[Avodah] The Jews fed the Mitzrim During Makas Choshech

[Zev Sero]

On 3/02/2012 2:10 PM, Micha Berger wrote:
> Call off the search, I found a maqor -- the Netziv. He doesn't cite an
> earlier one so it's probably the Netzi's chiddush. HaEimeq Davar on 11:2,
> d"h "Ish mei'eis rei'eihu vego'", explaining why they are "rei'eihu"
> but in pereq 3 it was "mishekheintah":

The Malbim gives two explanations for the differences between the two
versions of this commandment.  Not only does the first command refer
to the Jews' neighbours and lodgers, while the second refers to their
friends, but also the first mentions garments and the second doesn't.
(Also the first refers only to the women, while the second includes
the men.  The Malbim doesn't explain this difference.)

His first explanation is that the commandment changed, because the
initial plan was that they would maintain the pretense of leaving for
three days, and simply abscond with the stuff they'd borrowed.  How
could they do such a thing?  Wouldn't it be stealing?  Therefore, the
Malbim suggests, the initial plan was that they would borrow only from
their neighbours and lodgers, who were the ones who, when they didn't
return, would naturally end up inheriting their homes, fields, and
whatever hard-to-carry possessions they left behind.  In this way they
would effectively be selling their stuff to their neighbours for fair
value, albeit without their knowledge.

But then the plan changed, and Hashem said that after Makas Bechoros
the Egyptians would expel the Jews and tell them to leave and not come
back.  Thus He said to borrow from everyone they could, even those who
were not their neighbours and would not end up getting anything in return.
They would be willing to lend, because they were expecting them back;
then, when those same Egyptians, knowing that the Jews had their stuff,
told them to go and not come back, that would constitute permission to
keep all that they had borrowed.


His second explanation is that the second command does not refer to
Egyptian friends (because how would a Jew have an Egyptian friend?)
but to Jewish friends.  In order to trick the Egyptians into lending
their stuff, the poor Jews were to borrow golden and silver vessels
from their rich Jewish friends.  Thus the Egyptians would see that
the Jews' claim that they needed good stuff for their festival was
genuine, and would be willing to lend their own stuff too, in the
expectation that it would be returned afterwards.  The reason why
garments are not mentioned is that even rich people generally only
have one set of fancy festival garments (e.g. a tuxedo), so it would
not be suspicious when a poor Jew asked an Egyptian to lend him his
tuxedo, because he would understand that the rich Jews need their
tuxedoes for themselves and can't lend them out.


The Malbim also explains the juxtaposition of this command with "gam
ha'ish Moshe gadol me'od be`einei Mitzrayim".  The Mitzrim trusted
Moshe, and therefore were willing to lend their stuff to the Jews.


-- 
Zev Sero        "Natural resources are not finite in any meaningful
zev at sero.name    economic sense, mind-boggling though this assertion
                  may be. The stocks of them are not fixed but rather
		 are expanding through human ingenuity."
		                            - Julian Simon