DRASHA
Three Parshiyot in to the Exodus story, we finally reach what is arguably the climax, or one of the climaxes, of the story: The plague of the first born. God, perhaps for the first time in human history, is going to personally come down and smite the firstborn children of Egypt, but first, God has something to say to Moshe. In the middle of introducing the final plague, God changes the topic on Moses, and says:
ב דַּבֶּר-נָא, בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם; וְיִשְׁאֲלוּ אִישׁ מֵאֵת רֵעֵהוּ, וְאִשָּׁה מֵאֵת רְעוּתָהּ, כְּלֵי-כֶסֶף, וּכְלֵי זָהָב.
2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let them ask every man of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.'
ג וַיִּתֵּן יְהוָה אֶת-חֵן הָעָם, בְּעֵינֵי מִצְרָיִם; גַּם הָאִישׁ מֹשֶׁה, גָּדוֹל מְאֹד בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, בְּעֵינֵי עַבְדֵי-פַרְעֹה, וּבְעֵינֵי הָעָם.
3 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people.
This sudden change in topic is surprising and troubling for a number of reasons. First of all, why is it interrupting the drama of the narrative climax to add this seemingly unrelated and trivial matter of requesting money from the Egyptians on the way out? But beyond that, why is it so important to God that the Jewish people ask for gold and silver before they leave Egypt? The Rabbis in Brachot 9b note the unusual language in the Torah, Dabeir Na, please ask, as if this request is a personal favor to God. But why does God care so much about material stuff?
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