Bo 5775:         Night Vision

By Rabbi Joshua (otherwise known as the Hoffer) Hoffman

 

With gratitude to the Almighty for sustaining me, and a prayer that He continue to do so, this week’s message marks the completion of seventeen years of Netvort. Thanks to the readers for their comments, criticisms, and questions, and the entire Netvort staff for their help in producing and distributing our divrei Torah. As always, a special top of the Hoffer cap to my editor/gabbai for his continued assistance.

 

The Torah relates, that during the plague of darkness brought upon the Eygptians, “No man could see his brother, nor could anyone rise from their place for a three day period, but for the Children of Yisroel there was light in their dwellings” (Shemos 10:23).  The Midrash explains, that not only in Goshen was there light for the B’nei Yisroel, but wherever they were, even in the houses of the Egyptians, they had light, and were thereby able to see where the Egyptians kept their valuables, so when they asked later for such, the Egyptians could not deny that they had them, because the departing freed men could identify what and where they were. Interestingly, Rav Mordechai Ilan, in his Mikdash Mordechai, and Rav Moshe Yehuda Jakobovits, who served as a dayan in the Breuer's community in Washington Heights, in his Zichron Moshe, gave another more homiletical meaning behind the Torah’s mention that the B’nei Yisroel had light in their dwellings, which highlights the contrast between the them and the Egyptians.

           

Rav Ilan says that when the Egyptians suffered from the plague of darkness, none of them cared for the other.  No one could see his friend, or try to help anyone out.  In contrast, the B’nei Yisroel did see each other, and did care for other people, and in that sense they had light in all their dwellings. We may add that Rav Eliyahu Meir Bloch, in his Peninei Daas, notes that the B’nei Yisroel must have helped feed the Egyptians during the plagues as well, and that is why the Torah tells us later that they found grace in the eyes of the Egyptians.  Rav Jakobovits writes that the Egyptians were jealous of each other and of the Jews. B’nei Yisroel, in contrast, displayed no jealousy, but were friendly and helpful to each other, reflecting the light they were given.

 

Rav Jakobovits adds, that the recognition of this lack of jealousy among the B’nei Yisroel is reflected in the change of order that we find in regard to who would leave Egypt to worship G-d and who would stay, and between what Pharaoh stated after the plague of locusts, and what he accepted after the plague of darkness.  At first, as Rav Jakobovits puts it, the children were to stay as a safeguard for the return of the slaves, and the sheep were to go out with the people, while later, the sheep would remain, and the children would be the surety.  Pharaoh’s original plan was for the sheep, representing possessions to go out with the people, thereby causing them to be jealous of each other, and weaken their unity and reduce the threat to the Egyptians.

 

However, when he saw that during the plague of darkness they displayed no jealousy, he changed the order and tried to arouse that emotion among them. Perhaps, in this light, we can better appreciate the observation of the Kli Yakar, who says that while after the other plagues, Pharaoh called for Moshe and Aharon, after the plague of darkness, he called only for Moshe. The Kli Yakar explains that this is because when Moshe was born, the house was filled with light, and Pharaoh attributed the light that Yisroel had to Moshe. With the comments of Rav Ilan and Rav Jakobovits perhaps we can explain that Pharaoh understood that it was Moshe’s leadership and teaching that guided the people to act humbly, in a friendly way, and without jealousy, preparing them to become the nation that would carry God’s name in the world.