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). 

Do the Precious Metals of the Tabernacle Have Healing Properties?

Parashat Vaykhel/Pekudei

My Penchant for Pure Metals

I’ve always detested anything fake. This includes imitation pearls, fake gold, and simulated silver. I’d rather have genuine, inexpensive, semiprecious crystals, than faux diamonds. I love my pure, iron skillet and have been searching for a pure copper kettle, but they seem to all come with a coating. When their interior is stainless steel, the precious healing properties of copper, which I will discuss further on, are lost. If you know of where to get hold of a kettle, made completely of copper inside and out, let me know!

I try to live my life in an honest, genuine way, never pretending to be more or less than who I am. I adhere to the principle that our inside must match our outside. Only such a person is worthy to learn Torah. We learn this from Rabbi Gamliel, who would place a guard to the door to the study hall, and only allow entrance to those whose inside matched his outside (Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 28a). Furthermore, it states, “Any scholar, whose inside and outside are not the same, is not a scholar (BT, Yoma 72b). In principle, there should be nothing wrong with gold-covered, silver earrings. Also, the ark in the tabernacle consisted of gold-plated wood. The difference is that the silver earrings have a gold façade to pretend to be gold, whereas, the wood of the ark had its own importance, reflecting that the Torah must be a tree of life, alive and dynamic, rather than a frozen static material. Trees grow, they bear fruit, and they bend in the wind. Metal is unyielding, unchanging, without potential. Therefore, all the wooden gold-covered Temple vessels must be regarded halachically as being made of wood, and not gold, even though their golden surface appears on the outside. In addition to wood, the Tabernacle and its vessels were mainly constructed from the pure metals of gold, silver, and copper. Knowing that the Tabernacle and Temple were spiritual-healing structures, let’s explore the healing properties of these precious materials.

Gold for Atonement

Gold is associated with atonement, since the gold of the mishkan served as atonement for the sin of the golden calf (Midrash Tanchuma, Teruma 8). Yet, on Yom Kippur, we are not supposed to wear gold, just as the Kohen Gadol was prohibited from wearing gold then, in order not to recall the sin of the golden calf (Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashana 26a). However, the greatest atonement takes place by using the same tools of sin for a mitzvah. Thus, Hashem commanded us to use gold in the construction of the tabernacle, to give us the opportunity to elevate our misdeeds. “For the tzaddikim find favor to the extent of the tools of their sinning” (Shemot Rabbah 33:3). Therefore, we atone with gold – “This is the gift that you must take from them – gold…” And the Holy One Blessed be He said: “For I will bring healing to you, and I will use (the material of) your wounds to heal you” (Yirmeyahu 30:17); (Midrash Tanchuma, Teruma 8). Since pure gold is so expensive, donating precious gold is a more efficient atonement, than offering a lesser gift to G-d. As there is no greater healing than atonement, it makes perfect sense that gold is considered “the master healer,” in new age terminology. It is an excellent metal for the purification of the physical body.

Gold Engenders Purity

Gold symbolizes purity, spirituality, and character development. It also lessens past trauma and assists us to actualize the intrinsic potential of the self. Gold balances energy helps eliminate ego conflicts and feelings of futility. It can also help to assuage the overburden of responsibility and combat feelings of depression and inferiority. It has been said to attract honors, wealth, and happiness; to provide composure, to stabilize the emotional system, to alleviate tension and stress, and to amplify positive feelings. It also assists us in attuning to nature and its healing forces. When in proximity to another metal, gold provides a stabilizing influence to the energies of that metal. Much research indicates that gold has wound healing properties. In addition, gold nanoparticles can be functionalized with antibodies to specifically target cancer stem cells. Preclinical studies using photo-thermal therapy have demonstrated the feasibility of targeting chemo-resistant cancer cells to reverse clinical chemoresistance.

Protective Silver

Silver has been used for its antibacterial properties for thousands of years. Some bandages use silver to help reduce wound bacteria count. Silver is so good at providing bacterial protection that many clinics and hospitals use silver-based surgical tools as well as furniture to help limit the spread of any disease. According to the Silver Institute, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a deadly staph germ that is resistant to many other hospital-grade antibiotics, can often be wiped out through silver-based dressings. Due to its intrinsic therapeutic properties and broad-spectrum antimicrobial efficacy, silver nanoparticles have opened new horizons towards novel approaches in the control of infections in wound healing. The silver-infused dressing provides the silver-based bacterial protection while also absorbing wound discharge. Silver was used in the foundational sockets of the tabernacle, built from the half-shekel donation of each Jew, in order to act as a foundational protection from spiritual bacteria, such as the energy of Amalek. The specific measure of a half-shekel teaches us that in order to harness this spiritual protection, we must become whole, by unifying with each other.

Copper – The Energy Balancer and Multi Healer

It is not by chance that the serpent that the Israelites gazed at – in order to be healed from the bite of the serpent (Bamidbar 21:9) – was made of copper, as copper is the universal symbol of healing. After researching the many health benefits of wearing a copper bracelet, I hope my husband will remember and get me one for my next birthday! Wearing copper jewelry may protect from negative energy and emanate healing energies. It’s reported that copper bracelets alleviate stiffness of the joints and arthritis, lower cholesterol, strengthen the immune system, slow down the aging process and facilitate iron and zinc absorption through the skin. According to medical research, copper has two key properties: 1. Copper has potent pesticide and fungicide properties. 2. Copper is involved in numerous physiological and metabolic processes critical for the appropriate functioning of almost all tissues in the human body. Clinical studies show that medical device products, embedded with microscopic copper oxide particles, improve the well-being of the skin. These include a) a cure for athlete’s foot and improvement in skin elasticity; b) improving skin well-being and reducing facial lines and wrinkles, and c) enhancing wound healing; by copper oxide embedded socks, pillowcases, and wound dressings, respectively.

Perhaps, due to the purifying quality of copper, the washbasin for the kohanim to wash their hands and feet in preparation for their holy service was made completely out of copper. In Hebrew, copper is called ְנחשֶׁת/nechoshet, a word that shares the root with the wordנַחַשׁ /nashash – ‘serpent.’ I believe this is because copper can overcome the negative energy of the serpent. It is also possible that the energy balancing quality of copper reminds us that ultimate healing is only from Hashem, as it states, “does the [living] snake cause death or the [copper] snake give life? But, rather, when Israel focuses upwards towards Heaven and subjugates its heart to its Father in Heaven, they would be healed, and if not, they would be destroyed…” (Rosh HaShana 3:8; Rashi, Bamidbar 21:8).

Correspondence between the Three Metals and the Three Ways of Serving Hashem

ספר שמות פרק לה פסוק ה קְחוּ מֵאִתְּכֶם תְּרוּמָה לַהָשֵׁם כֹּל נְדִיב לִבּוֹ יְבִיאֶהָ אֵת תְּרוּמַת הָשֵׁם זָהָב וָכֶסֶף וּנְחשֶׁת:

“Take from yourselves an offering for Hashem; every generous hearted person shall bring it, [namely] Hashem’s offering: gold, silver, and copper” (Shemot 35:5).

According to the Rebbe of Lubavitch, the three kinds of metals correspond to three types of Jews, with their respective ways of serving Hashem. Gold, the most valuable material, corresponds to the speech of the ba’alei teshuva (returnee to Judaism), who can reach a greater closeness to Hashem than even the greatest tzaddikim (BT, Berachot 34b). They went through the hardest struggle and therefore deserve to be crowned in gold. Silver כֶּסֶף/kesef, shares the root of the word כִּסּוּפִים/kisufim– ‘yearning,’ and corresponds to thoughts of the FFB (A Jew born to a religious family), tzaddikim, who are constantly yearning to be close to Hashem. Yet, since their lives were more shielded and with fewer obstacles and temptations, they are compared to the less valuable silver. Copper, a coarser material, which easily becomes tarnished corresponds to the actions of the sinners of Israel, who can still be polished and become shiny again.

The Three Precious Metals and the Three Primal Fears

According to Rav Ginsburgh, the origins of disease can be traced to three core traumas in the human psyche. In the collective consciousness of the Jewish people, the main fear is fear of exile – the communal state of disease. The Talmud likens the three major exiles of the Jewish people – Egyptian, Babylonian, and the present exile (of Edom) – to being attacked by a wolf, a lion, and a serpent, respectively (Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 13a). These three beasts can be overcome by the three Temple materials. Gold, linked to יִרְאַת הַשֵּׁם/yirat Hashem – ‘awe of G-d,’ rectifies the fear of the wolf זְאֵב/ze’ev – etymologically linked to the word זָהָב/zahav – ‘gold. Silver, כֶּסֶף/kesef cognate to the word כִּסּוּפִים/kisufim– ‘yearning,’ engenders love. Connected to אַהֲבַת הַשֵּׁם/ahavat Hashem – ‘love of G-d,’ it rectifies fear of the lion, through the holy yearnings of a strong heart.Copper, which encompasses both the awe and fear of G-d, rectifies fear of the serpent, as understood from the connection between ְנחשֶׁת/nechoshet – ‘copper; and נַחַשׁ /nashash – 'serpent'.

Metal	Gold – זָהָב/zahav	Silver – כֶּסֶף/kesef	Copper – נְחשֶׁת/nechoshet
Temple part	The Holy of Holiest	The Tent of Meeting	The Outer Courtyard
Archetypal Animal	Wolf – זְאֵב/Ze’ev	Lion – אַרְיֵה/Arieh	Serpent – נָחָש/Nachash
Exile	Egypt	Babylon	Current (Edom/Rome)

For further insights on the meaning of the Temple metals: http://rebbetzinchanabracha.blogspot.com/2019/02/what-is-spiritual-meaning-of-metals.html