They baked the dough that they took out of Egypt into unleavened cakes, for they could not be leavened, for they were thrust out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they made provisions for themselves. (Exodus 12:39)

What is going on? Had not G-D already told the Bnei Yisrael prior to the Exodus that only matsa may be eaten to the exclusion of leaven (12:15)?  And if they had really been “thrust out of Egypt” would they not have left immediately after midnight when Pharaoh runs like a madman to Moses and screams out Get up and get out, the lot of you! (12:30)? Yet we know that the Bnei Yisrael weren’t allowed, by G-D’s command, to leave their homes until morning (12:22). Nor did they. “The Bnei Yisrael went out with a high hand in the sight of all Egypt” (Num 33:3).  They didn’t slink out of Egypt like thieves in the night but left openly at the break of day, having requested and received full compensation in silver and gold currency (Ex.12:35) for the centuries of back-breaking slave labour they had been forced to undergo (1:13-14)  The Exodus story, as told in the Torah, appears to be a mass of contradictions!

Actually, it isn’t.  The Torah, meant to be understood on many levels, is being openly narrated from different vantage points: that of G-D, the author, and that of the Bnei Yisrael, the protagonists.

The Bnei Yisrael were itching to get out of Egypt. Their mindset was that of khipazon, haste (Deut 16:3).  Their alarm clock was set to midnight.  And that is what G-D demanded of them – “loins girded, shoes on feet and staff in hand” (12:11).  Ready to depart.  At midnight!  Such was the frame of mind of the Bnei Yisrael.  As G-D’s chosen nation-elect, they had to prove their ardour and devotion.

But G-D had his own timetable. None may leave until the morning!

So, when the Torah says “they could not delay” it really means they were not able to act as though they were delaying.  “Even this first Paschal Seder meal was the enactment of a drama meant to impress upon the Bnei Yisrael an attitude of mind, a readiness, a determination and an eagerness to abandon Egypt and all that it represented from the very first moment that the gates of freedom opened” (Spirals Of The Soul p.175).

Fast forward 3,338 years to 5786/2026. Many are saying we are currently living in historic times. Others are calling it Biblical times!

The prophet Jeremiah famously declared (16:14-15): Days are coming says G-D, when it will no longer be said “As G-D lives Who brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt” but rather “As G-D lives Who brought up the children of Israel from the lands of the north and from all the other lands to which He scattered them, and I shall restore them to their land that I gave to their ancestors.

The future Redemption will be like the Exodus from Egypt only on a grander scale. So presumably the parallel will need to extend to the dichotomous perspectives of G-D and Israel.

In 2448, the Bnei Yisrael were ready and eager to depart the galut (exile) of Egypt. Not just because of the slavery and persecution. But because they knew the time had come for their redemption.

How about us? How existentially ready are we?  To be sure, many are making aliya out of apprehension due to the perceived exponential rise of anti-Semitism in their adopted countries. But is that the mindset G-D wants of us?  Wouldn’t He undoubtedly prefer an eagerness, an avidity, an intense desire for the prophecy of Jeremiah to be fulfilled in all its glory?  A passionate appreciation for the incredible miracles that are already happening in Operation Roaring Lion on a daily, perhaps hourly basis?

Midnight has long gone on the celestial clock. Dawn is breaking. Let’s gird our loins and put our finest shoes on!    Let’s be ready for when He is ready!

Chag Kasher ve-Sameakh!

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)