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Parshat
Shemot: Expansion and Oppression The
Ramban defines Sefer Shemot as the book of Galut and Geula. The process
begins with the descent of Jacob and his family to Egypt, the
commencement of a life in exile. In
our shiur this wekk, we shall start at the very beginning, focussing our
attention upon the machinations of Exile. How was it that an entire
nation were lured into slavery? We will also discuss the unusual
explosion in population size. How did this small family expand quickly
enough to form a fully-fledged nation of millions? Let’s
learn! Chavruta
Study 1.
Study the description of the enslavement and oppression of Am Yisrael.
It would be best to read through the entire first chapter. There
were several steps in the process of enslavement and oppression. 1.
Split up the story (1:8-22) into its component stages.
Outline the string of measures taken by Pharaoh. What is new about
each successive stage? 2.
See the commentary of the SEPHORNO to v.11,13,14 (and note his quote
from Ezekiel 20:8). How
does he understand the reason for the gradual intensification of the
slavery of B’nei Yisrael?
2.
Does this explanation fit with the pesukim? 3.
Compare this explanation with the comments of the RAMBAN to v.11.
According to the RAMBAN, what was the cause of the incremental levels of
slavery? 4.
An interesting contrast is the way in which they read the phrase
“Veala min Ha’aretz” . Contrast the Sephorno and Rashi in both
parshanut and the contextual flow of the perek. 3.
THE FEASIBILITY OF THE POPULATION EXPLOSION. See
Rashi on passuk 7. *
What is the basis for his explanation? *
Why would we want to say that the women gave birth in this way? See the
number of people when Am Yisrael entered Egypt - 1:5 - and then read
1:9. How much time has elapsed? Is this not a little puzzling? 1.
See Shemot 12:37. How large was Am Yisrael when they left? 2.
How long were they in Egypt? See 12:40-41 and RASHI there. Why
does he insist that they must have been in Egypt for a shorter time than
mentioned by the pesukim? Further Study For
a wonderful "must-read" shiur on this chapter, see the shiur
by Rav Elchanan Samet on the VBM website: http://www.vbm-torah.org/parsha.60/13shemot.htm The
Shiur: Sefer
Shemot does not dwell upon the details of the slavery in Egypt, the
harsh conditions and the precise workload of B’nei Yisrael. The Torah
compacts the account of the Egyptian persecution devoting just a single
chapter to this cause. However, this chapter has much to say about the
way in which we were enslaved, the attitudes of our oppressors and the
ability to act morally even in the thick of an evil regime. STRUCTURE Before
we even begin, it would be worthwhile to note the structure contained in
Chapter 1. It is divisible into three distinct sections. I
v. 1-7
: The rapid expansion of B’nei Yisrael; 12 sons to a family of
70 until “the entire land was filled with them” (1:7) II
8-14
: The slavery, forced labour. Two stages of oppression through
work. III
15-22
: The two stages in the plan to kill the male children; The
midwives and the river. Each
section has a theme. The theme is apparent through the story itself, but
it is stressed and given emphasis through the intentional use of
carefully chosen words, repeated for effect. Let me explain what I mean.
If
you look at the first section, you will notice that it ends with seven
words or expressions indicating the growth of Am Yisrael. In section 2
there are seven expression of hard labour, using the words “avoda”
or “parech”. In the third section, the word “meyaldot” - midwife
- is used seven times. This literary method stresses the three stages of
the story: the phenomenal proliferation of the Jewish nation, the harsh
slavery, and the failure of the attempts to kill them. EARLY
CAUSES. It
would appear that the central factor in the arousal of Egyptian
attention, suspicion, and animosity is the remarkable rate of increase
in the size of the nation. The king of Egypt says, “Look,
the Israelite people are more numerous and mighty than ourselves. Let us
deal shrewdly with them, so they may not increase…” (1:8-9) Could
it be true? Is it possible that the Israelites actually outnumbered the
Egyptians? Or possibly, this is simply the reflection of Egyptian fear.
They see an immigrant population, an ethnic sub-group - B’nei Yisrael
– expanding and infiltrating their society. Instead of restricting
themselves to Goshen (Bereshit 47:27), they now “fill the entire
land.” (1:7) The Egyptians imagine that they are being overrun,
invaded, so to speak. Sometimes the psychological reality is more
important than the statistical facts! It
is certainly true that a focus upon the wild, uncontrolled proliferation
of B’nei Yisrael is a theme that runs through our entire chapter.
Pharaoh engages in any number of strategies in order to control the
Israelite expansion. At first, he attempts to enslave the Jewish nation
hoping that it will stunt their growth rate. When he realises that
cannot attack the Jewish population through forced labour, he takes
matters into his own hands and tries in a more direct way to kill them
off. Clearly, all these attempts are to no avail. The Jewish people
continue to spread and expand despite the slavery: “But
the more they were oppressed, the more they increased and spread out, so
that the [Egyptians] came to dread the Israelites.” (1:12) And
after the midwife episode, we are told again: “and the
people multiplied and increased greatly.” (v.20) THE
ABNORMAL REALITY OF EXILE The
unusually rapid growth rate of this alien nation is the source of the
problem. And this entire notion should strike the reader with a deep
sense of irony. That the expansion of a Am Yisrael be perceived as a
negative phenomenon is a direct symptom of exile. Population growth is
usually seen as a blessing. The Torah always mentions it amongst the
very highest of rewards that the nation can receive (see Shemot
23:24,Vayikra 26:9 ,Devarim 28:4,11; 30:9). However, in exile things are
different. The very existence of Am Yisrael as a minority sub-group in a
foreign society transforms a blessing into a worry and a menace. In
Egypt it is to become the very cause of our downfall. The “Da’at
Mikra” commentary has an enlightening observation on this point: “
Precisely the two blessings with which Israel were blessed in Egypt; the
unusual growth rate, and their distinctiveness; were the very cause of
the enslavement. ... Herein is a message for all time. This very
proliferation and distinctiveness which are such wonderful blessings for
a people in their own land, can turn into a source of trouble and
tragedy when we live ‘in a strange land’. Am Yisrael, who become
formed as a nation in a foreign land arouse hatred by their very
existence.” (Da’at Mikra p.16) However,
we have to examine why Pharaoh imagined that the policy of slavery would
help stunt the growth rate of the Jews. What was his aim in the slavery
policy? And how exactly did he manage to lure Am Yisrael into this
enslavement? SLOW
ROAD TO EXTERMINATION - A FOUR-STAGE PLAN The
persecution of the Israelites does not happen in a single move. It
begins (v.9-10) with Pharaoh’s suspicions. He views the Israelites as
an outside force lacking loyalty to the country. He is frightened by
their size and strength. He decides to paint the Israelites as a fifth
column; traitors to the state. He
wants to put an end to the “threat” of the Israelites. They are
dangerous; the enemy within. They need to be controlled and contained.
Only that he needs to build a strategy to achieve this goal. The plan is
executed in four stages. The plan is executed in four stages. 1.
v.11-12 - A work tax 2.
v.13-14 - Slavery of all the Israelites, working hard labour. 3.
v.15-21 - The murder of baby boys by the Midwives 4.
v.22 - The murder of
baby boys by the entire nation. It
begins with suspicion (v.9-10) and a “tax” over them. The RAMBAN
explains that this was a very simple device whereby Egypt asked for a
people tax. A quota of labourers was requisitioned to work on the
national projects (much like King Shlomo did when he built the Beit
Hamikdash – Melachim I 5:27). The people worked for a month and then
were allowed home. But
slowly, gradually, the quotas were increased. Then the entire people
were enslaved and their status was officially, legally changed to that
of “slaves” The people
got sucked in because it was a gradual process. Much like the Nazi
methods in our own century, Pharaoh knew how to tighten the knot just
the right amount, whereby he could increase the slavery without causing
alarm amongst the Jewish people. Undoubtedly they always consoled each
other telling one another how things will “get better”, but
Pharaoh’s aim was to dispose of this “numerous” people. He was not
going to stop until he achieved a “final solution.” The
third and fourth stages are a deliberate plan of murder whereby the
babies are systematically annihilated. THE
FINAL SOLUTION. We
might ask ourselves, did Pharaoh plan the entire process from the start?
Was he planning from the very beginning to engage in genocide? The
RAMBAN perceives Pharaoh to be a sworn enemy of the Israelite nation
from the very beginning. Indeed, his plan is to eradicate the Israelites
in a grand, national project of genocide. However, claims the Ramban, he
would not have been able to withstand the weight of public criticism
from the civilian Egyptian population were he to suggest the grand-scale
murder of the Israelite population.
Instead he develops a plan that will work in gradual steps so as
to avoid a panic. So,
stage by stage, the Egyptian population begin to view the Israelites
differently. First they are a threat. Then they are slaves. Then they
work in “hard labour”, overworked, doing all manner of labour. And
after a process of national victimisation, the nation are ready to
engage in a national project of genocide (v.22). EGYPT
IS HOME. NOT WANTING TO LEAVE. The
SEPHORNO explains the incremental process of enslavement in a radically
different way. He suggests that the last thing on Pharaoh’s mind was
violence or force. True, he viewed the Israelites as a threat. However,
his only desire was to induce the Israelites to leave the country
entirely. The Sephorno reads v.10 as “Maybe in a war they will join
our enemies and fight against us. Let them go up from the land.”
Sephorno comments: “They
will leave the land independently, without us exerting any element of
force.” The Sephorno
suggests that the initial labour tax was a ploy to make life
uncomfortable for B’nei Yisrael so that they would emigrate from the
country. But there was one flaw in Pharaoh’s plan. He did not
anticipate the degree to which the Israelites were attached to Egypt.
They simply didn’t get the hint. They didn’t leave. In fact the
Sephorno explains that the increased slavery was a further inducement to
achieve this purpose, only that Am Yisrael preferred slavery in Egypt to
leaving the country entirely. The entire Egyptian nation felt it within
their rights to enslave them (v.13): “When
they saw the Israelites denigrating themselves in manual labour, the
country declared them as slaves.” So
the slavery was not part of Pharaoh's master-plan. Pharaoh might have
preferred to deal with the "problem" in a more peaceful
manner, however the Jews just didn't understand! The Sephorno attributes
the blindness of the people at this time to their sins and their
entrenchment in the Egyptian way of life (as mentioned in Ezekiel 20) .
Apparently, they were too attached to Egypt and this, despite the fact
that they were unwelcome guests. They never “got the hint” from
Pharaoh that they were in fact, undesirables. SUMMARY So
the Ramban sees Am Yisrael as being lead into a trap, unawares. Pharaoh
executed a well-orchestrated subtle plan to enslave and persecute the
fledgling Jewish nation. The Sephorno judges Pharaoh (at this stage)
more fairly. Pharaoh would have been happy if the Jews would have left.
He enslaved them to induce them to leave. Who
is correct? The Sephorno certainly seems to have a serious flaw. Later
in the story, Pharaoh does NOT want the Jews to leave. Maybe we might
say that by the time that they had fallen into serious slavery,
Pharaoh’s persecution of the Jews, this hatred had taken on a life of
its own and Pharaoh’s bad side prevails. Whichever way, we cannot
claim that someone who kills babies on the birth stool is not interested
in “exerting any element of force.” CONTEMPORARY
ECHOES In
our more recent Hstory, we have the painful irony of both explanations.
Hitler was an expert in slowly tightening his deathly grip on the Jews:
from propaganda to Nuremberg Laws, to ghettos, to Death Camps. And on
the other hand, Jews have always experienced the comforts of their host
countries as so welcoming, so comfortable, so much “home,” that the
Jews simply never desire to leave, even when the going gets tough. SIX
IN ONE! But,
let us return to the issue of the unusual population growth of Am
Yisrael. Rashi brings to our attention, a famous Midrash: "They
swarmed: This indicates that they gave birth to six children at a
time." (Rashi on 1:7) The
idea clearly has certain roots in the pesukim themselves. First, there
is the multiple usages of phrases indicating population growth. "The
children of Israel were fruitful, they swarmed, they multiplied, and
grew strong, exceedingly, indeed; and the land was filled with
them." (1:7) Clearly,
there are six phrases denoting fertility and expansion in this verse.
This focuses attention upon the number six. The concept of these
multiple births, however has its source in one specific word;
Vayishretzu - and they swarmed. This word is somewhat related to the
word "sheretz" - an insect. The midrash (Shemot Rabba 1:8)
states: "Each
women gave birth to six, as it states; 'The children of Israel were
fruitful, they swarmed, they multiplied, and grew strong, etc. ...
Others say that they gave birth to twelve babies! ... Do not be
surprised (at this unusual phenomenon, seemingly defying the laws of
nature) for the scorpion - one of the "sheratzim" - has
seventy offspring at one time." So
B'nei Yisrael have sheretz-like properties. They swarm and expand at an
alarming rate. How
are we to relate to this Midrash? Should we accept it according to its
literal understanding? After all, we DO have to explain, somehow, the
way in which a family of seventy became a nation of six hundred thousand
males (of fighting age! see 12:37. If these are only the men between 20
and 60, then Am Yisrael should number approx. 3 million by the Exodus.).
Maybe this miracle was God's way of making this family become a nation.
But, on the other hand, it does seem a little unrealistic (but, then
again, so do the plagues!). How
do 70 people become 600,000 in a short period of time? The
problem is further accentuated when we realise that if we take Shevet
Levi as an example, we have only THREE generations to deal with! - Levi-Kehat-Amram-Moshe.
How, in three generations, do 70 persons become 600,000? Some
of commentaries with a more scientific, rational inclination, attempted
to minimise the mind boggling, supernatural nature of this sixfold birth
phenomenon. The Ibn Ezra: "Maybe
'vayishretzu' refers to the regular birth of twins and other multiple
births. I saw four children that a woman had given birth to in a single
delivery. The doctors say that even seven foetuses can fit into a single
womb!." A
14th Century commentator - The "Megale Amukot" - writes of a
testimony of a doctor who claims to have met a women who had twenty
children in four births; giving birth to quintets each time! These
commentators are trying to lessen the abnormal, unbelievable approach of
the Midrash, presenting it as a realistic biological possibility. The
Megale Amukot does add, "But the amazing thing is that this
phenomena happened to them all!" Realistic, if improbable! A
different rationale for this rapid expansion is offered by the Shadal.
He takes the passuk (12:40) literally, explaining that B'nei Yisrael
were in Egypt for a full 430 years. In this time he explains , the
Israelites had extraordinary success as regards fertility, infant
mortality and the strength of their children. "The
early writers explain that the Nile increases fertility and that
Egyptian women give birth to twins as a rule....but all this can still
not explain the phenomenal expansion. So we must say that God's
providence guided Israel, keeping them healthy and strong." He
still insists that to become a people with 600,000 men, ie. 3 million
people, they must have had 430 years. 9
GENERATIONS Rav
Medan of Yeshivat Har Etzion ( in the Yeshiva’s Daf Kesher No.267
Tevet 5751) offers his own theory. He wishes to retain ChaZaL's view of
a 210 year enslavement. He suggests that we have nine generations at our
disposal. How so? In Divrei Hayamim, we are given 9 generations between
Ephrayim and Yehoshua (See DH"Y I 7:22-27). Ephrayim is the
generation of the descent to Egypt. Yehoshua is the generation of the
Exodus. Additionally, he notes that of the generation of the 70 names
who entered Egypt (Bereshit Ch.47), only 2 are women. Maybe the entire
family is described selectively and there were many more members. We can
certainly assume that there were another 70 women! Now,
let us imagine not sextuplets, but the successful birth of six children
per family; certainly, more normal, but nonetheless, exceptional for
ancient (and modern!) times. We
then begin with 60 men of childbearing age, and we have nine
generations. We shall multiply by 3, not six, due to the reasonable
assumption of an equal split between birth of boys and girls amongst the
Jewish population. We begin with 60 men; 2nd generation is 180 (men);
3rd-540, 4th - 1620; 5th - 4860; 6th - 14580; 7th-43760; 8th-131,280,
9th -400,000! If there were more people, then we are certainly close.
Six children per family, even if non-simultaneous, would certainly be a
miracle for a malnourished, overworked, persecuted and enslaved nation.
We now have an explanation that explains the unusual expansion AND
retains a certain rational believability! Shabbat
Shalom.
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