Transcript

Just one more introductory comment before we come to the Ramban himself. Ramban very famously, the first time is at the end of Parshas Bo, but then he returns to this subsequently as well:

ואתה אמר לך כלל בטעם מצוות רבות. הנה מעת היות עבודת גילולים בעולם מימי אנוש החלו הדעות להשתבש באמונה. מהם כופרים בעיקר ואומרים כי העולם קדמון כחשו בה' ויאמרו לא הוא. מהם מכחישים בידיעתו הפרטית ואמרו איכה ידע אל ויש דעה בעליון. ומהם שיודו בידיעה ומכחישים בהשגחה ויעשו אדם כדגי הים שלא ישגיח האל בהם ואין עמהם עונש או שכר יאמרו עזב ה' את הארץ.

Ramban says there were three points of Rachmana litzlan of Rachmana litzlan denying Hakadosh Baruch Hu, atheism. There was one point of kefira which acknowledged Hakadosh Baruch Hu but said that it can't be that Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows about this changing world of ours, it's beneath Him to even know what's happening in the world. And then the third says, no, the third recognizes Hakadosh Baruch Hu and acknowledges His yediyah but says that Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't exercise any hashgacha, there's no schar ve'onesh. So those were the three schools of kefira, Rachmana litzlan. Continues the Ramban:

וכאשר ירצה האלקים בעדה או ביחיד ויעשה עמהם מופת בשינוי מנהגו של עולם וטבעו יתברר לכל ביטול הדעות האלה כולם. כי המופת הנפלא מורה שיש לעולם אלוה מחדשו ויודע ומשגיח ויכול. וכאשר יהיה המופת ההוא נגזר תחילה מפי נביא יתברר ממנו עוד אמיתת הנבואה כי ידבר אלקים את האדם ויגלה סודו אל עבדיו הנביאים ותתקיים עם זה התורה כולה.

Ramban says when Hakadosh Baruch Hu performs a miracle which overrides the laws of nature, and when that miracle for the benefit of an individual or people, and when that miracle, those miracles are foretold prophetically, so then this demonstrates all the foundations of Torah. The miracle means that the world has not always existed. It means Hakadosh Baruch Hu brought the world into existence, and because of that, He can override nature as He wills. He brought the world into existence voluntarily and because of that, as He wills, He can override the laws of nature. The fact that Hakadosh Baruch Hu performs the miracle, it's targeted: ומקנה בני ישראל לא מת אחד. The fact that the miracle is targeted and it benefits the Jews and it punishes the Mitzriyim demonstrates yediyah, hashgacha, it demonstrates ability. And the fact that it's foretold by Moshe Rabbeinu demonstrates nevuah.

ולכן יאמר הכתוב במופתים למען תדע כי אני ה' בקרב הארץ. ויאמר למען תדע כי לה' הארץ.

You should know about hashgacha, you should know about al hachidush.

כי הם שלושה באים מאין. בעבור תדע כי אין כמוני בכל הארץ. והורס על היכולת שהוא

hu shalit bakol.

כי בכל זה היו המצריים מכחישים או מסתפקים. אם כן האותות והמופתים הגדולים עדים נאמנים באמונת הבורא ובתורה כולה.

Then the Ramban goes on to say, since Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't respond to the brazenness of every kofer, so he doesn't perform such miracles in every generation, they're not a daily occurrence, so because of that we have so many mitzvos which are zecher l'yitzias Mitzrayim to make sure that the memory of these osos u-moftim. Okay, fine. And again, and he references, he comes back to this in aseres hadibros on anochi Hashem elokecha, so the Ramban writes

אמר אנכי ה' יורה ויצוה אותם שידעו ויאמינו כי יש ה' והוא אלקים להם.

So notice the double verb, right, yoreh ve-yitzaveh. So the Ramban here is implicitly, the Ramban wrote very, very bikitzur, as did many rishonim, very, very bikitzur even amongst that as did all rishonim, but even amongst the rishonim so he was a mikatzer amongst mikatzerim. The Ramban here is fore-answering the kasha of why is it that anochi Hashem elokecha given that chazal tell us in maseches horayos which the Ramban begins with הדיבור הזה מצוות עשה, so why don't you find a lashon of an imperative? Why doesn't the Torah say da or de'u ki anochi Hashem elokecha? Rov de'rov mitzvos you find an imperative associated with ba'erev to'chlu matzos. It's not you don't just say that matzos are on the table for consumption. The Torah says ba'erev to'chlu matzos. So why don't we have something comparable here? So the Ramban says no, because the point is that this is the Torah wants us to recognize that this is not only mitzva but it's also hora'ah, it's also telling us how to arrive at that belief, yoreh ve-yitzaveh. And the fact that it's again that it's more than a mitzva is what the Torah is calling attention to by not using the imperative.

יורה ויצוה אותם שידעו ויאמינו כי יש ה' והוא אלקים להם כלומר הוה קדמון מאתו היה הכל בחפץ ויכולת.

You have to know with certitude that there's a Ribbono Shel Olam. What does it mean a Ribbono Shel Olam? Someone who always exists, from whom everything emanated voluntarily because of His omnipotence and that He's sovereign over us and that we have to serve Him and no one or anything else. ואמר אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים כי הוצאתם משם because the whole all the events involved in yetzias mitzrayim Torah, it indicates, it teaches על המציאות ועל החפץ and he'll say the same thing that he explained at the end of parshas bo. And again in parshas va'eschanan and elsewhere in the kisvei Ramban keseder. If you have a Rambam take a look in perek ches of hilchos yesodei hatorah.

משה רבינו לא האמינו בו ישראל מפני האותות שעשה שהמאמין על פי האותות יש בלבו דופי שאפשר שיעשה האות בלט וכישוף אבל כל האותות שעשה משה במדבר לפי הצורך עשאם ולא להביא ראיה על הנבואה. צריך להשקיע את המצרים קרע את הים וציללם בו.

Tzarchenu le-mazon הוריד לנו את המן. Tzame'u

בקע להם את האבן. כפרו בו עדת קרח בלעה אותם הארץ וכן שאר כל האותות ובמה האמינו בו במעמד הר סיני שעינינו ראו ולא זר ואזנינו שמעו ולא אחר האש והקולות והלפידים והוא ניגש אל הערפל והקול מדבר אליו ואנו שומעים משה משה לך אמור להם כך וכך וכן הוא אומר פנים בפנים דיבר ה' עמכם ונאמר לא את אבותינו כרת ה' את הברית הזאת. מניין שבמעמד הר סיני לבדו היא הראיה לנבואתו שהיא אמת שאין בו דופי שנאמר הנה אנכי בא אליך בעב הענן בעבור ישמע העם בדברי עמך וגם בך יאמינו לעולם מכל שקודם דבר זה לא האמינו בו נאמנות שהיא עומדת לעולם אלא נאמנות שיש אחריה הרהור ומחשבה.

Says the Rambam you can't rely on miracles as a basis for belief because it could be no matter how seemingly convincing and overwhelming you can't really know that it's for real, can't know that it's for real. The peshat is that the Rambam here is it's part of his general approach that there's no such thing as when he says אפשר שעשה בכישוף and kishuf isn't real. Right, the Rambam writes in the peirush hamishnayos in Sanhedrin that that it's just optical illusions v'chayotzei bo ze. That's what the Rambam says, you can't rely on miracles. If a person's belief is based on miracles, so then there's always going to be an element of doubt. He's never going to be convinced of it. And again, this is what we spoke about last time and emuna is supposed to be a hundred percent. That's what the Torah says is possible and that's what a person is supposed to cultivate. So what is the basis for vaddoos then? Because the experience of nevuah and on whatever level or whatever is the correct way of describing all of Klal Yisrael's experience at Ma'amad Har Sinai, the authenticity of that experience is unquestionable. A navi who has a nevuah, so once again initially, I suppose when Shmuel hears the voice, so he's not yet having the nevuah. So he doesn't know what it is. Eli has to tell him that it's a prelude to nevuah. But when the nevuah itself happens, so it's something which is unmistakable. Something again, of course if someone's mentally ill, so he can hallucinate, but a normal healthy person, so nevuah is something which is unmistakable, a person knows the truth of what he's experiencing. And that's also true for again, however is the correct way to classify the experience and the level that all of Klal Yisrael was at at Ma'amad Har Sinai. So that, that again was an experience whose veracity is unimpeachable. And we, again, we collectively, millions of people, were eidim to Hakadosh Baruch Hu's deputizing Moshe Rabbeinu, appointing Moshe Rabbeinu as the go-between. So that's the basis for emuna. So that's the famous, famous Rambam. And that's his, that's the way he answers the kasha that you find in Parshas Shemos vaya'amen ha'am. You find again by Shiras Hayam ויאמינו בה' ובמשה עבדו, so what's nischadesh over here? v'gam becha ya'aminu. What's nischadesh? The Rambam says no look וגם בך יאמינו לעולם. What's nischadesh is that even by Shiras Hayam, it doesn't say vaya'aminu an emuna which could and would endure. The Rambam says when you read it a little bit more carefully, so it's not so simple what the Rambam is telling us. So on the one hand he's telling us very clearly המאמין על פי אותות יש בלבו דופי. You can't believe a hundred percent if the emuna is rooted in miracles because maybe it's not what it seems to be, maybe it's not what it seems to be. But on the other hand, let's reread the beginning of the halacha.

משה רבנו לא האמינו בו ישראל מפני האותות שעשה שהמאמין על פי אותות יש בלבו דופי שאפשר שיעשה האות בלט וכישוף אלא כל האותות שעשה משה במדבר לפי הצורך עשאן.

So the lashon of the Rambam is meduyak and Rav Moshe Shapiro zichrono livracha in his hakdama to his sefer on the Yud Gimmel Ikkarim calls attention to this lashon haRambam. The Rambam says that all the osos in the midbar were just to respond to need, they weren't there as demonstrations of emuna. They were there again

לצורך להשקיע את המצרים קרע את הים וטיבעם בו, צרכנו למזון הוריד לנו את המן.

But the Rambam clearly says bamidbar, beginning with Krias Yam Suf, clearly, clearly. implying that the miracles in Mitzrayim takeh were intended as demonstrations of emuna. But how does that work? The Rambam, again, the reason the Rambam has to concede that is the psukim say it. How the the psukim say it and he's also going to agree with the Ramban. Why is zecher yitzias mitzrayim such a fundamental fundamental inyan? So how does all this work? So on the one hand the Rambam is telling you מאמין על פי אותות is you you can't have certitude. It's going to be yesh belibo dofi. And me'idach gisa and but that only dismisses that none of the miracles in the midbar from krias yam suf on were were designed to demonstrate emuna. Clearly, clearly the Ramban and the Ramban quotes psukim. So so obviously the למען תדע כי אני ה' בקרב הארץ. In the beginning of Parshas Bo,

למען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך את אשר התעללתי במצרים.

So so there's a gvalitge peshat in the Rambam on chumash. It's unbelievable. So the peshat is as follows: The Ramban says, the Ramban says, אנכי ה' אלוקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים מבית עבדים, yoreh veyatzav for אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים is a raayah, is a demonstration for Anochi Hashem Elokecha. The Ramban thinks no, the Ramban thinks if if the miracle is overwhelming enough it can it can be compelling, it can be the the basis for for emuna. That's clearly what the Ramban thinks. The Rambam says the peshat is azoy. The Rambam says Anochi Hashem Elokecha, right now again you're all experiencing something, again what exactly how how we should classify what Klal Yisrael is experiencing is is its own its own parsha but right now you're all experiencing again this this authentic unimpeachable unquestionable experience you're all having so you know based on that Anochi Hashem Elokecha. Now I'm telling you that what you saw in Mitzrayim was not laat veshkishuf. I'm telling you you want to know now with certitude what happened in Mitzrayim. Until now you were 99% sure that what happened in Mitzrayim has to be has to be proof of the Borei Olam but lemaaseh correctly, correctly you weren't 100% sure. So it's not if you want to know Anochi Hashem Elokecha, look look to hotza'a me'eretz mitzrayim. It's farker. If you want to know what happened in Eretz Mitzrayim, so now by Maamad Har Sinai you can understand what was happening in Mitzrayim. You hear the vort? That's how the Rambam learns the pasuk. Anochi Hashem Elokecha, Anochi Hashem Elokecha and now now that's megaleh on everything that happened in Mitzrayim. So kumt ois that once you get to Maamad Har Sinai you can and should and it's a mitzvah to look back at the eser makos as demonstrations not of metzias haborei. That's circular. It's unnecessary because the miracles in Mitzrayim only become only become sources and demonstrations of emuna in light of Maamad Har Sinai, in light of the Anochi Hashem Elokecha. But once you have the Anochi Hashem Elokecha so now you can know bevadayus what was going on in Mitzrayim. You can now know bevadayus Asher hotzeisicha. So now in light of this again unquestionable unimpeachable experience of Maamad Har Sinai, so you now know and that's why למען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך. They takeh were intended as demonstrations of emuna, as demonstrations of emuna ledoros, but not of metzias Hashem. That's why if you look when the Rambam talks about his taamei mitzvos and he talks about remembering the nisei Mitzrayim, he very conspicuously says that they prove sachar va'onesh and he very conspicuously doesn't say that they prove metzias Hashem. Klor that that's the that's the peshat in in the Rambam. You mean the Rambam like Hakadosh Baruch Hu didn't do these nissim in the midbar meaning according to this we're classifying nissim in Mitzrayim as there was a specific purpose in saying that these nissim were going to be different because before Maamad Har Sinai I would classify them all the same way because like meaning without Maamad Har Sinai I would have said like they could have gone well no because you still have to explain you're right based on what's been said so far yes but but no because So the shailah would be like this. The shailah is and the Rambam paskens when he talks about how you know the nisei Mitzrayim were intended as demonstrations of emunah and to remain as such ledoros, so he, he doesn't quote any of the Ramban's psukim. He doesn't quote

למען תדע כי אני השם, כי אני השם בקרב הארץ,

ein kamocha va'elohim, he doesn't quote that. He quotes the pasuk in the beginning of Parshas Bo of

למען תספר באזני בנך. ויאמר השם אל משה בא אל פרעה כי אני הכבדתי את לבו ואת לב עבדיו למען שתי אתתי אלה בקרבו. ולמען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך את אשר התעללתי במצרים ואת אתתי אשר שמתי בם וידעתם כי אני השם.

So for the Rambam, he quotes davka that pasuk because again in future doros, למען תספר באזני בנך, be'oznei bincha, after Maamad Har Sinai, you'll look back on all these miracles and these miracles are going to prove sachar va'onesh and it's going to prove Hakadosh Baruch Hu. If a person rachmana litzlan sins egregiously enough, Hakadosh Baruch Hu departs on his bechirah vechulu vechulu. So he davka quotes that pasuk. So what's pshat in the psukim when למען תדע כי אני השם when Moshe Rabbeinu delivers that message to Paroh? So lechora you have to say either or both of two things. Either, again, leaving a midrash aside, so the pshat is that Paroh also drowns in Yam Suf. So Paroh is not going to live to Maamad Har Sinai. He's not going to be around for Maamad Har Sinai. So for Paroh, takka this is going to be, this is as far as you're going to get in terms of the ein hachi nami. So maybe he'll have a, I don't know whether he'll have a libo dofi, he won't have the libo dofi, but he's not going to live. So for you, Paroh, takka this is going to be, this is as far as you're going to get because you're not going to be there for Maamad Har Sinai and then be able to look back in retrospect and have it a hundred percent. That's one. B, could be also that maybe what it means is Paroh believes in the kishuf. So for him it's takka, for him it's leshitaso it would... okay, but you can see that's a little bit, I mean that is correct but whether or not that's the answer is not... and then behemshech the Rambam says it, and we'll see in a minute it's also lechora mefurash in a pasuk, but behemshech the Rambam says it.

וזהו שאמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא בתחלת נבואתו בעת שנתן לו האותות לעשותם במצרים ואמר לו ושמעו לקולך. ידע משה רבנו שכל המאמין על פי האותות יש בלבו דופי ומהרהר ומחשב.

And Moshe Rabbeinu knew that you can't have certitude says the Rambam based on osos.

ונשמר מלילך ואמר והן לא יאמינו לי עד שהודיעו הקדוש ברוך הוא שאלו האותות אינן אלא עד שיצאו ממצרים. ואחר שיצאו ויעמדו על ההר הזה יסתלק ההרהור שמהרהרין אחריך שאני נותן לך כאן אות שידעו שאני שלחתיך באמת מתחילה ולא ישאר בלבם הרהור.

So the Rambam says mefurash that what Maamad Har Sinai is going to do is not just going to be megaleh mikan ul'haba, that Maamad Har Sinai was also intended as a retrospective, retrospective on what had happened earlier, right? שידעו שאני שלחתיך באמת מתחילה, and then everything. About which there's going to be an element of hirhur, of yesh belibom dofi, that will be nistallek because they will be able to look at, look back at the nisei Mitzrayim through the lens of Ma'amad Har Sinai. שידעו שאני שלחתיך באמת מתחילה. לכן אמור לבני ישראל and again at the beginning of V'aeira,

לכן אמור לבני ישראל אני ה' והוצאתי אתכם מתחת סבלות מצרים והצלתי אתכם מעבודתם וגאלתי אתכם בזרוע נטויה ובשפטים גדולים ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם והייתי לכם לאלוקים וידעתם כי אני ה' אלוקיכם המוציא אתכם מתחת סבלות מצרים.

The Gemara in Brachos on daf mem-chess has a machlokes of the Chachamim and Rabbi Nechemya what the matbei'a habracha is for bread. So, Tanu Rabbanan: mahu omer? המוציא לחם מן הארץ. Rabbi Nechemya omer: מוציא לחם מן הארץ. Amar Rava: כולי עלמא לא פליגי. Amar Rava, the motzi כולי עלמא לא פליגי de'afik mashma. The connotation that you want to have when you make a bracha is a past connotation. You want that the mashma'us in the bracha should be past. So everyone agrees that if we were to say motzi lechem min ha'aretz without the hei, that it's de'afik mashma, past mashma, dechsiv: Keil motzi'am miMitzrayim. So this is where that's in Parshas Balak, long after Yetzias Mitzrayim. Ki pligi bahamotzi. The machlokes of the Rabbanan and Rabbi Nechemya is what's the mashma'us when you have the hei. Rabbanan savri: hamotzi also de'afik mashma, also has a past connotation, dechsiv:

המוציא לך מים מצור החלמיש. ורבי נחמיה סבר בהמוציא דמפיק משמע.

Rabbi Nechemya says that hamotzi has a present connotation and he quotes our pasuk of

וידעתם כי אני ה' אלוקיכם המוציא אתכם מתחת סבלות מצרים.

VeRabbanan, listen to this, listen to what the Gemara says, veRabbanan ההוא הכי קאמר להו Kudsha Brich Hu לישראל כד מפיקנא לכו עבידנא לכו מילתא ki heichi deyadisu

דאנא הוא דאפיקית יתכון ממצרים דכתיב וידעתם כי אני ה' אלוקיכם המוציא.

So the Gemara says, you know what the pshat in the pasuk is? The pshat in the pasuk is like this. לכן אמור לבני ישראל אני ה' והוצאתי אתכם. I'm going to take out of Mitzrayim.

והצלתי אתכם מעבודתם וגאלתי אתכם בזרוע נטויה ובשפטים גדולים ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם והייתי לכם לאלוקים וידעתם.

You will know כי אני ה' אלוקיכם לא מי שמפיק אתכם. No, hamotzi is also de'afik mashma. You will now know וידעתם כי אני ה' אלוקיכם המוציא that I was the one who took you out of Mitzrayim. So that's why the Rabbanan say hamotzi is also de'afik mashma. So you hear that? So it's mamash, so the Rambam's whole shtickle Torah is right here in the psukim. Why? Because what does it say in the psukim? Again, ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם happens when, rabbosai? When does ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם happen? But ultimately, Ma'amad Har Sinai. ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש, right? That's when that's when the bris is formed.

והוצאתי אתכם מתחת סבלות מצרים והצלתי אתכם מעבודתם וגאלתי אתכם בזרוע נטויה ובשפטים גדולים ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם והייתי לכם לאלוקים.

You'll have Ma'amad Har Sinai and then, and now, now you'll only first know. Often posuk. That's a total meforesh posuk. Okay, so good. Okay, so that's an important perspective in terms of the role of the nissim and nifla'os in terms of yesodas ha'emunah. The difference, everyone obviously agrees that it has a role to play. That's what the psukim talk about, lema'an tesaper. But that's a crucial difference between the Rambam and the and the Ramban. Okay, so maybe we'll actually begin with the first of the Ikkarim, b'ezras Hashem. Ha'yesod Harishon, Metzius Haboreh Yisborach. The first of the yud-gimmel Ikkarim is the existence of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. One of the, when you, one of the challenges is to find out, figure out how the Rambam decides to, how he selected which of the various kinuyim to refer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is different, different kinuyim in different contexts. Sometimes it's as Haboreh, as he does here again, relying on the translation. So lichora, the, at least in this context, the pshat, is he could have said Metzius Hashem and and used one of the shem Havayah or shem Elokim. So the pashitus is that again we're not referring to miracles now, but whether it's Ma'amad Har Sinai or whether it's logical proof, so we know of Hakadosh Baruch Hu from the world. So we know of Hakadosh Baruch Hu as Haboreh. That's our discovery of Hakadosh Baruch Hu is, we don't know Hakadosh Baruch Hu whether through Ma'amad Har Sinai or whether through what the Rambam describes in Perek Aleph of Yesodei HaTorah

המצוי הזה הוא אלוקי עולם אדון כל הארץ והוא המנהיג הגלגל בכח שאין לו קץ ותכלית בכוח שאין לו הפסק שהגלגל סובב תמיד ואי אפשר שיסוב בלא מסבב והוא ברוך הוא המסבב אותו בלא יד ובלא גוף.

So we know Hakadosh Baruch Hu from the world. So that's what the Rambam's hinting at in terms of that, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu in his capacity as Haboreh. That's gufeh how we how we can attain this knowledge. Metzius Haboreh Yisborach, vehu, שיש שם מצוי בשלימות ביותר שבכל מיני המציאות. All the times when one thinks that things are said which it's assur to repeat when when when people instead of legitimately humbly asking a question what's pshat brazenly is the difference between asking a question and questioning. Asking a question is person asks a question. Questioning obviously has a very different connotation. When when a person rachmana litzlan when questions something in the Torah, a mitzvah in the Torah, whatever a din in the Torah, a value system in the Torah and and with the insinuation if not the explicit kefira of saying that it's that it's it's whatever fill in the rest of the sentence. It's divrei kefira that whatever one has to repeat it to make it clear so one has no choice than giving eidus and dibbur and and in those instances but otherwise one doesn't want to. So that's that's not what we believe. We believe in a Ribbono Shel Olam who's מצוי בשלימות ביותר מכל פני המציאות. We believe in a Ribbono Shel Olam who's perfect. And if Ribbono Shel Olam is perfect, His Torah is perfect. In with our imperfections and the very puny finite intelligence, so maybe there are things that not maybe avada there are things that that we don't fully understand. Hatzur tamim po’olo. Hatzur tamim po’olo. It's it's there's a tendency, there's a tendency if if if a person is rachmana litzlan self-centered enough, so a person lowers even contemporary gedolim to his or her own level. And then a person lowers the gedolei Torah of earlier generations onto onto his or her own level. And ultimately, ultimately, instead of trying to aspire to realize the potential in being b'tzelem Elokim, so people project themselves onto onto the Ribbono Shel Olam. The exact opposite of what it's supposed to be. A person is supposed to live his whole life. Rambam writes tzelem Elokim is is a potential to be realized. It's it's a capacity, but then a person has to exercise that capacity to to become a tzelem Elokim. And instead, so we lower everything to to our level. We lower everything to our level. The katnus hamochin that we have and all the pettiness that dominates our lives, so we project that onto chachamim, onto gedolim and Shlomo Hamelech says עקב ענוה יראת ה'. עקב ענוה יראת ה'. A person has enough ga’avah so no one, no one knows better than than he or she does. Even Ribbono Shel Olam doesn't know better. And mamash from mamash sees it bechush ba'avonoseinu harabbim. Enough ga’avah so even Ribbono Shel Olam doesn't know better than than the ba'al ga’avah.

שיש שם מצוי בשלימות ביותר מכל פני המציאות והוא עילת מציאות הנמצאים כולם ובו קיום מציאותם וממנו השמדת קיומם.

So here the Rambam is... telling us something again, this is nothing idiosyncratic to the Rambam in any of what we're talking about, not in this, not in the previous, previous things. But the Rambam here is underscoring the following. He does it in the Yad also.

יסוד היסודות ועמוד החכמות לידע שיש שם מצוי ראשון והוא ממציא כל הנמצא.

So the Rav used to underscore the fact that the Rambam writes in the present tense והוא ממציא כל הנמצא. He doesn't say והוא המציא כל הנמצא. He doesn't say that Hakadosh Baruch Hu brought into existence everything that exists. He says that Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives existence to everything that exists. Hakadosh Baruch Hu sustains everything, everything that exists. It's again, this is nothing idiosyncratic about the Rambam. It's a yesod gadol in terms of our belief that ein od milvado means that only Hakadosh Baruch Hu truly exists. And everything else in a parasitical sense feeds off of Hakadosh Baruch Hu's existence. It's not that Hakadosh Baruch Hu endowed us with existence and having been thusly endowed, so we're able to exist. No, every moment, everything feeds off of Hakadosh Baruch Hu's existence. That's what it means that בו קיום מציאותם וממנו התמדת קיומם. That everything that exists exists through him and umimenu, and from him hasmadas kiyumam, the ongoing existence is from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It's mamtzi kol nimtza. That's what Rav Schachter explains. It's so striking that it's a phrase that we repeat within the same beracha המחדש בטובו בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית. That's what it means. What does it mean that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is mechadesh? It means that the world doesn't just exist by inertia, but that Hakadosh Baruch Hu every moment, every millisecond, whatever, however the smallest unit that a person can think of in those terms, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is renewing the beriah because nothing exists on its own. That's what the Rambam means both here in Peirush Hamishnayos when he says ואילו יכולנו לשער סילוק מציאותו. That's why the Rambam says engage in this thought experiment. He says a contrapositive conditional, right? ואילו יכולנו לשער סילוק מציאותו. If you could have imagined that Hakadosh Baruch Hu didn't exist, היתה בטלה מציאות כל נמצא. Meaning if you could imagine that rachmana litzlan, not that Hakadosh Baruch Hu never existed but you could imagine, no, he existed but if you could have imagined that, so then you would recognize, you would understand that היתה בטלה מציאות כל נמצא because it's not the pshat that 5,777 years ago Hakadosh Baruch Hu endowed us with existence and now the world has gained this independent existence. No, it's בו קיום מציאותם וממנו התמדת קיומם and that's why the Rambam to make sure that we fully understand what's intended, is why the Rambam has us engage in that thought experiment. He does the same thing in the Yad as well.

אם יעלה על הדעת שהוא אינו מצוי אין דבר אחר יכול להימצאות.

Even if it had been brought into existence, it couldn't because we don't exist independently. It's not the pshat that we now exist independently but we're ba'alei chov to Hakadosh Baruch Hu for having infused that metzius into us. No. Ein od milvado. The only metzius is metzius Hashem and we feed off of that. You imagine again, obviously there can't be any good mashal for it, but if you imagine, if you think of the functioning of an electrical appliance, so the functioning of an electrical appliance is always, if you think of our existence as the functioning of an electrical appliance, so it's always dependent upon the generator, it's always dependent upon the charge which is stored in the battery. There's no such thing as the fan ever functioning independently. There's no such thing as the air conditioning functioning independently. It's always feeding off of that charge which comes from the generator or is stored in the battery. I think the ספר הבעל שם טוב, Hakadosh, the בעל שם טוב הקדוש says that's what it means לעולם ה' דברך נצב בשמים that thy word Hakadosh Baruch Hu is always standing bashamayim. So what does that mean? So בעשרה מאמרות נברא העולם. So the point is that that's something which is ongoing. That that ma'amar, that which brings the world into existence, that ma'amar is still there. That ma'amar is still reverberating. Again, the same point that it's not that Hakadosh Baruch Hu infused anything, anyone with its own existence but it's בו קיום מציאותם וממנו התמדת קיומם. And maybe we'll pick up from there next week.