How long were the
Jews in Egypt? The Torah presents two
versions
Version 1[Bo
12:40-42]
The habitation of the
B'nei Yisrael living in Egypt lasted
four hundred and thirty years. It was at
the end of the four hundred and thirty
years, and on that very day all of Ad-noy's
multitudes went out of the land of
Egypt. This was a night of vigil for Ad-noy,
to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
This night remains a night of vigil to
Ad-noy for all the B'nei Yisrael for
[all] their generations.
Version 2 [Bereishis
15:12 - 16]
As the sun was
setting, a deep sleep fell upon Avram;
and behold, a dread of deep darkness
fell upon him.Verse 13: And He [Ad-noy]
said to Avram: "Know for sure that your
descendants will be foreigners in a land
that is not theirs. They will enslave
them and oppress them [for] four hundred
years.. You will join your fathers in
peace; you will be buried at a good old
age. The fourth generation will return
here, for the sin of the Emorites will
not be complete until then."
Ostensibly, it seems
that there are two possibilities: Either
Bnei Yisrael were in Egypt for a total
of 400 years or for 430? A good
ole-fashioned contradiction! Rashi is
quick to point out however, that neither
choice is correct.
[Some background:
Levi gave birth to Kehos who lived 133
years (Shemos, 6, 18) who gave birth to
Amram who lived 137 years (ibid. 6, 20)
who gave birth to Moshe who 80 when he
redeemed Bnei Yisrael.]
If you might suggest
that they were in Egypt 400 [years],
[this could not be so] because Kehos was
of those who descended to Egypt. If you
calculate the [total] years of Kehos,
Amram and the eighty years of Moshe
when [Bnei Yisrael] left Egypt, you
will find only [a total of] 350. (And
you must still subtract from that all
the years that Kehos lived after Amram's
birth and that Amram lived after Moshe's
birth.)
In other words, do
the math and it is clear that Jews could
not have possibly been in Egypt for
anywhere close to 400 years. A simple
textual analysis will yield a number in
the 200+ range. Now, we have two
problems: We must reconcile the 400/430
contradiction, and now we must figure
what these numbers refer to in the first
place.
Ramban deals with
both questions. His basic approach: The
400 year time clock begins Yitzchak's
birth. Had the Jews been worthy, they
would have left after 400 years. In
fact, they left after 430 years; their
redemption delayed due to personal
unworthiness. Ramban's point: Redemption
is on our hands. Do the math [and we
will a bit later] and you will realize
that according to this conception, the
Jews were in Egypt a total of 240 years[1].
For Ramban, the 400 number never
happened - a theoretical number of what
could have been.
In contrast, we have
Rashi's classic answer, [based on Seder
HaDoros] we shall focus upon:
First the 400:
[The time] from
Yitzchok's birth until Israel left Egypt
was four hundred years. [How is this so?
Yitzchok was 60 years old at Yaakov's
birth and when Yaakov descended to
Egypt, he said, "The years of my
temporary residence are one hundred and
thirty years," making a total of 190.
They were in Egypt 210 [years]--- the
numerical value of {Hebrew Ref} , making
a total of 400 years]. - because [only]
from the time that Avraham had a child
could there be a fulfillment [of the
prophecy]: "For your descendant will be
a stranger,"
Now the 430:
.. and thirty years
passed from when the decree of "between
the pieces" was decreed until the birth
of Yitzchok.
In other words the
400/430 dichotomy does not refer to
theoretical-potential redemption vs.
actual redemption; rather it plots the
beginning of exile from two different
markers. Four hundred years commence
with Yitzchak's birth while 430 years
start with Abrahamitic covenant known as
the bris bein habesarim wherein Hashem
informs Avraham of nationhood, exile,
redemption and ultimate redemption.
And for how long were
the Jews actually physically in Egypt?
Rashi's approach yields the classic
masoretic answer of 210 years, a most
famous number that remarkably has no
explicit mention and a but a few
midrashic hints.
Thus, one who is
asked how long was the Egyptian exile
and given the choice of a. 210 years b.
400 years c. 430 years - the answer
would have to be d. all of the above[2].
Instinctively, we
get the 210 number - for it signifies
physical exile, but we must certainly
probe the 400/430 distinction. If the
endpoint is the same, of what
significance is there in starting the
exile clock at two different times?
An answer might lie
in determining the why of exile. Yes,
God took us out of Mitzrayim, but why
did He put us there? Consider the
following Talmudic source:
R. Avahu said in R.
Eleazar's name: Why was our Father
Abraham punished and his children doomed
to Egyptian servitude for two hundred
and ten years? 1. Because he pressed
scholars into his service, as it is
written, He armed his dedicated
servants born in his own house. 2.
Samuel said: Because he went too far in
testing the attributes [i.e., the
promises] of the Lord, as it is written,
[And he said, Lord God,] whereby shall I
know that I shall inherit it? 3. R.
Yochanan said: Because he prevented men
from entering beneath the wings of the
Shechinah, as it is written, [And the
king of Sodom said it to Abraham,] Give
me the persons, and take the goods to
yourself.
Each notion requires
deep analysis - but the common
denominator here is that exile begins as
punishment. One might ask: If Avraham is
punished why should the children suffer?
Maharal points out that punishment qua
punishment is not the point. The goal is
tikkun (rehabilitation) Thus, a
micro-flaw in the spiritual dna of the
Jewish genome requires major gene
therapy to avoid perpetual transmission
to later generations. We still need to
figure out how mitzrayim is successful
therapy, but the notion of exile as
punishment and tikkun is key here[3].
There is however
another idea lurking here. First
consider these two midrashim
The world was chaos"-
this is an allusion to the Babylonian
exile "And Void" -- this refers to the
Medean exile ... "With Darkness" --
this is an allusion to the exile imposed
by the Greeks, who darkened the eyes of
Israel with their decrees. they would
tell the Jews
"A dread! Great
darkness fell upon him (15:12)., '"A
dread' - this is the exile of Bavel;
'darkness' - this is the galus of
Persia; 'great' -- this is the exile of
Greece; 'fell upon him' -- this is the
exile of Rome, a wicked nation.'" [Bereihis
Rabbah (44:17]
Do these not somehow
indicate that exile was always part of
the Divine plan? Indeed, some claim that
Hashem always intended for Adam and
Chava to leave the Garden; indeed, - why
did He create a whole world out there.
And just as obviously Hashem did not
intend Adam/Chava to sin. It seems then
that Exile as part of the plan, even
when not punishment-based is a reality.
Bt why?
Consider this pasuk [Devarim,
4:20]
But you, Ad-noy took
[for Himself] when He took you out of
the iron crucible, from Egypt, to be for
Him a people-territory like this day.
Rashi - This is a vessel in which gold
is refined.
And this midrash
R. Acha said in the
name of R. Yonatan: What is meant by the
term "a nation from within a nation"?
Like someone who forcibly extricates the
fetus from the womb .. so too God
removed Bnei Yisrael from Egypt - we
learn from this pain for the released.
And how do we know pain for the one who
releases as it says "and he took you out
of the iron crucible" like the one who
handles the flame from the crucible
without tongs or rags, so too was it
with God
Exile as a crucible
bespeaks a process of purity and
refinement. It is a painful but
necessary process to extricate deeply
wedged dross. Painful for the refinee,
and remarkably - it is also painful for
the Refiner. And yet it creates gold.
Indeed, our nationhood is conceived with
the Avos/Imahos but gestates in the
womb of Egypt and finally constricted to
the max before it must leave AQAP (as
quickly as possible).
Two conceptions.
Galut mitzrayim as punishment. Galut
Mitzrayim as crucible. A clear tension
in the sources.
Here we come to our
dichotomy. At the covenant, Avraham is
told of an exile. Certainly, it smacks
of some notion of punishment-tikkun.
That is the 430 number. It begins right
away. A process of punishment/tikkun is
unfurled. But then Avraham is toldthat
when Yitzchak shall be born the exile
begins - but did Yitzchak do anything
wrong other than the accident of birth?
Why should he be subject to exile? Only
one notion applies. Yitzchak, the first
born Jew teaches us that endemic to our
destiny of greatness is the crucible of
galus[4]
The one who struggles
with personal challenges (translations:
all of us) might wonder how to define a
particular experience - is it a
punishment or test? .That galut
mitzrayim source tension is alive and
well in all of us. It is a real life
grapple. Who has not heard the question
of Why/Is Hashem punishing me - if only
He can tell me.
Self-reflection is
certainly the call of our lives; and yet
perhaps the blurring of those lines is
Hashem's way of teaching us -
My children - just
respond to the challenge. All I want is
for you to be great. Yours is not to
reason why - yours is to transcend and
fly.
Good Shabbos
[1] A second Ramban approach
starts the clock a bit earlier
-from the famed covenant between
the parts (Bris Bein Habetarim).
For Ramban, Avraham was
approximately eighty at the time
(as it follows chapter 12, where
Avraham is 75 when he receives
the command of lech-lecha)
Again, it could have been a four
hundred year span - but due to
our lack of personal piety, we
stay in longer. According to
this approach, the Jews are in
Egypt for a total of 220 years.
[2] In actuality, there are
3 more sub-stages within the
servitude. Stage 1:
Post-Yaakov's death [193 years]
cf. Rashi Vayechi [Bereishi],
Post Levi's death [~133 years]
and the period known as the
intense slavery - the koshi
hashibud. [86 years]. Something
to think about.
[3] Several other sources
indicate that galut mitzrayim
starts as punishment cf. Ramban,
Bereishis, 12:10 , Abarbanel who
connects it to the sale of Yosef
etc.
[4] Ironically, at the bris
bein habesarim, Avraham is
given the 400 number; it is
almost as if Hashem is
comforting Avraham and telling
him: it's not your fault - this
was always part of the plan .
