Parshat Bo tells the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim, the Exodus from Egypt.
Throughout the Torah, the importance of this event, and of remembering this event, is emphasized. And many mitzvot were commanded specifically to ensure that we never forget that we were downtrodden slaves in Egypt until Hashem miraculously brought us to freedom.
One reason why the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim is so critically important, and so foundational to the Jewish experience, is because it teaches us about the ability to overcome challenges. Our ancestors were lowly slaves, subjected to unimaginable misery and persecution, and then emerged as a proud nation, standing at Mount Sinai and hearing Hashem speak to them. The story of Yetziat Mitzrayim is thus the story of the Jewish People throughout history – the story of resilience in the face of hardship, the story of triumph over adversity, the story of never losing hope or faith no matter how difficult the situation is.
And this is the story that we each must write for ourselves, as well. Yetziat Mitzrayim teaches us that we can overcome any personal challenges that we face by placing our faith in Hashem, that no struggle is too difficult, that we can and must be strong even in hard times.
But there is also another reason why the Torah places great emphasis on remembering our ancestors’ experiences in Egypt.
The Torah on several occasions commands us to look out for the poor and the downtrodden, and it makes the point that we experienced hardship and suffering in Egypt. We ourselves endured the pain and degradation of slavery – and so we need to empathize with, and care for, those who are hurting, those who are struggling, those who are alone, and those who are vulnerable and afraid. We were there, we know what it’s like, and so we have the responsibility to help them.
We place a great deal of emphasis on the first message of Yetziat Mitzrayim – on fighting, on struggling to succeed and triumph in the face of adversity, on trusting our ability to overcome any challenge.
Specifically because of this, we aren’t always sufficiently attuned to the plight of those who struggle.
We hear and tell ourselves so often that we can overcome anything, and so we might be led to apply this to other people enduring hardship. We might look at people who are struggling and think, “They can get over it. They’re strong. With emunah, anything is possible – so they can handle this and recover.”
This attitude overlooks the second message of the story of Egypt – empathizing with people’s pain, and doing what we can to care for them.
We have among us many victims, of many different kinds. There are victims of various forms of abuse. There are victims of crime. There are victims of poverty. There are victims of neglect. There are victims of bullying. There are victims of abandonment. And they need to see that we care, that they’re not invisible, that we want to embrace them and help them.
Of course, all Am Yisrael are victims; we have been victimized for millennia. And we’ve grown stronger through our extraordinary power of resilience and our faith. But this does not allow us to belittle the pain and the suffering of our brothers and sisters who are in pain. They don’t need to be told to hear classes or read books about emunah, or to be told that they are strong enough to handle anything. They need our empathy, our unconditional support, and the assurance that we are with them and ready to help them.
For ourselves, we need to reinforce our faith in Hashem and in our strength to persevere. But for others, we need to show empathy and concern, and extend ourselves as much as we can to alleviate the pain and suffering of our fellow Jew in distress.