In the beginning of this week’s parasha , Parashat Va’Era, Hashem shares with Moshe Rabbenu that He has heard the groan of b’nei yisrael as a consequence of their slavery and that Hashem remembered His covenant. The response of b’nei yisrael to the slavery is also recorded in another place in the Torah. In the description of the mitzvat bikkurim – the commandment of the first fruits – the farmer brings his first fruits to Yerushalayim. In presenting the fruits to the kohen , the farmer recites a confession – a viduy . As part of this confession, the farmer briefly recounts the experience of the children of Israel in Egypt. The farmer begins, “An Aramean tried to destroy my forefather. He descended to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation – great, strong and numerous. The Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us and placed hard work on us.” In the next passage, the farmer describes the reaction of b’nei yisrael to the affliction. He says, “Then w...
Rabbi Benjy Owen, Dean, Margolin Hebrew Academy-Feinstone Yeshiva of the South, Memphis, TN