And when (vayehi) Pharaoh had let the people go, God
did not lead them in the Way of the Land of the Philistines, though that was
near, for God said: “The people might change their minds when they see war, and
turn back to Egypt.” Exodus 13:17
At first glance, the Torah’s choice of words is surprising.
Our Sages tell us that vayehi expresses trouble. One would think that
the Exodus from Egypt would be a completely positive event, free of any element
of trouble.
The trouble lay in the fact that the Israelites were not
ready to accept their freedom. Our verse notes two troublesome aspects.
Firstly, the Children of Israel attributed their freedom to Pharaoh, “when
Pharaoh had let the people go,” rather than to divine intervention. Despite
witnessing the great miracles in Egypt, the People did not accept that it was
God’s hand which had brought them out of slavery. The second aspect was in the
Israelites’ lack of commitment to fight for their freedom. Had God led the
Israelites in the direct route to the Promised Land, via the Mediterranean
coast, they would have fled back to Egypt if opposed by the Philistines. A
nation which understands and appreciates freedom is willing, when necessary, to
fight to maintain its freedom.
The Children of Israel had yet to learn the truth: that lack
of slavery does not define freedom. Freedom must be a positive value.
Lacking this true understanding of freedom, as great as the
Exodus was, it carried with it a troublesome aspect as well.
Indeed, that God did not lead the Israelites on the direct
route to the Promised Land, because they were not ready to fight for their
freedom, is a source of woe.
Naḥmanides notes that nonetheless, the Israelites were
forced to battle Amalek, as described towards the end of our Parasha.
My father commented that this is the fate of those who do
not recognize the value of freedom. They fear fighting for their freedom and
believe that all will be well, only to be forced by the enemy to fight.
Israel feared fighting a war of initiative to establish its
independence, only to be forced to fight a war of self-defense.
No comments:
Post a Comment