What
Is
the
Need
to
Borrow
Vessels
from
the
Egyptians?
Article
No.
14,
1986
It
is
written
(Exodus
11),
“Speak
now
in
the
ears
of
the
people
that
each
man
will
borrow
from
his
neighbor
and
each
woman
from
her
neighbor
vessels
of
silver
and
vessels
of
gold.
And
the
Lord
gave
the
people’s
favor
in
the
eyes
of
the
Egyptians.”
Our
sages
said
(Berachot,
9b),
“The
disciples
of
Rabbi
Yanai
said,
‘‘‘Do’
means
please.
The
Creator
said
to
Moses,
‘Please
go
and
tell
them,
Israel,
to
please
borrow
vessels
of
silver
and
vessels
of
gold
from
the
Egyptians
so
that
that
righteous
will
not
say,
‘He
kept,
‘And
they
enslaved
them
and
afflicted
them,’
and
then,
He
did
not
keep
‘And
they
will
come
out
with
many
possessions.’’’”
This
is
perplexing.
If
the
Creator
wanted
to
keep
His
promise
to
Abraham,
as
it
is
written,
“And
afterwards
they
will
come
out
with
many
possessions,”
could
He
not
make
the
people
of
Israel
wealthy
without
borrowing
vessels
from
the
Egyptians?
It
seems
like
fraud,
for
it
seems
that
they
initially
borrowed
by
deceit,
meaning
without
intending
to
return.
We
should
also
understand
why
the
Creator
said
to
Moses
to
implore
Israel
to
borrow
vessels
from
the
Egyptians,
as
is
said
above,
that
“Do”
means
please
[request].
Also,
what
is
this
imploring?
It
seems
to
mean
that
the
Creator
knew
that
they
would
object
to
it,
so
He
asked
Moses
to
speak
to
Israel.
Thus,
we
should
understand
the
reason
for
Israel’s
objection
to
this.
We
should
also
understand
the
words,
“And
the
Lord
gave
the
people’s
favor
in
the
eyes
of
the
Egyptians.”
How
can
we
understand
such
a
thing,
which
is
completely
contradictory?
Although
anything
is
possible
from
the
perspective
of
the
Creator,
but
from
the
literal
perspective
this
is
difficult
to
grasp,
as
it
is
written
(Exodus,
1:12),
“And
the
more
they
afflicted
them,
the
more
they
multiplied
and
the
more
they
spread
out,
and
they
detested
the
sons
of
Israel.”
Our
sages
said,
“It
shows
that
they
were
as
thorns
in
their
eyes”
(Sutah,
11).
It
follows
that
from
thorns,
meaning
being
unable
to
stand
the
people
of
Israel
and
seeing
them
as
thorns,
they
now
turned
completely
around
and
the
Egyptians
liked
the
people
of
Israel.
In
the
Creator’s
promise
to
Abraham,
“And
afterwards
they
will
come
out
with
many
possessions,”
we
should
understand
the
whole
matter
that
is
presented
there
(Genesis,
15:6),
“And
He
said
to
him,
‘I
am
the
Lord
who
brought
you
out
of
Ur
of
the
Chaldeans
to
give
you
this
land
to
inherit
it.’
And
he
said,
‘Lord
God,
by
what
will
I
know
that
I
will
inherit
it?’
And
He
said
to
Abram,
…
‘Know
for
certain
that
your
descendants
will
be
foreigners
in
a
land
that
is
not
theirs,
and
they
will
be
enslaved
and
oppressed
four
hundred
years
…
and
afterward
they
will
come
out
with
many
possessions.’”
Here,
too,
we
should
understand
the
answer
that
Abraham
received
to
the
question,
“By
what
will
I
know
that
I
will
inherit
it?”
since
the
Creator’s
answer
was
to
this
question,
as
it
is
written,
“And
He
said
to
Abram,
‘Know
for
certain
that
your
descendants
will
be
foreigners
in
a
land
that
is
not
theirs,
where
they
will
be
enslaved
and
oppressed
four
hundred
years
…
and
afterward
they
will
come
out
with
many
possessions.’”
Thus,
the
question
was
about
guarantees
on
the
inheritance,
and
the
answer
to
the
guarantee
was
that
the
people
of
Israel
will
be
in
exile.
But
is
exile
a
guarantee
for
inheriting
the
land?
Baal
HaSulam
explained
the
meaning
of
this
question:
It
is
known
that
there
is
no
light
without
a
Kli
[vessel].
That
is,
it
is
impossible
to
receive
filling
if
there
is
no
lack.
A
lack
is
called
a
Kli,
and
when
Abraham
saw
what
the
Creator
wanted
to
give
his
sons,
he
said,
“I
do
not
see
that
my
sons
will
have
a
need
for
that
spiritual
inheritance
of
the
land.”
He
said,
“If
they
receive
a
small
illumination
they
will
be
content
because
the
smallest
degree
in
spirituality
brings
more
pleasure
than
all
the
corporeal
pleasures
in
the
world.
Accordingly,
when
they
receive
some
small
illumination
they
might
think
that
there
are
no
greater
degrees
than
what
they
have
attained,
and
will
therefore
have
no
need
to
ask
for
anything
more.”
And
because
of
this,
Abraham’s
question
to
the
Creator
was,
“By
what
will
I
know
that
they
will
have
the
need
to
inherit
the
spiritual
land?”
Thus,
he
was
asking
the
Creator
to
tell
him
how
it
might
happen
that
they
will
have
light
without
a
Kli.
Abram
understood
that
the
Creator
gives
the
light,
but
the
Kelim,
meaning
a
desire
for
greater
lights
than
they
already
received,
who
would
make
them
see
that
they
need
to
achieve
greater
ascension
than
they
feel
now?
There
is
a
rule
in
spirituality
that
anything
spiritual
that
comes
to
a
person
makes
him
feel
unsurpassable
wholeness,
since
anything
spiritual
is
a
complete
feeling,
without
any
deficiency.
Otherwise
it
is
not
regarded
as
“spiritual,”
for
only
in
a
corporeal
matter
can
there
be
pleasure,
and
still
we
feel
that
there
is
a
greater
pleasure.
This
is
not
so
in
spirituality.
Thus,
Abraham
wondered
how
and
through
what
they
would
have
a
need
to
ask
the
Creator
to
give
them
greater
degrees,
called
“inheritance
of
the
land.”
He
said
that
the
Creator’s
reply
to
him,
“Know
for
certain
that
your
descendants
will
be
foreigners
in
a
land
that
is
not
theirs”
means
that
from
here,
meaning
from
the
exile
in
Egypt
they
will
have
a
need
to
ask
the
Creator
to
give
them
greater
strength
each
time.
The
reason
is
that
when
a
person
begins
to
advance
in
the
work
of
the
Creator
and
wants
all
his
actions
to
be
in
order
to
bestow,
he
sees
that
he
cannot
prevail.
At
that
time
one
asks
the
Creator
to
help
him,
as
our
sages
said,
“He
who
comes
to
purify
is
aided,”
and
the
holy
Zohar
asks,
“How
is
he
aided?
With
a
holy
soul.”
Indeed,
everything
that
they
overcame
in
the
work
sank
in
the
earth,
as
he
says
about
their
building
of
Pithom
and
Ramesses.
That
is,
each
day
they
had
to
start
their
work
anew
because
everything
they
built
went
into
the
abyss
and
they
always
saw
themselves
as
though
they
had
never
begun
to
work
because
they
did
not
remember
any
word
of
Torah
that
concerns
work
and
always
reflect
on
themselves,
“Where
is
our
work,
the
efforts
we
put
into
the
work?
Where
did
they
go?”
It
is
even
more
difficult
to
understand
how
the
Klipa
[shell/peel]
of
Pharaoh
could
swallow
all
their
work
to
the
point
that
they
did
not
feel
that
they
ever
engaged
in
serving
the
Creator,
that
their
goal
was
to
achieve
wholeness,
and
they
knew
what
they
wanted.
Suddenly,
they
have
come
to
a
state
where
they
forgot
everything
and
no
Reshimot
[recollections]
remained
in
them
from
their
work.
All
this
was
deliberate.
The
Creator
has
prepared
a
Klipa
for
this
purpose
so
as
to
constantly
keep
them
in
a
state
of
beginning.
It
is
known
that
all
beginnings
are
tough,
so
they
will
be
forced
to
ask
the
Creator
to
help
them,
as
said
above,
that
“He
who
comes
to
purify
is
aided,”
and
as
the
holy
Zohar
says
that
each
time
they
receive
a
“holy
soul,”
which
is
a
force
from
above,
meaning
that
each
time
they
receive
additions
to
the
soul.
This
accumulates
into
a
great
amount,
as
it
is
known
that
“What
is
given
from
Heaven
is
not
taken
back”
(Hulin
60).
However,
although
each
illumination
received
from
above
departs
for
the
time
being,
in
the
end,
when
he
completes
the
amount
of
labor
that
one
must
do,
as
in
“Everything
that
is
in
the
might
of
your
hand
to
do,
that
do,”
he
receives
at
once
everything
he
had
received
one
at
a
time.
He
thought
that
it
all
went
to
the
Klipot,
but
then
he
receives
everything
back.
According
to
the
above,
it
follows
that
the
whole
matter
of
the
exile
in
Egypt
was
in
order
to
receive
Kelim
[vessels]
and
a
need
for
the
great
lights,
called
“inheritance
of
the
land.”
This
is
what
Abraham
was
perplexed
about
and
said
that
he
did
not
see
that
his
sons
would
have
a
need
for
these
great
lights.
And
since
there
is
no
light
without
a
Kli,
it
turns
out
that
even
if
there
is
a
desire
to
give
them,
they
have
no
Kelim
in
which
to
receive.
For
this
reason
they
were
given
the
exile
in
Egypt
where
through
the
questions
and
arguments
of
the
Egyptians
they
will
be
continuously
emptied
from
what
little
Kedusha
[holiness/sanctity]
they
had
acquired,
for
they
suckled
from
them.
For
this
reason
they
will
always
need
to
ask
the
Creator
to
illuminate
their
way
for
them
so
they
can
go
forward.
But
they
say
that
they
kept
going
backwards,
which
is
why
the
ARI
wrote
that
at
the
time
of
the
exodus
from
Egypt
the
people
of
Israel
were
in
forty-nine
gates
of
impurity
until
the
King
of
Kings
appeared
to
them
and
redeemed
them.
This
seems
to
contradict
reason,
since
it
is
known
that
Moses
and
Aaron
came
to
Egypt
and
spoke
to
the
sons
of
Israel
about
the
Creator
wanting
to
bring
them
out
from
Egypt.
They
performed
all
the
tokens
in
Egypt,
and
they
saw
the
ten
plagues
that
the
Egyptians
suffered,
and
this
must
have
brought
Israel
closer
to
Kedusha,
and
not
the
opposite—that
they
kept
falling
to
a
deeper
gate
of
Tuma’a
[impurity],
to
the
point
that
when
it
was
time
to
come
out
of
Egypt,
meaning
when
they
had
to
have
the
best
preparation
for
reception
of
the
light
of
redemption,
we
see
that
when
they
received
the
light
of
redemption
they
were
in
forty-nine
gates
of
Tuma’a.
Is
this
possible?
As
Baal
HaSulam
explained,
the
exile
in
Egypt
was
in
order
to
obtain
the
Kelim
of
the
Egyptians.
But
it
was
only
to
borrow,
and
later
to
return
to
them.
He
interpreted
that
this
matter
of
the
Creator
saying
to
Abraham,
“Your
descendants
will
be
foreigners
in
a
land
that
is
not
theirs,”
was
a
guarantee
of
the
inheritance.
This
meant
that
they
would
have
a
need
to
receive
the
abundance
from
the
Creator,
since
wanting
to
come
out
of
the
enslavement
of
the
Egyptians
can
be
only
through
the
help
of
a
holy
soul.
Then
they
will
need
the
Creator’s
help
each
time,
and
from
this
they
will
have
a
need
to
draw
higher
degrees.
Now
we
will
explain
the
meaning
of
the
exile
in
Egypt
and
the
borrowing
of
the
Kelim
from
the
Egyptians.
We
see
that
when
Moses
and
Aaron
came
to
the
sons
of
Israel,
as
it
is
written
(Exodus,
4:29),
“And
Moses
and
Aaron
went
and
gathered
all
the
elders
of
the
sons
of
Israel,
and
Aaron
said
all
the
words
that
the
Creator
had
said
to
Moses,
and
performed
the
tokens
before
the
eyes
of
the
people,
and
the
people
believed
and
heard.”
We
see
from
this
that
as
soon
as
Moses
and
Aaron
came
to
the
sons
of
Israel
they
accepted
all
the
words
that
the
Creator
had
said
to
Moses
with
faith
above
reason.
And
everything
that
the
Egyptians
made
them
understand
with
all
the
questions
and
doubts
about
the
faith
of
Israel
did
not
count
at
all
because
they
went
above
reason.
For
this
reason,
the
fact
that
the
whole
time
they
were
in
exile
could
not
impact
them
at
all
now.
That
is,
once
Moses
and
Aaron
came
to
the
sons
of
Israel
with
the
Creator’s
desire
to
take
them
out
of
exile,
they
promptly
took
it
upon
themselves
not
to
listen
henceforth
to
the
arguments
of
the
Egyptians,
who
came
in
the
name
of
Pharaoh,
king
of
Egypt—that
it
is
better
for
them
to
remain
under
their
governance,
and
who
tried
to
make
them
see
that
the
way
of
the
Egyptians
was
true
and
they
should
not
listen
to
what
Moses
and
Aaron
were
telling
them.
“We
see
that
you
are
yelling,
‘Let
us
go
and
sacrifice
to
our
God.’
This
made
you
think
that
you
should
leave
Egypt
and
follow
them.
And
we
understand
that
you
want
to
listen
to
all
that
they
are
telling
you
with
eyes
shut.
Can
this
be,
while
we
are
making
perfect
sense?
You
have
nothing
to
reply
to
us,
yet
you
insist
that
you
are
willing
to
go
all
the
way
according
to
the
words
of
Moses
and
Aaron.”
From
this
we
see
that
after
Moses
and
Aaron
came
with
the
message
of
the
redemption—that
now
they
were
coming
out
of
enslavement,
for
they
were
unable
to
do
the
holy
work,
they
were
happy
with
this
message
and
did
not
need
any
exaggerations
of
flavors
of
Torah
and
Mitzvot.
Rather,
they
were
happy
precisely
with
this,
meaning
with
being
able
to
simply
observe
in
practice.
This
gave
them
complete
satisfaction
and
they
delighted
in
doing
their
Master’s
will,
as
it
is
written,
“Therefore
they
cry
out,
‘Let
us
go
and
sacrifice
to
our
God’”
(Exodus,
5:8).
It
follows
that
now
that
they
are
coming
out
from
the
exile
in
Egypt
with
Kelim
that
do
not
need
anything,
but
as
it
is
written,
“And
the
people
believed
and
heard,”
and
they
have
no
need
to
inherit
the
land
that
the
Creator
had
promised
to
Abraham,
as
it
is
written,
“Know
for
certain
…
and
afterwards
they
will
come
out
with
many
possessions,”
meaning
that
the
exile
was
a
guarantee
that
they
would
have
the
need
to
receive
the
delight
and
pleasure,
which
is
the
inheritance
of
the
land
that
the
Creator
sought
to
give
to
his
descendants
but
they
still
did
not
have
the
Kelim
for
this
and
were
content
with
little.
This
is
why,
“And
the
Lord
said
to
Moses,
‘Speak
now
in
the
ears
of
the
people
that
each
man
will
borrow
from
his
neighbor
and
each
woman
from
her
neighbor
vessels
of
silver
and
vessels
of
gold.’”
According
to
what
Baal
HaSulam
interpreted,
we
should
say
that
it
means
that
they
will
take
the
vessels
of
silver
and
vessels
of
gold
that
the
Egyptians
have,
meaning
take
their
desires
and
longings,
namely
all
the
doubts
that
they
had
about
the
way
of
the
people
of
Israel.
The
Egyptians
were
always
demanding
that
everything
you
do
must
be
with
reason
and
understanding,
and
your
engagement
in
overcoming
in
order
to
exit
self-love
and
to
do
everything
in
order
to
bestow
is
the
wrong
way
because
the
Creator
is
good
and
does
good.
When
He
created
the
world,
He
certainly
did
it
to
benefit
His
creations,
meaning
that
we,
creatures,
will
enjoy
the
delight
and
pleasure.
But
you
are
leaving
the
right
path
and
taking
on
a
path
that
is
completely
against
the
purpose
of
creation.
You
are
telling
us
that
this
is
the
true
way,
that
you
do
not
need
anything
for
self-love
but
to
do
everything
in
order
to
bestow
contentment
upon
the
Maker.
But
whenever
the
people
of
Israel
heard
the
Egyptians
slandering
the
path
of
bestowal
they
would
run
from
them,
meaning
they
ran
from
these
thoughts
when
they
came
to
confuse
the
thoughts
of
the
sons
of
Israel
and
instill
their
views
in
the
hearts
of
the
sons
of
Israel.
For
this
reason,
the
Creator
knew
that
they
would
not
want
to
hear
Egypt’s
questions
and
doubts
of
“who”
and
“what,”
but
they
did
not
have
the
Kelim
in
which
to
place
the
many
possessions,
since
there
is
no
light
without
a
Kli.
That
is,
a
person
cannot
be
given
anything
for
which
he
has
no
desire.
Therefore,
if
He
were
to
ask
the
sons
of
Israel,
“What
do
you
want
Me
to
give
you?”
They
would
say,
“We
do
not
want
anything
from
You.
On
the
contrary,
our
only
aspiration
is
to
give
to
You,
and
not
that
You
will
give
to
us.”
Thus,
how
can
they
receive
the
delight
and
pleasure,
called
“many
possessions,”
which
is
considered
that
He
wants
to
give
them
Nefesh,
Ruach,
Neshama,
Haya,
Yechida?
They
have
no
need
for
this!
This
is
why
the
Creator
wanted
them
to
take
the
Egyptians’
Kelim,
meaning
their
questions
and
doubts,
and
all
their
desires,
which
are
the
Kelim
of
the
Egyptians.
But
they
were
not
to
really
take
those
Kelim,
only
borrow
them.
That
is,
they
would
take
the
Egyptians’
Kelim
only
to
have
a
need
to
satisfy
those
deficiencies,
but
not
to
really
keep
those
Kelim
because
the
Kelim,
meaning
these
thoughts
and
desires
do
not
belong
to
the
people
of
Israel.
It
is
only
a
temporary
borrowing,
so
as
to
later
return
to
them.
That
is,
afterwards,
meaning
once
they
received
the
filling
that
belongs
to
these
questions,
precisely
through
them
it
will
be
possible
to
bestow
upon
them
the
filling.
This
is
similar
to
receiving
the
lights
that
belong
to
their
Kelim,
which
are
called
“vessels
of
reception
in
order
to
receive.”
However,
they
promptly
threw
away
their
Kelim
and
used
the
lights
that
belong
to
their
Kelim,
but
received
everything
in
order
to
bestow
contentment
upon
the
Maker.
This
is
similar
to
what
Baal
HaSulam
interpreted
regarding
Haman
and
Mordechai.
He
said
that
we
see
that
when
Ahasuerus
wanted
to
glorify
Mordechai,
as
it
is
written
(Esther
6:3),
“And
the
king
said,
‘What
honor
or
dignity
has
been
bestowed
on
Mordechai
for
this?’
…
and
the
king
said
to
him,
‘What
is
to
be
done
for
the
man
whom
the
king
desires
to
honor?’
…
Haman
said
to
the
king
…
let
them
bring
royal
apparel.’”
Accordingly,
he
asked,
“How
can
such
a
thing
be?
If
the
King
wants
to
honor
Mordechai,
he
asks
Haman
‘What
is
to
be
done
for
the
man
whom
the
king
desires
to
honor?’”
He
answers
that
this
implies
to
the
order
of
imparting
abundance
upon
the
lower
ones.
The
Creator
certainly
wants
to
give
honor
and
greatness
to
the
righteous,
which
is
Mordechai
the
righteous.
But
should
He
ask
the
righteous,
“What
do
you
want
Me
to
give
you?”
the
righteous
will
say
that
he
does
not
want
to
receive
anything.
On
the
contrary,
all
he
wants
is
to
bestow
upon
the
King.
This
is
why
he
had
to
ask
the
Haman
in
him,
who
understands
that
it
is
good
to
receive,
and
then
he
said,
“And
do
so
to
Mordechai
the
Jew,”
meaning
that
he
will
receive
the
honor
and
greatness
not
in
the
Kelim
of
Haman,
which
are
called
“receiving
in
order
to
receive,”
but
in
receiving
in
order
to
bestow.
Similarly,
we
should
explain
concerning
the
borrowing
of
the
Kelim
from
the
Egyptians,
when
the
Creator
asked
Moses
to
ask
Israel
to
borrow
Kelim
from
the
Egyptians.
We
asked,
“Why
did
the
Creator
have
to
ask
Israel
for
such
a
thing?
Why
would
the
people
of
Israel
not
want
to
borrow
these
Kelim?”
The
answer
is
that
when
Moses
and
Aaron
came
as
the
Creator’s
emissaries
to
bring
the
people
of
Israel
out
from
the
exile,
it
is
written,
“And
the
people
believed
and
heard,”
meaning
with
faith
above
reason.
They
did
not
need
anything
or
had
any
desire
for
high
degrees.
They
were
content
with
being
able
to
engage
in
Torah
and
Mitzvot
without
any
disturbances
from
the
Egyptians.
This
is
similar
to
what
we
said
above,
that
he
said
that
if
the
king
were
to
ask
Mordechai
the
righteous,
“What
honor
and
greatness
do
you
want
me
give
you?”
He
would
reply
that
he
does
not
want
to
receive
anything
from
the
king,
but
on
the
contrary,
he
wants
to
give
to
the
king.
This
is
why
the
king
asked
Haman
what
to
do
with
a
man
whom
the
king
desires
to
honor.
Haman
knew
what
to
ask.
He
said,
“Let
them
bring
royal
apparel
which
the
king
has
worn,
and
the
horse
on
which
the
king
has
ridden,
and
on
whose
head
a
royal
crown
has
been
placed.”
This
is
why
the
king
needed
Haman’s
Kelim,
meaning
what
Haman
understood
that
one
should
receive
from
the
king.
For
this
reason
he
had
to
ask
Moses
to
ask
Israel
for
a
favor—that
they
will
borrow
the
Kelim
of
the
Egyptians,
meaning
temporarily,
so
they
will
have
desire
and
craving
to
satisfy
all
the
lacks
that
the
Egyptians
demanded
to
satisfy.
He
had
to
ask
because
the
people
of
Israel
would
settle
for
what
they
had
and
would
always
run
from
their
thoughts
and
desires,
but
now
they
are
told
to
listen
to
the
questions
and
doubts
of
the
Egyptians.
And
since
He
promised
Abraham
that
afterwards
they
will
come
out
with
many
possessions,
He
needed
them
to
take
the
Egyptians’
Kelim
only
as
borrowing
and
then
give
them
back.
That
is,
they
have
nothing
to
do
with
their
borrowing,
and
what
they
took
was
only
temporarily,
to
be
able
to
receive
the
lights,
called
“inheritance
of
the
land,”
which
the
Creator
had
promised
to
Abraham.
Now
we
can
understand
what
we
asked
about
how
the
matter
was
turned
from
one
end
to
the
other,
since
the
writing
says,
“and
they
detested
the
sons
of
Israel,”
meaning
that
they
were
as
thorns,
and
afterwards,
“And
the
Lord
gave
the
people’s
favor
in
the
eyes
of
the
Egyptians.”
Wanting
to
hear
their
questions
gave
“favor”
because
they
thought
they
were
going
their
way.
“And
the
Lord
gave
the
people’s
favor”
by
telling
them
to
borrow
the
Kelim
from
them,
since
this
was
what
the
Egyptians
wanted.