Difference between revisions of "Purposes of the Egyptian Bondage/1/en"
(Original Author: Ariella Novetsky, Rabbi Hillel Novetsky) |
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− | <p style="text-align:center"><a class="wordright" href="Media/2Shemot/01/Purposes of the Egyptian Bondage/English Study Guide.doc">English Study Guide:</a> <a class="pdf" href="Media/2Shemot/01/Purposes of the Egyptian Bondage/English Study Guide.pdf">PDF</a></p> | + | <p style="text-align:center"><a class="wordright" href="/Media/2Shemot/01/Purposes of the Egyptian Bondage/English Study Guide.doc">English Study Guide:</a> <a class="pdf" href="/Media/2Shemot/01/Purposes of the Egyptian Bondage/English Study Guide.pdf">PDF</a></p> |
+ | |||
+ | <figure class="thumb"> | ||
+ | <a href="https://youtu.be/NY_F4YtokI8"><img src="/Media/2Shemot/01/Purposes of the Egyptian Bondage/Torahcast.png"/></a> | ||
+ | <figcaption><a href="https://youtu.be/NY_F4YtokI8">Torahcast</a></figcaption> | ||
+ | </figure> | ||
<h2>Obvious Omissions</h2> | <h2>Obvious Omissions</h2> | ||
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<li>Did Hashem ordain that Yaakov's family would be forced to uproot from Canaan and remain in Egypt for centuries? Was the unfolding of these events a realization of a Divine master plan<fn>See <a href="Bereshit45-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit 45:5,8</a> and <a href="Tehillim105" data-aht="source">Tehillim 105:16-25</a> which imply that Hashem guided the entire process. For elaboration, see <a href="Exile and Enslavement – Divinely Designed" data-aht="page">Exile and Enslavement – Divinely Designed</a>, <a href="Divine Plans and Israelite Free Choice" data-aht="page">Divine Plans and Israelite Free Choice</a>, and <a href="Divine Plans and Egyptian Free Choice" data-aht="page">Divine Plans and Egyptian Free Choice</a>.</fn> or merely a product of human volition?</li> | <li>Did Hashem ordain that Yaakov's family would be forced to uproot from Canaan and remain in Egypt for centuries? Was the unfolding of these events a realization of a Divine master plan<fn>See <a href="Bereshit45-5" data-aht="source">Bereshit 45:5,8</a> and <a href="Tehillim105" data-aht="source">Tehillim 105:16-25</a> which imply that Hashem guided the entire process. For elaboration, see <a href="Exile and Enslavement – Divinely Designed" data-aht="page">Exile and Enslavement – Divinely Designed</a>, <a href="Divine Plans and Israelite Free Choice" data-aht="page">Divine Plans and Israelite Free Choice</a>, and <a href="Divine Plans and Egyptian Free Choice" data-aht="page">Divine Plans and Egyptian Free Choice</a>.</fn> or merely a product of human volition?</li> | ||
<li>What was accomplished by such a process of exile, slavery, and even attempted extermination, and why does Hashem not explain this to Avraham?<fn>The Torah also never explicitly reveals to the reader the purpose of the exile and slavery.</fn> Why would Hashem permit the Egyptians to inflict such hardships upon His chosen nation?<fn>This question would apply even if one maintains that the process was not Divinely designed and only a product of human choice.</fn> Did the Israelites or their forefathers do anything that made them deserve such a fate? And could they have done anything to prevent its fulfillment?</li> | <li>What was accomplished by such a process of exile, slavery, and even attempted extermination, and why does Hashem not explain this to Avraham?<fn>The Torah also never explicitly reveals to the reader the purpose of the exile and slavery.</fn> Why would Hashem permit the Egyptians to inflict such hardships upon His chosen nation?<fn>This question would apply even if one maintains that the process was not Divinely designed and only a product of human choice.</fn> Did the Israelites or their forefathers do anything that made them deserve such a fate? And could they have done anything to prevent its fulfillment?</li> | ||
− | <li>Why did Hashem feel compelled to share such a terrifying prophecy with Avraham, and why did Avraham respond with complete silence? Could he not have prayed for Divine mercy upon his descendants?<fn>See <multilink><a href="TzerorBereshit15-9" data-aht="source">Tzeror HaMor</a><a href="TzerorBereshit15-9" data-aht="source">Bereshit 15:9</a><a href="R. Avraham Saba" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham Saba</a></multilink> who asks why Avraham did not plead on behalf of his descendants, as he did on behalf of Sedom. See also <multilink><a href="MaaseiHashem1" data-aht="source">Ma'asei Hashem</a><a href="MaaseiHashem1" data-aht="source">Ma'asei Mitzrayim 1</a><a href="R. Eliezer Ashkenazi (Ma'asei Hashem)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Eliezer Ashkenazi</a></multilink> who asks similarly about all of the Patriarchs.</fn></li> | + | <li>Why did Hashem feel compelled to share such a terrifying prophecy with Avraham, and why did Avraham respond with complete silence? Could he not have prayed for Divine mercy upon his descendants?<fn>See <multilink><a href="TzerorBereshit15-9" data-aht="source">Tzeror HaMor</a><a href="TzerorBereshit15-9" data-aht="source">Bereshit 15:9</a><a href="R. Avraham Saba (Tzeror HaMor)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham Saba</a></multilink> who asks why Avraham did not plead on behalf of his descendants, as he did on behalf of Sedom. See also <multilink><a href="MaaseiHashem1" data-aht="source">Ma'asei Hashem</a><a href="MaaseiHashem1" data-aht="source">Ma'asei Mitzrayim 1</a><a href="R. Eliezer Ashkenazi (Ma'asei Hashem)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Eliezer Ashkenazi</a></multilink> who asks similarly about all of the Patriarchs.</fn></li> |
</ul> | </ul> | ||
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<h2>Generation Gap</h2> | <h2>Generation Gap</h2> | ||
− | <p>The Covenant of the Pieces combined two related decrees, the exile of "גֵר יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ" and the oppression of "וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אֹתָם". These two events, though, affected different generations. The generation of Yosef and his brothers was exiled, but no member of that generation suffered the oppression and bondage which afflicted their descendants.<fn>See Shemot 1:6 that the slavery started only after Yosef's entire generation had already died out.</fn> And as noted above, the prophecy regarding both of these decrees was given already to Avraham, who lived | + | <p>The Covenant of the Pieces combined two related decrees, the exile of "גֵר יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ" and the oppression of "וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אֹתָם". These two events, though, affected different generations. The generation of Yosef and his brothers was exiled, but no member of that generation suffered the oppression and bondage which afflicted their descendants.<fn>See Shemot 1:6 that the slavery started only after Yosef's entire generation had already died out.</fn> And as noted above, the prophecy regarding both of these decrees was given already to Avraham, who lived long before the generations during which it came to fruition. Thus, any approach must relate to and account for the relationships between these various generations. If the exile and bondage were punishment for a sin, which of the generations was the guilty party? Was it the generation to whom they were predicted, the generation which was exiled, or the generation which was enslaved? Alternatively, if the objective was to educate, which generation was the focus? And, finally, is it possible that the various stages of the decree had different goals which were aimed at different generations?</p> |
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Latest revision as of 08:01, 30 July 2019
Purposes of the Egyptian Bondage
Introduction
![](http://media.alhatorah.org/2Shemot/01/Purposes%20of%20the%20Egyptian%20Bondage/Torahcast.png)
Obvious Omissions
Over two centuries before Yaakov's sons arrived in Egypt, their exile, bondage, and ultimate redemption were foretold to their great-grandfather Avraham at the Covenant of Pieces.1 Yet, despite the significance of these events for the future Israelite nation, neither their cause nor purpose are revealed. The reader is thus left to ponder several issues:
- Did Hashem ordain that Yaakov's family would be forced to uproot from Canaan and remain in Egypt for centuries? Was the unfolding of these events a realization of a Divine master plan2 or merely a product of human volition?
- What was accomplished by such a process of exile, slavery, and even attempted extermination, and why does Hashem not explain this to Avraham?3 Why would Hashem permit the Egyptians to inflict such hardships upon His chosen nation?4 Did the Israelites or their forefathers do anything that made them deserve such a fate? And could they have done anything to prevent its fulfillment?
- Why did Hashem feel compelled to share such a terrifying prophecy with Avraham, and why did Avraham respond with complete silence? Could he not have prayed for Divine mercy upon his descendants?5
Egypt: Penitentiary or Incubator?
In Tanakh, suffering on a large scale such as exile or subjugation usually comes as a punishment for evil deeds.6 Thus many commentators attempt to identify a sin or sins which led to the Egyptian bondage. The Torah itself, however, neither explicitly records that any particular sin was responsible for the decree,7 nor does it state that Hashem' hand was responsible for causing the suffering.8 It also does not offer Avraham or his descendants any option of repentance,9 as is frequently the case when punishment is involved. Consequently, others contend that the exile and slavery could not have been a punishment, but were rather a method of inculcating values and instilling faith. But if so, could Hashem not have found a different way to incubate and educate the nation without causing such terrible suffering?
Generation Gap
The Covenant of the Pieces combined two related decrees, the exile of "גֵר יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ" and the oppression of "וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אֹתָם". These two events, though, affected different generations. The generation of Yosef and his brothers was exiled, but no member of that generation suffered the oppression and bondage which afflicted their descendants.10 And as noted above, the prophecy regarding both of these decrees was given already to Avraham, who lived long before the generations during which it came to fruition. Thus, any approach must relate to and account for the relationships between these various generations. If the exile and bondage were punishment for a sin, which of the generations was the guilty party? Was it the generation to whom they were predicted, the generation which was exiled, or the generation which was enslaved? Alternatively, if the objective was to educate, which generation was the focus? And, finally, is it possible that the various stages of the decree had different goals which were aimed at different generations?