Parashas Vayikra
3 Nisan 5769

March 28, 2009
Daf Yomi: Bava Kama 90

Guest Author:
Rabbi Chaim Silver

Associate, Young Israel Council of Rabbis

 

 

The parsha begins “Vayikra El Moshe”; “And HaShem called Moshe” (Vayikra 1:1). Rashi comments that when HaShem calls the Jewish people, whether it is for a mitzvah (commandment) or prophecy, He calls them with an expression of endearment and concern. When He interacts with the nations of the world, on the other hand, He remains distant and almost indifferent, as it is written, “Vayakar Elokim el Balaam”; “and He happened to call Balaam.”

 The Egyptian exile is the predecessor of all exiles, similar to the concept of Maaseh Avos Siman Lebanim, where the actions of the forefathers and the events that occurred to them are signs of what would be destined to happen to their children in the future. However, there is much more to this than a mere coincidence of events and repetitions in history. The actions of the forefathers built the spiritual entity that is the Jewish people. Their actions created the path that would allow their children to reach perfection; their children would walk in the same path that had already been trod upon by Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. It was the same path and therefore the same trials, and ultimately it will be the same successes.

The Egyptian exile is the source of all exiles, meaning that the generation of the desert, our forefathers, have already lived through all future exiles and the future generations would live through the same exiles which that generation had already lived.  It would stand to reason that if the exile contained the four exiles then the exodus should contain facets of the four redemptions. The Baal Haturim writes that the four expressions of V’hotzeiti, V’hitzalti, V’goalti, V’lakachti correspond to the four future exiles. The most difficult is the exile of Edom, where HaShem must take us out by force, as expressed by the word V’lakachti. They did not want to go willingly; they had to be physically removed. Why did they not want to go? They were slaves. They should be happy to be freed. The Torah attributes the apathy of the Jewish people to “Kotzer Ruach” (Shemos 6:9).

The Chassam Sofer quotes a Medrash, which says that a person can become so oppressed and narrow-minded that he simply cannot breathe or see beyond the confines of his situation; as if to say that no other reality is possible. The Jewish people were pressed into such a small box that they started to hyperventilate. Kotzer Ruach, they were short of breath, overwhelmed by slavery and the Egyptian way of life. They could not fathom another life or a way out of this one. In their minds, leaving Egypt would be like walking off a very high cliff into a void that would surely bring about their demise. If HaShem did not take them out (V’lakachti), they would have never left. 

With this in mind, we can explain the following pasuk: “Veyidaber Moshe Lifnei HaShemLeimor. Hein Bnai Yisrael Lo Shamu Elay V’eich Yishma’eini Pharoh Vani Aral Sefasayi.” Moshe spoke before HaShem saying, “Behold the children of Israel have not listened to me, so how will Pharaoh listen to me? And I have sealed lips!” (Shemos 6:12).  The Zohar explains that Moshe represented truth and there was no one to listen to him. Pharoh and the entire society lived a life that was contrary to the will of HaShem and they could not comprehend any other type of existence. Moshe’s argument to listen to HaShem is like promoting the idea that everyone should grow gills and live in the sea, or build space ships and live on Mars. These ideas are absurd and it would be nearly impossible to get anyone to listen. The idea of truth and redemption was so foreign it was like discussing a trip to Mars. Moshe told HaShem that if the Jewish people, who had every reason to want to leave slavery, would not listen because of their inability to comprehend another way of life, how would Pharoh listen to such a suggestion? 

One of the greatest gifts that HaShem gave man is pain. I have a friend who suffers from diabetes and as a result lost feeling in his foot. He did not realize that he had an infection. He noticed it too late and he lost part of his foot. Pain tells us that something is wrong and we need to do something about it. The Jews did not want to leave Egypt because they did not know that things could be different. They did not realize that they were in pain. They grew accustomed to this way of life, losing any dream of something different, something better.  

We find ourselves in the Roman exile and we suffer from the same ailment that the Jewish people did before they left Egypt. We do not realize that things should be different, that we are in pain, and that we should do something to heal the situation. Many simply do not realize the possibility of living a more spiritual existence, leaving the pursuit of “materialism for its own sake” behind. We sell ourselves short and confine ourselves to the box, which has become our lives without the hope or expectation of getting out.

The solution is to remember who we are and how much HaShem loves us. “Vayikra,” he calls to us with love and concern. If we would believe in this relationship, it will build “Jewish self-esteem.” When we recognize our importance and the relationship we have with HaShem, we will begin to act in accordance with the new vision of self.  No matter how religious or secular we are, there are behaviors and things that we will not engage in because we think it is below us; we would not demean our sense of self and self worth.

If Jews would truly appreciate how special it is to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” that knowledge would not permit us to belittle ourselves and avoid a life of spiritual greatness.  We must recognize that The Jewish people as a whole are in pain. This is not the way that the holy nation should live, defining our successes by material gain and prestige. We must develop a loftier sense of self so that we can merit the coming of Moshiach speedily in our day.  

Good shabbos.