Bo
Exodus 10:1 – 13:16
Jeremiah 46:13-28
The Jews were instructed to prepare for their Exodus from Egypt in what appears to be a rather strange way. Each family was ordered to select and then slaughter a lamb on the eve of their departure. Then they were to sprinkle its blood on their doorposts.
Ostensibly, the reason for this strange command was to distinguish Jewish homes from Egyptian homes during the plague of the killing of the firstborn Egyptians. “For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians and when He sees the blood upon the lintel and on the two sideposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not suffer the destroyer to smite you. You shall observe this matter as a decree for yourself and for your children forever.” (Exodus 12:23-24)
But if the purpose was merely to indicate which were the Jewish homes, why did it have to be done exclusively with the blood of a lamb?
Moreover, why was it even necessary to isolate Jewish homes with a sign?
We know that in the case of all the other plagues, the Jews were never affected. For example, during the plague of darkness, the Jews had light and could see. They didn’t need to wear signs to distinguish themselves. Furthermore, our sages point out that some Egyptians tried to save themselves by forcing their way into Jewish homes, but to no avail. They died within the “protected” walls.
So there is obviously a deeper meaning and an important message to be found within the unusual commandment that the Jews received. The rabbis tell us that when G-d commanded Moses to ask the Jews to slaughter a lamb, Moses cried, “Lord of the Universe, how can I do such a thing? You know very well that the Egyptians worship sheep as gods. Slaughtering these animals would certainly provide a great pretext for the Egyptians to attack us.”
Thus, we understand that the Jews were intended to openly defy the Egyptians and their idolatrous ways by killing that which they held sacred. The challenge for the Jews was to prove their trust in G-d and His promise. It actually served to distinguish not between Jew and Egyptian, but between the true Jew and the false.
By loyally following the Divine command in spite of the danger involved, the Jew demonstrated his total trust and belief in the imminent deliverance of the Jewish nation. He would then be fit to taste the joys of liberation. Sadly, we know, however, that only 20 percent of the Hebrew slaves left Egypt — the majority were too afraid to publicly proclaim their allegiance to G-d. Most were unfit for freedom and they perished in Egypt.
So the whole meaning of the blood-sprinkling appears to be in the Jew’s intention to openly declare his Jewishness. One who is afraid of being exposed as a Jew is rendered of little value to our community. The true Jew proudly displays a mezuzah on his door and lights his Chanukah menorah in the window for all to see.
This lesson is exactly the opposite of the infamous quotation of the famous Hebrew poet Yehudah Leib Gordon, who urged, “Be a man in your going forth and a Jew in your tent.” In other words, keep your Jewish identity for the privacy of your home and throw it off when you enter the outside world.
This is patently irrational advice and extremely harmful. If Judaism is a good thing in the home, why should its influence be a bad thing in the outside world? If its influence is bad in our relationship with the general population, how can it be good in our domestic relations? One cannot be either a Jew or a man. A Jew must be both, always and everywhere. The man who tries to be a Jew exclusively in his home will inevitably fail to be a Jew even there. He will also inevitably teach his children about everything but things Jewish.
There can be no end of our suffering in the diaspora as long as so many of us are unwilling to publicly throw in our lot with our fellow Jews. Sadly, today many can be seen throwing in their lot with our sworn enemies as they unite and demonstrate with them against their Jewish brothers. They are as lost to us as those who were not saved from Egypt.
May a better day come when pride in our Jewishness becomes so widespread in our midst that the destroying angel will pass us by allowing us to survive prejudice and persecution until the time when the Almighty will bring the ultimate redemption.
Shabbat shalom.