VOLUME 114 NUMBER 3
Shevat 2, 5785
January 31, 2025
Parshas Bo
Candlelighting Time 5:01

The time had come for the nation to leave Egypt which was anyhow in ruins and almost completely destroyed. However, before they exited their house of bondage there was a request. At the time when Hashem informed Avrohom that his descendants would be enslaved a promise was made that they would be enriched with the spoils of Egypt. Therefore, they were requested to ‘borrow’ from their Egyptian neighbors valuables and clothing that they could take along with them. Rashi explains that Hashem guaranteed Avrohom that they would not leave Egypt empty handed. Therefore, they amassed great wealth upon their departure. Although one may justify their appropriating as payment for their decades upon decades of slavery for the Egyptians which is mentioned in the Talmud, nonetheless it does seem somewhat odd. After generations of bondage probably the last thing on their minds was reimbursement for their years of servitude in Egypt. And the Talmud is adamant that this payment must be otherwise Hashem would not have fulfilled his promise to Avrohom that after their years of bondage they will leave with tremendous wealth. Although this is the simple understanding of the covenant that Hashem made with Avrohom, there is a need to delve further into this. After all, Avrohom the first of the Patriarchs was surely not interested in monetary gain not for himself and not for the people. His leadership and the ultimate goal was to establish a nation with standards unlike any other nation. Their only objective being to serve Hashem with diligence and commitment. Why was money so central to the covenant that Hashem made with Avrohom?

The famous mystic, the AriZl in the explanation to his Haggadah understands that when we left Egypt part and parcel of our extrication was to extract the sparks of holiness that were invested in them at the time of Creation and were not utilized properly. Now was the time to bring the world to a new level of consecration and with their absconding with Egyptian goods they also drained any dregs of holiness that were available and enhanced by becoming inclusive into our nation. Seemingly Rashi does not concur with this approach since he only mentions the money that was taken from the Egyptians. However, can we find a way to incorporate Rashi, which is the simplistic approach as mentioned before with the AriZl? 

At the root of every physical existence is its origin, which commences at a sublime level of spirituality that we are not able to detect. However, that is the fundamental understanding of our world of reality that truly it is implanted in the celestial regions that stem from Hashem ‘himself.’ Our activities function upon this world that the Chofetz Chaim referred to as the World of Action. Even within this world of physical reality there also is a spiritual background that provides for its existence. Egyptian society also had its background music with which it functioned although utilizing its spiritual foundation inappropriately. Part of the mission of our nation in this world is to uplift and enhance the very corporeal theme of this world into a higher level akin to that of Hashem. And our exodus from Egypt was not different than any of our other escapes from foreign civilization which also required that when we left we took with us their spiritual anchors and we incorporated them into our small yet impressive world of our reality which is to use the world to its fullest in serving Hashem.  

A BYTE FOR SHABBOS

When we left Egypt our exodus was with our entirety. Not only were we physically enslaved but our very essence, our soul was also imprisoned. We reached a level of impurity that almost battered our actual existence in our relationship with Hashem. That extrication of totality prepared us to accept the Torah in its completeness as well.                                                                                           

S’FAS EMES

GOOD SHABBOS