Service or Festival? There was a breakdown in communication between the parties. Finally, after seven plagues, Pharaoh was ready to negotiate with Moses regarding who would be permitted to leave Egypt. The Torah relates: Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go, worship the Lord your God. Who and who are going?" Moses said, "With our youth and with our elders we will go, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our cattle we will go, for it is a festival of the Lord to us." (10:8-9) Pharaoh was sure that this was a scam. Pharaoh declared: Not so; let the men go now and worship the Lord, for that is what you request." And he chased them out from before Pharaoh. (10:11) Seemingly, Pharaoh wanted to ascertain that the Jewish people who were going to serve G-d in the desert would return to Egypt; he, therefore, wanted the women, children, and cattle to remain behind as security. There is, however, a deeper element to Pharaoh's refusal. In Egyptian culture, only the priestly class served their Gods. Service was relegated to a small group of individuals who could truly understand and meditate on spiritual concepts. For Pharaoh, it was conceivable that educated men would go and serve G-d in the desert, but it was implausible that women and children could be part of the service. Indeed, Pharaoh's words, "Go, worship the Lord your God. Who and who are going?" was not a question, it was a statement. Pharaoh stated: look at all the surrounding cultures, "who and who are going?" Only an elite group of men worship. Moses insisted that, if we are to serve G-d properly, all Jewish people must participate: "With our youth and with our elders we will go, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our cattle we will go". Our service of G-d is radically different. There are no representatives before G-d; but rather, each and every individual has a personal and unique relationship with G-d. Moses continues: "for it is a festival of the Lord to us"; the way we serve G-d is not only through study and meditation but also through festival and joy. The way we connect to G-d is through experiencing joy and happiness, which is possible only when we are all united and present together.
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