Jewish Holiday: Passover

One Step at a Time

“...and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments; and I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and you shall know that I am the Hashem your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

(Exodus 6:6,7)

These two verses contain the four expressions of liberation that we read every year in the Haggadah: “and I will bring you out,” “and I will deliver you,” “and I will redeem you,” and the final expression, “and I will take you.” In these verses, God promises to take us out of Egypt, to bring salvation to us from slavery, to redeem us, and to then take us as a nation. Why, however, did God need to give us four expressions of liberation? Why would he not just give us one, such as the last one? Moreover, another question arises. We are told that there is a fifth expression, “and I will have brought you.” Why is this expression not included here? To help answer these questions, consider the following parable:

There was once a child who was rebellious and wanted to stake his own path in life. He would deliberately disobey his parents' orders and, instead of going to school or doing work, the little boy would run out in the fields. His parents often caught him, after which they would scold and punish him. One day, the child had enough and decided to run away from home so that he could be “free”. The boy, however, did not know how to survive alone in the world, and soon began to starve. Nervous that he would die, he ran back home to his parents, where he was accepted with open arms.

At this stage in their lives as a nation, B'nei Yisrael could be compared to this little boy. They were skeptical about the plagues that Moses promised God would bring them. In addition, where B'nei Yisrael to be taken out of enslavement to the Egyptians, and then subsequently giving them all 613 commandments would only make B'nei Yisrael would want immediately to return to Egypt. (This is also a reason for why there is a seven week gap between B'nei Yisrael's leaving Egypt and the giving of the Ten Commandments.) To make the transition easier for B'nei Yisrael, God gave brought them salvation in four separate steps, the first of which, of course, having B'nei Yisrael taken out of Egypt: “and I will bring you.” At this point in their lives as a nation, B'nei Yisrael were completely freed, both spiritually and physically.

As time progressed between the leaving of Egypt and the giving of the Ten Commandments, God slowly implemented the other three expressions of liberation. during these seven following weeks. The second expression, “and I will deliver you,” occurred when at the splitting of the Red Sea. Up until that point, B'nei Yisrael were still in Egyptian territory. They constantly feared that the Pharaoh would change his mind, and that he would chase after B'nei Yisrael and force them to return to slavery in Egypt. As we all know, their fears were soon realized at the Red Sea, when the Egyptians did indeed chase after B'nei Yisrael. After the splitting of the Red Sea and the Egyptians drowning, God had “delivered” B'nei Yisrael safely into the wilderness, where there was no fear whatsoever of the Egyptians. Also, at this point, B'nei Yisrael were starting to re-believe in God, and a new type of relationship was developing between God and B'nei Yisrael: they were beginning to trust in God, which in turn led to God enacting the third expression: “and I will redeem you.”

The third expression, “and I will redeem you,” occurred soon after the splitting of the Red Sea. After the splitting of the Red Sea, B'nei Yisrael were soon stricken by famine and thirst, and during this time, B'nei Yisrael were began to lose faith in God. After the battle against Amalek, however, when B'nei Yisrael saw Moses' hands raised, their faith was not only replenished, but they became even more faithful in God. As a result of B'nei Yisrael's growing faith in God, and He responded by bringing them closer to Him. This, of course, laid the groundwork for the last of the four expressions mentioned by God, “and I will take you.”

The final expression of liberation mentioned in these verses happened over a longer period of time than the other three. The other three happened as a result of one occurrence, whereas the last expression took place between the battle against Amalek and the giving of the Ten Commandments. After this, B'nei Yisrael's and God's relationship continued to grow, until finally, at Matan Torah, the final expression of liberation was fulfilled in its entirety. At this point, B'nei Yisrael were a unified nation, and they were able to carry the responsibilities of Judaism and all of the obligations that it entails.

The fifth expression, which is not mentioned in the pessukim, is “and I will have brought you.” Why was this final expression not mentioned in the pessukim? The Midrash says that this final expression depicts God bringing B'nei Yisrael into Israel — this generation would sin with the spies two years later, and thus would be punished by not being able to enter Israel, so this would not be included with the expression of liberation mentioned in the Torah, since God would not fulfill this promise to this specific generation of B'nei Yisrael. There is, however, a second answer. The expression “I will have brought you” is not in the present tense, like the other expressions — it is in the future tense. The other four expression are the results of actions that happened in the past, of something finished and completed. This last expression, however, is a promise that has not yet been fulfilled. It is still waiting to be completed. The expression, “and I will have brought you,” we are told, will not be fulfilled until the Messiah arrives.

Parashat HaShavua: Ki Tisa

Bezalel's Sincerity

“And God spoke to Moses, saying: 'See, I have called by name Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.'”

(Exodus, 31:1,2)

These two verses depict God choosing Bezalel to be the architect of the Tabernacle. It would be he, with the help of Oholiav, who would ultimately construct the Tabernacle. The Midrash says that Bezalel and Oholiav were teenagers at the time of the constructing of the Tabernacle — Bezalel was thirteen years old, and although the Midrash does not give a specific age for Oholiav, we are told that he was also around twelve or thirteen years old as well. Many people question this Midrash: why would God have two teenagers be architects of the Tabernacle? Perhaps someone older, with more life experience, would be able to do a better job of being architect. 

 

The generation before Bezalel and Oholiav was the generation that was enslaved in Egypt. They were forced to work with no pay whatsoever. If God had asked someone from that generation to be the architect of the Tabernacle, he or she would do it because they were constantly afraid of punishment. (In Egypt, if you did not obey the Egyptians, then they would punish you. Because of this, the generation of B'nei Yisrael that were enslaved would do it because they thought they were being forced to.) Bezalel's generation, however, was not familiar with this type of lifestyle — this story took place after the giving of the Ten Commandments, which was two years after B'nei Yisrael left Egypt. If Bezalel was thirteen now, then he was only eleven years old when he left Egypt; he was still a child and did not really know about the hardships that B'nei Yisrael were facing at the time. Since Bezalel and Oholiav were not yet enslaved, they did not have the same slave mentality as the previous generation. 

Rather, Bezalel and Oholiav belonged to the generation that witnessed only miracle after miracle that God performed for B'nei Yisrael, and it would be this generation that would ultimately enter Israel forty years later. This generation was extraordinary in other ways, too. In the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy, Moses rebukes B'nei Yisrael for sins such as the golden calf (which also takes place in this week's parashah) and the sin concerning the spies (which would take place in the book of Numbers), and this generation did not partake, in any way, with either of these sins. Despite this, however, the Midrash says that their generation did not say a word in response, and took the rebuke to heart, even though they had no part in these sins.

 

Bezalel and Oholiav were a perfect example of what their generation stood for. They obeyed unconditionally, not out of fear, but out of want to do the right thing. God wanted someone who would be able to design the Tabernacle out of love for doing the right thing; he did not want someone who would do it half-heartedly and would do it to get over with.

 

Bezalel and Oholiav were not tainted by. slavery, unlike the previous generation. They were not cynical and jaded, and were able to bear the weight of the “yoke” of the 613 commandments sincerely and enthusiasm, unlike the previous generation that still maintained the slave mentality of obeying a command to simply avoid punishment. It was because of this that Bezalel and Oholiav were able to merit being the architects of the Tabernacle. These same characteristics were shared across their generation, which would be the reason that this generation, and not the previous one, would be able to enter Israel.