The book of Exodus states, "The Egyptians enslaved the Israelites with cruel harshness." (1:13) How did the Israelites who lived in a climate of relative tolerance within Egypt suddenly become slaves to their Egyptian hosts?
In Exodus 1:9, Pharaoh notes with alarm the increasing numbers of Israelites: "Behold the Israelites are more numerous and stronger than we." He sought a solution to what he perceived as Egypt's "Jewish Problem"; to impose slavery. It would not be logistically easy to force an entire nation into servitude. Not only were they numerous, many were spread out over the entire country (see Exodus 1:5). Pharaoh understood that it would be very difficult to simply pursue and place chains upon the Israelites. They could flee or resist, making the task extremely difficult. He sought a different approach.
Pharaoh states, "Come let us outsmart them, lest they become numerous and join with our enemies, wage war against us and flee the land." (Exodus 1:10) Pharaoh outsmarted the Israelites by ensnaring them into a trap. He accomplished this by appealing to their sense of patriotism. He called the Israelites and bid them to do him a favor. He took a basket and a rake and started to make mortar for bricks. Whoever saw the king followed suit, and immediately all the Israelites zealously set about making bricks. As the day progressed and the evening was approaching, the Pharaoh suddenly set taskmasters over them and commanded them to count the bricks. Then he ordered them to produce the same quota every day (according to the Talmud, Sota 11A).
Pharaoh knew that the way to draw in the Israelites was to play upon their desire for acceptance. They had been targeted and maligned in a recent propaganda campaign against them initiated by the Pharaoh, who claimed that the Jews were too powerful and were going to join their enemies and leave the land (see Exodus 1:9, 10). Pharaoh needed a pretext for the enslavement of the Israelites, descendants of the beloved Joseph, whose memory was still revered. This could be their chance to debunk the myths and propaganda by proving their loyalty. But their efforts were to no avail.
The Talmudic sage Rabbi Elazar states that the biblical word used in reference to the bitter persecution of the Israelites, "b'farech" (Exodus 1:13), can also be read as "b'feh rach", meaning a 'by a soft approach', implying the kind of tactic the cunning Egyptian king lured the Israelites according to the Talmud.
The Israelite experience in Egypt is a paradigm for the history of the Jews.
History is full of examples of leaders and nations whose policies were well-received by some Jews (depending upon the situation), but in the long run, they posed tangible threats to Jewish survival. It was Achashverosh who invited the Jews of Shushan to his feast. The Roman Emperor Hadrian initially promised to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem, then he provoked the Bar Kochba revolt. The King of Portugal, Manuel, accepted Jews departing from neighboring Spain in 1492, only to order their expulsion five years later. Napoleon Bonaparte broke down ghetto walls, but demanded assimilation. Vladimir Lenin initially spoke of equality, but Russian Jews actually got a new nightmare of Soviet anti-Semitism. Wiemar Germany offered democracy, but in the long run gave false hopes, etc.
Sometimes, the greatest dangers to the Jews are not those who brandish swords and threaten violence, but those who lure the Jews into a false sense of security. When one knows from where the enemy is coming, then there is no confusion, one can be alert to the dangers and prepare.
It would do some of Israel's leaders well to heed the lessons of the Pharaohs of the past.
In Exodus 1:9, Pharaoh notes with alarm the increasing numbers of Israelites: "Behold the Israelites are more numerous and stronger than we." He sought a solution to what he perceived as Egypt's "Jewish Problem"; to impose slavery. It would not be logistically easy to force an entire nation into servitude. Not only were they numerous, many were spread out over the entire country (see Exodus 1:5). Pharaoh understood that it would be very difficult to simply pursue and place chains upon the Israelites. They could flee or resist, making the task extremely difficult. He sought a different approach.
Pharaoh states, "Come let us outsmart them, lest they become numerous and join with our enemies, wage war against us and flee the land." (Exodus 1:10) Pharaoh outsmarted the Israelites by ensnaring them into a trap. He accomplished this by appealing to their sense of patriotism. He called the Israelites and bid them to do him a favor. He took a basket and a rake and started to make mortar for bricks. Whoever saw the king followed suit, and immediately all the Israelites zealously set about making bricks. As the day progressed and the evening was approaching, the Pharaoh suddenly set taskmasters over them and commanded them to count the bricks. Then he ordered them to produce the same quota every day (according to the Talmud, Sota 11A).
Pharaoh knew that the way to draw in the Israelites was to play upon their desire for acceptance. They had been targeted and maligned in a recent propaganda campaign against them initiated by the Pharaoh, who claimed that the Jews were too powerful and were going to join their enemies and leave the land (see Exodus 1:9, 10). Pharaoh needed a pretext for the enslavement of the Israelites, descendants of the beloved Joseph, whose memory was still revered. This could be their chance to debunk the myths and propaganda by proving their loyalty. But their efforts were to no avail.
The Talmudic sage Rabbi Elazar states that the biblical word used in reference to the bitter persecution of the Israelites, "b'farech" (Exodus 1:13), can also be read as "b'feh rach", meaning a 'by a soft approach', implying the kind of tactic the cunning Egyptian king lured the Israelites according to the Talmud.
The Israelite experience in Egypt is a paradigm for the history of the Jews.
History is full of examples of leaders and nations whose policies were well-received by some Jews (depending upon the situation), but in the long run, they posed tangible threats to Jewish survival. It was Achashverosh who invited the Jews of Shushan to his feast. The Roman Emperor Hadrian initially promised to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem, then he provoked the Bar Kochba revolt. The King of Portugal, Manuel, accepted Jews departing from neighboring Spain in 1492, only to order their expulsion five years later. Napoleon Bonaparte broke down ghetto walls, but demanded assimilation. Vladimir Lenin initially spoke of equality, but Russian Jews actually got a new nightmare of Soviet anti-Semitism. Wiemar Germany offered democracy, but in the long run gave false hopes, etc.
Sometimes, the greatest dangers to the Jews are not those who brandish swords and threaten violence, but those who lure the Jews into a false sense of security. When one knows from where the enemy is coming, then there is no confusion, one can be alert to the dangers and prepare.
It would do some of Israel's leaders well to heed the lessons of the Pharaohs of the past.