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ןיֵבּ תי ִר ְב ִבּ וּני ִב ָא םָה ָר ְב ַאְל רמ ָ א ַ ֶ שּׁ וֹמ ְכּ תוֹשֲׂﬠַל ,ץֵקַּה ת ֶא ב ַשּׁ ִח אוּה וּרָבּ שׁוֹדָקַּה ֶשׁ .אוּה וּרָבּ ,ל ֵא ָר ְשִׂיְל וֹתָח ָט ְבַה ר ֵמוֹשׁ וּרָבּ
יוֹגַּה ת ֶא םגְו .הנש תוֹא ֵמ עַבּ ְר ַא םת ֹא ָ וּנּ ִﬠְו םוּדָבֲﬠַו ,םֶהָל אֹל ץ ֶר ֶא ְבּ ֲﬠ ְרַז הֶי ְהִי רֵג י ִכּ ע ַד ֵתּ עֹדָי ,ם ָר ְב ַאְל ר ֶמאֹיַּו :ר ַמֱאֶנּ ֶשׁ ,םי ִר ָת ְבַּה
. לוֹדָגּ שֻׁכ ְר ִבּ וּא ְצֵי ןֵכ י ֵרֲח ַאְו י ִכֹנ ָא ן ָדּ וּדֹבֲﬠַי ר ֶשֲׁא

Praised be He who keeps His promise to Israel; praised be He. The Holy one, blessed be He, predetermined the
time for our final deliverance in order to fulfill what He had pledged to our father Abraham in a covenant, as it
is written: "He said to Abram, your descendants will surely sojourn in a land that is not their own, and they
will be enslaved and afflicted for four hundred years; however, I will punish the nation that enslaved them, and
afterwards they shall leave with great wealth."

Yeitzu B’Rechush Gadol ‐ Mrs. Gabi Gelman (Judaic Studies Teacher)

One of the first instructions that Bnei Yisrael are given before they leave Egypt is to request items of wealth
from their Egyptian neighbors. Shemot 11: 2 reads

׃ב ָֽ הָז יֵ֥ל ְכוּ ף ֶסֶ֖כ־יֵל ְכּ הּ ָ֔תוּע ְר ת ֵ֣א ֵמ ֙ה ָשּׁ ִאְו וּה ֵ֗ע ֵר ת ֵ֣א ֵמ שׁי ִ֣א וּ ֞לֲא ְשִׁיְו םָ֑ע ָה יֵ֣ְז ׇא ְ בּ אָ֖־רֶבּ ַדּ

Speak please in the ears of the people, and let them ask every man of his neighbour, and every woman of her
neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.'

Many commentaries are troubled by this directive. Why is it important for Bnei Yisrael to accumulate material
possessions before they leave? Shouldn’t they be focusing more on their “spiritual journey”? Additionally, the
language of the verse rings more like a request then a strong direction as God says “Daber Na, (Speak please)”.
Finally, we wonder if the Israelites were misleading their Egyptian neighbors. One way to understand the verb
“Vayishalu” is to borrow. Did the Egyptians think they were simply lending their Jewish neighbors these pre-
cious items and they would be returned later?

Some mefarshim argue that the issue is one linked in with Bnei Yisrael’s self-perception of themselves as they
leave Egypt. The Kli Yakar suggests that the wealth taken by the departing slaves was actually “backpay” for
their years of service and servitude. He writes that even if this wealth had to be gotten by “borrowing” which
can be viewed as a subterfuge, it was imperative that Bnei Yisrael leave with their “wages” no matter how they
were acquired.

After leaving Mitzrayim, the Israelites were going to begin developing their national character. God does not
want them to just “sneak off”. They must leave with dignity and triumph. Taking the silver and gold sends the
message to the new Jewish nation that their past labor had value. This mindset will help Bnei Yisrael shed their
“slave mentality” as they begin their journey to Eretz Yisrael.

If leaving with wealth is so important, then we ask again- why does it sound like a request and not a command?
Rabbi Shmuel Goldin compares this to the debate surrounding the acceptance of reparations from the Germans
after the Holocaust. Some survivors of the Shoah did not want to take anything lest it be viewed as “ atonement
money and payment” for the killing and murder of their families. We can imagine that a similar feeling was felt
by of Bnei Yisrael as they prepared to leave Egypt. Some of the Israelites may have been uncomfortable and
reluctant to accept wealth lest it be seen as restitution for the suffering and murder of Jews while they were
slaves. Being sensitive to this, God does not issue this instruction as an outright commandment, but rather as a
request.