Choose Your Labor – Parshas Shemos 5770
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...וימררו את חייהם בעבודה קשה בחומר ובלבנים ובכל עבודה בשדה את כל עבודתם אשר עבדו בהם בפרך (א:יד).
“and they made the Jew’s lives bitter, with hard work, mortar and bricks….” (1:14).
The verse describes the backbreaking labor which the Egyptian tormentors subjected the Jews to. The Zohar (I:27a) makes a famous perplexing comment upon this verse. It states that each of the descriptions refers to Torah.
“They made their lives bitter with “עבודה קשה” (rough work)”, this refers to kasha (questions in the Gemara).”בחומר” , (with mortar), this is kal v’chomer (a logical deduction frequently employed throughout Gemara). “בלבנים”, (bricks) this is libun halacha (working hard to clarify the proper law). The other words refer to understanding a Breisah and Mishna (other sources frequently analyzed in the Gemara).
What is being said, and more so, what does it have to do with the work being described? Many answers have been given. I believe that a powerful message is being illustrated.
The Midrash (Beraishis Rabbah 92:1) states, “there is no one whose life is exempt from suffering; praiseworthy is one whose suffering comes from Torah!”
The Steipler Goan explains (Birchas Peretz, Meiketz) that everyone’s life has a determined amount of pain and trouble which Hashem feels is best to bestow upon him in order for his growth and development. However, this pain and suffering can be bypassed and redirected. When one learns Torah or works to control his desires and wants, his exertion can be painfully difficult. Hashem counts this “self-inflicted pain” as a fulfillment of the suffering that he would have otherwise been doomed to experience in a more mundane manner. Hence, one whose suffering comes from Torah, receives his mandatory suffering and becomes a Talmid Chochom in the process!
Rabbeinu Yonah writes (Yesod HaTeshuva), “when one forces himself to learn Torah or perform Mitzvos against his inclination not to act properly, this is called, “Yesurim Shel Ahava, suffering from love to Hashem!” Amazing words!
The tribe of Levi was exempt from the work in Egypt. They refused to come work for Pharaoh in the first place and thus remained free from work and were permitted to study and practice the Torah throughout the subjugation in Egypt. This is not entirely true! They weren’t exempt from toil! Rather, they were fulfilling that obligation through their effort and work in their daily regiment of Torah study and application!
This now beautifully explains the Zohar’s comments upon our verse! In life, one can chose, do I want to just have regular suffering and pain? Or do I want to learn Torah and do Mitzvos and have the difficult efforts count and wipe away from my time of suffering! The study and performance of the Torah has the power to remove our other troubles!
May we all merit to toil in Torah and Mitzvos and find joy and fulfillment in our daily service of Hashem!
