In this week’s parshah, we read of the Israelite people in Egypt, and their quick and rapid growth. The Torah tells us that Pharaoh, as a result, said to his people: “Look, the Israelite people have become too many and too strong for us. Come; let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they increase. And if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, and fight against us and leave the country”” (Exodus 9-10). Nechama Leibowitz asks the following question: Why did Pharaoh, the ruler of the Egyptian empire require to look for pretexts ‘to deal wisely’ with the helpless Jewish minority in his realm? Why could he not destroy them with fire and sword without further ado? Who was to gainsay him? The following is the Ramban’s answer detailing Pharaoh’s policy, with regard to all the stages of his plan: “Pharaoh and his advisors did not regard it as a wise step to put the Israelites to the sword; for this would have constituted rank treason to persecute a people without cause, that had come to the land at the bidding of his royal predecessor. Moreover, the people of the land would not have allowed the king to commit this violence since he had to consult them (all the more so in view of the fact that the Children of Israel were a mighty and numerous people who would make war with them). He later suggested looking for a device by which the Israelites should not feel any hostile act was being committed against them. For this reason, he imposed on them a tax; for it was a custom of strangers in a country to pay a tax to the king. Afterwards, he secretly ordered the midwives to put to death the male children on the birthstools when even the mothers themselves did not know what was going on. Then, he commanded all of his people that they should cast every male child into the river. He did not give such an order to his chief executioners to slay them by the sword at the royal bidding, or to cast them into the river. Rather, he told the people to do so, and that if the father of the child were to protest to the king or his representative, they should ask him to bring evidence to substantiate his accusation and for vengeance to be done. When the king allowed matters to take their course, The Egyptians searched Jewish homes and even took the children from there. That is the implication of the statement and they could no longer hide him.” Leibowitz explains that the originality of Ramban’s interpretation lies in his explanation of the command to kill every male child. The text states that Pharaoh commanded “all his people” rather than “his princes and servants”. This was not therefore an official royal edict, but behind-the-scenes provocation. The government gave no order, but merely closed its eyes whilst the Egyptian masses “spontaneously” vented their indignation on the foreigners. Although Egyptian law protected strangers, in practice there would be no redress. This situation would be just as Ramban outlined.
We read that despite Pharaoh’s plans to stem Jewish growth at the outset of the parshah, “They increased in proportion to the repressive measures” (Exodus 1:12). The Alshekh comments that when the Egyptians realized that the Jewish population explosion was not a natural phenomenon, (since the Jews increased EVEN MORE after preventive measures had been imposed on them), they changed their policy and applied perech, i.e. peh rach,persuasion rather than coercion. The nation is described as benay Yisroel, to reflect that the Egyptians had become aware of a God who was on their side. They were afraid of punishment – vayakutzu mipney – they were full of dread on account of this. The Egyptians were anxious to lead the Jewish people into sin, so that they would forfeit the protection of their God. They embittered their lives (Exodus 1:14) – this means that the Egyptians used all means at their disposal to make the Jews reject their fate. They did all this in a manner that did not make the Jews feel coerced, and they hoped that the Jewish people’s God would have no sympathy for them.
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim