Parsha Shemos 5767: “Surely This Thing is Known” — The Evolution of Jewish Enslavement
by, Moshe Burt
“At the beginning of the Parsha, we are told that when Moshe grew up, he went out to see his brethren … their ways and behavior. When he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and there was no one else in sight, i.e., no other Hebrew … willing to defend the man … being beaten,
he assumed that was because their slavery had destroyed their will to struggle. On the second day, though when he saw two Hebrews fighting one another and one said to him, ‘as you killed the Egyptian,’ he saw that that man believed that Moshe’s actions on the previous day had been wrong. Moshe responded, ‘Surely this thing is known’ — it is not their slavery nor their lack of strength to fight back that is causing them not to resist the Egyptians, because they are perfectly willing to fight one another. What is evidently missing is a sense of justice, of mutual support, of helping the weak, and that is the reason why the redemption had not yet come. ‘Surely, this thing is known’ — now I understand the matter.” (Torah Gems, by Aharon Yaakov Greenberg on Parsha Shemos, page 20 quoting Bina Le Itim) read more
