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From: arig@cvl.UUCP (Ari Gross)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: Pesach
Message-ID: <252@cvl.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 4-Apr-85 02:43:54 EST
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Posted: Thu Apr  4 02:43:54 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 6-Apr-85 02:25:39 EST
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Organization: Computer Vision Lab, U. of Maryland, College Park
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Here is the second "pshetl" on the Haggadah that I promised to
relate.

BTW, the last 'vort referred to two gemaras;they are in Sotah 33 and
Shabbos 12.

2] This piece on the Haggadah was told over to me by Rav Shragie Kawior.

   The Talmud (Brachos 9b) relates an interpretation that "Bei Rav Yanai"
had on a well-known verse in Shemot, Ch. 11. The verse says "Da'ber nah
Be'aznei Ha'am", G-d implores Moses, "please, go speak to the people,and
ask them that each one may borrow from his neighbor vessels of gold and
silver". Bei Rav Yanai say on this verse :

         "Nah" is none other than a language of request. Said G-d to 
Moses,"I beg of you Moses go and tell the Children of Israel that they 
be so kind as to borrow from their Egyptian neighbors vessels of gold
and silver so that the Righteous One not complain , saying He kept his
promise of "they will be enslaved and afflicted" but not his promise of
"and afterwards they will leave with great wealth"." 

Rashi comments that this "Righteous One" of which Bei Rav Yanai speak is
none other than Avraham , to whom G-d made the promise of "they will be
enslaved and afflicted , but afterwards they will leave with great wealth".

   One can ask, why is G-d worried about what Avraham will say, what about
the fact that He made a commitment, a promise, that Bnei Yisroel would
leave Egypt in affluence; doesn't He have to keep His promise for its own
sake, not because of what Avraham Aveinu may or may not say?

   Perhaps this can be better understood in light of another gemara.
In  Berachos 32a Bei Rav Yanai are qouted as saying the following:

    "V'dee Za'hav"(Devarim, Ch. 1), what is V'dee Za'hav? Bei Rav
    Yanai say : Moses said to the Almighty "because of the silver
    and gold that you forced on them (when they left Egypt) until
    they had to say "dei" (enough), that is what caused them to 
    make the golden calf".

   With this comment on the pasuk from Bei Rav Yanai we can see that they
are consistent with what they said earlier. Bei Rav Yanai are of the opinion
that it was the taking out from Egypt all the gold and silver that Bnei
Yisroel took with them that was responsible for the sin of the "eigel"
(golden calf). Thus, Moses turns around and blames G-d for the sin of the
golden calf saying that it was caused because G-d encouraged Bnei Yisroel
to leave with so much gold and silver belonging to their Egyptian neighbors.
Therefore, even though G-d made a promise of "they will leave with great
wealth", He had a right to renege on this promise since He knew it would
lead to Bnei Yisroel's undoing . G-d must keep His promises when they are
for the good (see Rambam , hakdama l'mishnayos) but not when they forbode
bad things for the Children of Israel. Thus, Hashem , for the sake of 
B'nei Yisroel, would have gone back on the promise of "great wealth", if
not for Avraham, "sheloh yo'mar oto tzadik...".


  

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                                                    Ari Gross