ואת לחצנו- זה הדחק, כמו שנאמר וגם ראיתי את הלחץ אשר מצרים לוחצים אותם

And our oppression — this is the pressure as it states: I have seen the oppression that the Egyptians are imposing on them. 

In the Haggadah, we recall how Hashem “saw … our oppression” (Devarim 26:7) in Egypt. The Haggadah defines this oppression as d’chak, pressure and constriction. Hashem says that this “pressure” was an impetus for Him to take Bnei Yisrael out of Mitzrayim (Shemos 3:9). The Ritva1 explains that the Egyptians pressured Bnei Yisrael to adopt Egyptian ideologies. The strategy began to work and Bnei Yisrael stopped performing bris milah and some started to worship idols. Therefore the “pressure” was a reason that Hashem had to take them out quickly, before they would completely assimilate. The Netziv,2 however, writes that Pharaoh crammed the Jews into small, airless spaces so they wouldn’t be able to think.

While Pharoah’s pressure is understood according to the Ritva, the Netziv’s explanation needs clarification. Why would the Egyptians care if the Jews could think or not and why was this “pressure” a reason for Hashem to take Bnei Yisrael out more quickly?

If you look at Shiras HaYam — the song Bnei Yisrael sang after crossing the Yam Suf — in a Sefer Torah, you’ll be in for a surprise. Each parashah in a Torah scroll is separated from the next by a blank space nine letters wide.3 By contrast, within a parashah, there’s usually only running text, without blank spaces. In the shirah, however, there are numerous spaces, even mid-pasuk! On the opposite extreme, toward the end of Sefer Bereishis, between Parashas Vayigash and Parashas Vayechi, there’s no space at all. Why sometimes so many spaces and other times none?

In Parashas Shemos, Moshe goes down to Mitzrayim and relays to Aharon everything Hashem has told him, including His instructions to free Bnei Yisrael from Egyptian servitude. Aharon gathers the elders and tells them the amazing news, and they in turn relay it to the rest of the nation.4 What was the people’s reaction? “They believed … and they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves” (ibid. 4:31). They were ecstatic! Redemption was finally at hand.

Later, in the beginning of Parashas Va’eira, Hashem instructs Moshe to tell Bnei Yisrael that the time has come to take them out. Hashem uses four expressions of redemption: “vehotzeisi, vehitzalti, vega’alti, velakachti” (ibid. 6:6–7). They won’t just be taken out (vehotzeisi), saved (vehitzalti), and redeemed (vega’alti); they will have a relationship with Hashem (velakachti)! Moshe conveys this message to Bnei Yisrael, promising much more than previously. We therefore expect them to react with far greater excitement. Yet “They didn’t hear Moshe, because of shortness of breath and hard work” (ibid. 6:9). What happened? What changed between Shemos and Va’eira? 

Between these two speeches, Moshe and Aharon asked Pharaoh to allow Bnei Yisrael to worship Hashem in the desert (Shemos 5:1). In response, Pharaoh increased their workload (ibid. 5:9). According to the Ramchal,5 Pharaoh’s goal was to keep them so busy with nonstop work that they would have no headspace or time to contemplate rebellion. In fact, Rav Eliyahu Dessler6 adds that “Mitzrayim” literally means “straits,”7 for such was the essence of Bnei Yisrael’s exile there. Confined and constrained, they heard Moshe’s speech but couldn’t internalize his message — just as Pharaoh had wanted.8 This is the “pressure” that is referenced in the Haggadah. 

Now we can understand why in the shirah there are spaces galore, while between Vayigash and Vayechi there are none.9 At the very beginning of Vayikra, Rashi writes that the purpose of the spaces between parshiyos was to give Moshe the “space” to think about what he had learned from Hashem. In the beginning of Vayechi, Rashi explains that this parashah isn’t preceded by the usual nine blank spaces, but instead is “closed,” because once Yaakov passed away (as recorded at the beginning of Vayechi), the Egyptians began to subjugate Bnei Yisrael, and the pain of his demise sealed their eyes and hearts. 

The spaces in a Torah scroll represent the ability to stop, ponder, and process. When the subjugation began, Bnei Yisrael started to lose that capacity, as signified by the lack of space introducing this parashah. By contrast, once Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim and crossed the sea, they gained the space to appreciate everything Hashem had done for them, which inspired them to sing.

Pharaoh’s scheme to stop Bnei Yisrael from thinking wasn’t just a one-time historic occurrence. As the Ramchal10 points out, this is the strategy of the yetzer hara in every generation. The evil inclination preoccupies us with desires and priorities that keep us from contemplating our direction in life. 

In today’s time, we are “pressured” to be available at any moment. First with the popularization of cell phones and then with the expansion of social networking, we’re constantly communicating with thousands of “friends,” leaving us little time to think. Communication is good, but it can’t come at the cost of reflection. By setting time in our day to stop and think and utilize the powerful headspace that reflection provides, we can be redeemed from our own Pharaohs and lead lives of meaning, growth, and happiness.

Endnotes

1 Commentary on the Haggadah.

2 Ha’amek Davar, Shemos 2:25; Imrei Shefer (the Netziv’s commentary on the Haggadah).

3 Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 275:2. See Rambam, Hilchos Tefillin U’Mezuzah VeSefer Torah 8.

4 Ibn Ezra, Shemos 4:30.

5 Mesillas Yesharim, ch. 2, “BeVi’ur Middas HaZehirus.”

6 Michtav MeEliyahu 2, p. 17.

7 As in “Min hameitzar karasi — from the straits did I call” (Tehillim 118:5). In contrast, Eretz Yisrael is “eretz tovah urechavah — a good and spacious land” (Shemos 3:8). Although the Land of Israel is relatively small, the Netziv (Ha’amek Davar ad loc.) explains that it opens one’s mind, freeing him to do what he wants. Hashem described Eretz Yisrael this way specifically when promising to take Bnei Yisrael out of Mitzrayim. Thus, He highlighted the difference between the two lands.

8 See Seforno, Shemos 6:9.

9 I heard part of this answer in the name of Rav Gedalyah Shor.

10 Mesillas Yesharim, ch. 2.