Summarized by Eitan Sivan. Translated by David Strauss
Introduction
In this week's parasha, Israel's subjugation to Egypt comes to an end – God strikes the firstborn of Egypt, Pharaoh decides to release Israel, and with the morning light, the Israelites leave the exile. Before the redemption, the Torah presents a long section dealing with the Pesach sacrifice – including the one we were commanded to sacrifice in Egypt, but also with a broad reference to the commandments that will only apply to future generations, after the redemption and the exodus from Egypt. In the most prominent part of this section, it says:
And this day shall be to you for a memorial, and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread; but the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses; for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, only that may be done by you. (Shemot 12:14-16)
One wonders: what is the rationale behind the placement of the commandment regarding the Pesach that was to be celebrated in later generations in our parasha, at a time when the plagues of Egypt and the process of redemption from servitude are still in full swing? Could not the commandment regarding Pesach have waited for the wilderness or even for Israel's entry into the land?
It seems that we must focus on three other significant commandments in the narrative of the exodus from Egypt, whose placement also raises a question; and from them we will reach a new understanding of the process of redemption from Egypt that weaves the entire narrative together.
The Time of Our Freedom
And the Lord spoke to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt, saying: This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. (Shemot 12:1-2)
The first commandment that the people of Israel receive as a nation is the commandment of "This month shall be to you," the way to determine the yearly calendar. The same question that arose regarding the commandment of Pesach for future generations arises here as well – is this the appropriate place for this commandment? Was the establishment of the calendar the first thing that was to be said to the Israelites, while they were still enslaved in Egypt? Clearly this placement is not accidental, and we must understand the importance that lies behind it.
A free man is first and foremost a man who is aware of the passage of time and controls his own time. Slaves have no sense of time, they exist from task to task that their master imposes on them. As long as the people of Israel were slaves, subject to another authority, their time was entrusted to another, and they had no understanding or awareness of time. In contrast, a free man is deeply immersed in the reality of time, as it is stated about Avraham: "Avraham was old, advanced in years [ba ba-yamim]" (Bereishit 24:1); he was "in" his years, living and in control of his time.
This explains the significance of the first commandment given to the liberated nation – time is at your disposal and under your control, "This month shall be to you."
In addition, we can learn another dimension of freedom from the way in which the people of Israel determine their time – according to the months, which depend on the moon. In ancient times, time was determined not by the moon, but by the sun. The sun is fixed and unchanging, and such a time-concept based on fixedness, based on the idea that what was is what will be, leads to a deterministic feeling that the world is eternal and unchanging. Israel's move to a different kind of time system, a system determined by the changing and renewing moon, testifies to the level of human involvement in the world. The transition to time determined by the moon presents an ability to innovate, to act, and to change. The people of Israel's control over time is also depicted in the words of the Midrash:
Rabbi Pinchas and Rabbi Chilkiya said in the name of Rabbi Simon: The ministering angels gather before the Holy One, blessed be He, and say to Him: "Master of the Universe, when is Rosh HaShana?" And He says to them: "Why do you ask Me? You and I should ask the court below." (Yalkut Shimoni 191).
Free Men
Speak you to all the congregation of Israel, saying: In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household; and if the household be too little for a lamb, then he and his neighbor next to his house shall take one according to the number of the souls; according to every man's eating you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; you shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats; and you shall keep it to the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at dusk. (Shemot 12:3-6)
If we return to Parashat Vaera, we see that the possibility of offering sacrifices in the land of Egypt was raised by Pharaoh during the difficulties of the plagues, but this suggestion was rejected out of hand by Moshe and Aharon:
And Pharaoh called for Moshe and for Aharon, and said: Go you, sacrifice to your God in the land. And Moshe said: It is not fit so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God; lo, if we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? (Shemot 8:21-22)
There was concern about offering sacrifices in Egypt, because this would cause a conflict with the Egyptian people. Now, along with the announcement to the people of Israel that they were no longer slaves to Egypt, it was necessary to prove this in practice. The act of taking a lamb for four days clearly proves that the fear that existed in the previous parasha, that an Israelite would be stoned by the Egyptians, is no longer a factor. The Egyptians are no longer the masters of the people of Israel. Their opinion is of no significance for the behavior of the people of Israel, and they need not be concerned about the reaction of Egypt.
Finally, we must address the mitzva regulating the way to eat the Paschal offering:
And thus shall you eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste--it is the Lord's Pesach. (Shemot 12:11)
The commandment to eat the Paschal sacrifice dressed for a journey, with girded loins and shoes on one's feet, was intended to strengthen the people's faith in the redemption and the exodus from Egypt. It should be emphasized: The people of Israel do not know that they are leaving Egypt with certainty; all they have is faith. Eating the Paschal lamb in this manner instills in the nation the faith in God's word that the exodus will occur that night, even though they have no proof of this.
Thus, we have seen that the various commands in the parasha have a consistent meaning – to instill in the hearts of the people of Israel the feeling of going out to freedom. It seems that each action is significant in its own right, but together they contribute to a process that advances the people in stages towards the correct consciousness.
If we try for a moment to imagine the mental state of the people of Israel, it is reasonable to assume that if it were told to them, a nation of slaves who had been enslaved for years, that they had to leave their slavery at this moment without preparation, this would sow chaos and confusion among the people. In the most practical sense, the various commandments of God are meant to create order and mental preparation. The announcements that they are to be time-conscious, that the people of Egypt are no longer their masters and they need not be afraid of them, and that they are to believe that soon they will leave, constitute a process that leads to their mental ability to be liberated. Thus, after the plague of the firstborn and the eating of the Paschal sacrifice, when God informs the people that they must leave Egypt, the people will not react in shock, but will stand ready for the task.
Yet with all that we have noted, it would seem that the interpretation that focuses on the practical benefit of the commandments is still not satisfactory. If we return to the verse containing the commandment for future generations, it is clear that the various commandments in the passage have also another purpose that goes beyond practical preparation for Israel's departure:
And this day shall be to you for a memorial, and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. (Shemot 12:14)
In order to understand the importance of the commandments for all generations, let us look at the description in the Haggada of the commandment of remembrance for all generations – expressed by the questions of the four sons.
The Question of the Wicked Son
The Haggada tells us of the four sons – the wise one, the wicked one, the simple one, and the one who does not know how to ask:
The Torah relates to four types of sons – one who is wise, one who is wicked, one with a simple nature, and one who does not know how to ask.
The wise son – what does he say? "What are the testimonies, the statutes and laws, that the Lord our God commanded you?" And you must tell him the laws of the Paschal offering: "After eating the Paschal offering one does not eat anything more."
The wicked son – what does he say? "What is this service to you?" "To you," he says, not to him. When he sets himself apart from the community, he denies the very core of our beliefs. And you must set his teeth on edge and tell him: "It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt" – "for me," and not for him; had he been there he would not have been redeemed.
The simple-natured son – what does he say? "What is this?" And you must tell him: "With a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery."
And the one who does not know how to ask – you must open [the story] for him, as it is said: "And you shall tell your child on that day, Because of this the Lord acted for me when I came out of Egypt."
These questions and answers are based on verses from various sections of the Torah that describe the questions of the sons; and in the section dealing with the Paschal offering here, we find the answer to the wicked son's question:
And you shall tell your son in that day, saying: It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt. (Shemot 13:8)
The question of the wicked son, "What is this service to you?" is rooted in a question about the commandments throughout the parasha. If there is freedom and liberty for the people, why does God command the people of Israel all kinds of tasks from the moment they set out to freedom? And it seems that the answer contains a fundamental idea, both regarding the commandments in the parasha and regarding the very role of the people of Israel.
Purpose, Not Freedom
Throughout history, there have been many peoples who suddenly gained freedom – with the collapse of the ruling kingdom, the peoples who were subject to it suddenly gained complete freedom to do as they please. In most cases, this reality led to anarchy, a complete lack of order and leadership.
The story of the redemption of the people of Israel from Egypt is not one of these stories. Even before the redemption, the people of Israel receive a clear message that must be passed on to all generations – they are being taken out of bondage to Egypt not for freedom for its own sake, but rather for a clear destination and destiny. Even before the departure, it is imperative to clarify the purpose for which they are going out to freedom. At the outset, it is important to clarify to the people the commandment to sanctify time and to establish days for the service of God, as well as to establish a holiday that marks the day when the people of Israel are assigned their destiny, the holiday of Pesach. The girding of the loins also indicates faith in God – at the time of eating the Pesach, one must believe that God will redeem the people.
The inculcation of a consciousness of destiny and mission together with the exodus clarifies that the people of Israel did not become free from Pharaoh and Egypt, but free for the service of God: the establishment of a kingdom of priests, and to be bearers of His name in the world. The destiny of the people of Israel serves as the reason why the people of Israel were liberated from Egypt, and it is essential that the people of Israel remember this justification throughout the generations:
And this day shall be to you for a memorial, and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. (Shemot 12:14)
[This sicha was delivered by Harav Baruch Gigi on Shabbat Parashat Bo 5783.]
(Edited by Yair Lichtman)
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