Shemot – Fences are The Best protection

By Rabbi Ezra Friedman

One of the most disheartening parts of Judaism are the decrees and prohibition from our Rabbinic Sages. The difficulty in them is that many times these “fences” are very demanding and are meant to prevent even the slightest  chance of sin. Many modern thinkers feel these farfetched situations with which those decrees are based on seem ridiculous. These decrees encompass a great part of our lives and sometimes these additional decrees to basic commandments can be more difficult than the commandments themselves. Why do these decrees exist? what are their purpose? and is there a deep message behind them? Rabbinic decrees is what keeps the balance in Judaism. they allow Jews to deal with any new type of culture or change in modern society whilst at the same time follow Jewish tradition without compromise. These fences are the strongest form for keeping our dedication and belief strong no matter how ridiculous they might seem, in times of sorrow; these fences are what guarded Jews through their many challenges. These decrees are here to remind us of the deepest lessons of our Torah. According to rabbinic decree, Jews are prohibited to eat food cooked by a non Jew (if the food is considered cuisine fit to be served at a festive meal). Under scripture, bound law there is no such prohibition. However our sages felt that since we are commanded not to marry non-Jews an obvious danger would sprout from dining with them. This is just one example of the extra measures we must take as Jews to prevent intermarriage. Other examples of decrees are used to enhance Jewish values. When electricity became an elemental part of the modern day household many sages debated how to confront this innovation. After much contemplation, all opinions across the board hold that turning electrical devices on and off, was not something fit for a Shabbat environment. If we were able to use our smartphones on Shabbat the spirit of Shabbat would be lost completely. These are just a few examples to the depths of which our Torah is transmitted from generation to generation. The Torah through our sages is a way to adjust to any obstacle at hand. These values are being brought to new heights in modern day Israel whether it be handling a Jewish army in the 21st century or reviving Jewish agriculture laws that were dormant for centuries. These fences are so important for our spiritual protection that if they are broken the result can be catastrophic. In this week’s Parsha we can see how fences like the decrees we have can be broken and have grave consequences.

In the beginning of Sefer Shemot the nation of Israel is multiplying in greatly. A new pharaoh is appointed and the saga of Yosef, Yaakov and his family has been forgotten. The feeling of gratitude that Egypt had for Yaakov’s family changes into fear and suspicion. The Egyptians like many nations after them decide that the Jews are the worst enemy not the greatest friend. The Egyptians knew however that an outright war against the nation of Israel may be tipped in Israel’s favor. The Egyptians had to be creative. In the first chapter of Sefer Shemot we learn of their plan,(Shemot 1,9-11):

וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֶל־עַמּ֑וֹ הִנֵּ֗ה עַ֚ם בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל רַ֥ב וְעָצ֖וּם מִמֶּֽנּוּ:  הָ֥בָה נִֽתְחַכְּמָ֖ה ל֑וֹ פֶּן־יִרְבֶּ֗ה וְהָיָ֞ה כִּֽי־תִקְרֶ֤אנָה מִלְחָמָה֙ וְנוֹסַ֤ף גַּם־הוּא֙ עַל־שֹׂ֣נְאֵ֔ינוּ וְנִלְחַם־בָּ֖נוּ וְעָלָ֥ה מִן־הָאָֽרֶץ:  וַיָּשִׂ֤ימוּ עָלָיו֙ שָׂרֵ֣י מִסִּ֔ים לְמַ֥עַן עַנֹּת֖וֹ בְּסִבְלֹתָ֑ם וַיִּ֜בֶן עָרֵ֤י מִסְכְּנוֹת֙ לְפַרְעֹ֔ה אֶת־פִּתֹ֖ם וְאֶת־רַעַמְסֵֽס.

And he said unto his people: ‘Behold, the people of the children of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there befalleth us any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom and Raamses.
The term “Their Burdens” is the word “Missim”, in modern Hebrew the literal translation is taxes. Rashi and other commentators explain that the Egyptians begin their oppression with heavy taxes on the Jewish people. The Egyptians plan was to slowly break Israel and lure them into labor. A blitz plan to force the nation into slave labor would not work; they had to slowly break down the Jewish people’s confidence and character in order to make them into slaves. The Egyptian technique was used over the generations. When Hitler gained power over Germany in 1933 he used the same idea. He did not start out with the gas chambers. He slowly enacted laws and convinced the German people that they are losing their German stature. He pushed Jews out of replicable positions in government and culture. The Jews at first didn’t react, some even understood and blamed other Jews for causing the sudden uproar. Hitler than began boycotting Jewish business as well as Jewish legal professionals. In 1935 he enacted the Nuremberg laws which prohibited marriage and extramarital intercourse between Germans and Jews. These acts of oppression grew larger until finally the concentration camps along with the gas chambers were created. Hitler as well as Pharaoh slowly “crossed the fences” in order to lure the Jews into a state of denigration and death. The lesson from these two historic events is that we can never leave our guard down. We must always be aware of the dangers around the corner.

This lesson is also true with regards to Rabbinic decrees and prohibitions. Our religion educates us that if we as Jews have a very hard shell on the inside we can face any predator on the outside. They are many decrees and stringencies that might seem odd at first however; there are the best spiritual protection possible. If someone breaks even a minor fence everything with go down with it like a small hole in a dam that can eventually cause a flood. We must embrace the depth and morals behind these prohibitions and learn from them for the future. Just as we learnt from previous oppressions not to leave are guard down, the same is true with our spiritual ideals. Our fences must always stay firm and strong.