Rabbi
Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi,
Kehillat New Hempstead
Social
Worker, Yeshiva Bais Hachinuch/ASHAR
STAM TORAH
PARSHAS
BO 5774
“THE
REAL TREASURE”
Six years ago on a Sunday evening, the
Staum family was sitting together in our Living Room. Our (then) five year old
son Shalom was listening intently to a children’s tape which dramatizes the events
of the exodus from Egypt
“One
more plague I shall bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt
Rashi, quoting the Medrash, notes that G-d
requested that Moshe appeal to the Jews that they request valuables from their
Egyptian neighbors, so that our patriarch Avrohom would not have a complaint
against G-d, as it were. Otherwise Avrohom would say that G-d carried out in
full measure the prophecy that his offspring would be oppressed, but not the
companion promise that the Jews would leave their captivity laden with great
wealth.[2]
Was G-d only concerned that Avrohom would
have a justifiable complaint? Doesn’t any decent person strive to keep his
word?
The Dubner Maggid offers a novel
explanation based on a parable: There was a young child prodigy who had uncanny
musical talent and was invited to play his violin in a prominent symphony
orchestra. At the end of a month of performances the conductor handed the young
wunderkind a sizeable check. The young boy arrived home crestfallen. When he
handed his father the check the father immediately understood his son’s deep
disappointment. He set up an appointment to meet with the conductor in his
office. The father explained, “Although you have been most generous and have
paid my son well, he does not yet understand the value of paper money and
checks. In his mind, all of his hard work was paid off with a silly piece of
paper. Therefore, I am requesting that you give him a bag of lollipops and give
me the check. I will put the check into a savings account so that when he
matures he will be able to enjoy the fruit of his labor. But until then he will
feel more satisfied with a couple of sweets.”
When G-d promised Avrohom that his children
would emerge from Egypt
Although G-d never wavered on his original
promise to grant them great wealth, to the Jews at that time receiving the
Torah was tantamount to an immature child receiving a check. G-d was concerned
that Avrohom, their loving father, would prevail upon G-d to grant them ‘wealth’
they could appreciate, material physical wealth. He would counter that just as
the first portion of the prophecy was fulfilled in a manner that the Jews could
comprehend, so too the conclusion of the prophecy should be fulfilled in a
manner that they could comprehend and appreciate. The real treasure was
detained until they were spiritually mature enough to appreciate its value at
Sinai. In the meanwhile G-d granted them material wealth to placate their
father.
The narration of the haggadah on Seder
night commences with the declaration, “הא לחמא עניא די אכלו אבהתנא בארעא דמצרים - This is the bread of poverty that our
fathers ate in the land
of Egypt
Ibn Ezra notes that matzah was the actual food
that the Egyptians served the Jews when they were enslaved, because it was
satiating and cheap. Yet, at the conclusion of the narration, when we elucidate
the central foods of the seder - the pesach sacrifice[3],
matzah, and marror - we describe the matzah as the food that symbolizes
redemption. The haggadah states, “Matzah - why do we eat this unleavened bread?
Because the dough of our forefathers did not have time to become leavened
before the King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed is He, revealed Himself to them
and redeemed them…”
What is the true symbolism of the matzah? Is
it the food of lowly tormented slaves or is it the food of a dignified and
proud freed nation?
The transition that transpired at the
exodus was not one of slavery to freedom. Rather it was a profound shift from one
form of servitude to another. The Gemara[4]
explains that the celebration of the exodus was based on the fact that now the
nation was free to serve G-d. “Praise Him - the servants of G-d, and not
the servants of Pharaoh.”
The Shelah Hakadosh notes that the purpose
of the Egyptian bondage was to ingrain in the burgeoning Jewish nation the
concept of complete subjugation to a higher authority. The servitude to Pharaoh,
with all of its barbarism and cruelty, laid the groundwork for their acceptance
of the yoke of G-d with complete devotion and subjugation. Thus, although the
exodus redeemed the Jews from tyranny, it did not exonerate them from
servitude. Rather they were able to be slaves to the Master they desired, G-d.
It is only when one wholeheartedly
dedicates himself to Torah, with all of its dictates, laws, and expectations
that he can truly experience freedom from the lure of materialism. The exodus
from Egypt
Matzah is the bread of slaves! At the
beginning of the haggadah the matzah represents our involuntary slavery to
Pharaoh, while at the end of the seder it represents our joy for the
opportunity to become G-d’s slaves!
The gemara[5]
relates that there is an obligation for one to juxtapose prayer[6]
with a detailed mention of the redemption[7]. The gemara states
that one who fulfills this law is guaranteed a place of residence in the World
to Come.
Rabbeinu Yonah
explains that G-d redeemed us from Egypt
The holiday of Pesach
celebrates our freedom, albeit not freedom from servility. Our greatest
national joy is for the opportunity to carry the banner of Torah aloft, the
greatest spiritual treasure.
Perhaps we could not
appreciate the Torah’s value at the moment of the exodus, but at Sinai we recognized
that it was then that we were receiving the true wealth promised to Avrohom
Avinu. By becoming slaves of G-d alone, we had, and have, the opportunity to
penetrate and free ourselves from the shackles of physicality and hedonism, to
which our culture is enslaved!
“We are free! We are free!”
Praise
Him - the servants of G-d, and not the servants of Pharaoh”
[6] specifically the Shemoneh Esrei prayer,
which represents the central component of prayer, incorporating the
supplications for our daily needs
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