02 Jan PARASHAT SHEMOT: THE SPOILS OF EGYPT

When G-d spoke to
Moshe for the first
time, and instructed
him to return to Egypt
and lead Beneh Yisrael
to freedom, He mentioned that when the
people will leave Egypt, “they will not leave
empty-handed. Each woman will borrow
from her neighbor…silver and gold utensils,
and garments…” (3:22). Beneh Yisrael
would “borrow” their Egyptian neighbors’
belongings, and bring these possessions with
them as they left Egypt. Indeed, we read later
(12:35) that the time of the Exodus from
Egypt, “And Beneh Yisrael did as Moshe said
– they borrowed from Egypt silver and gold
utensils, and garments.”
The implication of the text is that Beneh
Yisrael deceived the Egyptians, “borrowing”
their belongings knowing full well that
they would never return them. The obvious
question arises as to why G-d would command
such a thing. Why would He have Beneh
Yisrael act immorally and fool the Egyptians?
True, G-d had promised Abraham Abinu that
after his descendants would endure a period of
oppression in a foreign land, they would then
leave with great wealth (Bereshit 15:14). But
G-d clearly had an infinite number of ways
to make this happen. Why did He choose to
have Beneh Yisrael “borrow” their Egyptian

neighbors’ possessions without the intention
of giving them back?
In fact, the Or Ha’haim Ha’kadosh (Rav Haim
Ben-Attar, 1696-1743) notes that the Torah
emphasizes that “Beneh Yisrael did as Moshe
said” – meaning, they took the Egyptians’
belongings only because they trusted Moshe’s
instructions. The Rambam writes in Hilchot
Yesodeh Ha’Torah that if a prophet, whose
authenticity has already been confirmed,
instructs the people to transgress a Torah
command, then as long as he does not call
for that command’s permanent abrogation, he
should be obeyed. (The classic example of this
Halacha is the story of Eliyahu, who offered
a sacrifice on Mount Carmel despite the
prohibition against bringing sacrifices outside
the Bet Ha’mikdash.) Moshe was now calling
upon the people to commit a clear violation
of Torah law – to deceive the Egyptians and
essentially steal from them, by pretending
to borrow their possessions when in truth
they were taking them to keep. The people
obeyed this command only because Moshe –
a confirmed prophet – instructed them to do
this as a “Hora’at Sha’a” – an extraordinary,
one-time provision. Such conduct normally
is strictly forbidden, but an exception was
made in this instance, as G-d had commanded
the people to take their Egyptian neighbors’
possessions.

Why was this exception made? Why did G-d
want Beneh Yisrael to take the Egyptians’
belongings this way?
An answer may be suggested in light of the
Gemara’s discussion in Masechet Pesahim
(39a) about the Misva of Marror. The Mishna
there establishes that the preferred vegetable
to use for fulfilling this Misva is “Hazeret,”
which the Gemara defines as “Hasa” (lettuce).
The Gemara explains the connection between
“Hasa” and Beneh Yisrael’s enslavement in
Egypt, stating, “Why were the Egyptians
compared to Marror? To teach you that just
as this Marror is first soft and then hard,
the Egyptians, too, were at first soft, and
then became hard.” The lettuce leaves are
soft when they first begin to grow, and
eventually harden. The Egyptians, too, began
treating Beneh Yisrael “softly,” with outward
kindness, before becoming harsh and cruel.
Rashi explains that the Egyptians lured Beneh
Yisrael to become their slaves by first offering
attractive salaries for their labor. But then,
after Beneh Yisrael signed up to work as
laborers, the Egyptians stopped paying them,
and they ended up as the Egyptians’ slaves.
Our Sages in the Midrash explain how
each of the ten plagues which G-d brought
upon Egypt punished the Egyptians “Midda
Ke’negged Midda” (“measure for measure”),

corresponding to the crimes they committed
against Beneh Yisrael. By the same token, we
might assume that Beneh Yisrael’s deception
of the Egyptians, too, served as a punishment
“Midda Ke’negged Midda.” Beneh Yisrael’s
enslavement was brought about through
deception – and so it ended through deception.
The Egyptians fooled Beneh Yisrael by
promising long-term, gainful employment,
when in truth their intent was to enslave
them. G-d punished the Egyptians by having
Beneh Yisrael now deceive the Egyptians by
“borrowing” their belongings without any
intention to return them. This exceptional
command was given for the purpose of
punishing the Egyptians, of having them fall
victims to deception just as they had cruelly
deceived Beneh Yisrael.