Remember That You Were A Slave

Parshat Re'eh 

 by Rabbi Avi Billet

There are six remembrances that are included in the siddur at the end of Shacharis: Remembering the Exodus, Shabbos, God's presence at Mt. Sinai, what happened to Miriam, how you provoked God in the desert, and to destroy Amalek.

This list does not include all the times the word "Zachor" (to Remember) appears in the Torah. Nor does it include any of the 7 times we are told "V'zacharta" (and you shall remember) – all of which appear in the book of Devarim (5:15, 8:2, 8:18, 15:15, 16:12, 24:18,22).

Interestingly, the instruction to remember Sinai is really "not to forget" as the verse does not even have the root word "Zachor."

Why are the "V'zacharta"s not included in the daily remembrances? Five of them are repeats: "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt." One of the "V'Zacharta"s is a reminder of the 40 years journey. The remaining one reminds us to remember God, for He is the One Who gives us the strength to prevail.

Our original list of 6 does include a reminder of the 40 years, though instead of it being about how God tested US for 40 years to see if we'd nevertheless fulfill the mitzvos (as is the second of the "V'Zaharta"s in 8:2), it focuses on how we provoked God. Our daily pick of these two (the latter case) is more important for us because it reminds us not to repeat what we did wrong.

Perhaps remembering the Exodus, Shabbos and God's presence at Sinai would be enough to remind us on a daily basis to remember God Who gives us strength, the other non-"you-were-slaves" "V'Zacharta."

Which leaves us wondering why remembering that we were slaves in Egypt is not part of the Siddur-six. Perhaps it doesn't bear its own mention because it is subsumed in the "remembering the Exodus."

And yet, it is mentioned five times in Devarim, twice in our parsha. Even if it is not a remembrance of its own merit, the fact that it is repeated so much should suggest it is quite an important detail in the overall remembrance of the Exodus.

This assumption requires us to see how the instruction appears in each context.

The first one (5:15) appears in the context of the Ten Commandments, as a reminder for why we must keep Shabbos – because we were slaves in Egypt - and this was one of the first ingredients of freedom from Pharaoh. One day off per week.

The second one (15:15), the first of the two in our parsha, comes in the context of describing how to send off the Eved Ivri, the Hebrew servant, from his servitude. He must be treated well, and must be sent on his way with a full suitcase and an ample supply of food.

The third reminder of being a slave (16:12) comes in the context of instructions surrounding celebrating the holiday of Shavuos, which, at least on the calendar, coincides with the penultimate moment of the Exodus process – the receiving of the Torah. As the commentaries point out, the Exodus from slavery was designed to bring us to that moment: at Sinai, receiving the Torah. Remembering our most humble beginnings at that point helps us appreciate Shavuos even more.

The final two reminders of our slavery come in Devarim 24 – the former as part of the ethics of how to treat the stranger and the orphan in judgment, and the latter instruction is to leave some of your produce for them and the widow. Your having been a slave in Egypt helps you empathize with the plight of these people, and sensitizes you to treat the needy and society's weakest in a manner that helps preserve their dignity.

Remembering having been a slave leads to a number of different lessons, primarily focusing on identification, empathy, and appreciating the good we have in our lives. There are too many details attached to the single remembrance to warrant its own daily remembrance, while the reminder of the Exodus essentially covers it anyway.

But, truth be told, even if it is not a specific mitzvah to remember that we were slaves, it is a detail of our history that should not be overlooked. It helps put things in perspective and reminds us of most important priorities: caring for our fellow man, appreciating the freedoms we enjoy, and celebrating our special relationship with God.

God, Egypt, and Care for Our Fellow Man

Parshat Behar Bechukotai

by Rabbi Avi Billet

The Torah gives three examples of "Your brother becoming impoverished." (V'khi yamukh achikha). The first has to do with selling family property, and how it returns to the original owners at the Jubilee year.

            

The second and third examples deal with a case where he can not sustain himself and is relying on community assistance (25:35-38), or even needs to be sold into slavery to support himself (25:39-42), respectively.

            

At the end of each of the latter segments, a similar statement is made:

"I am God your Lord who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, [and] to be a God for you," (25:38) and "This is because I brought [the Israelites] out of Egypt, and they are My slaves. They shall not be sold [in the market] as slaves." (25:42)

            

The idea of being slaves to God instead of slaves to men, or of God's intent to "be a God for you" would likely make for a great psychoanalytical study, were we not speaking of God.

            

But the truth is, it doesn't end there. The next section begins with a reference to the "brother becoming impoverished" (though with a different language) (25:47), and it concludes with instructions for when the Jubilee comes, and all slaves are freed, as God says, "[All this] is because the Israelites are [actually] My slaves. They are My slaves because I brought them out of Egypt. I am God your Lord." (25:55)

            

This last summary sentence actually brings together the notions set forth by the earlier verses – Israelites are slaves to their God, Who is their God because He took them out of Egypt. The focus on Egypt is so significant, not only because it reminds us of the other times in the year when we mention Egypt (ever evening Kiddush, during the Shema, and otherwise on a regular basis), but also because it is how we remind ourselves of which precise moment turned a group of slaves who happened to share a common ancestor, into a nation sharing a destiny forever.

            

Most significantly, the Exodus from Egypt is mentioned in the first sentence of the Decalogue as well [Shmot 20:2 – "I am God your Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, from the house of slavery"] – an obvious connection on account of the next two verses in the Torah here, which happen to be the last two verses of Parshat Behar, whose parallel to the Decalogue is unavoidable: "[Therefore,] do not make yourselves false gods. Do not raise up a stone idol or a sacred pillar for yourselves. Do not place a kneeling stone in your land so that you can prostrate yourselves on it. I am God your Lord. Keep My Sabbaths and revere My sanctuary, I am God." (26:1-2)

            

We can argue that it is hard to come to grips with the seeming obsession over our being God's servants or slaves.

            

But when we look at the setup of all the different examples of the "brother becoming impoverished," and how not to lose focus of who we really are and how we should really respond, it gives us a brand new look at what the Aseret HaDibrot (Decalogue) is meant to represent for us.

            

Many are familiar with the notion that the first five of the statements in the Decalogue refer to one's relationship with one's Creator, while the last five statements refer to relationships between men and fellow Man.

            

But in the Aseret HaDibrot, all the commandments between fellow Man are written in the negative. Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't swear falsely, don't covet. There are no instructions for how to positively relate to fellow Man.

So perhaps here, in Parshat Behar, we have the underlying unified message: Caring for another person means picking the other person up when he is down. It also means respecting the humanity of the "other," never blurring the lines between slaves of God and slaves of men, and being sure to help a brother in his hour of need.

Remembering Egypt and of our being "slaves to God" both serve as grounding principles for how we live out our Jewish lives with the proper foci.

We must know who we are and what values we espouse. We must continue to model what it means to look out for one another, to help others who are needy, and to look for positive ways to be of assistance – not just negative things to avoid, in staying out of people's way, but proactive care for our fellow Man.

And above all, remember Egypt. Remember what binds us to one another. Remember what binds us to our God, to our Torah and to our Land. Remember that being a slave to God is very different from being slaves to men. Particularly nowadays, in a free society, when people choose whether to be slaves to God, we appreciate our commitment and dedication to a "mitzvah-focused" life which grounds us and keeps us connected to our God who took us out of Egypt.