18. The Exodus and Jewish Faith | Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed | Beit Midrash

Jewish Laws and Thoughts
Foundations of Faith

קטגוריה משנית

The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of

Asher Ben Haim

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At this point, I believe it important to underscore the fact that Rabbi Judah HaLevi's approach to presenting Jewish faith in The Kuzari is unparalleled in its universality. It appeals at once to Jewish new immigrants from Russia, Israelis with no religious background, and advanced Torah scholars. It is a brilliant work - fundamental, profound, and clear. Anybody who wishes to become acquainted with the Jewish faith - its origins, development, founders, and dissemination - can do so with the aid of The Kuzari.

The King of the Khazars himself asks the Rabbi, "Please explain to me how your religion arose. How did it spread and become accepted? How was a consensus reached concerning its components? There must initially have been conflicting opinions. After all, every religion begins either with a small group of individuals who gradually influence the masses through persuasive argument, or some powerful ruler who forces his faith upon his subjects. This being the case, how did the Jewish religion begin, and how did it spread to the point where it was accepted by the entire Jewish people?"

To this the rabbi responds that, indeed, religions which derive from man begin in such a manner. Religious systems which spring from the human mind begin with individuals and spreads to the masses. This, however, is not true of the Jewish faith, for it originated with God Himself. It came into existence suddenly, not unlike the creation of the world itself.

Foundations of Faith (51)

Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed

19 - 17. According to Divine Guidance

20 - 18. The Exodus and Jewish Faith

21 - 21. God's Elite Line

This, then, is how it happened: the Children of Israel, some 600,000 souls, were enslaved in Egypt. Each individual Jew traced himself to one of the twelve tribes. They resisted assimilation. All anticipated the fulfillment of that which God had promised the forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - namely, that He would bequeath them the Land of Canaan, the Land of Israel. At this point in time the Israelites had reached their lowest ebb. They were completely subjugated by the Egyptians. Pharaoh ruled over them and did with them as he pleased. He killed their sons so that they not grow in number. The Israelites were unable to defend themselves. It is impossible to comprehend just how difficult their state was at this time, how downtrodden and helpless they were.

Then, suddenly, the Almighty sent Moses and Aaron to deliver the people from bondage. Moses and Aaron possessed no militia to aid them in this task. Rather, they came in the name of God Himself, with signs and wonders which defied the laws of nature. Pharaoh, with all of his power, was unable to protect himself from the Ten Plagues which God brought upon Him and the people of Egypt. First, God plagued the water, then the land, the air, the vegetation, and the animals. Finally God beset the very bodies and souls of the Egyptians. In a single moment, at midnight, God struck down all of the firstborn of Egypt. There was no home in Egypt that was not struck.

Moreover, each of these plagues was preceded by a warning, and each one came at the precise time and in the exact place that Moses said it would. All testified that this was the "finger of God." All understood that it was not a quirk of nature but a real miracle.

On the very day that the firstborn of Egypt were killed, the Children of Israel left Egypt. They did this in fulfillment of God's command, hastily and in a single swift operation. In a miraculously short period of time, the plight of the Israelites was reversed completely; they were transformed from a band of despondent slaves to a free nation, and Pharaoh and his people were completely subdued by God's Ten Plagues. This is how the faith of Israel began. God delivered the Children of Israel from Egypt and made them His chosen nation. From that point onward, the Jewish people were God's people. Later, God performed many more miracles and wonders on their behalf. We shall, God willing, discuss this matter in the next lesson.