Yetzias Mitzrayim as a new creation

Shiur 18 – Yetzias Mitzraim as a new creation

Moshe Rabbeinu tells Hashem that Klal Yisroel do not have emunah, and they will not believe that Hashem will take them out. Hashem responds that they will have emunah. Hashem convinces Moshe to go and take Bnei Yisroel out of Mitzraim. In the end, Moshe goes to take them out, but he tells Hashem that his coming to Mitzraim made the situation even worse for Bnei Yisroel.

After this, Hashem tells Moshe, at the beginning of Vaeira, to tell Bnei Yisroel that He will ‘vehotzesi, vehitzalti, vegoalti,’ etc. Moshe tells them what Hashem had commanded him to say. However, Bnei Yisroel don’t listen to him because of ‘kotzer ruach and avodah kosheh‘ (Vaeira-6,9).

The need for a new creation of Bnei Yisroel

The Ramban explains that although Bnei Yisroel were not prepared to listen to Moshe, they still had emunah in Hashem and Moshe. However, they would not listen to Moshe’s promise from Hashem of the geulah because of their kotzer ruach (which was caused by the avodah kosheh). Their kotzer ruach made them not want to live even one more second, in their current tzaar, despite knowing that all their tzaar will soon be solved.

This means that, on the one hand, Klal Yisroel knew and were ready for the geulah from the point of view of their emunah in Hashem and Moshe regarding the geulah. However, on the other hand, they did not want to live any longer in their current state. How is it possible to bring a geulah for a nation that no longer wants to live?

Hashem wanted to create such a setting as a basis for the geulah to happen. The situation of a nation that believed in the geulah yet didn’t want to stay alive, necessitated a new creation of the nation.

The new identity was above the grasp of Bnei Yisroel

Bnei Yisroel were at a very low level leading up to the geulah. Yet, they still merited the giluy shechinah and the geulah.

Mitzvos are generally done during the daytime. However, we have a whole list of mitzvos that we do on seder night. The reason for this is that just like at night, everything is dark, but the giluy comes from amidst the darkness, so too they were at such a low level, but nevertheless, they were zocheh to have the giluy shechinah.

Klal Yisroel was ready to be recreated as a new nation. However, they did not yet identify with this new creation which was far above their current level. How can a person or a nation identify with a level that is out of their grasp?

How to approach achieving a new identity that is beyond you

Mishlei, perek 1, possuk 7 says that fear of Hashem is the beginning of daas, chochmah, etc. The Vilna Gaon explains that if a person has yiras Hashem, he will learn to have daas (identify with things) through knowing what he needs to guard himself from.

People usually think that the way to identify with something is through first experiencing the thing, albeit in a small way. For example, a person feels the need to first experience a geshmak in learning or some sort of inspiration for things and only then are they ready to start to identify with a new endeavour. However, we see from the Gaon that this is not so. Instead, we need to know what not to do and what to guard ourselves from. This itself is how to identify with the new endeavor.

All the makkos in Mitzraim, from blood to darkness, destroyed everything in Mitzraim. There was nothing left. In the makkah of darkness, when the people were standing fixed in one position, even the tzuras haodom was destroyed-they were like statues!

Klal Yisroel were looking for a new identity. The most obvious new identity would have been to take on that of Mitzraim since this was where they were living and the Mitzrim were seen to have been very successful. However, upon seeing the destruction of everything of the Mitzrim, Bnei Yisroel knew at least what they didn’t want to become. 

Although they may not have known what they wanted for their new identity, they knew what it shouldn’t be. This was the point of identification with their new identity of giluy Shechinah despite the fact that giluy shechinah was far beyond their level and grasp. They at least realized that there was no identity for them besides giluy shechinah.

 80% of Bnei Yisroel were killed in makkas choshech because they were unable to build an identity from the unknown. It’s a tough thing to do.

In Parshas Beshalach-15,26, Moshe says, ‘If you will surely listen to the voice of Hashem your G-d and will do what is straight in His eyes, etc., all the illnesses that I placed in Mitzraim, I will not place upon you, because I am Hashem, Your healer.’

Rashi explains that Hashem, the healer, refers to Hashem as the One who teaches us Torah and Mitzvos so that we will be saved from the makkos (and not return to them).

How can we understand Rashi? What is the theoretical return to the makkos? They never affected us at all. They only happened to the Mitzrim. How does talking about Bnei Yisroel’s return to the makkos make sense? The answer is that Kal Yisroel had seen the Mitzrim and all their identity being destroyed. This destruction presented Bnei Yisroel with a feeling of no identity. Their option of a new identity rested on that of Mitzraim, and this was destroyed.

The risk of returning to the Makkos was that Bnei Yisroel would feel like they had no option for a new identity. On the other hand, Hashem told them that if they observed His Torah and Mitzvos, they would be saved and would not return to the makkos. This being the case, they would acquire a new identity.

Knowledge of what must not be, together with bitachon

For Bnei Yisroel to be able to take on their new identity and go out from Mitzraim, required both having bitachon and arriving at the point of recognition that there is no way of continuing further with life. As we saw from the Ramban, Bnei Yisroel needed bitachon so that their Geulah would happen. They also needed to realize that they had no keilim at their disposal to achieve this goal.

Not knowing the solution to the problem

An illustration of this can be seen from a Kolel that I have of magidei shiurim. As winter zman drew near to its end, I peeked at one of the magiddei shiurim’s gemorahs to see how much he had covered whilst teaching in his yeshivah during the zman. He had been teaching Yevamos. It was open to daf 11. I couldn’t believe that this is all they had covered the whole zman. This is not the way to make talmidei chachomim. 

Such a mehalech cannot continue. We need to do something to improve the situation. We need a way to turn the bochurim into talmidei chachomim. I have bitachon that there is a way that will work but I don’t know what it is!

Often, when people present problems, they only want to hear solutions. They are not interested in hearing that there is a problem, and we need to have bitachon that it will be resolved, given that we have no idea how to resolve it.

Additionally, I have a Beis Hamussar. Despite my institution’s name, I stipulate that anyone who learns here will not learn a seder mussar. We have all been learning mussar for many years, but we have seen by now that it simply does not work! We must have bitachon that we can all be Ovdei Hashem even though we lack the tool of mussar to help us in this.

Similarly, I receive requests very often to come and speak in kollelim. They want to hear inspirational words from me, more often than not, on subjects that they have never even thought about before. My speaking will not help them. This is not a tool that will help them. We need to realize that we do not know how to improve our situation but we maintain bitachon that there is nevertheless a way of improving it. 

Bnei Yisroel had been living in Mitzrayim for 210 years. The only way of living and dealing with the world that they saw was the way of the Mitzrim. Hashem took apart this entire structure in front of their eyes. This was no longer something for Bnei Yisroel to identify with. Bnei Yisroel was able to identify with the new creation of the nation just because they knew what they must not become (like we said from the Gaon on Mishlei).

In keeping with the lack of clarity regarding Bnei Yisroel’s identity, the giluy Shechinah of Makas Bechoros  was also not what Klal Yisroel had been expecting. It was not something which they had prepared themselves for. On the contrary, the giluy Shechinah would have killed Bnei Yisroel if not for the kedushas bechoros that allowed them to withstand such a giluy. The new creation of the Jewish nation came specifically from a lack of knowledge of identification together with bitachon.

On a practical level, the need to identify with Torah learning or kiyum hamitzvos that seems beyond us, does not first require a certain connection of inspiration or geshmak with the thing. Rather, the correct approach is just to be clear on what does not work. This is a much deeper way to achieve big things that we do not have tools to arrive at.

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Written by Rabbi Rapport