Parshat Bo-Avraham’s promise and its ramifications for Jewish history

In Shemot ch.11 v.2 we read:

דַּבֶּר־נָ֖א בְּאָזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֑ם וְיִשְׁאֲל֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ ׀ מֵאֵ֣ת רֵעֵ֗הוּ וְאִשָּׁה֙ מֵאֵ֣ת רְעוּתָ֔הּ כְּלֵי־כֶ֖סֶף וּכְלֵ֥י זָהָֽב׃

Tell the people to borrow, each man from his neighbor and each woman from hers, objects of silver and gold.”

Rashi comments:

דבר נא. אֵין נָא אֶלָּא לְשׁוֹן בַּקָּשָׁה, בְּבַקָּשָׁה מִמְּךָ הַזְהִירֵם עַל כָּךְ, שֶׁלֹּא יֹאמַר אוֹתוֹ צַדִּיק אַבְרָהָם "וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אוֹתָם" (בראשית ט"ו), קִיֵּם בָּהֶם, "וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן יֵצְאוּ בִּרְכֻשׁ גָּדוֹל" (שם), לֹא קִיֵּם בָּהֶם:

דבר נא SPEAK נא — The word נא is always an expression of entreaty. Here it means: I entreat you, admonish them about this which follows (impress this injunction upon them), so that righteous man, Abraham, may not say: the prophecy (Genesis 15:13) “they shall serve them, and they shall afflict them” He permitted to be fulfilled in them, but the promise (Genesis 15:14) “and afterwards they shall go forth with great substance” He did not bring to fulfilment for them (Berakhot 9a-b).

Rashi’s comments make reference to the following verse in Bereshit ch.15:

יד  וְגַם אֶת-הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר יַעֲבֹדוּ, דָּן אָנֹכִי; וְאַחֲרֵי-כֵן יֵצְאוּ, בִּרְכֻשׁ גָּדוֹל.

14 and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

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The mefarshim are very perplexed by this comment of Rashi. Why is it that God is worried about the complaint that Avraham will make, that the Jews were promised money when they left their exile, as expressed in the Brit bein Habetarim. Surely the complaint should be directed at God who promised them wealth when leaving Egypt and has now got to cajole the Jews to take the riches as promised them in the original covenant. Why is the complaint of Avraham cited here and not the direct connection between God and the Jewish people and how this connection is being let down by not honoring the covenant made in Avraham’s days, unless money is requested by the Jews leaving Egypt.

Another question on the comment of Rashi can be raised. Why did Rashi mention the fulfillment of the first part of the promise to Avraham, that the Jews would be enslaved. Surely the main focus of Avraham’s complaint to God will be about the leaving of Egypt without ‘the large fortune’ promised to them. Why mention the suffering and affliction at all?

Rabbi Isaac Bernstein zal recalled an answer given to him for this question from Rabbi Abraham Besdin zal, (a talmid chacham and  editor of some of the writings of Rav Soloveichik zal, who passed away in 1993). Rabbi Besdin quoted in the name of a Lithuanian gadol that it is well known that the letter ‘vav’ can be translated as either ‘and’ or ‘or’. When the Torah proscribes cursing or smiting one’s parents, the pasuk says וְאִמּוֹ, which does not mean ’and his mother’ but ‘or his mother’, as seen below.

טו  וּמַכֵּה אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ, מוֹת יוּמָת.  {ס}

15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. {S}

By the same token, when the Torah promises judgement to the Egyptians and great wealth on exiting Egypt, this may be explained as ‘either’ judgement or wealth or ‘both’ judgement and wealth. God can argue that His promise was to do either one or other of the choices, so no attention can be made to the argument against God, regarding the ‘great wealth’ as mentioned above. However Avraham has a different complaint. He can argue that we see that in terms of affliction and suffering, the phrase:

וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אוֹתָם has been interpreted as both referring to ‘affliction and suffering’. If the ‘vav’ here is seen as meaning ‘and’ then why isn’t the next phrase:  וְגַם אֶת-הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר יַעֲבֹדוּ, דָּן אָנֹכִי וְאַחֲרֵי-כֵן יֵצְאוּ, בִּרְכֻשׁ גָּדוֹל

also seen as meaning ‘and’, i.e. both judgement and a fortune on leaving Egypt. In order to accommodate Avraham’s complaint, the request is made by God to the people to ask the Egyptians for their riches when leaving, so as to fulfill both elements of the covenant, as made between God and Avraham as seen above.

It is remarkable how one letter of Torah can carry so much nuance and meaning and this is the great blessing that we have, to be able to find and analyze these beautiful nuances and depths of the Torah and grow in our knowledge throughout our lives.

Shabbat Shalom 

Rabbi Ian Shaffer        Cherry Hill NJ/SCW