What Guarantees the Survival of the Jewish People The Torah tells us that after Yosef and that entire generation passed away, the Jewish people were fruitful, teemed (vayishretzu), increased and became strong. The Torah continues to tell us that a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Yosef. The increase of the number of Jews in a short period caused Pharaoh to be concerned that they may align with Egypts enemies and drive them from the land. On a literal level, we could see that what fueled Pharaohs concern was the increase in the number of Jews in the land. However, we can understand it differently. The extreme change in the status of the Jewish people only occurred after Yosef and that entire generation passed away. The Torah tells us that seemingly it was only after the Jews began vayishretzu (teeming) that Pharaoh became concerned. We find that after Yosef was sold into slavery and ultimately was purchased by Potiphar, he quickly ascended to become the head of his masters household. At that time, the Torah states, Now Yosef was handsome of form and handsome of appearance. After these things, his masters wife cast her eyes upon Yosef and she said, Lie with me. Simply one could say that the reason his mistress took notice of him was because of his beauty and handsome appearance. However, Rashi explains it differently based on the Midrash. The Midrash says that when Yosef became the head of his masters household he began to focus on his looks by beautifying his eyes and grooming his hair. Chazal tell us that Hashem said that Yosefs behavior at that moment was inappropriate because he was paying attention to his beauty when his father Yaakov was grieving over his loss. Hashem said, Because you were insensitive to your fathers pain, I will set your masters wife upon you. The Torah is telling us that if it were not for the inappropriateness of Yosefs behavior (despite his beauty), his mistress would not have taken any interest in him. It was only because of his spiritual failing that Hashem allowed her to take notice. In a similar vein, one can now understand Pharaohs concern with the increase in the Jewish population. Pharaoh had a sense of insecurity because Hashem allowed him to perceive the Jewish people in a suspicious manner. Sforno explains vayishretzu to mean that after the generation of Yosef had passed away, the Jewish people began to behave inappropriately - similar to rodents (pejorative term for improper behavior). The Midrash tells us that the bondage of the Jewish people started only after they stopped circumcising themselves. As long as the Jewish people circumcised themselves, they were not subject to slavery. However, when the generation of Yosef passed away, the Jewish people in Egypt no longer wished to value their spirituality, which is represented through the circumcision (sign of the Holy Covenant). It was at this time that they were subjected to bondage. Under normal circumstances, Pharaoh would not have felt threatened by the sudden increase in the Jewish population. However, because the Jews began to abandon their spirituality, Pharaoh began to take notice. The justification for Pharaohs behavior was that the spirituality of the Jew had eroded to such a degree that he no longer identified them with their forbearers. Because Pharaoh could no longer recognize the spiritual influence of Yosef and that generation, he was able to justify the bondage. The Gemara in Tractate Chulin says that the only time an animal attacks a human being is when the animal sees the person as an animal (commonality with itself). However as long as the animal is able to sense the tzelem Elokeem - the Image of G-d (the spirituality) of the person, the animal will not attack. It is only when the human being is put on the same level as the animal will he be subject to attack. Similarly, the non-Jew becomes insecure when he perceives the Jew on his level. If the Jew retains his spirituality, then he does not have commonality with the non-Jew and therefore Hashem will not allow him to be despised. However, if the Jew should abandon his Judaism and attempt to assimilate with the non-Jew (even culturally), he will eventually become despised and rejected by the non-Jew. This is why Pharaoh became concerned with the increase in the Jewish population and thus instituted the bondage to subordinate and control the Jew. This unfortunate reality has repeated itself many times throughout history
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 17:45:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015