Glossary of Terms Used in the BeShalach Weekly Torah Portion

Philistines

“Philistines” are our egoistic desires. Even after we escape the rule of the will to receive, they are still connected to bestowal. It is called “bestowing in order to receive.” When we give, we reach out to others. But when we begin to give, we see that we can also gain by it. Therefore, we must rise above the desires found outside the boundaries of Egypt, as well, though the correction in them is different from the one that took place in Egypt.

We could not discover these desires while in Egypt because we were “buried” under our egos. When we emerge from the ego, we see how it pulled all of us through the forty years in the desert, and even afterward, in the land of Israel, when we conquered the land.

The Song of the Sea

The “Song of the Sea” is thanksgiving. It is gratitude for crossing the border, never to return to Egypt. At times we might cry over the past, as in this portion, but there is no way back. We make the final exit from Egypt. After the escape, we begin to feel the spiritual world and not just the existence of this world, and this feeling induces an outburst of joy.

MAN

MAN is Mey Nukvin (Aramaic: female water). It is the will to receive wanting to rise to the level of Bina. When we feel that we can and must bestow in these desires, we ask that it will happen. Thus we need the help of the upper force to make it happen, and then the force will appear from above.

When we begin to use this force, it fills us with bestowal upon others, and this is called “eating manna.” But in this world, we will never feel this way because in this world we are fulfilled by reception, while in the spiritual world we are fulfilled by bestowal.