"May terror and dread fall upon them"

Rashi explains the verse -- in the "Song of the Sea" --[212] "May terror and dread fall upon them [the Nations]" to mean: "May terror fall -- upon those who are distant; dread -- upon those who are close."[213]

Many commentators ask:[214] "Shouldn't it be the other way around -- 'terror upon those who are close; dread -- upon those who are distant,' inasmuch as fear falls first upon those who are close and then extends even unto those who are distant?"

The answer to this question lies in a closer understanding of the above verse: In the previous verses of the "Song of the Sea" it states:[215] "The nations heard it and trembled; pangs of fear gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chieftains of Edom were terrified; the mighty men of Moab were panic-stricken; all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away."

These verses are evidently describing a past state of affairs resulting from the Jewish people's crossing the Sea of Reeds: After the crossing -- with its attendant miracles -- "nations heard and trembled," "pangs of fear gripped," they were "terrified," "panic-stricken," and "melted away."

"May terror and dread fall upon them," however, speaks of the future; it is a prayer[216] or prophecy about the future. This is explicitly stated in the conclusion of the verse -- "until Your people pass over, O L-rd, until the people You acquired pass over." In other words, the Children of Israel prayed or prophesied that this terror and dread, emanating from the miracle of the crossing, continue until the Jewish people cross the Jordan and enter Eretz Yisrael.

In light of the above, we can well understand why Rashi explains that "terror" refers to "those who are distant": When the Jewish people were to traverse the Jordan, the status of those nations that are capable of hindering their entry to Eretz Yisrael is of greatest import. And these nations were at the time of the Exodus most "distant" from the crossing of the sea.

Thus, while when the Jewish people would actually be ready to enter the land, these currently "distant" nations would then not be distant at all from the Children of Israel, still, in the present context these nations are considered "distant." For the verse speaks here of the enduring terror that should befall the currently "distant" nations forty years hence.

This, then, was the prayer or prophecy of the Jews: that there remain imbedded within these currently distant nations the terror that befell them at the time of the crossing.

The order of the verse, "Terror -- upon those who are distant; dread -- upon those who are close," may also be understood in terms of man's spiritual service:

The battles waged by the Jewish people against the nations, alludes as well to the personal battles waged by each and every Jew against his seven evil emotive attributes that stem from his animal soul. In this battle the person seeks to dominate these emotive powers, that they be under the dominion of holiness.

Within these "nations" there exist two types: those who are "close" and those who are "distant." "Nations" that are "distant" from the Jewish people, refers to the type of illicit pleasures and desires that are naturally "distant" from the Jew -- a Jew by nature is repulsed by such desires. Merely, it is possible that a person's evil inclination overwhelms him, and having sunk into a plenitude of desires, he may eventually succumb -- Heaven forfend -- also to these gross, "distant" desires.[217]

"Those who are close," on the other hand, refers to those evil traits where the prospect of the person succumbing to them is nearer at hand. The main battle with one's evil inclination revolves around overcoming these "close" desires.

Our Sages teach us:[218] "Man's evil inclination gathers strength daily ... and if G-d did not help him he could not overcome it." G-d thus helps man overcome his evil inclination and vanquish it. This is implied by the verse when it states, "May terror and dread fall upon them" -- G-d makes terror and dread fall upon the evil inclination, that it not be able to overcome and dominate the Jew.

The order of "terror" falling first upon "those who are distant" and only then "dread" on those who are close," will be understood accordingly:

G-d's assistance is from the simple to the complex. First and foremost, G-d enables the person not to succumb to those illicit desire that are by nature distant from him. Afterwards, G-d assists the person to an even greater extent -- dread fall upon the evil inclination to such a degree that the evil inclination cannot make man succumb even to those pleasures and desires that he is more likely to fall prey to.

Ultimately, G-d enables man to entirely conquer his evil inclination and, moreover, transform this inclination into goodness. As our Sages say:[219] " '[And you shall love G-d] with all your heart' -- with both inclinations."

Based on Likkutei Sichos Vol. XXXVI, pp. 65-69.

   

Notes:

212. (Back to text) Shemos 15:16.

213. (Back to text) Ibid.

214. (Back to text) Sifsei Chachamim, Maskil l'David, B'eir BaSadeh on Rashi.

215. (Back to text) Shemos, ibid., verses 14-15.

216. (Back to text) Chizkuni, et al.

217. (Back to text) See Kuntres U'Mayon, Maamar II, et al.

218. (Back to text) Sukkah 52b; Kiddushin 30b.

219. (Back to text) Mishnah, beginning of the ninth chapter of Berachos.