Parashat Hashavua: “With a Strong Hand He Will Expel Them from His Land | Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Beit Midrash

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Parashat Hashavua

קטגוריה משנית

Torah Portion and Tanach
Va'era

Last parasha ends with the words "… for with a strong hand he (Paroh) will send them, and with a strong hand he will expel them from his land" (Shemot 6:1). How does this answer Moshe’s standing question, "Why did You harm this nation?" (ibid. 5:22)? Rashi on the former pasuk says that Bnei Yisrael needed the strong hand to compel them to leave Egypt. After begging for liberation, how could Bnei Yisrael be in a state that they needed to be forced to leave?
We find in the beginning of our parasha (Shemot 6:6-7) "four languages of liberation." They are not synonyms, as each relates to a different element and has its owns importance. Hashem did not suffice with ceasing the abuses of the Egyptians as slave drivers, but promised to totally relieve them of work on behalf of the Egyptians. That was not enough, and therefore he promised them geula and becoming His nation.
Actually, not all of Bnei Yisrael clearly saw all of the Exodus as being crucial. Realize that the whole matter of enslavement became necessary because "the land was filled with them" (ibid. 1:7). This pasuk hints at the fact that Jews could be found everywhere in Egypt, including the theaters and all the public places of the land (Tanchuma, Shemot 6:6). They felt quite at home in what was supposed to be a foreign land. Although Yaakov worked hard to inculcate in the minds of his family that they were just guests there and Yosef worked to have them settle in an isolated location, Bnei Yisrael breached the boundaries.
They actually wanted to be like the Egyptians. The exile found favor in the eyes of quite a few, and they tried to be involved in Egyptian national life. Even after the painful period of enslavement, many would have been satisfied to be removed from the slavery but stay in Egypt. They would have passed on the plan to have independent national life. They would have stayed in Paroh’s land, even when the time of liberation came, if not for the strong hand expelling them from it.
Therefore, it was necessary to have an event to at least weaken Bnei Yisrael’s close connection to exile. It had to shake their confidence in what was actually a temporary period of quiet. They had to see what other nations were capable of doing to them.
It is also possible that all of this was necessary to actualize the giving of the Torah. Even after being removed from Egypt, Bnei Yisrael could have copied the characteristics of Egyptian society and implemented them for themselves. Therefore, it was necessary to show the people the true face of Egypt. If at one point, earlier in the family’s stay in Egypt, it was possible to excuse Paroh and explain that he just did not want these immigrants in his land, it became clear that this was not true, as he did not allow them to leave. The people learned what Egypt was really about, and that it was not smart to stay or to adopt Egyptian culture but rather to go to Sinai and accept the Torah.

Va'era

Parashat Hashavua