{"id":12969,"date":"2010-01-06T15:33:31","date_gmt":"2010-01-06T15:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/production.ou.org\/life\/other\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/"},"modified":"2016-11-29T06:14:03","modified_gmt":"2016-11-29T11:14:03","slug":"slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/","title":{"rendered":"Slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image\"<\/div>\n

\u201cWe were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt\u201d (Deut. 6:21).<\/p>\n

We were slaves to Pharaoh, not Pharaoh\u2019s slaves. The former would be only a juridic-social description; the Jews belonged to Pharaoh legally, but spiritually were free people with their own minds and an independent approach to reality. However, when we state that someone is \u201cPharaoh\u2019s slave,\u201d we identify his whole personality with Pharaoh. Serving Pharaoh is not just incidental; it is the whole purpose of his life. Pharaoh\u2019s Egyptian slaves are called \u201cavdei Far\u2019oh<\/i>\u201d (Gen 50:7; Ex. 10:7, 11:3). Our service to the Almighty is not something foreign and incidental, but rather something indispensable to our existence, something intrinsic and inseparable from our ontological awareness. That is why the term \u201ceved Hashem<\/i>, God\u2019s servant\u201d is used in the Bible. We are just servants of God, and nothing else.<\/p>\n

The Jews in Egypt were slaves only in a political-economic sense. Had they been slaves existentially, had they lost their love of freedom and their spiritual heritage, had they been \u201cPharaoh\u2019s slaves\u201d and not just \u201cslaves to Pharaoh,\u201d they never would have been liberated. They would have lost their personality and their quest for freedom. For the Jews, slavery was extrinsic, not intrinsic. It did not destroy their inner personality. Even in the crucible of slavery and oppression, the Jews had not forfeited their dignity and sense of loyalty. They remained the children of the patriarchs, hoping and praying for a better future. Since slavery had not corrupted them fully, and since they remained spiritually free, the great miracle of the Exodus took place.<\/p>\n

Moses had doubts about the Jews\u2019 eligibility for freedom. He thought of them as slaves, especially after his very unpleasant experience with the two Hebrew slaves who were fighting. Moses was in despair, wondering whether the Jews were worthy of redemption. Therefore, God presented him with the very strange revelation of the burning bush. In its middle was a fire, while its outside was cold and dark. From the outside , it looked just like any other thorn bush in the desert; but inside that bush, in its hidden center, there was a fire burning. The ecstasy of the Jews for God, their commitment to His path, had never been extinguished in Egypt. It was rather invisible, covered up. God told him, \u201cRa\u2019oh ra\u2019iti<\/i>, I have surely seen the wretchedness of My people who are in Egypt\u201d (Ex. 3:7). Our Sages say, \u201cAtah ro\u2019eh re\u2019iyah a?at<\/i>\u201d \u2013 meaning, you see only My people in Egypt \u2013 \u201cva-Ani ro\u2019eh shetei re\u2019iyot<\/i>\u201d \u2013 whereas I penetrate into the depths (Ex. Rabbah 3). And once we penetrate into the depth of a Jew, no matter how repugnant his exterior, no matter how subservient he is to the taskmaster, we will find him questing for freedom and searching for God. Within every Jew, there is a burning bush. The Jew himself has never become Pharaoh\u2019s slave, but only a slave to Pharaoh. \u201cWe were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt,\u201d but we remained free, even during the time of oppression.<\/p>\n

Why does the Haggadah specify that \u201cWe were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt\u201d? Does it make any difference whether we were slaves to Pharaoh or to someone else? Apparently it is important. There are two types of relationship between master and slave. Sometimes a slave is owned by an individual, and sometimes the slave is the property of the state.<\/p>\n

Both forms of bondage are degrading, but there is a distinction between private and public bondage. When owned by an individual, a slave may attain a position of power in the master\u2019s household. The best example is Joseph, who had Potiphar\u2019s complete trust. However, if the slave is the property of a cold, merciless, cruel corporate state, then no personal relationship is imaginable, no friendship or sympathy will ever be aroused, no personal contact developed. Usually the slaves of the state lose their identity; no matter how long the prisoner stays in jail, he is as new to the warden as he was the first day. The same impersonal, indifferent, cruel relationship persists from day to day, week to week, year to year. There is not a single bit of humanity in the institution of state slavery.<\/p>\n

This is what the Haggadah emphasized: We were slaves not only to Pharaoh, but \u201cto Pharaoh in Egypt.\u201d Egypt was a corporate state, whose head was Pharaoh. The Pharaoh was not an individual; indeed, we do not know his individual name. Even the personality of the king was erased! In a slave society, individuality submerges into a common pool, the faceless crowd of slaves. This is the meaning of the phrase Avadim hayinu le-Far\u2019oh be-Mi?rayim<\/i>. We were his faceless slaves, and the relationship was impersonal. And, of course, an impersonal relationship is a cruel relationship.<\/p>\n

\n

Excerpted from The Seder Night: An Exalted Evening<\/a> by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. <\/i><\/p>\n

More information on the book can be found here: www.ou.org\/oupress<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt\u201d (Deut. 6:21). We were slaves to Pharaoh, not Pharaoh\u2019s slaves. The former would be only a juridic-social description; the Jews belonged to Pharaoh legally, but spiritually were free people with their own minds and an independent approach to reality. However, when we state that someone is \u201cPharaoh\u2019s slave,\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":309,"featured_media":46730,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pesach","category-torah"],"yoast_head":"\nSlaves to Pharaoh in Egypt - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why do we say we were "slaves to Pharaoh" rather than "Pharaoh's slaves" whereas Pharaoh's Egyptian slaves are referred to as the latter: Avdei Pharoah\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why do we say we were "slaves to Pharaoh" rather than "Pharaoh's slaves" whereas Pharaoh's Egyptian slaves are referred to as the latter: Avdei Pharoah\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-01-06T15:33:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-11-29T11:14:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Servitude.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"425\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"289\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/\",\"name\":\"Slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt - OU Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Servitude.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-01-06T15:33:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-11-29T11:14:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/c93965208ccaafbdf296783ad49b872f\"},\"description\":\"Why do we say we were \\\"slaves to Pharaoh\\\" rather than \\\"Pharaoh's slaves\\\" whereas Pharaoh's Egyptian slaves are referred to as the latter: Avdei Pharoah\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Servitude.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Servitude.png\",\"width\":425,\"height\":289,\"caption\":\"Servitude\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/\",\"name\":\"OU Life\",\"description\":\"Everyday Jewish Living\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/c93965208ccaafbdf296783ad49b872f\",\"name\":\"Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acd993056a0369fcecb1b1700308ff7635d7fbb213047333ce21773df41ffef7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acd993056a0369fcecb1b1700308ff7635d7fbb213047333ce21773df41ffef7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/author\/rabbi_joseph_b-_soloveitchikou-org\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt - OU Life","description":"Why do we say we were \"slaves to Pharaoh\" rather than \"Pharaoh's slaves\" whereas Pharaoh's Egyptian slaves are referred to as the latter: Avdei Pharoah","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt - OU Life","og_description":"Why do we say we were \"slaves to Pharaoh\" rather than \"Pharaoh's slaves\" whereas Pharaoh's Egyptian slaves are referred to as the latter: Avdei Pharoah","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/","og_site_name":"OU Life","article_published_time":"2010-01-06T15:33:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-11-29T11:14:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":425,"height":289,"url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Servitude.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/","name":"Slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt - OU Life","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Servitude.png","datePublished":"2010-01-06T15:33:31+00:00","dateModified":"2016-11-29T11:14:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/c93965208ccaafbdf296783ad49b872f"},"description":"Why do we say we were \"slaves to Pharaoh\" rather than \"Pharaoh's slaves\" whereas Pharaoh's Egyptian slaves are referred to as the latter: Avdei Pharoah","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/torah\/slaves_to_pharaoh_in_egypt\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Servitude.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Servitude.png","width":425,"height":289,"caption":"Servitude"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/","name":"OU Life","description":"Everyday Jewish Living","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/c93965208ccaafbdf296783ad49b872f","name":"Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acd993056a0369fcecb1b1700308ff7635d7fbb213047333ce21773df41ffef7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acd993056a0369fcecb1b1700308ff7635d7fbb213047333ce21773df41ffef7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik"},"url":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/author\/rabbi_joseph_b-_soloveitchikou-org\/"}]}},"acf":[],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/309"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12969"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54396,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12969\/revisions\/54396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}