Pesach: Leaving Mitzrayim, Thinking Big

Rav Waxman

Already at the time of the ברית בין הבתרים, when אברהם אבינו was told that his children will experience a difficult time during the Egyptian exile, Hashem also informs him that his children will leave Egypt with a very significant amount of wealth. "V'achrei chein yeitzu b'rchush gadol" (Breishit 15, 14). 

Here, at this central and fundamental revelation regarding the redemption of Bnei Yisrael from Egypt, which is also the paradigm of future redemptions (Bresihit Rabba 44,17), we find Hashem making a promise that the Jews will leave Egypt with significant wealth.

We see, in fact, that the Jews completely wiped out Mitzrayim from all of their money, as the Gemara teaches:

"וינצלו את מצרים" (שמות י"ב), אמר רבי אמי: מלמד שעשאוה כמצודה שאין בה דגן. וריש לקיש אמר: עשאוה כמצולה שאין בה דגים. (ברכות דף ט:) 

While using different imagery to portray the financial loss Egypt incurred, either a citadel without wheat or the depths of the ocean without fish, both R' Ami and Reish Lakish agree that the Jews left Egypt with all of Egypt's wealth. 

In addition, not only did the Jews get rich from the possessions they took from the Egyptians before they left, they also continued to accumulate wealth from the riches that were washed ashore after קריעת ים סוף, the ביזת הים. As the Midrash teaches: 

למה היו מקצת הכלים של כסף ומקצתן של זהב? לומר לך האחרונים שהיו של זהב כנגד ביזת הים שכשם שהזהב נחמד ויקר מן הכסף כך היתה ביזת הים גדולה משל מצרים ועל אלו ואלו נאמר (שיר השירים א) "תורי זהב נעשה לך" זו ביזת הים, "עם נקודות הכסף" זו ביזת מצרים. (במדבר רבה פרשה יג')

What is the relevance of this financial piece within the great events of Bnei Yisrael leaving Mitzrayim? Is getting rich in fact an essential component in the geulah from Egypt? 

Rav Kook explains this idea in his commentary on Aggadata, עין אי"ה. The גמרא in ברכות tells us that הקב"ה had to ask משה רבנו to encourage the Jews to take the Egyptian's wealth before they left because on their own the Jews wouldn't want to remain in מצרים for another minute. The גמרא compares this situation to that of a person being held in jail and is freed. Upon being freed his liberators tell him to run out of prison and grab some money too. He just wants to get out and feels like telling them, “Just get me out, forget about the money.” The גמרא tells us that the reason for this additional component of taking Mitzrayim’s wealth was that Hashem wanted to make sure that He brought about the fulfillment of the promise to Avraham Avinu, "V'achrei chein yeitzu b'rchush gadol". 

Again, why was it important that Am Yisrael becomes wealthy at this point in time?

Rav Kook explains that at this point, the birth of the Jewish nation, an extreme change was necessary to take place in the mindset of the Jews of that time. We had taken on a small minded mentality through our years of slavery. We had to undergo a transition whereby we would break out of a small, constricted, shlepper mentality which is basically concerned with worrying about where the next meal is going to come from. As the Sfas Emes explains, we had to break out of "סבלות מצרים" from the לשון of סבלנות, patience. We became too patient, tolerant, complacent with our own shlepper mentality. The development of the Jewish nation required us to start thinking big, thinking first class, beyond worrying about where the next buck is going to come from. We’re meant to make an impact on the word, and as such we had to become a little bit classier, a little bit bigger, "V'achrei chein yeitzu b'rchush gadol!" 

It is for this reason, writes Rav Kook, that the גמרא explains that Hashem asked Moshe to approach Bnei Yisrael and try to convince them to take the wealth of Egypt before they leave. Regarding this point, taking Egypt's money, we don’t receive a direct commandment, but rather we are persuaded to do it. This shows that attaining wealth was not the goal itself, but rather it is a means towards reaching the end goal, enabling the Jews to start thinking big. Therefore Hashem says "דבר נא באזני העם", please try to convince them.

This is the meaning, explains Rav Kook, of the משל in the גמרא regarding a person in jail. A person in jail is totally limited by his confines. Not only do the walls around him constrict him physically, they also confine his vision, they don’t let him aspire for greatness. Here an outsider is needed to lend a helping hand and enable the small minded person to break out of his box and see the great opportunities that exist for him in life. Because the small minded person can’t see the great opportunities he only sees the specific in front of him - get out of jail! Only the outside liberator can help him see beyond his nose and help him realize the greatness he can achieve.

Of course there is the כור הברזל, the iron furnace, aspect of our experience in Egypt, the feelings of submission which were cultivated inמצרים which we then direct towards our Creator once we were taken out. At the same time, we’re expected not to underestimate our potential and become the highest, most sophisticated, first-class, broad minded, noble people we can become. Accumulating the wealth of מצרים helped contribute towards this transition from small minded slaves to men of great vision. "V'achrei chein yeitzu b'rchush gadol"!