Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
Did Benei Yisrael lie and steal on their way out of מִצְרַיִם (Mitzrayim, Egypt)?
After the plague of darkness, God tells Moshe that Benei Yisrael will soon be freed. Before they leave Mitzrayim, God instructs them:
דַּבֶּר־נָ֖א בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֑ם וְיִשְׁאֲל֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ ׀ מֵאֵ֣ת רֵעֵ֗הוּ וְאִשָּׁה֙ מֵאֵ֣ת רְעוּתָ֔הּ כְּלֵי־כֶ֖סֶף וּכְלֵ֥י זָהָֽב׃
“Speak now in the ears of the people, and they shall borrow, each man from his neighbor, and each woman from her neighbor, silver objects and gold objects.”
The idea that Benei Yisrael borrowed from the Egyptians on their way out of Mitzrayim is troubling. These valuables were never returned. And, since Benei Yisrael knew they were about to be freed, they would have had to lie to the Egyptians to get them to “lend” them their stuff. Here’s how Sforno explains Benei Yisrael’s actions:
אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁתְּקַבְּלוּ הַכֹּל מֵהֶם דֶּרֶךְ הַשְׁאָלָה, וְתִהְיוּ חַיָּבִים לְהַחֲזִיר,
הִנֵּה תִּקְּנוּ אַחַר כָּךְ אֶת הַכֹּל בַּדִּין, בְּרֹדְפָם אַחֲרֵיכֶם לְהִלָּחֵם בָּכֶם.
When Benei Yisrael first borrowed from the Egyptians, they were obligated to return the items.
But then it all changed when the Egyptians chased after them to have a war, because everyone agrees the winning side gets to keep the spoils of war.
- Do you think Sforno’s argument is a reasonable defense of Benei Yisrael?
Rabbeinu Hannanel takes a different approach. He gets rid of the borrowing problem by arguing that the word וְיִשְׁאֲלוּ really means “they shall ask.” The root שׁ.א.ל can sometimes mean that, too. It depends on the context.
אֵין שְׁאֵלָה זוֹ כִּשְׁאֵלָה הָאֲמוּרָה בַּכֵּלִים, שֶׁהוּא שְׁאֵלָה עַל מְנָת לְהַחֲזִיר.
אֶלָּא צִוָּה שֶׁיִּשְׁאֲלוּ מֵהֶם בְּמַתָּנָה.
This does not mean to borrow the way one would borrow an item on condition to return it.
Rather, God told them to request these items as gifts.
- Check out Shemot 12:35-36 and Shemot 22:13. What do you think שׁ.א.ל means in these places: borrowing or asking? Are these similar to the context in our pasuk?
- Can you think of one strength and one weakness in each of the positions above? Which do you find more compelling, and why?
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