פרשת בא
WALKING THROUGH FIRE
The river shall swarm with frogs, and they shall ascend and come into your palace, your bedroom and your bed …into your ovens and into your kneading bowls (Shemos 7:28).
We read in Sefer Daniel (3) that Nevuchadnezzar erected an idol of gold in the Valley of Dura, in Bovel. The idol was 60 amos high and its breadth was 6 amos. All the government leaders were called to participate in the dedication of the idol. A proclamation was made that when the instruments sound all who are gathered must fall on their face and bow to the idol. Whoever would not bow to the idol would be thrown into the fiery furnaces. Everyone bowed, except Chananyah, Misha’el and Azaryah.
The people of Kasdim immediately reported to Nevuchadnezzar the defiance they had witnessed. Nevuchadnezzar angrily ordered Chananyah, Misha’el and Azaryah to be brought before him. He then asked them, “Do you think my decree was made for no reason? Even now, I’ll give you a choice. If you bow to the idol now I will not punish you for not bowing the first time. But if you refuse, you will immediately be cast into the fiery furnace. Who is the G-d Who can save you from my hand?”
Chananyah, Misha’el and Azaryah responded, “Our G-d Whom we serve can save us from your hand, whether you throw us into a fiery furnace or kill us in any other manner. Even if Hashem does not want to save us, we still will not bow to your idol of gold.”
Nevuchadnezzar became enraged and commanded the oven’s heat to be increased sevenfold. He then ordered the soldiers to tie up Chananyah, Misha’el and Azaryah and throw them into the fiery furnace. The soldiers themselves died from the extreme heat given off by the ovens, because they were not careful as they hurried to execute Nevuchadnezzar’s orders.
Nevuchadnezzar observed that a fourth person had joined Chananyah, Misha’el and Azaryah in the furnace. They were not tied up but were walking around in the furnace and the fire was not harming them at all. It appeared to Nevuchadnezzar that the fourth figure was a malach, an angel. He approached the door of the furnace and called out, “You are servants of the exalted G-d. Exit the oven and come to me.”
The government leaders then saw that the raging fires had not touched these G-d-fearing people. They had not even absorbed the smell of fire on themselves. Nevuchadnezzar said, “Blessed is the G-d of Chananyah, Misha’el and Azaryah Who sent an angel to save His servants who trust in Him.” Nevuchadnezzar then decreed that anyone who would speak negatively about the G-d of these people would be cut to pieces and his house would be turned into a heap of rubbish.
Nevuchadnezzar also appointed Chananyah, Misha’el and Azaryah rulers in the land. He wrote a letter to all the nations, stating that the wonders that Hashem has performed are extraordinary and miraculous, His kingdom is eternal, and His rule is for all generations.
Todos, who was a great Jewish scholar from the city of Rome, asks: Why were Chananyah, Misha’el and Azaryah willing to sacrifice themselves al Kiddush Hashem, to be thrown into the fiery furnace? They could have escaped before they were commanded to bow down.
We learn an a fortiori inference from the frogs. The frogs who were not commanded to die al Kiddush Hashem, nevertheless chose to jump into the hot ovens of the Egyptians, we who are commanded to be mekadesh shem shamayim how much more dedicated should we be to fulfill the mitzvah unconditionally.
The Tashbatz (415) states that when a person firmly resolves to sanctify the Name of Hashem and to sacrifice himself al kiddush Hashem, he will not be pained. This is corroborated by the fact that although an individual will not be able to refrain from crying out if his finger touches fire, those who sacrifice themselves and die al kiddush Hashem never cry out.
The Sefer Kol Bo (18) relates a fascinating account of a shipload of Jews who left Yerushalayim into exile. When the ship docked, the troops came and asked, “From which nation are you?”
“We are from the Jewish people,” they replied.
“We would like to test you in the fiery furnace like Chananyah, Misha’el and Azaryah,” the troops told them.
The Jews asked for a thirty day reprieve which was granted.
The Jews used their time wisely. They prayed and fasted and also made an agreement that they would share any dreams they had during this time. At the end of the thirty day period, an elderly man who was an intense G-d-fearing person, but was not very learned in Torah, announced that he had had a dream. In the dream, he said, a pasuk had been read, unfamiliar to him, that contained the word “ki” twice and the word “lo” three times. A chacham arose and stated that the dream was surely min hashamayim, and if the elderly man would go through the fire he would be saved. The sage referred to the pasuk (Yeshayah 43:2), “When you pass through water, I am with you; through rivers, they will not wash you away; when you walk through fire, you will not be singed, and no flame will burn you.”
Indeed, the elderly man was thrown into the fire and the bystanders observed how the fire split into three sectors. Three tzaddikim came forward to greet the elderly man, each one reciting one of three portions of the tefillah of Tachanun.
It was decreed from that time that the tefillah of Tachanun should be recited every Monday and Thursday.
Note: Rabbi Goldwasser will be leading a community forum on Eating Disorders in the Five Towns, under the auspices of the Orthodox Union and Touro College. Rabbi Goldwasser is the author of Starving Souls: A Spiritual Guide to Understanding Eating Disorders, and for the last twenty years has been a leading proponent in the community for the prompt recognition of eating disorders and its proper treatment Other presenters will include Dr. Ditza Berger, Rabbin Jonathan Morgenstern, and Dr. Alan Perry. The meeting is open to men and women and will be held on Sunday, January 29th at Congregation Aish Kodesh (894 Woodmere Place, Woodmere, NY) at 8:00 PM.