בפסוק ויהי בשלח פרעה את העם ולא נחם אלהים דרך ארץ פלשתים כי קרוב הוא וגו'. ושמעתי בשם מורי כשהזכרים קודם בשם הוי"ה, אז הוא חסד גובר [ואם לאו] גובר השכחה הנקרא פרעה, [כי האדם עולם קטן ויש בו פרעה ומצרים, והורה הכתוב סדר התשובה, שיהיה בהדרגה להסב דרך ולא בפ"א, שאם כן יתבטל מכל וכל, וזהו שאמר], עכשיו, ויהי בשלח פרעה את העם, שהם אברי האדם שהיו עד עכשיו מוכנעין תחת יד פרעה, ועתה שלח את העם שהם אבריו לחירות, ולא נחם אלהים דרך ארץ פלשתים, כי יש בחינה הנקרא דרך, כי שם ס"ג ושם אהי"ה קס"א גימטריא דרך, אשר משם ניזונין אפילו הרשעים, כי עד שם אינו מגיע פגם וחטא בני אדם התחתונים, ועל זה נאמר (איוב ל"ה ו') אם תרשע מה תפעל לו, תשובה מהני, כי שם לא הגיע פגם החטא, אם חטא בזנות לא מתעורר שם רק בחינת אהבה, רק למטה עשה רשימות רעות על ידי חטאו, ובעושה תשובה עשה רשימות טובים וניתקן הכל, כי העלה המדרגות עד הבינה שהוא אהי"ה וכו', ואמר שיש בעמקות הזה דברים נפלאים והמשכיל יבין, וזהו שאמר הכתוב ולא נחם אלהים דרך ארץ פלשתים, כי מן הדרך הזה ארץ פלשתים שהם הקליפות גם כן ניזונין, ולא נחם דרך ההוא, כי קרוב הוא, ר"ל השכחה הנקרא פרעה קרוב הוא, ופן יראה בחינה זו הנקרא דרך על דרך הנ"ל, ויש מקום בזה וכו' ותיכף בהעלות על דעתו זה, אז קרוב לחזור אל פרעה שהוא השכחה, לכך ויסב וגו' ודפח"ח: (תוי"י בשלח דנ"ג ע"ב והמוסגר הוא מכתר שם טוב ד"י ע"ג. שהעתיק מס' תוי"י דיבור הקודם לזה ע"ש).
And it was, when Pharaoh let the people go, that G‑d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, for it was near; for G‑d said: perhaps the people will lose heart when they see war, and return to Egypt. But G‑d led the people indirectly, by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea….” (Exodus 13:17-18) When the masculine [letters] of the Tetragrammaton come first,1The four letters of the Tetragrammaton can be divided into two sets of two: the yud-hey correspond to the Sefiros of Chochmah and Binah, and the vav-hey correspond to Tiferes and Malchus. Chochmah is considered masculine in regards to Binah, as is Tiferes in relationship to Malchus. Kabbalah considers the masculine Sefiros to be the source of beneficence, whereas the feminine Sefiros, in as much as they create a vessel for containing spiritual downflow, are considered an expression of limitation and Judgment. Furthermore, the four letters of the Name can be arranged in twelve different patters. When the letters yud and vav come first, it symbolizes an abundance of Divine compassion; when the letters hey come first, it symbolizes an excess of din and concealment. The verse from Exodus, cited above, begins “Vayehi beshalach...” – וַיְהִי בְּשַׁלַּח . The letters of the first word contain the four letters of the Tetragrammaton, with the letters vav and yud coming first. the forces of Loving-kindness prevail; if not, forgetfulness rules, which is called “Pharaoh.”2The word “Pharaoh” shares the same letters as the word “oref” (neck), and the two concepts correspond. See Sefer Baal Shem Tov on the Torah, parashas Va’era 5764, footnote 6. For a human being is a microcosm, and has within him Pharaoh and Egypt. The verse, then, is teaching us the path of repentance; that it should be level after level – “indirectly” – and not all at once. For were that so, a person would be completely annihilated.3If a person’s repentance would bring him too quickly into high levels of perfection, his being would be annihilated. Thus, G‑d leads him on the path of repentance slowly, so that his being can grow as a whole. Thus it is written: “And it was, when Pharaoh let the people go” – these are the limbs of the body that were enslaved to Pharaoh til now. But now, he lets the people – the limbs – go out to freedom. “But G‑d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines” – for there is a [spiritual] concept called “way.” This is the [holy] Names S’ag and Ekiyeh Ka’sa,4The Name S’ag refers to the Tetragrammaton spelled out as follows: יוד די ואו די which has the numerical value of 63 (ס”ג). (The letter hey in the Name is written here with a dalet, so as not to unnecessarily write the Holy Name.) This corresponds to the world of Binah. Likewise, the name Ekiyeh, when spelled out as follows, corresponds to Binah: אלף די יוד די. It has the numerical value of 161 (קס”א). which have the numerical value of derech (“way”).5The word derech (דרך) has the numerical value of 224, equal to the two Divine Names Even the wicked draw sustenance from there, for it is unblemished by human sin, as it says: “If you sinned, what did you do against Him?” (Job 35:6).6The wicked draw benefit from this spiritual world because it is a source of pure beneficence. However, they do not receive this sustenance directly, but rather “behind the back,” as one would give to one’s enemy, indirectly. (See Sefer HaTanya, chap. 6). The Baal Shem Tov will explain below that were evil to receive a direct illumination from this world, it would become empowered more. For this reason, repentance helps, for the damage of sin does not reach there. [For instance,] a person who commits adultery arouses in the [upper] world the aspect of love.7As we have discussed elsewhere, immoral lusts are a fallen form of the pure love of G‑d. The higher one rises on the ladder of the worlds, the more the pure essence of any act is revealed, while the outward, impure manifestation falls away. Only in the world below do his sins have a bad effect. But when he repents, his deeds have a positive effect, and he repairs everything, for he uplifts the [lower] levels to Binah, which is Ekiyeh. Thus, the verse says: “G‑d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines.” For from this “way,”8I.e., the way of direct repentance. the Land of the Philistine, the impure shells, also derive nourishment. G‑d did not lead them that way, “for it was near” – that is, it was near to forgetfulness, which is called Pharaoh, lest they see this aspect, which is called “way,” as we explained above… For as soon as they realize this, they come close to returning to Pharaoh, who is forgetfulness. Therefore, “God led the people indirectly…”9The Baal Shem Tov seems to be saying that if G‑d were to lead a person along a direct path of repentance, which means the revelation that at the root of all his sins – in the World of Binah – everything is in fact good, then the evil inclination– the Philistines, who also derive sustenance from that world – would be empowered, and cause a person to return again to Pharaoh – Forgetfulness. Kesser Shem Tov 11010See also Toldos Yaakov Yosef, p. 53b.
בפסוק ויהי בשלח פרעה את העם ולא נחם אלהים דרך ארץ פלשתים כי קרוב הוא וגו'. ושמעתי בשם מורי כשהזכרים קודם בשם הוי"ה, אז הוא חסד גובר [ואם לאו] גובר השכחה הנקרא פרעה, [כי האדם עולם קטן ויש בו פרעה ומצרים, והורה הכתוב סדר התשובה, שיהיה בהדרגה להסב דרך ולא בפ"א, שאם כן יתבטל מכל וכל, וזהו שאמר], עכשיו, ויהי בשלח פרעה את העם, שהם אברי האדם שהיו עד עכשיו מוכנעין תחת יד פרעה, ועתה שלח את העם שהם אבריו לחירות, ולא נחם אלהים דרך ארץ פלשתים, כי יש בחינה הנקרא דרך, כי שם ס"ג ושם אהי"ה קס"א גימטריא דרך, אשר משם ניזונין אפילו הרשעים, כי עד שם אינו מגיע פגם וחטא בני אדם התחתונים, ועל זה נאמר (איוב ל"ה ו') אם תרשע מה תפעל לו, תשובה מהני, כי שם לא הגיע פגם החטא, אם חטא בזנות לא מתעורר שם רק בחינת אהבה, רק למטה עשה רשימות רעות על ידי חטאו, ובעושה תשובה עשה רשימות טובים וניתקן הכל, כי העלה המדרגות עד הבינה שהוא אהי"ה וכו', ואמר שיש בעמקות הזה דברים נפלאים והמשכיל יבין, וזהו שאמר הכתוב ולא נחם אלהים דרך ארץ פלשתים, כי מן הדרך הזה ארץ פלשתים שהם הקליפות גם כן ניזונין, ולא נחם דרך ההוא, כי קרוב הוא, ר"ל השכחה הנקרא פרעה קרוב הוא, ופן יראה בחינה זו הנקרא דרך על דרך הנ"ל, ויש מקום בזה וכו' ותיכף בהעלות על דעתו זה, אז קרוב לחזור אל פרעה שהוא השכחה, לכך ויסב וגו' ודפח"ח:
(תוי"י בשלח דנ"ג ע"ב והמוסגר הוא מכתר שם טוב ד"י ע"ג. שהעתיק מס' תוי"י דיבור הקודם לזה ע"ש).
And it was, when Pharaoh let the people go, that G‑d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, for it was near; for G‑d said: perhaps the people will lose heart when they see war, and return to Egypt. But G‑d led the people indirectly, by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea….” (Exodus 13:17-18)
When the masculine [letters] of the Tetragrammaton come first,1The four letters of the Tetragrammaton can be divided into two sets of two: the yud-hey correspond to the Sefiros of Chochmah and Binah, and the vav-hey correspond to Tiferes and Malchus. Chochmah is considered masculine in regards to Binah, as is Tiferes in relationship to Malchus. Kabbalah considers the masculine Sefiros to be the source of beneficence, whereas the feminine Sefiros, in as much as they create a vessel for containing spiritual downflow, are considered an expression of limitation and Judgment. Furthermore, the four letters of the Name can be arranged in twelve different patters. When the letters yud and vav come first, it symbolizes an abundance of Divine compassion; when the letters hey come first, it symbolizes an excess of din and concealment. The verse from Exodus, cited above, begins “Vayehi beshalach...” – וַיְהִי בְּשַׁלַּח . The letters of the first word contain the four letters of the Tetragrammaton, with the letters vav and yud coming first. the forces of Loving-kindness prevail; if not, forgetfulness rules, which is called “Pharaoh.”2The word “Pharaoh” shares the same letters as the word “oref” (neck), and the two concepts correspond. See Sefer Baal Shem Tov on the Torah, parashas Va’era 5764, footnote 6. For a human being is a microcosm, and has within him Pharaoh and Egypt. The verse, then, is teaching us the path of repentance; that it should be level after level – “indirectly” – and not all at once. For were that so, a person would be completely annihilated.3If a person’s repentance would bring him too quickly into high levels of perfection, his being would be annihilated. Thus, G‑d leads him on the path of repentance slowly, so that his being can grow as a whole. Thus it is written: “And it was, when Pharaoh let the people go” – these are the limbs of the body that were enslaved to Pharaoh til now. But now, he lets the people – the limbs – go out to freedom. “But G‑d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines” – for there is a [spiritual] concept called “way.” This is the [holy] Names S’ag and Ekiyeh Ka’sa,4The Name S’ag refers to the Tetragrammaton spelled out as follows: יוד די ואו די which has the numerical value of 63 (ס”ג). (The letter hey in the Name is written here with a dalet, so as not to unnecessarily write the Holy Name.) This corresponds to the world of Binah. Likewise, the name Ekiyeh, when spelled out as follows, corresponds to Binah: אלף די יוד די. It has the numerical value of 161 (קס”א). which have the numerical value of derech (“way”).5The word derech (דרך) has the numerical value of 224, equal to the two Divine Names Even the wicked draw sustenance from there, for it is unblemished by human sin, as it says: “If you sinned, what did you do against Him?” (Job 35:6).6The wicked draw benefit from this spiritual world because it is a source of pure beneficence. However, they do not receive this sustenance directly, but rather “behind the back,” as one would give to one’s enemy, indirectly. (See Sefer HaTanya, chap. 6). The Baal Shem Tov will explain below that were evil to receive a direct illumination from this world, it would become empowered more. For this reason, repentance helps, for the damage of sin does not reach there. [For instance,] a person who commits adultery arouses in the [upper] world the aspect of love.7As we have discussed elsewhere, immoral lusts are a fallen form of the pure love of G‑d. The higher one rises on the ladder of the worlds, the more the pure essence of any act is revealed, while the outward, impure manifestation falls away. Only in the world below do his sins have a bad effect. But when he repents, his deeds have a positive effect, and he repairs everything, for he uplifts the [lower] levels to Binah, which is Ekiyeh.
Thus, the verse says: “G‑d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines.” For from this “way,”8I.e., the way of direct repentance. the Land of the Philistine, the impure shells, also derive nourishment. G‑d did not lead them that way, “for it was near” – that is, it was near to forgetfulness, which is called Pharaoh, lest they see this aspect, which is called “way,” as we explained above… For as soon as they realize this, they come close to returning to Pharaoh, who is forgetfulness. Therefore, “God led the people indirectly…”9The Baal Shem Tov seems to be saying that if G‑d were to lead a person along a direct path of repentance, which means the revelation that at the root of all his sins – in the World of Binah – everything is in fact good, then the evil inclination– the Philistines, who also derive sustenance from that world – would be empowered, and cause a person to return again to Pharaoh – Forgetfulness.
Kesser Shem Tov 11010See also Toldos Yaakov Yosef, p. 53b.