Bo 5786

A seemingly essential part of Yetzias Mitzrayim was the need for Bnei Yisroel to leave with massive amounts of wealth from the Egyptians. Shortly before the final plague of Makkas Bechoros, Hashem tells Moshe to instruct Bnei Yisroel to ask their Egyptian neighbors for their wealth. They do so that very night to the point where they "empty out" Egypt. 

However, the Gemara in Brachos (32a) seems to lament the fact that this occurred as said wealth led to Bnei Yisroel sinning with the golden calf. Moshe brings a claim before Hashem, stating that the very gold He provided them is what led to them making this idol. A few lines later, Hashem shockingly agrees with Moshe on this point! On the other hand (and if you hold that there's no chronological order in the Torah), Rashi in Shir Hashirim (1:13) notes that Hashem gave Bnei Yisroel an opportunity to do Teshuva and to use this gold for the Mishkan's purposes. It appears that this wealth was a double-edged sword.

Why was this wealth needed? What purpose did this task serve Bnei Yisroel? From a technical standpoint, the Torah Temima quotes a Gemara (Brachos 9a) that explains Hashem's request was to fulfill the prophecy of Bris Bein Habesarim in totality. "Let not the righteous one claim that I fulfilled only the slavery aspect but not the wealth aspect." The Torah Temima expands on this and identifies the "righteous one" as Avraham (as the Bris Bein Habesarim was directed at him). He then asks, why couldn't Bnei Yisroel just do this on their own? Were they incapable of being proactive and doing this on their own?

The Torah Temima states that in fact they were incapable. He gives a parable of a captive of many years who is promised that he will be free the next day along with being given riches. The captive responds that he would rather be freed today with nothing in hand. Bnei Yisroel were burned out at this point; they had been slaves for over 200 years. They had no desire for physical possessions or wealth; all they wanted was to be free. Hashem had to instill in them a fresh spirit in order to build up the ability to ask the Egyptians for wealth.

R' Kalman Ber, the current Chief Rabbi of Israel and former Ram in Kerem B'Yavneh, adds to the Torah Temima's explanation and states that Bnei Yisroel had a slave mentality. They lived and thought like slaves. By instructing them to address their masters and ask for their possessions was a starting point to shatter this mentality. Hashem was telling them, "you are no longer slaves to them, it's time to change the way you think and view yourselves." As James Hetfield puts it, "the slave becomes the master."

Leaving with wealth from Egypt then did suit some sort of purpose for Bnei Yisroel. So how can we reconcile the Gemaras from before that disapprove of it?

I believe what Hashem was teaching Bnei Yisroel and us is the idea of potential. In Kabbalistic thought there are three impure shells, or Kelipos, that are the source of evil and forbidden things in this world. A fourth shell, known as the Kelipas Nogah, contains some good in it and is more neutral than the former three. A Jew's purpose is to elevate this Kelipas Nogah, to "garb" his soul with holiness, and to redeem the lost sparks of holiness spread throughout Creation. However, if a Jew opts to sin, this Kelipah then clings to the three impure shells and further strengthens the forces of evil in this world. This ties into Judaism's philosophy of taking mundane acts and items and instilling Kedusha into them.

Bnei Yisroel had the potential to elevate these newly acquired possessions and directly dedicate them to their service of Hashem. This is what Hashem and Moshe were lamenting over in Brachos 32a. They were upset how Bnei Yisroel had erred at first by making an idol instead of donating such spoils to the Mishkan. However, as mentioned before, their giving to the Mishkan then became a means to achieve atonement for such a sin.

While we do have the free will to choose between doing Mitzvos or not, Hashem encourages us to choose life (Devarim 30:19). He has shown us the potential we each have to further perfect the world and to bring G-dliness into it. Even giving a small amount of tzedakah brings light into the world and provides an abode for the Divine to dwell in. May we continue to recognize the potential we have in ourselves and always do the right thing.