The Sforno on the posuk, “So that you tell your children and you shall know that I am Hashem,” seems to have a conflict in his explanations.
On the beginning of the verse, which directs us to tell our children about the plagues and the Exodus, he comments, “So that the generations of Israel shall know all this.”
On the end of the verse, “And you shall know I am Hashem,” he says, “You, your generation, and the Egyptians.”
This commentary is curious. At the very least, it’s out of order. First you yourselves should know it, and then you should tell it to your sons and grandsons. Moreover, it sounds like you don’t know it until after you tell it to your children.
Indeed, the purpose of telling it to your children is so that all generations for all time should know the miracles of Hashem and the justice He wrought.
But how do you properly convey it? Only when you know its veracity to be fact; when you not only believe it, but KNOW that Hashem controls everything in the world.
When you tell your children with that perspective, they will never forget your beliefs, and you, in turn, will become stronger and have more clarity in them yourself.
Thought of the week:
When you know everything is for a reason, life becomes a joyous scavenger hunt, seeking out the things Hashem has hidden for you to find.
(B:Y TWMw) „.ÊH YNA YK OTEDYW ...OYRCMB YTLLETH RwA TA VNB IBW VNB YNZAB RPST IEMLW‰
“So you will say to your children and grandchildren how I toyed with the Egyptians, and the signs I placed in their midst, and you will know I am Hashem.” (Shmos 10:2)
This statement is quite unsettling. Does Hashem take pleasure in toying with human beings, and enjoy their suffering? Are we to tell our children that this is the kind of G-d we serve? And further, the name of Hashem is usually considered to be a name of mercy. How will we know that He is “Hashem” by recalling how He tormented the Egyptians?
What the Egyptians went through was highly unusual. Each plague they endured was actually four or five plagues in one. One could certainly feel at the time, and many likely did, that “the Jewish G-d is playing with me!” Indeed, the fact that two people, one Egyptian and one Jew, could drink from two straws in the same glass, and the Jew would have refreshing water while the Egyptian had blood, seems almost comical. But that’s the point. Hashem wanted this to be memorable. He wanted us to have ridiculous stories to speak about to our children. He also wanted us to see that when the Egyptians were suffering the Jews were NOT suffering. They were spared and separated from all the evil, not by distance, but by Hashem’s word alone. Thus, they should not only remember that the Egyptian drank blood, but that the Jew was given water to drink.
The message to take from these events is one of Emunah in Hashem, a firm belief in the Al-mighty Who controls every moment of our lives with precision. The Jews were to recognize Hashem as, in the words of the Haamek Davar – “the power behind all powers, and the doer of all.”
For the nations of the world, it’s enough to understand that Hashem is in control, insofar as it will keep them from serving other gods. For the Jews, however, it’s much more personal. We are to believe and feel that Hashem is involved in every aspect of our lives, and that He cares about us. The name of Hashem which is considered a name of mercy, encompasses past, present, and future (haya, hoveh, yihiyeh are implied in the four-letter name we don’t pronounce as written) and conveys that when Hashem is guiding us with hashgacha pratis, individualized Divine guidance, it takes into account everything from all times.
When the Egyptians suffered, it was a message to them about all the nuanced wrongs they perpetrated against the Jews. It was an opportunity to reflect and regret their actions. Was Hashem playing with them? Yes. Was it because He didn’t care about them? No.
He gives each of us what we need to become the best version of ourselves, and everything that happens to us is part of that Divine interaction which takes place because Hashem loves us and wants us to be all that we can be.
R' Elchanan Wasserman HY”D spent much time in America in the early 1930’s, and was asked about the Great Depression. He explained that all difficulties that come to the world are on account of Klal Yisrael, intended to teach us something.
“The problem is not a lack of money,” he explained. “There is money in the hands of the rich, but they are distrustful of other people. Without the smooth flow of money, the economy stalls.
This is mida k’neged mida, measure for measure. The Yetzer Hara for idolatry is gone, but it was replaced with one of kefira/heresy. When we don’t believe and trust in Hashem, He says, “I will extend your lack of trust in Me so that people don’t trust each other either.”
Then you will find out the hard way that just as the world cannot exist without Emunah in Hashem, it similarly cannot exist without Emunah between people.”
©2024 – J. Gewirtz
