February 5, 2017 · 01:52:36
Empathy Is Never ForgottenThis class was presented on Sunday Parshas Beshalach, 8 Shevat 5777, February 5, 2017, at Ohr chaim Shul, Monsey, NY The opening of our portion related how Pharaoh had a change of heart right after he let the Jewish people go. "He said to the Children of Israel: They are lost in the land, the desert closed in on them." Rashi raises the obvious difficulty with this verse. Pharaoh did not speak to the children of Israel, for they had left Egypt already. How could he be talking to them? The Targum Yonasan ben Uziel gives an astonishing explanation. There were two Jews, Dassan and Aviram, who remained in Egypt. They refused to leave. Pharaoh spoke to them, reassuring them that the Jews are lost, stranded, and stuck in the desert. Their choice to flee the country was an ill-conceived one. Yet here is where the story becomes mind staggering. If they chose to stay in Egypt, how do we discover them journeying with the Jews in the desert – complaining about the manna, revolting with Korach? The answer is plain if absurd. They must have tagged along with Pharaoh when he went to pursue the Jews by the sea. And when the sea split, they too were spared. They too crossed along with the Jews, and got to the other side safe and sound. This is absurd. These two fellows who were absolute atheists, it seems, fighting Moses and G-d at every step of the way, choosing to remain in Egypt, are saved with their brethren. They have linked their fate and destiny to Egypt