Parashat Shemos

And Hashem did good to the midwives, and the nation grew and they became very strong. Because the midwives feared G-d, He built them houses.

Shemos, 1:20-21

The opening chapter of Sefer Shemos undoubtedly sets the stage for the upcoming 39 perakim. Rashi explains that the “good” Hashem resolved to do for these midwives – Yocheved and Miriam – was not the growth of the nation, but rather the construction of “houses,” a euphemism for dignified households. A couple of individuals’ devotion to and awe of Hashem precludes both the prosperity of their people and a much deserved reward from heaven.

Rashi’s assumption that the growth of the Jewish people did not serve as sufficient reward is certainly justified, for the pasuk would then have written VaYairev Ha’Am, and He made the nation grew, instead of VaYirev Ha’Am, the nation grew all on its own. The Rambam points out, in his Peirush HaMishnayos, that when the Mishna in Pe’ah says that we partake of the fruits of some Mitzvos in this world while the principle reward is saved for the next world, the Mishna does not mean that HaKadosh Baruch Hu actively rewards us in both this world and next, but rather that the advantageous effects of our actions in this world do not replace the reward that ultimately awaits us. Therefore, the reward these midwives earn must be exclusive of their nation’s effectual growth.

But is Rashi warranted in assuming that the “houses” built in pasuk 21 is a specification of the reward alluded to in pasuk 20? Why would the parasha devote two separate verses to the same detail, and what necessity would there be to mention the nation’s growth in between?

Two potential answers come to mind, but both lack full textual support. The pasukim could intend to teach us the lesson of the Mishna in Pe’ah, that in spite of the worldly returns, a great reward still awaited these midwives. But then there would be no need to mention the midwives’ fear of G-d as the source of their reward (unless one were to posit that there is no reward for a Mitzvah without the necessary Kavana and fear of Hashem). The Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh suggests that the pasuk informs us that the nation grew so that we are aware of the large population who will someday esteem Miriam’s and Yocheved’s households. But would we then need to vaguely allude to the “good” Hashem did prior to accounting the population’s increase? Maybe both answers are correct.

Maybe we should consider whether these two pasukim, despite their overlap in content, truly carry a single unified theme. It is very possible that the first pasuk serves as the general conclusion to our perek’s story, whereas the second pasuk functions as a thematically appropriate epilogue. All we need to know at the conclusion of our story is that Hashem approved of the midwives’ actions, and that the actions had a practical effect as well. On the side, after we complete our story, the Torah teaches us that proper fear of G-d earns tremendous benefits and rewards.

Pasuk 21 certainly looks like an aside, being as these households are not established until much later in the nation’s history. It is of little surprise, then, that we discover pasuk 22 to also fall out of its chorological context! Paroh commands his nation to drown all boys in the river, and Rashi infers from the lack of distinction between Jewish and Egyptian boys that this edict was a special one, limited only to the day of Moshe Rabbeinu’s birth. However, Moshe is not conceived until the second pasuk of the next perek, so something in our parasha must be out of order.

Rashi’s interpretation of pasuk 22 has another interesting effect on the narrative of our first perek. All of a sudden, we discover that the decree to drown Jewish baby boys is never stated explicitly in the pasukim, although Rashi alludes to it on the words Hava Nischakima Lo. Rashi there questions the singular tense of the word Lo, given that the recipient of Paroh’s cunning was presumably an entire nation, and concludes that Paroh’s “wisdom” was aimed against Hashem. Paroh sought to kill the Jewish nation in a way Hashem could not mete punishment Midah K’Neged Midah; since Hashem swore to never destroy the world with a Mabul, Paroh deemed both himself and his nation safe.

The Sifsei Chachamim wonder why Paroh didn’t fear that Hashem would drown just him or his nation. They answer that part of Paroh’s initial plan involved hiring Jewish midwives as assassins; therefore, if Hashem were to punish any individual or nation for murder, it would have to be these midwives and their kin. It is evident then that Paroh’s plan to avoid Hashem’s wrath would presumably have worked (whether Paroh was actually aware that Ein Shliach Li’Dvar Aveira or not) had it not been for his later decree. On the day of Moshe’s birth, Paroh involves his entire nation with the slaughter of Jewish lives (since he undoubtedly no longer trusts the midwives to do so), and Egypt’s doomed fate is sealed.

Analyzing the Pesuchot and Stumot in our parasha’s first perek, we discover that the entire story – from Hava Nischakima Lo all the way until Paroh’s last decree – comprise a single story, the one that tells not only how Mitzrayim enslaved the Bnei Yisrael but also how they earned such a severe punishment. The story of the midwives is not a subsequent tale, an aftermath of the inevitable enslavement, but rather a development of Paroh’s plan to drown the Jewish children, resulting in the entire nation’s eventual involvement and guilt.

As Rashi argues, Paroh’s plan to drown the children is as cruel to the Jewish nation as it is callous to HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s unlimited power. It expresses the thought of actually outsmarting G-d. Even when Rav and Shmuel argue whether this Melech Chadash is really a new king, they agree that Asher Lo Yadah Es Yoseif means the king pretended not to know Yoseif. Whether our story introduces a new king or not, Yoseif was surely a household name and a national icon, and the G-d Whom Yoseif always acknowledged was surely of equal esteem. Our story’s “new Paroh” demonstrates a lack of fear in Hashem, and our story teaches the consequences of this loss of fear.

And so fittingly our perek ends with a dual epilogue, a contrast of two fates: that of the midwives; and that of Paroh and the Egyptian nation. Because the midwives feared Hashem, the pasuk meticulously specifies, they were rewarded. And because the Mitzrim lacked fear of G-d, because they thought they could outsmart Him, they were treated to a far less rewarding fate.