13 Jan PARSHAT VAEIRA: THE FIRST COMMANDMENT: FIND THE COURAGE TO HEAL “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
The Biblical account of the Jewish
Exodus from Egypt 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 the Hebrew slaves; the Egyptian
monarch increased their torture. The
Hebrews now would not listen any longer
to the promise of redemption. Now let us
pay heed to this seemingly strange verse
in Shemot, in parshat 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 the people of Israel
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 the children of Israel out of Egypt.
But what is it that Moshe is supposed to
command the people themselves?
The Talmud Yerushalami 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 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 Egyptian bondage.
The Basis for the Commentary
The Talmud bases this novel and
seemingly unfounded interpretation on a
fascinating narrative in Sefer Yirmiyahu:
Then the word of the Lord came to
Yirmiyahu 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 Egypt, 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 Egypt to free their
slaves? In a brilliant interpretation, 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 the children of
Israel, and to Pharaoh the king of Egypt,
to let the children of Israel out of the land
of Egypt.” The commandment to the
children of Israel was to set free their
slaves.
Yet this seems like a cruel joke. The
Children of Israel at this point were
crushed and tormented slaves 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 children of
Israel, and to Pharaoh the king of Egypt
to let the children of Israel out of the land
of Egypt.” 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 Hebrews
free from bondage?
Who Is Free?
The answer to this question is simple and
moving and is vital to the understanding

of liberty in Judaism.
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 being free? That
you learn to confer freedom
on others.
The dictator, the control freak,
or the abusive spouse or
parent do not know how to
give others freedom. He or
she feels compelled to force
others into the mold that he/
she 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, insecurity, and
confinement.
When I do not confront the parts in me
that are wounded, my animal-soul
consciousness which has developed
myriads of coping mechanisms, emotions,
drives, instincts, and belief systems to
keep it safe and in control, will be running
my inner operating system. Without even
noticing it, I am trying to control the
people around me through all types of
creative and sometimes brilliant ways so
that I can feel superficially safe and
comfortable. My relationships and
emotions are shaped by my internal
wounds and terror—the need to survive
in a scary and unsafe world.
In such a situation, how can I give up
control? How can I celebrate otherness?
How can I remain vulnerable, present,
regulated, feeling your heartbeat with no
agenda, when I need to put my heart on
lockdown in order to survive, or I need to
control you?
I am simply not capable of truly
celebrating another person’s life and
individuality because I am desperate each
moment for emotional oxygen; all I can
think of is how to remain protected in a
world that is dangerous. I may be aware
of this, but I do feel the anxiety of
manipulation.

Who is powerful? He who truly knows
how to empower and trust. 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
internally the presence and heartbeat of
the other? Can you enjoy the soaring
success of your loved ones and
constituents? Do you encourage them to
spread their wings and maximize their
potential? Can you allow others to shine?
Pharaoh may set you free physically. But
former slaves can become present tyrants.
People who were abused sometimes
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 could go to
Pharaoh to let them go free was: One day
you will be free. Remember that freedom
is a gift; use it to free others.
As it turns out, this is a remarkable
Talmudic insight. The first commandment
ever given to the Jewish people was:
Don’t internalize what the Egyptians
have done to you. Find the spark of
freedom, the inner Divine core, that no
trauma can tarnish or paralyze; that part
has remained free and will cherish
conferring it upon others.