In Parashat Kedoshim, there is a pasuk that says (19,36)
מֹ֧אזְנֵי צֶ֣דֶק אַבְנֵי־צֶ֗דֶק…… אֲנִי֙ ה׳ אֱלֹֽקיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־הוֹצֵ֥אתִי אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם
You shall have honest scales…( and it lists all various types of measures)… I am Hashem your God, who took you out of Mitzrayim
What is the connection between Hashem taking us out of Egypt and honest weights and measures?
Furthermore, Rashi says that Hashem said,”I took you out of Egypt Al Menat Ken/ on the condition to have honest weights and measures.”
What does that mean?
It connects to the next Rashi, which says, “I was able to discern, in Egypt, between a first born and a non first born.”
In order to determine that, one
would have to know the familial history and certain intimate details.
Hashem said, “I able to to differentiate that. And I am also the One that will be able to punish someone and differentiate whether someone is being dishonest in the area of weights and measures when people don’t realize.”
All of this means that the message of Yetziat Mitzrayim is God’s involvement and knowledge of the smallest details and He took us out of Mitzrayim in order for us to live life that way. This is an important point of “Al Menat Ken/For that purpose…”
This is similar to something we have discussed before: Hashem took us out of Egypt, BaAvor Zeh/ Because of this…. meaning, in order that we should fulfill the Seder night. While you sit at the Seder, God is, so to say, pointing and saying, “This is what I meant when I took you out. I took you out to have this event… I know that, even hundreds of years later, in 2022, there would be people sitting around a table talking about Yetziat Mitzrayim.
But it’s more than that.. “I took you out because I knew there would be people that would live their lives honestly based on Yetziat Mitzrayim.
Yetziat Mitzrayim was there as a means to an end .. Al Menat means on this condition, for this purpose. I didn’t take you out just to get you out. The purpose was to get you to a certain level of living, and that level of living is honest weights and measures. Honest weights and measures are the chosen example because that is something that is done in a premeditative fashion. Dishonesty in weights and measures is not something that happens in the heat of the moment. It’s not an act of passion or lust, and it does not happen because the person was in an anger or rage. This person pre-calculated that he was going to program his scale to be off by a few ounces in order to increase his profit margin. This also includes any other ways of cutting corners to cheat people, such as literally cutting off corners of fabric. This is a cold-blooded decision that ignores God’s involvement in life and it’s totally intellectual.
Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim to realize that this is not the way to live life.
We have to live life with the understanding that Hashem is involved in our lives.
This time of the year, as we count Sefirat HaOmer, going from Pesach to Shavuot, it’s a similar concept: Hashem says, “ I took you out of Mitzrayim to get somewhere, to Matan Torah, to get the Torah and live by the Torah.”
It wasn’t just about freeing us from slavery. It was in order to create a certain type of nation.
Al Menat Ken, on this condition..Taking us out of Egypt means taking care of us and supervising us as the Jewish nation. We need to live our lives in that fashion, in order to get special protection.
There is a similar point in Rashi at the end of the Parasha, in almost scary lashon, where it says,
וִהְיִ֤יתֶם לִי֙ קְדֹשִׁ֔ים כִּ֥י קָד֖וֹשׁ אֲנִ֣י ה׳ וָאַבְדִּ֥ל אֶתְכֶ֛ם מִן־הָֽעַמִּ֖ים לִהְי֥וֹת לִֽי
Be holy for Me, Ki Kadosh Ani Hashem (like at the beginning of the Parasha, where it says be holy because the whole goal of Yetziat Mitzrayim is to be holy), And then, I will separate you from the other nations, to be Mine
Rashi says that it means if you separate yourselves from them, you’re Mine, you’re under My guard, so to say. And if not, you’ll be controlled by the wicked king Nevuchadnezer, who destroyed the bet HaMikdash
God took us out of Egypt in order for us to live a life on a higher level of existence. When we live that high level of existence, Hashem is, so to say our Guard. B’ezrat Hashem, we will live the life that God took us out for.
The way of seeing whether your live your life properly is in the area of weights and measures when no one is looking, and realizing that Hashem is watching, He is controlling.
Have a wonderful day and a Shabbat shalom.