Timeless Torah

The subjugation had begun in earnest. The guidance of Joseph, and the blessing of Jacob which had saved Egypt from famine and starvation, were memories conveniently forgotten. The new Pharaoh had turned the proud children of Israel into wretched slaves. Yet their spirit was not completely crushed. They continued having children, waiting and hoping for the redeemer to be born who would liberate them from bondage.

Pharaoh and his court were well aware of his subjects’ hopes. First they tried enlisting the Hebrew midwives to kill the male newborn. When it became apparent that they were not going to cooperate, Pharaoh conscripted the entire population. Each man, woman, and child was suddenly charged with the vile decree of wholesale infanticide. This is the first recorded instance of a 1984 type of society where every Egyptian became the eyes and ears of Big Brother.

Interestingly enough, however, the executions did not take place at the homes where the children were found. Instead they were taken to the Nile River and drowned there. Was it squeamishness or some sense of morality that did not allow them to perform their heinous crime in front of anguished Moms and Dads? According to our Sages, hardly!

Although it must have been difficult and time consuming transporting all the infants to the river, the Egyptian leadership felt it was well worth the effort. The Nile was more than the source and life blood of Egypt’s agricultural based economy. The Nile represented the supreme power in a pantheistic society - the ultimate G-d among a plethora of lesser deities. Drowning the Jews in the Nile symbolized to the Egyptian that his values, his beliefs, and his G-d were more powerful than the Jew’s. The Hebrew slave could cry out to Hashem for redemption but the power of the Nile would drown out those prayers.

Today, no one is drowning children in the Intra-coastal. The real danger, however, is the tide of assimilation that threatens to engulf our youngsters. With so much pressure, parents often feel they cannot swim against the current. Nevertheless, we cannot afford to be “stuck up the creek without a paddle.” Our oars must be the Torah, and our life-jacket, the mitzvos. With them, we will not only stay afloat, but reach our destination.