Parshat Shemot- Chance to Think
by Rabbi Lobel

On G-d's command, Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh and demanded he release the Israelites from bondage. Pharaoh responded, “Why would you disturb the nation from its work?” (Exodus 5:4)

Every Israelite slave was forced to fulfill a very high quota. If he couldn’t do it himself, as was usually the case, he recruited his wife and children. (Pirkei D'rebbe Eliezer 48; 833 CE) If he still couldn’t fulfill the quota, his children would be buried alive inside the walls of the buildings as punishment for failing to make enough bricks. (Talmud: Sanhedrin 101b 200 CE-500 CE)

Pharaoh mocked Moses and Aaron’s request to free the slaves by ordering his officers to stop providing straw for clay and thereby multiply the slaves’ workload.

The Path of the Just (Mesillat Yesharim Chapter 2; 1707 - 1746) says “His (Pharaoh's) intention was not merely to deprive Israel of all leisure time so they wouldn’t have a chance to plot against him; Pharaoh strove to strip their hearts of all coherent thought by continuous excruciating labor.”

Intuition would suggest the harder you work someone, the more desperate he becomes, and the more he’ll plot for his freedom. Pharaoh realized it was just the opposite. By forcing the Israelites to work harder than they dreamed possible, by putting their children at risk of torture and death, Pharaoh knew the Israelites wouldn’t be able to think of anything but work. A person only contemplates escape when he has the luxury of time to do so.

To a lesser degree, we see this in everyday life. We become consumed with the daily grind, making sure we pay the bills on time and put food on the table. When we’re not working, rather than think about what’s important, we’re tempted to relax by not thinking about those things closest to our hearts -our families, our friends, and our faith.

In bad times, the lesson is especially poignant – We all have to meet daily challenges but we don’t have to become slaves to them. Freedom lies in setting aside time each day to work on the things we cherish most.