First in Thought – Bo
וּמֵת כָּל בְּכוֹר בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבְּכוֹר פַּרְעֹה הַיֹּשֵׁב עַל כִּסְאוֹ עַד בְּכוֹר הַשִּׁפְחָה
אֲשֶׁר אַחַר הָרֵחָיִם וְכֹל בְּכוֹר בְּהֵמָה (שמות יא, ה).
The entire episode of the Exodus revolves around one central theme – firstborns. It begins with firstborns and ends with firstborns.
When HKB"H commands Moshe to stand before Pharaoh for the first time, what is HKB"H's first message to Pharaoh? וְאָמַרְתָּ אֶל פַּרְעֹה כֹּה אָמַר ה' בְּנִי בְכֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל (שמות ד, כב), "My firstborn son is Israel!"
Following that, the first warning to Pharaoh, before the Ten Plagues, is "If you do not set my son (singular) free, הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי הֹרֵג אֶת בִּנְךָ בְּכֹרֶךָ (שם, כג), I will kill your firstborn son". HKB"H does not say, "First I'll send blood, then frogs, then lice … etc. and, after all that, if you still refuse, I will kill your firstborn!" Right from the beginning, HKB"H tells Pharaoh what the end is going to be.
The question is "What kind of strategy is that?" If you want to end the "war" quickly - start and end with the tenth plague, מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת. If that is the "Sword of Damocles" that cliches everything, like an atomic bomb, then why waste time with all the other plagues? Skip straight to the clincher!
The answer is – only one plague was really aimed specifically at Pharaoh - מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת, the other nine were not intended for Pharaoh at all, but for Am Yisrael. Yes, there are perushim that the Ten Plagues were a punishment for the Egyptians מִדָּה כְּנֶגֶד מִדָּה for all the wrongs they inflicted on Am Yisrael during our slavery and this is true. However, this was a secondary reason.
The main reason for the first nine plagues were a wakeup call for Am Yisrael, that they should do teshuva and merit יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם. Unfortunately, only one fifth woke up. Four fifths died during the plague of darkness and did not experience the Geulah.
In this shiur we will be exploring the significance of the firstborn, the concept called רֵאשִׁית and hopefully obtain a deeper insight into the impending Geulah, which we hope and pray is speedily approaching, בבי"א.
HKB"H has a special "fondness" for the first of everything. The entire Torah is peppered with examples - the first piece of dough from bread רֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵכֶם (חַלָּה), the first fruits (בִּכּוּרִים) רֵאשִׁית בִּכּוּרֵי אַדְמָתְךָ, the first grains from the harvest רֵאשִׁית קְצִירְכֶם (עֹמֶר), the firstborn son רֵאשִׁית אוֹנִי, the firstborn kosher animal for korbanot בְּכוֹר בְּהֵמָה, the firstborn donkey פֶּטֶר חֲמֹר, etc.
HKB"H is so fond of this concept רֵאשִׁית, that He began the Torah with it - בְּרֵאשִׁית, to teach us that the purpose of creating the universe was for the "first".
The universe was not the first of HKB"H's creations, another creation preceded it by 974 generations (Shabbat 88b) – the Torah. Therefore, the Torah is also called רֵאשִׁית, the first creation.
Am Yisrael are also called רֵאשִׁית, as it says קֹדֶשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל לַה' רֵאשִׁית תְּבוּאָתֹה (ירמיה ב, ג).
The reason why HKB"H created the universe, was for all these things that are called רֵאשִׁית!
Of all the above, the most difficult to understand is Am Yisrael. How can Am Yisrael claim to be the "first nation"?
Another nation was called רֵאשִׁית long before Yirmiyahu called Am Yisrael רֵאשִׁית – Amalek רֵאשִׁית גּוֹיִם עֲמָלֵק (במדבר כד, כ), Bilam lived a few hundred years before יִרְמְיָהוּ. This was actually Amalek's claim, that they were HKB"H's true רֵאשִׁית.
In fact, both Am Yisrael and Amalek are called רֵאשִׁית, because when HKB"H creates a force, at the same time He creates the opposing force. Am Yisrael is the positive pole of the magnet, Amalek the negative.
Chronologically speaking, there were other nations long before even Amalek! One of these is Egypt. Egypt is, chronologically speaking, one of the oldest nations on earth. מִצְרַיִם was a son of Cham, the son of Noach. Egypt was already a nation with a king in the time of Avraham.
Contrast this with Am Yisrael who only became a nation at Har Sinai, 2448 years after Creation - 325 years after Avraham died!
One can only imagine the scorn on Pharaoh's face when Moshe first appeared to him with HKB"H's message בְּנִי בְכֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל. "Israel, the firstborn? What a joke!"
Pharaoh said to Moshe "Seriously, let's get down to the nitty gritty of who is the firstborn and who is not. Let's go all the way back! The first 'firstborn' in history was Adam HaRishon, he was חַלָּתוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, the first רֵאשִׁית! HKB"H did Hafrashat Challah רֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵכֶם from the earth to create him.
Who was Adam's firstborn? Kayin! The Torah says it explicitly וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת חַוָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד אֶת קַיִן (בראשית ד, א). I, Pharaoh, am a descendant (gilgul) of Kayin (חומת אנך, חבקוק פרק א). I am very sorry my 'wayward grandson' Moshe (Moshe was raised by Pharaoh as his grandson), but you are barking up the wrong tree!"
Pharaoh's "genealogy" claim seems watertight, it certainly follows logic. Pharaoh is a descendant of Kayin, Am Yisrael is descended from the younger Shet. So how can HKB"H send Moshe to Pharaoh with such a claim? Firstborns are firstborns by birth, not by preference. You cannot switch firstborns simply because you do not like them! It says so explicitly in the Torah לֹא יוּכַל לְבַכֵּר אֶת בֶּן הָאֲהוּבָה עַל פְּנֵי בֶן הַשְּׂנוּאָה הַבְּכֹר (דברים כא, טז). A firstborn is firstborn by virtue of physical birth, not character!
So how is possible that HKB"H can claim בְּנִי בְכֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל?
Let us first address Pharaoh's claim, that he was descended from Kayin and therefore has firstborn preference over Am Yisrael, who are descended from the younger Shet.
It may seem that Kayin was Adam HaRishon's firstborn by virtue of physical birth, but this is not true. Kayin's biological father was not Adam HaRishon, but rather the נָחָשׁ. The Gemara (Yevamot 103b), says בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבָּא נָחָשׁ עַל חַוָּה הֵטִיל בָּהּ זוּהֲמָא. Part of the sin with the עֵץ הַדַּעַת is that Chava had intercourse with the נָחָשׁ and the resulting offspring was Kayin.
According to Yalkut Shimoni (בראשית פרק ד, סימן לה), Kayin and Hevel were twins! רַבִּי אוֹמֵר: קַיִן וְהֶבֶל תְּאוֹמִים הָיוּ. In other words, after the sin with the עֵץ הַדַּעַת and after Adam and Chava were expelled from Gan Eden, the passuk says וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת חַוָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ.
Adam had intercourse with Chava and then twins were born, Kayin and Hevel – Kayin from the seed of the נָחָשׁ and Hevel from the seed of Adam! So, who was Adam's firstborn? Hevel. Kayin was the firstborn of the נָחָשׁ, not Adam.
OK, so maybe Hevel was Adam's firstborn, but Hevel was killed before he had any children! That left Kayin and then later Shet – Kayin was 130 years older than Shet! So How can Am Yisrael (who are descended from Shet) claim precedence over Pharaoh (who was descended from Kayin)?
The answer is that Shet was a gilgul of Hevel, the neshama of Hevel came back down in Shet (מגלה עמוקות, ואתחנן יא). Moshe (and Am Yisrael) who are descended from Shet are therefore, in fact, descended from the firstborn to Adam HaRishon – Hevel.
So, Pharaoh's genealogical claim is baseless. However, Pharaoh may still have a "historical" claim. I Pharaoh, Egypt, were a nation long before Am Yisrael. At the time of Moshe confronting Pharaoh, Am Yisrael were not even yet a nation – that only occurred at Har Sinai, months later. So how can HKB"H send Moshe with the claim בְּנִי בְכֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל?
The answer to this may be found in the story of Eisav and Yaakov. Rashi (בראשית כה, כו) explains why Yaakov was the true firstborn and not Eisav. Rashi uses the analogy of a pipe with two stones. If you place two stones in a narrow pipe, the stone that went in last will come out first and the stone that went in first will come out last (in computer terminology that is called LIFO – last in first out).
According to Rashi, when there is more than one child in the uterus, the one that was fertilized first is called רִאשׁוֹן לַיְּצִירָה and the one that comes out first is called רִאשׁוֹן לַיְּצִיאָה. When the father has the intention of bearing a son, his intention is the רִאשׁוֹן לַיְּצִירָה, the one first fertilized – that is the true firstborn, the child first conceived.
Therefore, the fact that Eisav emerged first רִאשׁוֹן לַיְּצִיאָה, did not make him the true firstborn, he was not Yitzchak's intention when he bore a child, Yaakov was.
You may ask - Eisav physically emerged first and a firstborn is halachically determined by who emerges first, i.e the right of firstborn is halachically defined as the רִאשׁוֹן לַיְּצִיאָה.
According to Chazal there are two types of firstborn rights – the right to double share and the right to Kehuna/leadership.
The right to double share is halachically determined as the first child to emerge, רִאשׁוֹן לַיְּצִיאָה. Eisav physically emerged first, therefore he has the rights of the firstborn to double share of the inheritance and there is no way to take that from him, not by sale, nor any other means לֹא יוּכַל לְבַכֵּר אֶת בֶּן הָאֲהוּבָה עַל פְּנֵי בֶן הַשְּׂנוּאָה הַבְּכֹר (דברים כא, טז).
However, there is another firstborn right – the right to Kehuna and leadership. This right can be transferred to another son – who is more worthy, it can be sold by Eisav to Yaakov. When Eisav killed Nimrod, he relinquished the right to Kehuna, because a Kohen who has taken a life cannot serve as a Kohen.
Yaakov's purchase of the firstborn birthright was not that of the double share of the inheritance, it was the birthright to the Kehuna, the role of leadership, the role of continuation of the ways of his father.
Who is Kehuna inherited from, the mother or the father? Everyone automatically will say the father and it is true, the halacha is that if a son is born to a father who is a Kohen and a mother who is not the daughter of a Kohen, the son goes according to the father and is also a Kohen (קידושין סו, ע"ב; שו"ע, אבן העזר, סימן ח, א).
However, this is not the end of the story, some rights of the Kehuna are also passed down from the mother. If a firstborn son is born to a father who is a Yisrael and the mother who is a daughter of a Kohen, that child does not need to have a פִּדְיוֹן הַבֵּן, by virtue of his mother (רמב"ם, הלכות ביכורים יא, ט-יא).
The fact that Eisav disqualified himself from the Kehuna by killing Nimrod and in addition to that, he despised the Kehuna, gave Yaakov the right to purchase that aspect of the firstborn rights from Eisav.
When HKB"H sent Moshe to say to Pharaoh בְּנִי בְכֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל, Rashi (שמות ד, כב) says that here HKB"H was giving His stamp of approval of the sale of the firstborn birthright to Yaakov, who is also called Yisrael.
By stating this to Pharaoh, HKB"H was also saying that although Egypt emerged as a nation prior to Am Yisrael chronologically, Am Yisrael were the רִאשׁוֹן לַיְּצִירָה, the "first in thought".
Am Yisrael were the purpose which HKB"H had in mind when He created the universe and although Egypt emerged first רִאשׁוֹן לַיְּצִיאָה, they were not the purpose of Creation. They are like Eisav, the second stone in the narrow pipe.
The question remains, "Why did HKB"H not create Am Yisrael both רִאשׁוֹן לַיְּצִירָה and also רִאשׁוֹן לַיְּצִיאָה? Why was it necessary for a "multiple birth", Kayin and Hevel, Eisav and Yaakov? Why not simply give birth to the one, intended firstborn child, Am Yisrael, straight from the beginning? Why was it necessary for all the other nations to emerge before Am Yisrael emerged as a nation?
The answer is given in HKB"H's first blessing to Adam HaRishon - וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם אֱ-לֹקִים וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם אֱ-לֹקִים פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ וּמִלְאוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ וְכִבְשֻׁהָ (בראשית א, כח). The purpose of Am Yisrael in this world is spiritual, not physical. The purpose of Am Yisrael is to maintain the world by virtue of the Torah. It is not Am Yisrael's primary role to be involved with כִבְשֻׁהָ – building houses, cities, bridges, roads, markets – civilization!
That is the role of the other nations. HKB"H allowed the other nations to physically emerge first, to build civilization - so that when Am Yisrael emerged as a nation, the world would already be fully built! HKB"H could have allowed Am Yisrael to emerge and bequeathed Eretz Yisrael to them before the Canaanites.
However, if that would have been the case, Am Yisrael, instead of devoting their entire time to the service of HKB"H, would have been involved in building the country – cities, houses, bridges, roads, agriculture etc. By allowing the Canaanites to emerge first, they built all the infrastructure and when Am Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael with Yehoshua, everything was already in place –
וְהָיָה כִּי יְבִיאֲךָ ה' אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב לָתֶת לָךְ עָרִים גְּדֹלֹת וְטֹבֹת אֲשֶׁר לֹא בָנִיתָ. וּבָתִּים מְלֵאִים כָּל טוּב אֲשֶׁר לֹא מִלֵּאתָ וּבֹרֹת חֲצוּבִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא חָצַבְתָּ כְּרָמִים וְזֵיתִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא נָטָעְתָּ וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָעְתָּ (דברים ו, י-יא).
That was the prologue to the Exodus, בְּנִי בְכֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל - establishing Am Yisrael as HKB"H's true firstborn, the "firstborn of thought", the purpose for which the universe was created.
The epilogue to the Exodus was the plague of killing the Egyptian firstborns, the first warning to Pharaoh and the last to be executed chronologically.
Egypt was "closure of a circle" for Creation. The Ten Plagues were a replay of the six days of Creation. There were no human witnesses to the first five days of Creation. No humans bore witness to HKB"H creating light, Heaven and earth, plants, the sun and the moon, fish, birds and animals. When Adam HaRishon was created, he was given a "ready made world".
An apikoros could claim "How do we know HKB"H created the sun and the moon, the sea and the land, etc.? It could have just been here! Did anyone actually see HKB"H create it?"
The Ten Plagues were therefore a replay of Creation, that was witnessed by humans. According to the sefer Torat HaMincha (פרשת בא, דרשה כב, עשר המכות כנגד עשרה מאמרות), written by R' Yaakov Skili, (a talmid of the Rashba, 14th century), each plague paralleled a component of Creation (בַּעֲשָׂרָה מַאֲמָרוֹת נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם, אבות ה, א) –
דָּם הָיָה בְּכֹחַ מַאֲמָר - יִקָּווּ הַמַּיִם וְכוּ'. צְפַרְדֵּעַ הָיָה בְּכֹחַ מַאֲמָר - יִשְׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם שֶׁרֶץ וְכוּ'. כִּנִּים הָיוּ בְּכֹחַ מַאֲמָר - תַּדְשֵׁא הָאָרֶץ דֶּשֶׁא וְכוּ'. עָרוֹב הָיָה בְּכֹחַ מַאֲמָר - תּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה וְכוּ'. דֶּבֶר הָיָה בְּכֹחַ מַאֲמָר - יְהִי מְאוֹרוֹת וְכוּ'. שְׁחִין הָיָה בְּכֹחַ מַאֲמָר - וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם אֱ-לֹקִים פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ וְכוּ'. בָּרָד הָיָה בְּכֹחַ מַאֲמָר - יְהִי רָקִיעַ בְּתוֹךְ הַמָּיִם וְכוּ'. אַרְבֶּה הָיָה בְּכֹחַ מַאֲמַר - בְּרֵאשִׁית (כִּי בְּרֵאשִׁית מַאֲמָר הוּא) וְכוּ'. חֹשֶׁךְ הָיָה בְּכֹחַ מַאֲמָר - יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי אוֹר וְיַבְדֵּל אֱ-לֹקִים בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְ וְכוּ'.
What about מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת? The purpose of מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת was also closure of a circle from Creation. The Torat HaMincha says that this plague paralleled the creation of Adam HaRishon. Why does killing the firstborn of Egypt have anything to do with creating Adam HaRishon?
The entire episode of יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם was to atone for the sin of Adam and Chava that was caused by the נָחָשׁ (אלשייך, תורת משה, שמות א:א, ד). Because of the נָחָשׁ - Kayin was born, the "so called" firstborn.
Kayin was Chava's firstborn, not Adam's. As we saw above, Kehuna has hereditary aspects both from the mother and the father. However, the Rambam (הלכות ביכורים יא, ט-יא) says that if the mother is a daughter of a Kohen and marries a non-Jew, the son of that union does have to have a פִּדְיוֹן הַבֵּן, because by marrying a non-Jew, the daughter of a Kohen cancels any rights she has to the Kehuna.
By Chava "marrying" the נָחָשׁ (הַנָּחָשׁ הִשִּׁיאַנִי וָאֹכֵל, בראשית ג, יג), Kayin forfeited any rights to the Kehuna, even by virtue of his mother.
As a result of this sin, Adam and Chava and all humanity after them, were "sentenced to death" – they became mortal. Pharaoh and מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת were atonement for this. Pharaoh, who was a gilgul both of Kayin and the נָחָשׁ (פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם הַתַּנִּים הַגָּדוֹל, יחזקאל כט, ג), created closure for their part in Adam and Chava's sin.
Kayin, the firstborn of the נָחָשׁ (Pharaoh) killed Hevel, the firstborn of Adam. Thus, Pharaoh's firstborn - had to die in מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת to atone for this sin (מאיר פנים, פרק טו).
It was a circle within a circle – the larger circle of Creation-Exodus and the inner circle of the Ten Plagues, beginning with בְּנִי בְכֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל and ending with מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת.
Now that we better understand the mechanics of the first Geulah, the Exodus from Egypt, we can obtain a deeper insight into the upcoming Geulah. Just as HKB"H brought Am Yisrael to a Land of Milk and Honey, which was completely built and "ready for occupancy", so too will be the final Geulah. Just as HKB"H preceded the first Geulah by all the other nations creating the infrastructure for Am Yisrael, so too will be the final Geulah.
If you closely examine how the modern State of Israel has been built, most of it was not built by Jews – it was overseen by Jews, but the physical building work, for the most part, was done by Arab labor. In the 1800's there was a large influx of migrant Arab workers in search of work, developing the new Jewish settlement.
This gave rise to what we now consider to be the "Palestinian problem", but it could not have been otherwise! The modern Land of Milk of Honey, like in the first Geulah with the ancient Canaanites, has to be built by the modern version of the Canaanites before the impending Geulah.
The other nations have to prepare Eretz Yisrael for Am Yisrael. This is why when I see illegal building by the Arabs in Yehuda Ve'Shomron it doesn't bother me so much, because those buildings will eventually be ours. They think they are building it for themselves, but that is not the case.
When the Geulah arrives בבי"א, the other nations will depart, just as the Canaanites "departed" in the time of Yehoshua. How will they depart? HKB"H has His plans how that will happen.
Perhaps they will relocate to Indonesia, perhaps to Egypt, perhaps to Turkey (not to Jordan – Jordan is part of Eretz Yisrael). Perhaps HKB"H will bring someone like a Donald Trump to make it happen, contrary to anything anyone else could ever have dreamt of.
Why is the final plague called מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת and not simply בְּכוֹרוֹת, like the other nine plagues which were not prefaced with the word מַכַּת? Because this plague was performed directly by HKB"H Himself, with no intermediaries (Moshe and Aharon).
The pre-planned "clincher" that resulted in the Geulah had to be devoid of human intervention. Unlike the previous nine plagues where Moshe and Aharon were participant, this final plague had to clearly be only HKB"H, with not even the faintest suspicion of involvement of any other "party".
HKB"H said to Moshe and Aharon "Step aside! This one's on Me! Close yourself in your homes, do not go out, do not allow yourselves to be seen".
The toughest act of faith is to relinquish control, to step aside and place total trust in HKB"H. It was this ultimate leap of faith that resulted in the Geulah.
Why do the factions in Am Yisrael today so fear and deride the מְשִׂיחִים, the "Messianic" Jews? It is because they lack that total faith. They fear that without their own efforts, things will not get done according to their perception of how reality should be.
They do not trust that what HKB"H has planned for us is the best possible outcome. They have become tired of waiting for HKB"H, they feel they need to preempt HKB"H. When these people look at people of faith, it is not that they fear us, it is that they fear relinquishing control over their own reality.
For this reason, they feel the need to make their own plans – the Oslo accords, the מִזְרָח תִּיכוֹן חָדָשׁ, etc. Even if these plans are counter intuitive and even though they know deep down in their hearts that such things will never succeed, they continue to deceive themselves and push ahead regardless, because the alternative, relinquishing control, is unthinkable to them.
It was the same dispute between Datan and Aviram, שוטרים in charge of Jewish slaves, and Moshe in Egypt. Datan and Aviram looked at the "reality" and came to the conclusion that the only recourse was to do your best within the system, to try make your own plans to improve conditions for Am Yisrael.
When Moshe "interfered" and things realistically became worse for Am Yisrael, they attacked Moshe. Although their intentions may have been well meaning, their "plan" did not correlate with HKB"H's plan. It was the same thing in Shushan, when Achashveirosh invited the Jews to attend the feast. Mordechai said "Don't go, it won't end well".
The leaders of the community lacked faith, they tried to make their own plans to work "within the system" and this resulted in one of the worst potential disasters to ever befall the Jewish people.
The first nine plagues left the Egyptians weakened and reeling. They suffered blow after blow until the whole house of cards came falling down - the greatest superpower in the world was on its knees. We are experiencing a similar phenomenon today, prior to the impending Geulah.
The monsters that we so feared, Hamas in Gaza with their tunnels, Hezbollah in Lebanon with their hundreds of thousands of sophisticated missiles, Iran approaching nuclear capability … they have all been weakened by "plague after plague" – exploding beepers, assassination of their leaders, destruction of their air defense systems, etc. All these plagues were with our active participation, just like with Moshe and Aharon in Egypt. They alone cannot bring the Geulah.
For the impending Geulah to come, we need to step aside. We need to have the faith required to relinquish control. We need to leave it up to HKB"H to wrap things up – on His own. Only in that way will it alter the entire world.
There cannot be even the faintest suspicion that Israel's victory over our enemies is because of our own military power, technology or even bravery. When HKB"H "wraps things up", it will be apocalyptic and on a scale that leaves no room for doubt. It will leave not only "Egypt", but the entire world without any doubt, shaking in fear of HKB"H.
The Geulah in Egypt, the restoration of the world to the state of Creation before the sin of Adam and Chava, was not completed with מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת. It was completed at Har Sinai where we, Am Yisrael, fixed our part in the sin, by re-establishing our connection with HKB"H and accepting His Torah, by relinquishing control and taking a leap of faith - by saying נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמַע.
Then and only then did we truly become בְּנִי בְכֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל and merit the Geulah.
Avot De'Rebi Natan (נוסח ב, פרק מד) says that both Am Yisrael and the angels are called עֲבָדִים –
כִּי לִי בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲבָדִים (ויקרא כה, נה)
הֵן בַּעֲבָדָיו לֹא יַאֲמִין וּבְמַלְאָכָיו יָשִׂים תָּהֳלָה (איוב ד, יח)
Who are HKB"H's "favorite" עֲבָדִים? The answer is עֲבָדַי הֵם אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם (ויקרא כה, נה). Am Yisrael are more חֲבִיבִין than the angels.
Also, both Am Yisrael and the angels are called בָּנִים –
בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל - בָּנִים אַתֶּם לַה' אֱ-לֹקֵיכֶם (דברים יד, א) בְּ
מַלְאָכִים - וַיָּבֹאוּ בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים (איוב א, ו)
Who are HKB"H's "favorite" בָּנִים? The answer is בְּנִי בְכֹרִי יִשְׂרָאֵל. Am Yisrael are more חֲבִיבִין than the angels.
HKB"H is constantly doing His part to orchestrate the Geulah. If we just step aside for a moment and observe what is happening through the "correct lens", we will actually see the cogs turning and will come to realize that what might appear "worse", is actually better, not only better,but essential to achieve the final goal, just like when Moshe first appeared to Pharaoh and things seemed to get temporarily worse.
HKB"H is just waiting for us to do our part. הַכֹּל בִּידֵי שָׁמַיִם חוּץ מִיִּרְאַת שָׁמַיִם, only we can do it. It takes a leap of faith. The Geulah is just waiting to happen, all the mechanisms are in place. All that remains is the last step - from us.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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