What Does "This" Mean?

ByRabbi David Polsky

Pesach

שמות ט״ו:ב׳

(ב) עָזִּ֤י וְזִמְרָת֙ יָ֔הּ וַֽיְהִי־לִ֖י לִֽישׁוּעָ֑ה זֶ֤ה אֵלִי֙ וְאַנְוֵ֔הוּ אֱלֹהֵ֥י אָבִ֖י וַאֲרֹמְמֶֽנְהוּ׃

Exodus 15:2

(2) The LORD is my strength and might; He is become my deliverance. This is my God and I will enshrine Him; The God of my father, and I will exalt Him.

אבן עזרא על שמות ט״ו:ב׳:ג׳

(ג) ואנוהו. אושיבהו בנוה.

Ibn Ezra on Exodus 15:2:3

...

חזקוני, שמות ט״ו:ב׳

זה אלי. אע״‎פ שאין אדם רואה דבר יאמר עליו זה, כמו ״‎כי זה משה האיש״‎.

Chizkuni, Exodus 15:2

(1) עזי וזמרת יה, “my victory and my song is G-d;” (Onkelos) according to Rashi, the vocalisation of the word ozzi here is most unusual as it should have been uzzi. Rashi examined this song grammatically in great detail; [seeing that it is poetry and you my readers are mostly not experts in classical Hebrew grammar (neither is this editor), I omit most of these comments. Ed.] (2) ויהי לי לישועה, “He became my salvation.” Rashi explains that the expression ויהי should not raise any questions although we might have expected the word היה here for the past tense. He points out that we find similar constructions in Chronicles II 10,17, where we read about the kingdom of Yehudah having “appointed” Solomon’s son Rechavam as their king, and the word: וימלוך is used by the author, although the meaning is that Rechavam would continue to rule over the tribes of Yehudah and Binyamin as he had already been doing since his father Solomon had died and the country had not been split through the revolution which brought Jerovam to the throne of the ten remaining tribes. An almost identical verse is also found in Kings I 12,17. (3) זה אלי, “this is my G-d.” Moses refers to G-d with the word, “זה,” “this,” although G-d, is, of course, invisible, This maybe the reason why we find Moses described on occasion as "זה משה האיש,” [when after an absence on Mount Sinai of 40 days he had still not become visible again. (Compare Exodus 32,1)

רשב"ם על שמות ט״ו:ב׳:ג׳-ה׳

וארוממנהו ואנווהו - שניהם לשון כיבוד להקב"ה.

Rashbam on Exodus 15:2:3-5

(3) זה א-לי, even though G’d remained, of course, invisible to the human eye, it is order to describe the experience witnessed with the word זה, “this,” just as we find the word זה “this,” used by the Torah (describing an utterance by the people about to make the golden calf) in the line כי זה האיש משה, “for this man Moses, etc.” (Exodus 32,1) It is clear that they did not “see” Moses at the time, as the reason for what they were about to do was precisely Moses’ “invisibility,” i.e. he had not returned from the Mountain as promised. (4) ואנוהו, “I will describe His beauty in poetical terms.” We find something parallel to this in Jeremiah 6,2 הנוה והמעגנה, “the lovely and delicate one.” (a description of בת ציון, the concept of “Daughter of Zion.”) It is not to be compared to Isaiah 27,10 כי עיר בצורה בדד נוה משלח, “for the fortified city lies desolate, a homestead deserted, etc.” The proof lies in the repetition of the prophet’s theme at the end of his verse. [had he introduced a new thought, instead of the repetition of the same thought in different words, we could have erred in understanding his meaning. Ed.] (5) In our context both the words ארומממנה and אנוהו are clearly expressions of glorifying G’d.

תלמוד ירושלמי שקלים א׳:ד׳:ו׳

אָמַר רִבִּי מֵאִיר. כְּמִין מַטְבֵּעַ שֶׁלְאֵשׁ הוֹצִיא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִתַּחַת כִּסֵּא כְבוֹדוֹ וְהַרְאֲהוּ לְמֹשֶׁה. אְמַר לוֹ. זֶ֣ה ׀ יִתְּנ֗וּ. כָּזֶה יִתְּנוּ.

Jerusalem Talmud Shekalim 1:4:6

As Rabbi Meir said: When Moses was instructed in the halakhot of the shekel contribution, the Holy One, Blessed be He, took out a kind of coin of fire from under His Throne of Glory and showed it to Moses and said to him: “This they shall give” (Exodus 30:13), i.e., like this in volume and weight they shall give of metal. Since not all weights of coins are equal, and some coins might be slightly smaller than the one shown to Moses, it is therefore necessary by Torah law to add a premium.

מכילתא דרבי ישמעאל, מַסֶּכְתָּא דְפִסְחָא ב׳:א׳-ד׳

החדש הזה לכם ישמעאל אומר, משה הראה את החדש לישראל, ואמר להם כזה היו רואין וקובעין את החדש לדורות. ר' עקיבא אומר זה אחד משלשה דברים שנתקשה בהם משה והראהו המקום את כלן באצבע. כיוצא בדבר אתה אומר וזה לכם הטמא (ויקרא יא). וזה מעשה המנורה (במדבר ח) ויש אומרים אף בשחיטה נתקשה משה שנאמר וזה הדבר אשר תעשה (את) [על] המזבח (שמות כ״ט:א׳). ר' שמעון בר יוחאי אומר, והלא כל הדברים שנדבר עם משה, לא נדבר אלא ביום. החדש הזה הראהו בלילה. כיצד? היה מדבר עמו ביום והראהו החדש בלילה. ר' אלעזר או. רבי מר, נדבר עמו ביום עם חשכה והראהו החדש בחשכה.

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Pischa 2:1-4

(Exodus 12:2) "This month shall be to you the beginning of months": R. Yishmael says: Moses pointed out the new moon to Israel and said to them: Thus shall it (the moon) look and the new month be designated thereby for all generations. R. Akiva says: This is one of the three things which Moses could not visualize until they were pointed out to him by the L rd. Likewise, (Leviticus 11:29) "And this shall be unclean for you from among all the things that swarm upon the earth." (Likewise,) (Numbers 8:4) "And this is the work of the menorah." Others say: He was likewise perplexed as to slaughtering, viz. (Numbers 29:38) "And this is what you shall do upon the altar." R. Shimon b. Yochai says: Were not all of the mitzvoth spoken to Moses in the daytime? How, then, could he have pointed out the moon? R. Elazar says: He spoke with him just before it got dark and showed it to him when it got dark.

רש"י על שמות ט״ו:ב׳:ב׳

(ב) זה אלי. בִּכְבוֹדוֹ נִגְלָה עֲלֵיהֶם וְהָיוּ מַרְאִין אוֹתוֹ בְּאֶצְבַּע, רָאֲתָה שִׁפְחָה עַל הַיָּם מַה שֶּׁלֹּא רָאוּ נְבִיאִים (מכילתא):

Rashi on Exodus 15:2:2

(2) זה אלי THIS IS MY GOD — In His glory did He reveal Himself to them and they pointed to Him — as it were — with the finger exclaiming “This is my God!” (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 3:15) A maid servant beheld at the Red Sea what even the prophets never saw (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:2:2).

שבת קל״ג ב:א׳-ו׳

דְּתַנְיָא: ״זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ״, הִתְנָאֵה לְפָנָיו בְּמִצְוֹת: עֲשֵׂה לְפָנָיו סוּכָּה נָאָה, וְלוּלָב נָאֶה, וְשׁוֹפָר נָאֶה, צִיצִית נָאָה, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה נָאֶה, וְכָתוּב בּוֹ לִשְׁמוֹ בִּדְיוֹ נָאֶה, בְּקוּלְמוֹס נָאֶה, בְּלַבְלָר אוּמָּן, וְכוֹרְכוֹ בְּשִׁירָאִין נָאִין. אַבָּא שָׁאוּל אוֹמֵר: ״וְאַנְוֵהוּ״ — הֱוֵי דּוֹמֶה לוֹ, מָה הוּא חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם — אַף אַתָּה הֱיֵה חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם.

Shabbat 133b:1-6

GEMARA: The Gemara asks: Since the mishna is teaching all of them, i.e., enumerated all the requirements of circumcision, when the mishna added: One performs all the requirements of circumcision even on Shabbat, what did it come to include? The Gemara answers: It comes to include that which the Sages taught in a baraita: One who circumcises on Shabbat, as long as he is engaged in the circumcision, he may return and remove shreds of skin that were not cut properly. This is the ruling both for shreds of skin and flesh that invalidate the circumcision if they are not cut, i.e., the child is not considered circumcised if they remain, and for shreds that do not invalidate the circumcision if they are not cut. But if the circumcisor has withdrawn from engaging in the mitzva of circumcision, he may return for shreds that invalidate the circumcision if they were not cut, as the mitzva has not yet been properly performed, but he may not return for shreds that do not invalidate the circumcision if they are not cut. Consequently, when the mishna refers to all the requirements of circumcision, it means that as long as one is still involved in the act of circumcision, one may go back and remove even pieces of skin that do not invalidate the circumcision. With regard to this law, the Gemara asks: Who is the tanna who holds that if one has already withdrawn from a mitzva he may not return to engage in its performance? Which tanna asserts that as long as a person is involved in a mitzva whose performance overrides Shabbat, he may complete it; however, if he is no longer involved in the mitzva, he may not exceed the minimum requirements if doing so would desecrate Shabbat? Rabba bar bar Ḥana said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: It is Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka, as it was taught in a baraita: In a case of the fourteenth of Nisan, the day the Paschal lamb is sacrificed, that occurs on Shabbat, one flays the Paschal lamb until he exposes the breast, in order to remove the portions that are offered on the altar, but one does not flay anymore, as it is not necessary for the mitzva of the day; this is the statement of Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka. And the Rabbis say: One may even flay the entire hide. The Gemara raises a difficulty: From where do you draw this comparison? Perhaps Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka, only stated his opinion that one may do no more than the minimum requirement there, with regard to the Paschal lamb, because we do not need to fulfill the mitzva of: “This is my God and I will glorify Him” (Exodus 15:2). The manner in which the animal is flayed does not impact the mitzva of the sacrifice. However, here, with regard to circumcision, where we need to fulfill the mitzva of: “This is my God and I will glorify Him,” which requires performing the circumcision in a beautiful manner, indeed, Rabbi Yishmael would agree that the mitzva must be performed as aesthetically as possible. What is the source for the requirement of: “This is my God and I will glorify Him”? As it was taught in a baraita with regard to the verse: “This is my God and I will glorify Him [anveihu], the Lord of my father and I will raise Him up.” The Sages interpreted anveihu homiletically as linguistically related to noi, beauty, and interpreted the verse: Beautify yourself before Him in mitzvot. Even if one fulfills the mitzva by performing it simply, it is nonetheless proper to perform the mitzva as beautifully as possible. Make before Him a beautiful sukka, a beautiful lulav, a beautiful shofar, beautiful ritual fringes, beautiful parchment for a Torah scroll, and write in it in His name in beautiful ink, with a beautiful quill by an expert scribe, and wrap the scroll in beautiful silk fabric. Abba Shaul says: Ve’anveihu should be interpreted as if it were written in two words: Ani vaHu, me and Him [God]. Be similar, as it were, to Him, the Almighty: Just as He is compassionate and merciful, so too should you be compassionate and merciful. In any case, there is no proof from Rabbi Yishmael’s statement with regard to the Paschal lamb that he would say the same with regard to circumcision, as in that case, he might agree that fulfilling the mitzva beautifully justifies overriding Shabbat.

רש"י על שבת קל״ג ב:ו׳:א׳

הוי דומה לו - ולשון אנוהו אני והוא אעשה עצמי כמותו לדבק בדרכיו:

Rashi on Shabbat 133b:6:1

Be similar to him: And the expression, "I will adorn Him" (anvehu), [signifies], "I and He" (ani ve'Hu) - I will make myself like Him, to cling to His ways.

מכילתא דרבי ישמעאל, מַסֶּכְתָּא דְשִׁירָה ג׳:י׳-כ״א

ר' עקיבא אומר אדבר בנאותיו ובשבחיו של מי שאמר והיה העולם בפני כל אומות העולם שהרי אומות העולם שואלין את ישראל לומר מה דודך מדוד שככה השבעתנו (שה"ש ה) שכך אתם מתים עליו ובך /וכך/ אתם נהרגין עליו שנ' על כן עלמות אהבוך (שם א) אהבוך עד מות וכתיב כי עליך הורגנו כל היום (תהלים מד) הרי אתם נאים הרי אתם גבורים בואו והתערבו עמנו וישראל אומרים להם לאומות העולם מכירין אתם אותו נאמר לכם מקצת שבחו דודי צח ואדום דגול מרבבה (שה"ש ה) כיון ששומעין שכך שבחו אומרים לישראל נלכה עמכם שנ' אנה הולך דודך היפה בנשים אנה פנה דודך ונבקשנו עמך וישראל אומרים להם אין לכם חלק בו אלא דודי לי ואני לו וגו' (שם ב) אני לדודי ודודי לי הרועה בשושנים (שם ו),

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Shirah 3:10-21

R. Akiva says: "I shall speak of His beauty" — of the praise of the Holy One Blessed be He, who spoke and brought the world into being. The peoples of the world ask Israel (Song of Songs 5:9) "How is your Beloved (different) from the beloved (of all the other nations) that you have thus besworn us? (see Ibid. 8) that you thus die for Him and are thus murdered for Him, viz. (Ibid. 1:3) "alamoth have loved You" — they have loved You "al maveth" ("above death"), and (Psalms 44:23) "for over You we are slain all the day"? You are comely, you are strong. Come and join us. And Israel says to them: Do you know Him? Let us tell you part of His praise (Song of Songs 5:10) "My Beloved is white and ruddy, distinguished among legions." When they hear this, they say to Israel: Let us go with you, viz. (Ibid. 6:1) "Where did your Beloved go, you loveliest among the women? Whither has your Beloved turned? Let us seek Him with you." And Israel says to them (Ibid. 2:16) "My Beloved is mine, and I am His," and (Ibid. 6:3) "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine, who grazes His flock among the lilies."