From:          "Yeshivat Har Etzion's Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash"
To:            yhe-intparsha@vbm-torah.org
Subject:       INTPARSHA61 -15: Parashat Bo


                     YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
        ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
  *********************************************************
                             
              INTRODUCTION TO PARASHAT HASHAVUA
                             
                         PARASHAT BO
                    The Sojourn in Egypt
                   By Rabbi Michael Hattin


Introduction

     The last plagues rain down on Egypt, the first born  of
the  Egyptians are slain, and Pharaoh's resolve  is  finally
shattered.   The people of Israel, huddling in their  hovels
as  the  night of terror unfolds, calmly consume the Paschal
Lamb and recount God's deliverance.  Rising before daybreak,
his   fitful   sleep  punctured  by  fearful   screams   that
reverberate through the august halls of his palace,  Pharaoh
summons  Moshe and Aharon and bids them go.  As the  day  of
redemption  dawns,  the  Egyptians  impatiently  drive    the
Hebrews out, and they journey forth to freedom.

     "Bnei   Yisrael  traveled  from   Raamses   to   Succot,
     numbering  some six hundred thousand men,  besides   the
     children.   Also,  a  great mixed multitude   left  with
     them,  besides immense herds of sheep and cattle.    The
     people  baked the dough that they had taken forth  from
     Egypt  into unleavened cakes of matzot, for it did  not
     rise.   The  people had been thrust out  of   Egypt  and
     could   not  tarry,  nor  had  they   time  to   prepare
     provisions.   The people of Israel had dwelt  in   Egypt
     for a period of four hundred and thirty years.  It thus
     came  to  pass  at the conclusion of four   hundred  and
     thirty years, on this very day, that all of the legions
     of  God left the land of Egypt.  It had been a night of
     vigil  for  God to take them out of the land of   Egypt.
     This  night remains a night of vigil to God for all  of
     Bnei Yisrael, for all generations" (Shemot 12:37-42).

     In  our  mind's  eye,  we  see  the   people  of  Israel
haltingly  journeying forth, still clothed  as  slaves,  but
with  the  proud bearing of vindicated free men.  No  longer
burdened  with  bricks and mortar, they now are  laden  down
with their worldly possessions, and with vessels of gold and
silver  from  their frightened former hosts. The  Israelites
press  forward,  accompanied by  huge  herds  of  sheep   and
cattle, now forming a bleating, bellowing, and braying mass.
Their  erstwhile taskmasters look on incredulously,  as  the
disorganized  throngs  wind  their  noisy  way  through   the
thoroughfares,  to impressively gather as one  at  the  city
outskirts.    Finally,   the   interminable    nightmare   of
enslavement and bondage draws to a climactic close, as  over
four centuries of exile are concluded.


The Length of the Servitude - A Chronological Difficulty

     According to the Torah's account, "the people of Israel
had  dwelt in Egypt for a period of four hundred and  thirty
years."   Lest  the reader be taken aback by this  unusually
large number, the Torah repeats in the very next verse  that
"it  thus came to pass at the conclusion of four hundred and
thirty  years, on this very day, that all of the legions  of
God left the land of Egypt."  How difficult it is for us  to
imagine  a  period of state-sponsored enslavement  extending
over  so many generations, with children, grandchildren  and
great   grandchildren  born  into  a  hopeless    future   of
backbreaking  drudgery, endless toil  and  premature  death!
Surely  no  one  can  fail  to appreciate  the  tragedy   and
injustice  of  that  experience,  for  the  Torah   makes  it
abundantly   clear  that  the  enslavement  in    Egypt   was
characterized  by  suffering,  anguish  and  distress.    The
stated period of four hundred and thirty years, however,  is
difficult  to corroborate, for elsewhere the Torah indicates
that  the  period  of enslavement could  not  possibly  have
extended  for so long.  The commentaries strive to reconcile
this  number with the rest of the chronology that the  Torah
provides  concerning  this event, and  we  shall  examine  a
number of their attempts.

     Let  us  begin  by demonstrating, as both   Rashi  (11th
century, France) and the Ibn Ezra (12th century, Spain) did,
that  the  sojourn in Egypt could not have lasted  for  much
more than two centuries.  According to the list provided  in
Parashat  VaYigash,  towards the  end  of  Sefer  Bereishit,
Yaacov's extended family of children and grandchildren  that
descended  to Egypt at Yosef's invitation, numbered  seventy
males.   Counted among this group were Levi  and  his  three
sons Gershon, Kehat and Merari (Bereishit 46:11).  Kehat, of
course,  as  the genealogy list in Parashat VaEra indicates,
was the grandfather of Moshe: "These are the names of Levi's
descendents  according to their birth,  Gershon,  Kehat  and
Merari.   Levi  lived  for  one  hundred  and   thirty  seven
years.Kehat's sons were Amram, Yitzhar, Chevron  and  Uziel,
and Amram lived for one hundred and thirty three years.Amram
took  Yocheved his aunt as his wife, and she bore him Aharon
and  Moshe.   Kehat lived for one hundred and  thirty  seven
years"  (Shemot 6:16-20).  The passage concludes  by  noting
that  "Moshe  was  eighty years old, and Aharon  was  eighty
three  years  old, when they commenced speaking to  Pharaoh"
(Shemot 7:7).

     Thus,  if  Kehat himself was counted among  those   that
descended to Egypt, we may use his life span as the starting
point  for  the sojourn in exile.  Let us assume that  Kehat
was  a  young child when Yaacov and his children  relocated.
Simple arithmetic yields a period of two hundred and seventy
years for the combined life spans of Kehat and his son Amram
(133 +137 = 270).  Moshe, Amram's son, was eighty years  old
when  he  undertook his charge to free the slaves,  and  not
much  more than a year elapsed from the time that  he  first
stood  before Pharaoh until the Exodus.  Therefore,  we  can
account for approximately three hundred and fifty years (270
+  80  =  350).  This number, of course, assumes the  rather
unlikely scenario that both Kehat as well as Amram  did  not
have offspring until the final year of their lives!  In  all
probability,  we must subtract quite a few  years  from  our
total  to  account  for the overlapping life  spans  of  the
three,  as well as for the fact that Kehat may have  been  a
grown man when the family went down.  In any case, it should
be quite obvious that we cannot account for a period of four
hundred  and thirty years for the sojourn in Egypt,  as  the
above  texts  clearly  stated, and we  must  therefore  look
elsewhere for the starting point of the computation.


The Covenant Between the Pieces - "Four Hundred Years"

     Fortunately,  there  is  another  textual   source  that
provides us a clue to unravel the confusion, and it concerns
the Patriarch Avraham.  Recall that in a shadowy vision that
unfolded  as the day waned and darkness fell, God  indicated
to  him that his descendents would be enslaved in a land not
theirs,  but  would eventually emerge from the  encounter  a
triumphant  people.  In this 'Covenant Between the  Pieces,'
God  swore an oath to the aged progenitor that his  children
would  in  fact  possess the land of Canaan.  The  narrative
states:  "As the sun was setting, a deep slumber  fell  upon
Avraham,  and  a  great, dark and fearful gloominess  seized
him.   God said to Avraham: 'You shall surely know that your
offspring  will  be sojourners in a land  not  theirs,  they
shall  be  enslaved and oppressed, for four  hundred  years.
The   nation  that  they  shall  serve  I  will   judge,  and
afterwards  they shall go forth with great  substance.   You
shall  be gathered to your ancestors in peace, and shall  be
buried after old age.  The fourth generation shall return to
here,  for  the  iniquity  of  Amorite  is  not   yet  full'"
(Bereishit 15:12-16).

     According to this text, Avraham's descendents are to be
sojourners for a period of four hundred years, and are to be
enslaved  and  oppressed during that  time.   But  to   which
descendents  does  the  Torah  refer?   Does  it   speak   of
Avraham's  distant  descendents, such as Kehat,  Amram,  and
Moshe?   Or  can we perhaps understand it as a reference  to
Avraham's immediate descendent, namely his own son Yitzchak?
There  is as well an inherent ambiguity concerning the 'four
hundred  years.'  Does this phrase modify the first part  of
the  verse ('You shall surely know that your offspring  will
be  sojourners in a land not theirs.for four hundred years')
in  which case it describes the period of 'sojourning'?   Or
does  it instead modify the second part of the verse  ('they
shall  be  enslaved and oppressed, for four hundred years'),
in  which  case  it  describes  the  period  of   'enslaveand
oppression'?

     The  traditional sources, though mindful of the  verses
in  Parashat  Bo that speak of a period of four hundred  and
thirty years, nevertheless remain cognizant of the fact that
this  time period is an impossibility if we start the  count
from  the actual descent to Egypt.  This is particularly  so
when  we  recall that the sojourn in Egypt did  not  at  all