THE LORD SAID TO MOSES,

"STRETCH FORTH YOUR HAND OVER THE LAND OF EGYPT FOR THE LOCUSTS, AND THEY

WILL ASCEND OVER THE LAND OF EGYPT, AND THEY WILL EAT ALL THE VEGETATION OF THE

EARTH, ALL THAT THE HAIL HAS LEFT OVER." SO MOSES STRETCHED FORTH HIS

STAFF OVER THE LAND OF EGYPT, AND THE LORD LED AN EAST WIND IN THE LAND ALL

THAT DAY AND ALL THE NIGHT. [BY THE TIME] IT WAS MORNING,

THE EAST WIND HAD BORNE THE LOCUSTS.

(Shemot 10:12-13)

The Lord said to Moses,

"Stretch forth your hand". Why did He bring the locusts upon them? Because they had made Israel sowers of wheat and barley; hence did He bring the locusts

which devoured all that the Israelites had sown for them.

So Moses stretched forth

his staff – Why did God

fix a time for the plagues-to-morrow, and not bring them at once? So that they might feel remorse and do penitence.

The locusts ascended over

hastened to summon Moses and Aaron… What is the meaning of: I have sinned against the Lord your God and against

you? I have sinned against the Lord your God by not setting Israel free, and against you by driving you out from my

presence. Also, because I intended to curse you when I said: "So

be the Lord with you." But now, forgive now my sin… So he

(Shemot Rabbah 13:6, based on Soncino translation)

A Trial for All Generations!

Shlomo Fox

One

of the descriptions of the Hurban [destruction

of Jerusalem and the Temple] tells of how the daughter of Nakdimon

ben Gorion lost all of her

property during that catastrophe. She went off to search for food in the

excrement of animals, and in the course of her search she conversed with Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai.

The Talmud (Ketuvot 66b-67a) attempts to contend with the injustice of her punishment:

Did

not Nakdimon b. Gorion, however, practice charity? Surely it was

taught: It was said of Nakdimon b.Gorion

that, when he walked from his house to the house of study, woolen clothes were spread

beneath his feet and the poor followed behind him and rolled them up!

If

you wish I might reply: He did it for his own glorification.

And

if you prefer I might reply: He did not act as he should have done, as people

say, "In accordance with the camel is the burden." (Soncino

translation)

The

from this story and writes:

Many

in the present generation gather their wealth unfaithfully and by desecrating

the Name, such as by robbing gentiles and latter contributing some of that

money in order that they might be honored each year and receive the Mi shebeirakh blessing, granting them fame and glory, but

has no endurance [literally, "salt"] or permanence.

It

would appear that that this week's parasha offers an

explanation of the practice of those "many" people. The parasha opens by stating that the King of Egypt's freewill

was taken from him, and that God was tormenting Egypt: The Lord said

these signs of Mine in his midst… Later, a kind

of discrimination is described: But to all the children of Israel, not one dog will whet its tongue against

between the Egyptians and between Israel (Shemot 11:7). This involved exploitation and

deception; the Israelites borrowed goods without intending to return them: And the children of Israel did according to

Egyptians, and they lent them, and they exploited Egypt (Shemot 12:35-36).

Why

is the redemption from Egypt described in this fashion? Is this the way to

leave slavery for freedom? Are we supposed to learn from the Exodus story and

behave that way today, in accordance with the dictum, "The acts of the

fathers are a sign for the children"?

I

propose to deal with these questions by way of a symbolic reading.

Our parasha says: This month shall be to you the head

of the months; to you it shall be the first of the months of the year (Shemot 12:2).

Rashi, following

the midrash, explains: "This – Moses found difficulty [determining] the [precise moment of the]

renewal of the moon, in what size it should appear before it is fit for

sanctification. So He showed him with His finger the moon in the sky and said

to him, "You must see one [a moon] like this and sanctify [the month]"

(Judaica Press translation).

Rabbi

Akiva made a famous comment on the verse,

are My appointed [holy days] (Vayikra 23:2). He

read the phrase asher

tikre'u otam mikra'ei kodesh [that you

shall designate as holy occasions] as asher

tikre'u atem mikra'ei kodesh [that you

yourselves shall designate as holy occasions], the word otam

["them"] replaced by atem ["you"]:

He (Rabbi

Akiva) then said to him (Rabbi Yehoshua):

The text says, you [atem] (Vayikra

23:2), you (23:4), you (23:37), three times, to indicate that you [may fix the festivals] even

if you err inadvertently, you, even if you err deliberately, you,

even if you are misled. He replied to him in these words: "Akiva, you have comforted me, you have comforted me." (Rosh HaShanah 25a, Soncino

translation)

According

to R. Akiva, God points to the moon and says, "You

must see one like this and sanctify," and his meaning is that you

will decide when and why the month is to be sanctified, that is to say "Sanctify

it!" – it is your job to interpret the command, that is to say, "You

must see one like this and create something new!" [Translator's note –

hadesh, "make new" a play on the

word kadesh, "sanctify"].

In

this spirit I shall attempt to understand what is to be learned from the

essence of torment [of Egypt] via an understanding of the essence of the Ten

Plagues.

The parasha begins with plagues: locust, darkness, and the

death of the firstborn. Famously, R. Yehudah invented

an acronym for the plagues: DeTzaKh, ADaSh, B'AHaV.

The Rebbi from Slonim (Netivot

Shalom, parashat Va'era) asks: What did R. Yehudah

add with these acronyms? He explains: the Ten Plagues were divided into three

categories – below the ground, on the ground, and above the ground in the air

and sky.

Pharaoh

rejected God's existence, and said, I did not know

the Lord. Therefore God showed Pharaoh His existence in the three different

parts of Creation via Ten Plagues, in order to show Pharaoh that his own human kingdom

was limited like a human being.

The

Ten Plagues are a foundation for faith, and Israel was redeemed from Egypt by

faith's merit. There are three levels of faith: the mind's belief, i.e. that a

person rationally understand that there is no other but Him; above that is the

faith of the heart, when the mind's belief is also felt by the heart's

emotions, and above that the faith of the limbs, when even the limbs feel that

the Creator is aware of all human thoughts and deeds. The plagues in Egypt were

not intended to affect the Egyptians, but rather to establish Israel's

belief.

The Rebbe from Slonim builds upon the

Ba'al Shem Tov's question

(as reported by his grandson in his book Degel

Mahane Efrayim): "It

is very surprising that God would produce all the signs and wonders…so that

the Egyptians would know that I am the Lord, and explains: ‘In my humble

opinion it plainly seems that in truth it refers to Israel, to those who are "of

the aspect of Egypt," who perform Egyptian practices. All of their

deeds are false; all of their worship of God is all false…'"

That

is to say: the plagues were designed symbolically to help people clarify the

truths of their lives' meaning, beginning with desires and then on to emotion,

and finally to the mind.

This

line of interpretation guides a metaphorical reading of the Exodus story, and

thus the terms hikhbadeti ["I made

heavy"], hitalalti ["I tormented"],

yifle ["will discriminate"] and vayinatzlu ["and they exploited"] also

point to the problematic attitude towards the symbolic "Egypt." The

choice of these words can bring the reader to become aware of a moral problem;

they were meant to inspire people to undergo a self-accounting, to inspect

their behavior, and to help each individual everywhere to leave "Egypt."

Now

we can clarify the lesson of the command received by the Israelites to borrow silver

objects, golden objects, and garments and to exploit Egypt.

We

know what the people did with the gold. Midrash Rabbah (51:8) states:

Hence

Moses rebuked them with And Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab (Devarim

1:1). It can be compared to a

young man who came to a city and found the people thereof collecting money for

charity, and when they asked him also to subscribe, he went on giving until

they had to tell him that he had already given enough. Further on his travels,

he lighted on a place where they were collecting for a theatre, and when asked

to contribute towards it, he was also so generous that he had to be told, Enough! [Hebrew: Di].

Israel,

likewise, contributed so much towards the Golden Calf that they had to be told Enough,

and they also contributed gold so generously towards the construction of the

Tabernacle that they again had to be told Enough, as it is said, For

the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much

(Shemot 36:7).

The

Holy One, blessed be He, thereupon said: "Let the gold of the Tabernacle

atone for the gold they brought towards the making of the Golden Calf."

Further did God say to Israel: "When you made the Calf, you provoked Me to anger by exclaiming: This is (eleh)

your god (Shemot 32:4),

but now that you have built the Tabernacle, with the word eleh

I have become reconciled unto you." Hence, These

are (eleh) the accounts of the Tabernacle. (Soncino

translation)

Or, as the Talmud states (Berakhot

32a):

The

school of R. Yannai learnt it from here: And Di-Zahav (Devarim 1). What is And Di-Zahav?

They said in the school of R. Yannai: Thus spoke

Moses before the Holy One, blessed be He: "Sovereign of the Universe, the

silver and gold [zahav] which You showered on Israel until they said, Enough [dai], that it was which led to their making the

Calf.

They

said in the school of R. Yannai: A lion does not roar

over a basket of straw but over a basket of flesh.

R. Oshaia said: It is like the case of a man who had a lean

but large-limbed cow. He gave it lupines to eat [a high-quality food] and it

commenced to kick him. He said to it: What led you to kick me except the

lupines that I fed you with?

R. Hiyya b. Abba said: It is like the case of a man who had a

son; he bathed him and anointed him and gave him plenty to eat and drink and

hung a purse round his neck and set him down at the door of a bawdy house. How

could the boy help sinning?

…Or,

if you prefer, I can say from here. But Jeshurun

waxed fat and kicked (Devarim 32).

R.

Samuel b. Nahmani said in the name of R. Yonatan: Whence do we know that in the end the Holy One,

blessed be He, abjured and agreed with Moses? Because it says, And multiplied unto her silver and gold, which

they used for Baal (Hoshea 2). (Based on Soncino translation).

According to the plain meaning of this passage, the Gemara

is telling us that God is responsible for having placed temptations in the

people's path and therefore He bears responsibility for their sins, as the darshan seems to be saying in the concluding statement. However,

we might also say that the acquisition of wealth and economic profit are

potentially destructive but also pose a great challenge – that they be

positively employed. Temptations exist in order to make choice possible and not

in order to excuse wrong choices. They warn against the refusal to take

responsibility. From here springs the demand made of the individual and of the

nation to contend with temptations and desires – and to admit mistakes. God

wants the free-willed human to ponder, decide, and, in case of error, to see to

the rectification of the error.

The command regarding the borrowing of objects from the Egyptians should

be understood in this way: God commands the exploitation of Egypt as a test of the

people's morals. God places a dilemma before them: there are many reasons why

you deserve these goods, after all, you were enslaved, you received no payment

for your work – it is coming to you. Will you take that which you deserve through

trickery, hiding behind the divine command? Or will you say: "We will

demand that which we deserve through international law."

Rabbi Nahman (Likutei Hilkhot Avodat Elilim 4-6) makes another reading possible. Rabbi Nahman

explains the bondage in Egypt as a metaphor for the enslavement of human beings

to matter. The Exodus from Egypt becomes the process of learning that this can

and should be rectified through the commandment of charity. Understanding the

essence and power of giving can bring about an Exodus from the "inner

Egypt". He writes:

The

righteous man who is graceful and giving…

That

the sacred, i.e., to Israel…

Rabbi Nahman teaches us a symbolic reading in

which the commandment to borrow objects becomes a challenge which allows the

individual to learn how he is able to rectify and contend with the temptations

of matter.

In the Passover Haggadah we read, "In

every generation a person is required to see himself as if he had left Egypt."

Therefore, when the Exodus story is read from the Torah, and on every Seder

night, a person is required to clarify from what he must make his exodus that

year, what is the form of servitude with which he must contend, and how he is

to leave Egypt.

Later at Mount Sinai the people were commanded, Do

not covet. Does covetousness intrinsically involve the argument, "I

deserve it, because…"? How can we tell when that argument is just an

excuse, when will we finally leave Egypt?

Shlomo Fox teaches at Hebrew Union

College, at Beit Shemuel,

and at Kollot.

The Many Meanings of Darkness

People could not see one another because the light of a lamp or torch was

insufficient.

(Seforno

Shemot 10:1)

People could not see one another: By daylight, but they may have been able to

see by lamplight.

(Ibn

Ezra Perush Hakatzar

10:23)

You will find the word "darkness" three times in this passage:

that there may be darkness, a darkness that could be touched, there

was a thick darkness. These allude to three kinds of darkness: alata, afela, and arafel.

Alata is the darkness of the Covenant of the Cut

Pieces [Brit ben Habetarim],

for it is said: and there was alata (Bereishit

15).

Afela is the darkness of Egypt, for it is said, there

was a thick darkness [hoshekh afela].

Arafel is the darkness of the giving o the Torah,

for it is said: and Moses entered the arafel

(Rabbeinu

Behayeiy Shemot 10:21)

"Mixed Multitude": Two Views

Your people have acted basely (Shemot 32:7) – It does not say the people but rather, your people: a mixed

multitude that you decided to take in and convert of your own initiative,

without consulting Me, and you said it would be good to bring converts close to

the Divine Presence. Now they have become debased and debase others.

(Rashi

on Shemot 32: 7)

Lover, indeed, of peoples (Devarim

33:3). Including the nations of the world such as the

mixed multitude and those of the nations who converted and came to accept the

Torah together with Israel – These, too, are beloved of God, He accepted them

and His presence rested upon them.

(RaShBaM

Devarim 33:3)

[Now when Pharaoh let] the

people [go…] (Shemot

13: 17): The numerical value of

the people [et ha'am]

is equivalent to that of also a mixed multitude [ve'gam

erev rav] (12: 38).

(Ba'al

Ha'Turim on Shemot 13:

17)

Why was Hametz [Leavened Bread] Prohibited only for

One Day of the Passover of the Exodus?

Rabbi Yossi Ha-Galili

says: From where do we learn that leavened bread was prohibited for only one

day on the Passover of the Exodus? It is learnt from the verse: no leavened

bread shall be eaten (13:3), and immediately afterwards [it is

written]: This day you go free (13:4).

(Pesahim 96b)

[The prohibition of] hametz

was only observed for one day of the Passover of the Exodus, and so they

wrote that it was not observed as a festive day of rest. In my opinion, this

came to tell them something of value for future generations as well, to

demonstrate the perfection of His commandments, may He be blessed. For all of

the nations make the day of victory, the day of their enemies' downfall, into a

victory-holiday. Not so for Israel! They do not rejoice over their enemies'

downfall. They will not celebrate that joy, as it says If

him. (Proverbs 2:17-18). A superior man does not rejoice at his

enemy's downfall, since such rejoicing is evil in the eyes of the Lord, and one

should hate that which is evil in the Lord's eyes. That is why it is not

mentioned in connection to the Passover, the Festival of Matzot,

that He afflicted the Egyptians, but rather only that he took the Israelites

out of Egypt. However, there is no

festival or holiday in Israel celebrating the downfall of enemies.

(R. Meir Simha Mi-Dvinsk's Meshekh Hokhmah on Shemot 12:16)

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