by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, author of Unlocking the Torah Text
Finally, Moshe receives the news for which he has waited. “One
last affliction shall I bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt,” says
God. “After that he shall send you forth from here.”
Immediately, however, God continues with the following
instruction: “Speak, please, in the ears of the people and let
each man request from his [Egyptian] friend and each woman from
her [Egyptian] friend vessels of silver and vessels of gold.”
The Torah later attests to the successful fulfillment of God’s
directive: “And the children of Israel did as Moshe had
directed; they requested from the Egyptians vessels of silver,
vessels of gold and garments. And God granted the people favor
in the eyes of the Egyptians and they granted their request –
and they [the Israelites] despoiled Egypt.” God’s instructions
to Moshe at this powerful moment are deeply troubling. One would
expect the birth of the Jewish nation to be heralded by lofty
principles and ideas. Why, then, does God s