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December 27, 2002/Tevet 22 5763, Vol. 55, No. 18
Jews duty-bound to help one another
Torah study
RABBI YOSSI LEVERTOV
Shemot/Exodus 1:1-6:1
At the end of this week's Torah portion, Shemot, Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh to demand that he free the children of Israel from bondage.
Pharaoh answered them, "Why do you, Moses and Aaron, hinder the people from their work? Go about your own tasks."
Our sages explain that Moses and Aaron, being members of the tribe of Levi, were not required to work like the rest of the Jewish people and were exempted from the bitter decree of slavery.
Pharaoh, in effect, asked them: "Why do you involve yourselves in affairs that don't concern you?"
Why did the Egyptians permit an entire tribe of the Jewish people to be exempt from the terrible bondage forced upon the rest? The Egyptians recognized that each nation must have its own leaders and teachers to whom the people could turn for spiritual guidance. Pharaoh therefore allowed the tribe of Levi to continue learning Torah and to disseminate its teachings among the rest of the Jews.
It was accepted as a natural state of affairs that the spiritual authorities should enjoy a higher status and occupy an elevated position in society. But when Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh to demand that the entire Jewish nation be allowed to journey into the desert to worship God, they were disputing this commonly held notion.
Pharaoh, for his part, claimed that it was sufficient that the nobility, the clergy, be allowed to learn Torah and carry out Jewish ritual.
The Egyptian king did not object to the Levites learning Torah and performing the Jewish rituals. He did not seek to totally negate the spiritual and intellectual yearnings of the Jews. He merely sought to perpetuate the Egyptian worldview that saw the two realms of the religious and the civil as opposing concepts.
As religious leaders, Moses and Aaron were allowed a certain amount of authority by the Egyptian regime, on the condition that they limit themselves to the synagogue and to houses of study.
When Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh with their request, it was seen as a total contradiction of the existing world order. They claimed that the Torah's very purpose was to show man how to conduct his daily, private life, and that the laws of Torah were applicable to each and every facet of a person's existence.
Moses and Aaron radically challenged the man-made division between the spiritual realm and what was outside of religious law.
They taught that Torah is neither limited in scope nor reserved for a select few. Aaron and Moses were not content to remain within the secluded tents of learning if the rest of the Jews were not allowed to participate. Because of their self-sacrifice on behalf of the Jewish nation, they were ultimately successful in ending the Egyptian exile and leading the Jews to Mount Sinai.
We can see from here the duty incumbent upon every Jew to help other Jews, even if he is not personally threatened. Today, our brethren in Israel are going through terrible times. We must assist them in every possible way, especially with tzedakah (acts of righteousness), tefilah (prayer) and Torah study.
In merit of the above we will be successful in hastening the coming of Moshiach (the Messiah) and ending this exile.
Rabbi Yossi Levertov is director of Chabad of Scottsdale, a Jewish outreach organization, and director of the Jewish Learning Institute.
Jewish News invites local rabbis to present commentaries on the weekly Torah portion.
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