Parsha

When the Jews were about to receive the Torah, Hashem told Moshe to remind them, “You saw what I did to the Egyptians…” The Ohr Hachaim asks, “Isn't it more important for Moshe to remind us that Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim? Isn't the redemption more important than the war itself?”

We can answer this with a moshel:

The daughter of the King was sent to live in a far off town. It was meant to be a temporary stay but as time passed the citizens realized how important she was and devised a plan to keep her. They slowly gave her more and more work until she was so busy she forgot she was a princess and became one of them. Eventually the King came to visit and she barely recognized him. At this point he decided to take her home immediately before the situation worsened to a point of no return. So he executed the evil citizens and razed their town.

When the king restored the princess to her position of honor he was concerned that she might desire at some point to return to the corrupt lifestyle. So he decided to put a scare into her and told her not to forget what she saw him do to the corrupt citizens who were executed. Yet he also wanted to show her how much he loved her so he told her to remember the destruction he wrought was in revenge for them holding her captive.

The Ohr Hachaim answers that Hashem wanted more than to just remind us that we have a special relationship with Him through redemption. He wants us to fear Him so we won't fall again, and He wants us to love Him in order that we exert ourselves to come close to Him.

This is why He reminded us of what we saw: the memory of the Egyptians drowning in the sea to strike fear in the hearts of those who rebel, and the destruction of Egypt to arouse love because we see how great Hashem's vengeance is towards those who raise their hand against us.

But why mention Mitzrayim at all at the time of receiving the Torah? Isn't receiving the Torah so monumental that it needs no supporting reason for us to accept it?

By mentioning Mitzrayim at the time of receiving the Torah, Hashem is reminding us to follow the Torah. “Look what happened to you without the Torah, you sunk to the 49th level of impurity! If I would've waited any longer there would be no difference between you and the Egyptians!”

By definition, we all have a special relationship with Hashem because we were redeemed. Of course, to strengthen our relationship to Hashem we must act with both fear and love. However, fear and love are not enough if we only occasionally act as a Jew. Let's remember that by letting go of the Torah at any moment, we will fall backwards towards assimilation.

During our long exile we survived by strengthening our Torah learning for fear of losing our Torah relationship and at the same time the closeness that we felt to Hashem through our observance brought us closer to Hashem. The final redemption is very close.

Over the years people have asked me if I would ever draw cartoons depicting some of the cases found in Yoreh Deah. Well, the answer is yes! I recently published a sefer called The Great Game of Kashrut. Click the link to find out more: The Great Game of Kashrut

Follow this link to view a Great Animation of Case 1 in The Great Game of Kashrut!

If you would like to dedicate a Davar Torah in honor of a special occasion or in memory of a beloved family member, please contact Yisroel Simon at yisroel@judaism613.com.

Good Shabbos,
R' Channen
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