Parashat Bo: How Does Taking Gold from the Egyptian Exile Bring About Redemption?

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Parashat Bo
How Does Taking Gold from the Egyptian Exile Bring About Redemption?

How Does Filtering the Values from Our Exile Speed Up the Redemption Process?

While I wish to have been born a Sabra, I acknowledge that I brought with me to Israel many important virtues from the land of my birth. Although Avraham was told to leave his country, birthplace, and father’s house behind, I believe he was to extract the good points he had received from there and bring them to the Land of Israel. Apparently, filtering is a great part of my life’s mission. That is to take what you have learned from the general world and sift it through a Torah sifter. For example, cleanliness is a value I take with me from the country of my birth and my parents’ home. Cleanliness is one of the ten virtues mentioned in the Talmud (Avodah Zarah 20b) quoted in the Path of the Upright by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. It is a mitzvah to clean our home in honor of Shabbat, and when we live in an organized and clean environment, we can work more efficiently in serving Hashem. Where I grew up the Privet hedge was always trimmed to the T, the garbage was never overflowing, and you wouldn’t find even one cigarette stub on the ground. The grass seemed perpetually green and freshly mowed, the flowerbeds were weeded, and the fringes of the carpets were combed. Perhaps you can imagine the rest. The great mindfulness of the details of taking care of things, cleaning up as we go, and keeping our home and environment together is a birthright that I bring with me from Europe to the Middle Eastern melting pot of muddled cultures. However, when orderliness and cleanliness (or anything else) become a value for its own sake, it misses the mark. If a mother is so obsessed with tidying the mess that she will yell mercilessly at her kids; and is too preoccupied with spotlessness to spend quality time with them, then cleanliness becomes a detriment to the Torah way of life. Therefore, I have filtered the aspiration to maintain the kind of impeccable home I grew up in. I have perhaps preserved about 70-80% to allow other more internal values to override the endeavor for cleanliness when needed. Based on my experience and the Torah I have learned, the main reasons why the Jewish people had to be scattered in exile throughout the four corners of the earth is to redeem the good sparks of truth from all these places and return them to the Holy Land. We are now at the culmination point of this long-winded process. The more sparks of exile we receive, the sooner complete redemption will occur.

How do We Redeem the Sparks Entrapped Within All Reality?

There are seventy aspects (literally faces) of the Torah (Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah 13:15), each correspond to the good points of one of the seventy nations. When it states that “The people of Israel were exiled amongst the nations only so that converts might be added to them” (Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 87b), it refers to more than actual converts. On the simple level, this dictum does refer to the many non-Jews – who, through coming in contact with the Jewish people dispersed in various exiles – have been inspired to convert to Judaism. However, according to the inner dimensions of the Torah, the Talmud also refers to the sparks of holiness contained within the physical creation. They too can be considered different types of soul-sparks that are transformed and elevated through our exiles: As the Arizal teaches, every object, force, and phenomenon in existence has a spark of Divine holiness within it that constitutes its spiritual essence and soul (See for example Sefer Etz Chayim 26, Chapter 1 42, Sefer Halikutim Chapter 36). Just as we can only stay alive as long as our soul is infused within our body, without the Divine spark keeping anything in the physical world alive nothing would be able to exist. Yet not everything in existence is in line with the Torah or beneficial to the world. This is because the Divine spark is encased in a coarse husk concealing its light. To reveal the light, we must extract the sparks from their captivity. So how do you redeem the sparks entrapped within all reality? When we employ an item or even a certain mode of operation in the service of Hashem, we crack open its material shell, revealing and actualizing its Divine essence. Hashem dispersed us across the face of earth, so that we may come in contact with the sparks of holiness that await redemption. We all have our personal scattered sparks that are slivers of our greater selves. Only when we have redeemed all the sparks specifically related to our souls can we reach our completion.  This explains why people may be guided to move from place to place, job to job, coming across various people and possessions. While it may seem random, it is by Divine Supervision to allow us to light upon things intimately connected with our soul mission (Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Meaningfullife.com). Now in the new month of Shevat, we are especially called upon to elevate the sparks in food by infusing our before and after-bracha with mindful intention.

What Does Elevating Sparks Have to Do with Parashat Bo?  

ספר שמות פרק יא פסוק א וַיֹּאמֶר הַשֵׁם אֶל משֶׁה עוֹד נֶגַע אֶחָד אָבִיא עַל פַּרְעֹה וְעַל מִצְרַיִם אַחֲרֵי כֵן יְשַׁלַּח אֶתְכֶם מִזֶּה כְּשַׁלְּחוֹ כָּלָה גָּרֵשׁ יְגָרֵשׁ אֶתְכֶם מִזֶּה: (ב) דַּבֶּר נָא בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם וְיִשְׁאֲלוּ אִישׁ מֵאֵת רֵעֵהוּ וְאִשָּׁה מֵאֵת רְעוּתָהּ כְּלֵי כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי זָהָב:

“Then G-d said to Moshe, One more plague shall I bring upon Pharaoh and Egypt - thereafter he shall banish you from here; when he lets you go he will banish you completely from here. Speak then, please, in the ears of the people, and let each person ask of his neighbor, and each woman of her neighbor, vessels of silver and vessels of gold” (Shemot 11:1-2)

Rashi explains that the word נָא/na – ‘please’ always implies a request. G-d requests “Please give them this message, so that the righteous Avraham will not have grounds to claim that I did not keep My promise of “thereafter they will leave with great possessions.’” Yet, for the Israelites leaving Egypt was a great traumatic struggle both physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Amassing gold and silver would deter and delay the Exodus and even endanger them to fall into the fiftieth gate of impurity from which there is no escape. Wouldn’t Avraham Avinu prefer that his descendants escape the iron furnace of Egypt in the quickest, safest way rather than having to be deterred by gathering gold and silver?  The Talmud gives us a clue about the importance of the Children of Israel leaving Egypt with valuables. Rabbi Yossi ben Hanina said, “Why is it written: ‘I will remove his blood from his mouth, and his detestable things from between his teeth. This, too, shall remain to our G-d…’ (Zechariah 9:7). ‘And I shall remove his blood from his mouth’ - this refers to their house of worship of Karia (an Edomite idol); ‘and his abominations from between his teeth’ - this refers to their house of worship of Bamia (another Edomite idol). ‘This too shall remain to our G-d’ - these are the synagogues and study halls of Edom, in which the princes of Yehuda are destined to study Torah publicly” (Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 6a). The understanding of the Talmud is that not only are the princess of Yehuda to study Torah in what used to be temples for idol-worship, but they are also destined to extract the holy sparks even from the idol-worshipping gentiles which “shall remain to G-d.”  In the same vein, Moshe tells Pharaoh “You too shall give sacrifices and burnt offerings into our hands, and we will make them for Hashem our G-d” (Shemot 10:25). We shall take the Pesach sacrifice from that which is good in Egypt (Arizal, Etz Hada’at Tov, Parashat Bo); (Based on Removing the Sparks from Egypt, Harav Yehuda Amital zt"l, Summarized by Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon).

To Take or Not to Take the Gold of the Nations?

ספר שמות פרק יב פסוק לה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עָשׂוּ כִּדְבַר משֶׁה וַיִּשְׁאֲלוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם כְּלֵי כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי זָהָב וּשְׂמָלֹת:

 “The children of Israel did according to Moshes’ order, and they borrowed from the Egyptians silver objects, golden objects, and garments” (Shemot 12:35).

In the above verse, the children of Israel carried out the word of Moshe (Shemot 11:2), by requesting silver, gold, and garments from the Egyptians. The transfer of a significant portion of Egypt’s wealth to Israel had both material and spiritual importance. Besides being material payment for centuries of slave labor, Israel also had to extract the spiritual sparks of Egyptian culture and civilization. These sparks would be needed later for the Jewish establishment in the Land of Israel. Some of the gold Israel took from Egypt would later be used to construct the Mishkan while some of it would be used for the Golden Calf. It is not simple to sift through outside cultures or values in a way that we only pick the fruit while discarding the peel, which isn’t beneficial for us. The existential question of what gold from exile we bring with us and incorporate into the Land of Israel and what gold we discard remains for each of us to contemplate and determine. We must make deep Emunah the measuring stock of this filtration process for Israel’s national mission (Based on Rav Yehuda Hakohen, The Jewish Press, Bo: Israel’s Internal Transformation). Today, too, especially those of us deriving from the Western culture, some take everything – the good along with the bad – while others carefully refrain from taking anything. The correct balance is to select carefully and take only the good. If we take too much there is the danger of succumbing and becoming absorbed into the non-Jewish culture. Yet if we recoil into utter isolation within ourselves, we lose the Divine opportunity to redeem the sparks and return them to their Divine source in the Land of Israel and thereby bring about the final Geulah (redemption). 

How Can We Transform Our Homes from the External to the Internal Dimension?

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 Parashat Metzora  How Can We Transform Our Homes from the External to the Internal Dimension?

 

How do I Reunite the Torn Apart Pieces of my Psyche? 

I feel the ground is being torn down from under my feet. Everything is topsy-turvy! The house never looks as messy as at the peak of Pesach cleaning. With my head in the depths of the kitchen cabinet and pots and pans scattered all over the kitchen floor, I am overwhelmed by a feeling of dissolvement.  It is as if all the different parts of myself are turning into torn-apart pieces, that I must sort out and bring back together in a different composition. There are treasured, vital items in the kitchen, and in my character that I must give their proper place, remove any external grime or dust, and make them shine. Some things are still important and usable, yet to a lesser degree. I will also remove their external attachment and keep them while relegating them to the backstage of my kitchen cabinet and psyche. There are other items that I painfully must be ready to let go of. It could be a favorite tunic or utensil that has been used up and become utterly threadbare and tattered or completely dilapidated. Correspondingly in my psyche, this could refer to a strong will to keep a thought, an attachment, or a relationship that no longer serves me. In the wake of Pesach, we are shedding layers on many levels and learning to let go. With every chametz crumb – we discard – we mustn’t forget to include its inner dimension and let go of any ego attachment. When I become humbled by feeling powerless and unable to keep my life under control, that is when I invite Hashem inside to help me reorganize my torn-apart pieces into a new and greater whole. 

The Blessings in Disguise within Plagues 

Even among the hardest tests we undergo, we can find many matters for which to be grateful. Parashat Metzora which is mostly about the plague of the spiritual skin disease of tzara’at, teaches us about the treasure found within the agony of the plagues.  Similarly, we have experienced positive effects during our recent plague of the coronavirus pandemic, such as reduced road traffic accidents, better communication, closeness among the family units, and other blessings in disguise. I believe the Coronavirus has helped us to discard the external or superfluous while treasuring the essential and internal. It has taught us that rather than dispersing our energy to the outside, it is vital to strengthen our connection with our loved ones, focusing, and investing more in them. In other words, the coronavirus has taught us a lesson on living more inner lives. 

ספר ויקרא פרק יד פסוק לד כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם לַאֲחֻזָּה וְנָתַתִּי נֶגַע צָרַעַת בְּבֵית אֶרֶץ אֲחֻזַּתְכֶם:

“When you come to the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, I will place a lesion of tzara’at upon a house in the land of your ancestral possession” (Vayikra 14:34). 

This is [good] news for them that plagues would come upon them, (Torat Kohanim 14:75), because the Amorites [residents of Canaan] concealed treasures of gold in the walls of their houses during the entire forty years that the Israelites were in the desert, and in consequence of the plague they would demolish the house and discover them  [Vayikra Rabbah 17:6]; (Rashi, Vayikra 14:34).

How Can Plagues be a Result of Elevating the Sparks?

Rashi explains that the plague on the house is good ‎tidings for its owner because tzara’at required the owner to tear down the whole ‎house, which revealed treasures buried underneath by the previous ‎Canaanite owners, amounting to far more in value than the worth of the entire house.‎ The inner meaning of the “good tidings” is not only finding the material treasure” but the process of elevating divine fallen sparks. Kedushat HaLevi reminds us about the rule that the true joy we ‎experience is when we elevate the fallen sparks from the ‎‎Shechinah bringing them to the level of serving their ‎Creator. When we succeed in elevating fallen sparks, then the innerness within these sparks elevates not only the inner part of ourselves but even the sparks of the exterior part of ourselves, ‎known as the ‎חצוניות‎/chitzoniyut, so that we are enabled to discard this part of ourselves.‎ Our house has an internal and external dimension. The internal dimension is comprised of elevating the sparks, whereas the discarded parts constitute the external dimension. Comparing the human soul to the inner spark, and the body without the soul to the exterior, explains why the body of a deceased becomes impure. This is because it has lost the inner spark that connects it with the divine – the source of purity.  Similarly, once the sparks within the external parts of our home are elevated, then these external parts likewise become impure by losing their connection to the Divine. When our Torah verse speaks of the house’s exterior ‎suddenly displaying signs of a plague, this is nothing other than ‎the foul-smelling residue left behind in their house after the ‎Israelites had elevated fallen sparks by fulfilling G-d’s mitzvah (Devarim 20:16) ‎not to allow any of the Canaanite residents to survive.  ‎‎Rashi speaks of the glad tidings for the ‎Jewish people when they discover tzara’at upon the houses in the land of Israel that they newly conquered, referring to their joyful discovery of being able to raise the sparks so that they became elevated to spiritually higher regions. Yet after these sparks had left the houses, the houses became exterior and had to be demolished. This is the good news for the treasures that were found after demolishing the houses are the sparks, for the main happiness is to raise up sparks (Based on Kedushat Halevi, Parashat Metzora).

What is the Recipe for Elevating Sparks?

People often ask me “How do we elevate sparks?” I explain that raising sparks entails focusing on and connecting with Hashem through even the most pleasurable or the most painful experiences. For example, when we eat the most delicious Shabbat meal in a way that rather than succumbing to the temptation of taking selfish pleasure, we dedicate the pleasure we experience to serving Hashem by honoring Shabbat. Conversely, when we go through the hardest pain, which could easily make us feel that Hashem has forsaken us, yet we nevertheless choose to trust Hashem believing that this too is for the best, then we also elevate sparks. In both situations, a person is naturally so entrenched in the intensity of his experience that it is a great challenge to devote this personal experience completely to G-d. This principle applies firmly to the original war of conquering the Land of Israel without “allowing any soul to live from among these peoples’ cities, which Hashem, your G-d, gives you as an inheritance” (Devarim 20:16). Being a combat soldier ready to kill in a war is about the greatest pain a person can experience. It can tempt a person to succumb to his lowest animal instincts of anger and aggressiveness while fighting for the sake of victory for its own sake. When the soldier rises above his own selfish survival instinct to engage in violence and rather focuses on the mitzvah of serving Hashem by obliterating every single person among the evil enemy, what could be a greater way of raising up fallen sparks? 

A Woman’s Pesach Cleaning – The Rectification from the Tree of Knowledge 

The strong connection with Hashem that is necessary against all the odds to raise up sparks transforms us from living in the חצוניות/chitzoniut – ‘exterior realm’ to entering into the פנימויות/penimiut – ‘internal realm.’ Rav Shlomo Carlebach teaches us that during Pesach Hashem illuminates such a great light for us, through our innerness, that we are bound to enter the internal realm. When Hashem wants to give us something so heavenly, we need to purify the external so we can stand completely ‘inside,’ without allowing any stronghold for the ‘exterior realm.’ Cleaning the house is one of the greatest rectifications for the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. This rectification is handed over to the woman. It may seem lonely at times, for as much as the husband and children try to help, they can never enter totally into the domain of the woman’s rectification. In the place where a woman cleans and organizes while investing so much depth and seriousness – in that place, she is truly alone (Based on Rav Shlomo Carlebach, Lev HaShamayim: Pesach pp.85-88). Everything about the Tree of Knowledge is about the external dimension. It is what brought about the very first exile, from the utmost innermost place – the Garden of Eden. When we clean the house mindfully, we shed its external layers of dust and grime and thereby transform our home from the external dimension of the Tree of Knowledge to enter the internal dimension of the Tree of Life. Through Pesach cleaning, we have the opportunity to touch such an elevated place, which only a woman can reach. 

                     

Gratitude Focus for the Week of Parashat Metzora

“Japanese people have always regarded cleaning as more than a common chore. It’s normal there for elementary and junior high school students to clean their classrooms together. Cleaning is carried out not because there is dirt, but because it’s an ascetic practice to cultivate the mind.” (Shoukei Matsumoto, Guide to a Clean House and Mind p. 3). Every year, before Pesach, we are commanded to prepare our homes by getting rid of all the chametz, to start fresh and clean, to sweep out all the gunk and crumbs. We can do the same thing with the homes called our bodies, where we store a lot of aches, pains, annoyances, disturbances, stresses, maladaptive habits, etc. Guided meditations are a great way to clear your mind/body of the “chametz” before Pesach.

• Invite Your Community to Join Your Guided Meditation – preparing their minds and psyches for Pesach. Set the mood by lighting candles or dimming lights and turning off phones and other distractions. You may ask the following four questions as part of your Pesach meditation. 

1. What will you be cleaning for Pesach?

2. Why will you be cleaning for Pesach?

3. Does cleaning your space free you to be able to focus your attention inwards?

4. Which items are meaningful to you? How will these items help inspire you this Pesach?

• “We are Closer to G-d when We are Asking Questions Than When We Think we Have Answers” (Avraham Yehoshua Heschel) – While you go about your Pesach cleaning ask yourself questions about the chores you are doing that will inspire you to shed exterior layers of yourself. For example, when cleaning a certain kitchen drawer, you could ask how this drawer is a reflection of the state of your psyche, and how you can reorganize it in a way that will affect your inner being positively. When you scrub suborn stains, you could ask, what are the stubborn stains of my character that I need to remove? and what would be the most effective way to remove them? How do you think the process of cleaning and searching for chametz impacts your spiritual preparation for Pesach?

• Look for Hidden Treasures – Pray to Hashem to find your lost objects while you clean for Pesach. Perhaps during your ordeal of Pesach cleaning you may find a long-lost precious earring or any other item you may have displaced. Rejoice and feel grateful to Hashem for opening your eyes to find hidden treasures!

• Allow Yourself to Be Grateful for the Healing Opportunity of Cleaning – While we focus on removing all of the physical chametz from our homes, notice how the act of cleaning can spark an internal process of introspection, and strengthen your connection to Hashem. You can make your Pesach cleaning a collaborative event by engaging in a post-cleaning discussion and celebration to share what you gained from the experience and discuss what stands out to you most about your experience of cleaning for Pesach.

• Set an Intention for Your Pesach Cleaning to Remove the External Chametz for the Sake of the Mitzvah – so that you can elevate the sparks and transform your home to be aligned with the inner dimension. Focus on how the process of cleaning for Pesach is a way to rectify eating from the Tree of Knowledge – the source of everything external.