THE BAIS HAVAAD ON THE PARSHA 5772 ~ PARSHAS BO ~Do-It-Yourself Justice

In this week's parsha we read about the last three makkos that Hashem sent upon the Egyptians. The Torah tells us that during the ninth makka, which was the plague of darkness, the Egyptians couldn't see at all for eight days straight. The Midrash Rabba says that during the days of darkness the Jews went searching through the homes and belongings of the Egyptians in order to know what kind of valuables they had, so they would know what to ask for when leaving Egypt. One can ask: How was it permitted for the Jews to enter the property of the Egyptians without permission? Isn't this a violation of stealing? The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh (3:18) explains as follows. In truth, the Egyptians owed them all of these valuables as pay for all the free labor that the Jews did for them (see Maseches Sanhedrin 91a). When one is owed money he has the right to take the law into his own hands and forcefully collect the money when no other option is available. This is known as the principle of "avid inish dina lnafshei", that one can take the law into his own hands. So, in truth, the Jews could have entered into the Egyptians' houses and confiscated their possessions during the days of darkness. However, Hashem wanted that they should only search the houses without taking. As such. the issue of stealing wasn't applicable in this situation.