Posts
As I read B'Shallach on Shabbat, a somewhat radical question took shape (WARNING: Sometimes my brain prefers to play in deep left field all by itself rather than hanging out in the infield with everyone else)
"The angel of God, who had been going ahead of the Israelite army, now moved and followed behind them; and the pillar of cloud shifted from in front of them and took up a place behind them, and it came between the army of the Egyptians and the army of Israel. Thus there was the cloud with the darkness, and it cast a spell upon the night, so that the one could not come near the other all through the night." [Exodus 14:19-20 JPSTanakh]
"Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Hold out your arm over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians and upon their chariots and upon their horsemen.'" [Exodus 14:26 JPSTanakh]
"Shmuel Ha-katan said: 'Rejoice not when your enemies fall. Don't let your heart be glad when another stumbles. God may see it, and be displeased, and turn away His wrath from your enemy.'” (Proverbs 24:17-18) [BT Pirke Avot 4:19]
"And there went out the song throughout the host: R. Aha b. Hanina said: [It is the song referred to in the verse.] When the wicked perish, there is song; [thus] when Ahab b. Omri perished there was 'song'. But does the Holy One, blessed be He, rejoice over the downfall of the wicked? Is it not written, [That they should praise] as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto the Lord for His mercy endureth for ever; concerning which R. Jonathan asked: Why are the words, He is good omitted from this expression of thanks? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, does not rejoice in the downfall of the wicked. For R. Samuel b. Nahman said in R. Jonathan's name: What is meant by, And one approached not the other all night? In that hour the ministering angels wished to utter the song [of praise] before the Holy One, blessed be He, but He rebuked them, saying: My handiwork [the Egyptians] is drowning in the sea; would ye utter song before me!" [BT Sanhedrin 39b]
"And he [Abraham] said, 'Let not my Lord be angry if I speak but this last time: What if ten should be found there?' And He [God] answered, 'I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten.'" [Genesis 18:32 JPSTanakh]
WHAT IF MOSES HAD REFUSED TO STRETCH OUT HIS ROD TO HAVE GOD DESTROY THE EGYPTIANS??? WHAT IF HE HAD ASKED GOD FOR DELIVERANCE WITHOUT DESTROYING THE EGYPTIANS?
How would God have reacted?
Angry at Moses for disobedience...?
Destroyed the Egyptians without Moses acting...?
Provided deliverance without destroying the Egyptians...?
Pleased at Moses lack of desire for revenge...?
Would this have changed our history significantly?
Would it have changed us as a people significantly?
WHAT IF WE MADE THE SAME CHOICE IN SOCIETY—NOT TO USE VIOLENCE TO END OPPRESSION (OR EXACT REVENGE)?
Would this change our history significantly?
Would this change us as a people/society significantly?
Interesting take. As you point out, through repositioning the cloud, God had already put a barrier between the Egyptians and the Israelites, and had also miraculously disabled the Egyptians' chariots, so that destroying the Egyptians doesn't seem to have been necessary for the Israelites salvation...
ReplyDelete