Blog - Torah Insights

Are We Trapped by Time? 

The human spirit seeks freedom, and modern society and technology allow for unprecedented  freedom; freedom to travel, to access information, to broadcast one’s opinions, and so much more. Yet, despite all of our advances, we are still trapped by the inescapable constraint of the passage of time. There is nothing we can do to turn the clock back or to slow the passage of time. 

While we cannot control the passage of time, freedom is about taking responsibility for using our time properly, in a way that is meaningful and productive. Indeed, the very first commandment to the Jewish people was to establish a calendar. Establishing a calendar is the first step of freedom; it's when people cease to be slaves, whose time is controlled by others, embracing the gift and responsibility of freedom, deliberately using time consistent with the person’s inner values. 

The commandment to establish the lunar calendar is referred to as the commandment to “sanctify the month”. The new month would begin when two witnesses would testify that they saw the new moon, and the court would declare the new month sanctified, as the Mishnah describes: 

{After the witnesses have been examined and their testimony accepted} the head of the court says: It is sanctified. And all the people respond after him: It is sanctified; it is sanctified. (Mishnah, Rosh Hashana 2:7)

The term sanctifying the month teaches Judaism’s radical idea about time: we can indeed escape the trappings of time. For while time is fleeting, defined by past, present, and future, we can use a moment of time, that is itself defined, and sanctify it, using it to experience holiness which transcends time. While any experience is temporary, the spiritual achievement and connection created in that fleeting moment are eternal. 

The very first commandment to our people reminds us not to be slaves to the passage of time, but rather to take control of our time, our most important possession, and ultimately to sanctify it, breaking free of its trappings and touching the eternal. 

What Took So Long? Efficiency vs. Education

Reading the story of the ten plagues, one wonders whether G-d used the most efficient method to force Pharaoh to free the Jewish people. After all, could G-d not have begun with the tenth and most severe plague forcing Pharaoh to free the Jewish people immediately? 

Indeed, reading the verses, it is clear that in addition to compelling Pharaoh to set the people free, the plagues served an educational purpose as well, both for the Egyptians and for the Jewish people. 

The Abarbenel explains that there were three series of plagues, each demonstrating another foundational theological principle: (1) the existence of G-d (2) G-d’s providence over the details and specifics of the people and events on earth (3) G-d as all-powerful.   

When introducing the first series of plagues, G-d states: 

So said the Lord, "With this you will know that I am the Lord." (Exodus 7:17) 

“I am the Lord” emphasizes the existence of G-d. 

As the second series of plagues, beginning with the fourth plague, is introduced, we read:  

And I will separate on that day the land of Goshen, upon which My people stand, that there will be no mixture of noxious creatures there, in order that you know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.

And I will make a redemption {distinction} between My people and your people; this sign will come about tomorrow. (8-18:19)

“Separation” and “distinction” demonstrate that G-d is aware of the specific differences between people and creations. That his providence is not just general, but rather it is an intimate, specific, awareness of every aspect of creation. 

The final series of plagues, and the final lesson conveyed, are introduced as follows: 

Because this time, I am sending all My plagues into your heart and into your servants and into your people, in order that you know that there is none like Me in the entire earth. (Exodus 9:14)

“There is no one like Me in the entire earth” teaches that, unlike the pagan idea of many G-ds, each in control of a specific natural force, G-d is the one, all-powerful G-d. 

Thus, the plagues served as an educational experience, demonstrating that G-d is not an abstract existence disinterested in the human experience, but rather invested and engaged with every aspect of existence. 

The Mothers of Redemption 

The most terrible part of the oppression in Egypt, Pharaoh commanding his people to throw every male Hebrew into the Nile, is described in one verse: "And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, 'Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile, and every daughter you shall allow to live.'"

But prior to that, Pharaoh tried a different strategy. Pharaoh demanded that the Hebrew Midwives, Shifrah and Puah, kill the male babies being born. The plan failed because Shifrah and Puah defied the Pharaoh and did not heed his command. 

Why does the Torah devote no less than seven verses to describing the back and forth between the midwives and Pharaoh? Seemingly, Pharaoh's idea that the midwives implement his decree failed, so why was it necessary to elaborate about it in such detail? Seemingly, it does not seem to move the plot forward. 

Freedom cannot be granted, freedom must be taken. Inner freedom cannot come from the oppressor allowing the oppressed to go free. If that were the case, the oppressed would be physically free but emotionally and spiritually still controlled by the oppressor, who, for the time being, allows them to be free. Inner freedom can only come from defiance. Developing the courage to defy the oppressor is what makes the person truly free, although physically they are still in bondage.

The story of the Hebrew midwives, who the sages teach are Yocheved and Miriam, the mother and sister of Moses, is critical because it tells of women who possessed inner freedom, who defied Pharaoh, and birthed Moses the redeemer. Moses had the capacity to be a leader and redeemer because he was born to a mother who was spiritually free in the midst of the most terrible circumstances, a mother who stood up and defied the oppressor. 

In the very first chapter of the book of Exodus, in the very beginning of the darkest period in biblical history, we understand that the Jewish people would ultimately gain their freedom. Because the midwives exemplified that enslavement is an external condition, internally they remained free and in touch with their morality and soul. The Torah dwells upon the courage of the midwives in order to teach that redemption does not begin with the fall of an empire, but rather with the quiet defiance of individuals who refuse to surrender their moral freedom. Long before the Israelites left Egypt, they had already learned how to be free.