediately preceding Devorah’s times, the Jewish people’s spiritual level was on a severe decline. Because of this fact, they were in a similar situation to the Jewish people who left Egypt, who had considered themselves unworthy of Hashem’s open revelations. Since the Jewish people, had recently begun, through Devorah’s influence, their process of return to Hashem, they could not fathom that Hashem would perform a major miracle on their behalf. Although this was the predominant feeling of the nation, Barak and Devorah rose above it. Barak’s faith was so strong that when Devorah ordered him to select ten thousand men and to charge into the massive Canaanite army, he
immediately accepted his role and awaited a miracle of incredible proportions. (Shoftim
4:14)
He and his men displayed total faith in Hashem and believed wholeheartedly that Hashem would perform an open miracle on behalf of His people. They had no reservation about Hashem’s interest in His people, and Hashem, therefore, had no need afterwards to clarify His concern for them. So, when the Kishon Brook swept away the Canaanites, it faithfully delivered them to the Sea of Reeds whose fish eagerly devoured the bodies of the wicked, immoral Canaanite people. This time the miracle served its purpose in full and bore perfect testimony to Hashem’s devotion to His people. Although the collective Jewish nation’s relationship with Hashem left much to be desired of, Devorah and Barak’s unwavering faith compensated for the bulk of the people and merited Hashem’s grace and favor in major proportions for the entire nation. We learn from this the power of complete trust in Hashem. Although the collective Jewish nation’s spiritual level called for major improvement, Devora and Barak’s perfect trust merited for everyone Hashem’s favor in incredible proportions. We must admit that the collective Jewish nation’s present spiritual level calls for major improvement. Let us draw encouragement from this week’s Haftarah and resolve to do our best to return to Hashem. Although we cannot directly alter the moral and ethical climate of our people,
we can at least display total faith in our redemption. In this merit we will hopefully witness soon Hashem’s program for the greatest revelations ever to be seen, surpassing even those at the Sea of Reeds.