| 8Amalek came and fought against Israel in Refidim. |
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חוַיָּבֹ֖א עֲמָלֵ֑ק וַיִּלָּ֥חֶם עִם־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בִּרְפִידִֽם: |
| וַיָּבֹא עֲמָלֵק וגו' - Amalek came… The Torah places this section next to the previous verse, as if God were saying: I am always among you and ready to provide for all your needs, and yet you say: “Is God present among us or not?” I swear by your lives that the dog, Amalek, will now come and bite you so that you cry out to Me and realize where I am. This may be compared to a man who put his son on his shoulders and set out on a journey. The son saw an object on the way and said, “Father, pick up this object and give it to me,” and he gave it to him; and so a second time and so a third time. They then met a man and the son asked him, “Have you seen my father?” His father then said to him, “Don’t you know where I am?!” So he threw him off his shoulders and a dog came and bit him. |
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וַיָּבֹא עֲמָלֵק וגו'.
סָמַךְ פָּרָשָׁה זוֹ לְמִקְרָא זֶה, לוֹמַר, תָּמִיד אֲנִי בֵינֵיכֶם וּמְזֻמָּן לְכָל צָרְכֵּיכֶם וְאַתֶּם אוֹמְרִים הֲיֵשׁ ה' בְּקִרְבֵּנוּ אִם אָיִן, חַיֵּיכֶם שֶׁהַכֶּלֶב בָּא וְנוֹשֵׁךְ אֶתְכֶם וְאַתֶּם צוֹעֲקִים לִי וְתֵדְעוּ הֵיכָן אֲנִי? מָשָׁל לְאָדָם שֶׁהִרְכִּיב בְּנוֹ עַל כְּתֵפוֹ וְיָצָא לַדֶּרֶךְ, הָיָה אוֹתוֹ הַבֵּן רוֹאֶה חֵפֶץ וְאוֹמֵר, אַבָּא טֹל חֵפֶץ זֶה וְתֵן לִי וְהוּא נוֹתֵן לוֹ, וְכֵן שְׁנִיָּה, וְכֵן שְׁלִישִׁית, פָּגְעוּ בְאָדָם אֶחָד אָמַר לוֹ אוֹתוֹ הַבֵּן, רָאִיתָ אֶת אַבָּא? אָמַר לוֹ אָבִיו, אֵינְךָ יוֹדֵעַ הֵיכָן אֲנִי? הִשְׁלִיכוֹ מֵעָלָיו וּבָא הַכֶּלֶב וּנְשָׁכוֹ (תנחומא יתרו):
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| 9Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out and fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself at the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” |
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טוַיֹּ֨אמֶר משֶׁ֤ה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֨עַ֙ בְּחַר־לָ֣נוּ אֲנָשִׁ֔ים וְצֵ֖א הִלָּחֵ֣ם בַּֽעֲמָלֵ֑ק מָחָ֗ר אָֽנֹכִ֤י נִצָּב֙ עַל־רֹ֣אשׁ הַגִּבְעָ֔ה וּמַטֵּ֥ה הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים בְּיָדִֽי: |
| בְּחַר־לָנוּ - Choose for us - i.e., for me and for you. Moses thus treated Joshua as equal to himself. From here our sages derived the saying: “Let your student’s honor be as dear to you as your own.” And from where do we derive the continuation of that Mishnah: “and your colleague’s honor be like the reverence for your teacher”? For it says: “Aaron said to Moses, ‘Please, my master’.” Was not Aaron older than his brother, Moses? Nevertheless he treated his colleague as if he were his teacher. And from where do we derive the last part of that Mishnah: “and the reverence for your teacher be like the reverence for God”? For it says: “Moses, my master! Eliminate them!” – remove them from the world, for they deserve annihilation; those who rebel against you are as if they had rebelled against the Holy One, blessed be He. |
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בְּחַר־לָנוּ.
לִי וּלְךָ – הִשְׁוָהוּ לוֹ; מִכָּאן אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים יְהִי כְבוֹד תַּלְמִידְךָ חָבִיב עָלֶיךָ כְּשֶׁלָּךְ; וּכְבוֹד חֲבֵרְךָ כְּמוֹרָא רַבָּךְ מִנַּיִן? שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "וַיֹּאמֶר אַהֲרֹן אֶל מֹשֶׁה בִּי אֲדֹנִי", וַהֲלֹא אַהֲרֹן גָּדוֹל מֵאָחִיו הָיָה וְעוֹשֶׂה אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ כְּרַבּוֹ. וּמוֹרָא רַבָּךְ כְּמוֹרָא שָׁמַיִם מִנַּיִן? שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "אֲדֹנִי מֹשֶׁה כְּלָאֵם" – כַּלֵּם מִן הָעוֹלָם, חַיָּבִין הֵם כְּלָיָה, הַמּוֹרְדִים בְּךָ כְּאִלּוּ מָרְדוּ בְּהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא:
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| וְצֵא הִלָּחֵם - And go out and fight - i.e., go out of the protection of the cloud and fight against them. |
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וְצֵא הִלָּחֵם.
צֵא מִן הֶעָנָן וְהִלָּחֵם בּוֹ:
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| מָחָר - Tomorrow - at the time of battle, “I will station myself.” |
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מָחָר.
בְּעֵת הַמִּלְחָמָה, אָנֹכִי נִצָּב:
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| בְּחַר־לָנוּ אֲנָשִׁים - Choose for us men - i.e., mighty ones who are also sin-fearing, so that their merit aid them. Another explanation: “choose for us men” who know how to counteract witchcraft, for the Amalekites were sorcerers. |
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בְּחַר־לָנוּ אֲנָשִׁים.
גִּבּוֹרִים וְיִרְאֵי חֵטְא שֶׁתְּהֵא זְכוּתָן מְסַיַּעְתָּן. דָּבָר אַחֵר – בְּחַר לָנוּ אֲנָשִׁים שֶׁיּוֹדְעִין לְבַטֵּל כְּשָׁפִים, לְפִי שֶׁבְּנֵי עֲמָלֵק מְכַשְּׁפִין הָיוּ:
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| 10Joshua did as Moses had told him, to fight against Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. |
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יוַיַּ֣עַשׂ יְהוֹשֻׁ֗עַ כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֤ר אָֽמַר־לוֹ֙ משֶׁ֔ה לְהִלָּחֵ֖ם בַּֽעֲמָלֵ֑ק וּמשֶׁה֙ אַֽהֲרֹ֣ן וְח֔וּר עָל֖וּ רֹ֥אשׁ הַגִּבְעָֽה: |
| וּמשֶׁה אַֽהֲרֹן וְחוּר - While Moses, Aaron, and Hur. From here we learn that at a public fast three people must lead the prayers, for here, too, they were fasting. |
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וּמשֶׁה אַֽהֲרֹן וְחוּר.
מִכָּאן לְתַעֲנִית שֶׁצְּרִיכִים שְׁלֹשָׁה לַעֲבֹר לִפְנֵי הַתֵּבָה, שֶׁבְּתַעֲנִית הָיוּ שְׁרוּיִים (מכילתא):
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| חוּר - Hur. He was the son of Miriam, and Caleb was her husband. |
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חוּר.
בְּנָהּ שֶׁל מִרְיָם הָיָה וְכָלֵב בַּעְלָהּ (סוטה י"א):
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