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From:          "Yeshivat Har Etzion's Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash"
To:            yhe-intparsha@vbm-torah.org
Subject:       INTPARSHA61 -15: Parashat Bo


                     YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
        ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
  *********************************************************
                             
              INTRODUCTION TO PARASHAT HASHAVUA
                             
                         PARASHAT BO
                    The Sojourn in Egypt
                   By Rabbi Michael Hattin


Introduction

The last plagues rain down on Egypt, the first born  of the  Egyptians are slain, and Pharaoh's resolve  is  finally shattered.   The people of Israel, huddling in their  hovels as  the  night of terror unfolds, calmly consume the Paschal Lamb and recount God's deliverance.  Rising before daybreak, his   fitful   sleep  punctured  by  fearful   screams   that reverberate through the august halls of his palace,  Pharaoh summons  Moshe and Aharon and bids them go.  As the  day  of redemption  dawns,  the  Egyptians  impatiently  drive    the Hebrews out, and they journey forth to freedom.

"Bnei   Yisrael  traveled  from   Raamses   to   Succot, numbering  some six hundred thousand men,  besides   the children.   Also,  a  great mixed multitude   left  with them,  besides immense herds of sheep and cattle.    The people  baked the dough that they had taken forth  from Egypt  into unleavened cakes of matzot, for it did  not rise.   The  people had been thrust out  of   Egypt  and could   not  tarry,  nor  had  they   time  to   prepare provisions.   The people of Israel had dwelt  in   Egypt for a period of four hundred and thirty years.  It thus came  to  pass  at the conclusion of four   hundred  and thirty years, on this very day, that all of the legions of  God left the land of Egypt.  It had been a night of vigil  for  God to take them out of the land of   Egypt. This  night remains a night of vigil to God for all  of Bnei Yisrael, for all generations" (Shemot 12:37-42).

In  our  mind's  eye,  we  see  the   people  of  Israel haltingly  journeying forth, still clothed  as  slaves,  but with  the  proud bearing of vindicated free men.  No  longer burdened  with  bricks and mortar, they now are  laden  down with their worldly possessions, and with vessels of gold and silver  from  their frightened former hosts. The  Israelites press  forward,  accompanied by  huge  herds  of  sheep   and cattle, now forming a bleating, bellowing, and braying mass. Their  erstwhile taskmasters look on incredulously,  as  the disorganized  throngs  wind  their  noisy  way  through   the thoroughfares,  to impressively gather as one  at  the  city outskirts.    Finally,   the   interminable    nightmare   of enslavement and bondage draws to a climactic close, as  over four centuries of exile are concluded.


The Length of the Servitude - A Chronological Difficulty

According to the Torah's account, "the people of Israel had  dwelt in Egypt for a period of four hundred and  thirty years."   Lest  the reader be taken aback by this  unusually large number, the Torah repeats in the very next verse  that "it  thus came to pass at the conclusion of four hundred and thirty  years, on this very day, that all of the legions  of God left the land of Egypt."  How difficult it is for us  to imagine  a  period of state-sponsored enslavement  extending over  so many generations, with children, grandchildren  and great   grandchildren  born  into  a  hopeless    future   of backbreaking  drudgery, endless toil  and  premature  death! Surely  no  one  can  fail  to appreciate  the  tragedy   and injustice  of  that  experience,  for  the  Torah   makes  it abundantly   clear  that  the  enslavement  in    Egypt   was characterized  by  suffering,  anguish  and  distress.    The stated period of four hundred and thirty years, however,  is
difficult  to corroborate, for elsewhere the Torah indicates that  the  period  of enslavement could  not  possibly  have extended  for so long.  The commentaries strive to reconcile this  number with the rest of the chronology that the  Torah provides  concerning  this event, and  we  shall  examine  a number of their attempts.

Let  us  begin  by demonstrating, as both   Rashi  (11th century, France) and the Ibn Ezra (12th century, Spain) did, that  the  sojourn in Egypt could not have lasted  for  much more than two centuries.  According to the list provided  in Parashat  VaYigash,  towards the  end  of  Sefer  Bereishit, Yaacov's extended family of children and grandchildren  that descended  to Egypt at Yosef's invitation, numbered  seventy males.   Counted among this group were Levi  and  his  three sons Gershon, Kehat and Merari (Bereishit 46:11).  Kehat, of course,  as  the genealogy list in Parashat VaEra indicates, was the grandfather of Moshe: "These are the names of Levi's descendents  according to their birth,  Gershon,  Kehat  and Merari.   Levi  lived  for  one  hundred  and   thirty  seven years.Kehat's sons were Amram, Yitzhar, Chevron  and  Uziel, and Amram lived for one hundred and thirty three years.Amram took  Yocheved his aunt as his wife, and she bore him Aharon and  Moshe.   Kehat lived for one hundred and  thirty  seven years"  (Shemot 6:16-20).  The passage concludes  by  noting that  "Moshe  was  eighty years old, and Aharon  was  eighty three  years  old, when they commenced speaking to  Pharaoh" (Shemot 7:7).

Thus,  if  Kehat himself was counted among  those   that descended to Egypt, we may use his life span as the starting point  for  the sojourn in exile.  Let us assume that  Kehat was  a  young child when Yaacov and his children  relocated. Simple arithmetic yields a period of two hundred and seventy years for the combined life spans of Kehat and his son Amram (133 +137 = 270).  Moshe, Amram's son, was eighty years  old when  he  undertook his charge to free the slaves,  and  not much  more than a year elapsed from the time that  he  first stood  before Pharaoh until the Exodus.  Therefore,  we  can account for approximately three hundred and fifty years (270 +  80  =  350).  This number, of course, assumes the  rather unlikely scenario that both Kehat as well as Amram  did  not have offspring until the final year of their lives!  In  all probability,  we must subtract quite a few  years  from  our total  to  account  for the overlapping life  spans  of  the three,  as well as for the fact that Kehat may have  been  a grown man when the family went down.  In any case, it should be quite obvious that we cannot account for a period of four hundred  and thirty years for the sojourn in Egypt,  as  the above  texts  clearly  stated, and we  must  therefore  look elsewhere for the starting point of the computation.


The Covenant Between the Pieces - "Four Hundred Years"

Fortunately,  there  is  another  textual   source  that provides us a clue to unravel the confusion, and it concerns the Patriarch Avraham.  Recall that in a shadowy vision that unfolded  as the day waned and darkness fell, God  indicated to  him that his descendents would be enslaved in a land not theirs,  but  would eventually emerge from the  encounter  a triumphant  people.  In this 'Covenant Between the  Pieces,' God  swore an oath to the aged progenitor that his  children would  in  fact  possess the land of Canaan.  The  narrative states:  "As the sun was setting, a deep slumber  fell  upon Avraham,  and  a  great, dark and fearful gloominess  seized him.   God said to Avraham: 'You shall surely know that your offspring  will  be sojourners in a land  not  theirs,  they shall  be  enslaved and oppressed, for four  hundred  years. The   nation  that  they  shall  serve  I  will   judge,  and afterwards  they shall go forth with great  substance.   You
shall  be gathered to your ancestors in peace, and shall  be buried after old age.  The fourth generation shall return to here,  for  the  iniquity  of  Amorite  is  not   yet  full'" (Bereishit 15:12-16).

According to this text, Avraham's descendents are to be sojourners for a period of four hundred years, and are to be enslaved  and  oppressed during that  time.   But  to   which descendents  does  the  Torah  refer?   Does  it   speak   of Avraham's  distant  descendents, such as Kehat,  Amram,  and Moshe?   Or  can we perhaps understand it as a reference  to Avraham's immediate descendent, namely his own son Yitzchak? There  is as well an inherent ambiguity concerning the 'four hundred  years.'  Does this phrase modify the first part  of the  verse ('You shall surely know that your offspring  will be  sojourners in a land not theirs.for four hundred years') in  which case it describes the period of 'sojourning'?   Or does  it instead modify the second part of the verse  ('they shall  be  enslaved and oppressed, for four hundred years'), in  which  case  it  describes  the  period  of   'enslaveand oppression'?

The  traditional sources, though mindful of the  verses in  Parashat  Bo that speak of a period of four hundred  and thirty years, nevertheless remain cognizant of the fact that this  time period is an impossibility if we start the  count from  the actual descent to Egypt.  This is particularly  so when  we  recall that the sojourn in Egypt did  not  at  all

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