09 Jan VAEIRA: WHY DO YOU NEED TO CONTROL ME?? “LET MY PEOPLE GO!” BUT CAN THEY LET THEMSELVES GO?

Three Boys
Three boys are in the
schoolyard bragging
of how great their
fathers are.
The first one says:
“Well, my father runs the fastest. He can fire
an arrow, and start to run, I tell you, he gets
there before the arrow”.
The second one says: “Ha! You think that’s
fast! My father is a hunter. He can shoot his
gun and be there before the bullet”.
The third one listens to the other two and
shakes his head. He then says: “You two
know nothing about fast. My father is a civil
servant. He stops working at 4:30 and he is
home by 3:45”!
The First Commandment
Yetzias Mitzrayim has been one of the
most inspiring stories for the oppressed,
enslaved and downtrodden throughout
history. From the American Revolution to
the slaves of the American South, to Martin
Luther King’s Let Freedom Ring, the
narrative of the Exodus provided countless

people with the courage to hope for a better
future, and to act on the dream. Moshe’s first
visit to Pharaoh demanding liberty for his
people only brought more misery to Bnei
Yisrael; the Egyptian monarch increased
their torture. Bnei Yisrael now would not
listen any longer to the promise of
redemption. Now let us pay heed to this
seemingly strange verse in Sefer Shemot, in
the parsha of Vaeira: So G-d spoke to Moshe
and to Aaron, and He commanded them to
the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh the
king of Egypt, to let the children of Israel
out of the land of Egypt. G-d is charging
Moshe with two directives: Command Bnei
Yisrael and then command Pharaoh the
king. However, the verse is ambiguous:
What did G-d command Moshe to instruct
the people? The message for Pharaoh is
clear: Let Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt. But
what is it that Moshe is supposed to
command the people themselves? Talmud
Yerishalmi says something profoundly
enigmatic: G-d instructed Moshe to
command to the Jewish people the laws of
freeing slaves. The Talmud is referring to a
law recorded later in Sefer Shemot: If a Jew

sells himself as a slave, the owner
must let him go after six years. He
is forbidden to hold on to the slave
for longer. This was the law Moshe
was to share with Bnei Yisrael
while they were in slavery.
The Basis for the
Commentary
The Talmud bases this novel and
seemingly unfounded interpretation
on a fascinating narrative in Sefer
Yirmeyahu: Then the word of the Lord came
to Yirmeyahu from the Lord, saying: So says
the Lord G-d of Israel; I made a covenant
with your fathers on the day that I brought
them forth out of the land of Mitzrayim, out
of the house of slaves, saying: “At the end of
seven years you shall let go every man his
brother Jew who has been sold to you, and
when he has served you for six years you
shall let him go free from you.” The question
is, where do we find a covenant made by
G-d with the Jewish people when they left
Mitzrayim to free their slaves? In a brilliant
speculation, the Talmud suggests that this is
the meaning of the above enigmatic
verse, “G-d spoke to Moshe and to
Aaron, and He commanded them to Bnei
Yisrael, and to Pharaoh the king of
Egypt, to let Bnei Yisrael out of the
Mitzrayim.” The commandment to Bnei
Yisrael to set free their slaves. Yet this
seems like a cruel joke. Bnei Yisrael at
this point were crushed and tormented
slave themselves, subjugated by a
genocidal despot and a tyrannical
regime, enduring horrific torture. Yet at
this point in time G-d wants Moshe to
command them about the laws relevant
to the aristocrat, the feudal lord, the
slave-owner?! What is more, as the
Torah puts it: “G-d commanded them to
the Bnei Yisrael, and to Pharaoh the king
of Egypt to let the Bnei Yisrael out of the
land of Mitzrayim.” It seems like the two
instructions—the one to Bnei Yisrael
and the one to the Egyptian king—are
linked. And furthermore: the
commandment to Bnei
Yisrael preceded the commandment to
Pharaoh. But what does the
commandment to the Jewish people that
they free their slaves one day in the
future have to do with the mission to
Pharaoh to set the Jews free from
slavery?
Who Is Free?
The answer to this question is
profoundly simple and moving, and is
vital to the understanding of liberty in

the biblical imagination. Before Pharaoh can
liberate the Jewish slaves, they must be
ready to become free. You can take a man
out of slavery, but it may prove more
challenging to take slavery out of a man.
Externally, you may be free; internally you
may still be enslaved.
What is the first and foremost symptom of
bring free? That you learn to confer freedom
on others. The dictator or the control freak
does not know how give others freedom. He
(or she) feels compelled to force others into
the mold that he has created for them.
Uncomfortable in his own skin, he is afraid
that someone will overshadow him, expose
his weaknesses, usurp his position or make
him feel extra in this world. Outwardly he
attempts to appear powerful, but inwardly
his power is a symptom of inner misery and
confinement. Only when one learns to
embrace others, not for whom he would like
them to be, but for whom they are, then can
he begin to embrace himself, not for whom
he wishes he was, but for whom he is. When
we free those around us, we are freeing
ourselves. By accepting them, we learn to
accept ourselves.
Who is powerful? He who empowers. Who
is free? He who can free others. Who is a
leader? He who creates other leaders.
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if
you want to test a man’s character, give him
power,” Abraham Lincoln said. Ask
yourself, do you know how to celebrate the
soaring success of your loved ones and
constituents? Do you encourage them to
spread their wings and maximize their
potentials? Can you allow others to shine?
Pharaoh may set you free physically. But
former slaves can become present tyrants.
People who were abused often become
abusers themselves. It is what they know
about life; it is the paradigm they were raised
with. They grew up in abuse and slavery, so
they continue the cycle with others. The first
Mitzvah the Jews had to hear from Moshe
before even he can go the Pharaoh to let
them go free was: One day you will be free.
Remember that freedom is a gift; use it to
free others.