The Protective Power of Kindness!
by Rabbi Dovid Wachs
( Shmos 13:1) And it was when Pharaoh sent out the people (from
Egypt), that God did not lead them by way of the land of the
Philistines, because it was NEAR, for God said, "Perhaps the people
will reconsider when they see a war, and they will return to Egypt."
The Exodus from Egypt had finally happened! The entire Jewish
people were on route to Israel. The most direct route from Egypt
would have them going northeast along the Mediterranean Sea and up
into Israel near where Gaza is today. This was where the Plishtim
(Philistines) lived. The Canaanites also lived nearby. The verse tells
us that G-d was afraid that the Philistines and Canaanites would war
with the Jews which might set off a panicked return to Egypt. To
prevent this possibility, God led the Jews southeast from Egypt, across
the tip of the Red Sea and deep into the Sinai Desert where they
would wind around and eventually make their way north into Israel
from the eastern side.
There is a fascinating Medrash in the Yalkut Shimoni on this verse. It
says that the word, "NEAR" in the above verse, is not only describing
the Philistine land in proximity to Egypt, but it is describing the
proximity in time of when the Canaanites did kindness to the Jews to
the time of the present Exodus. 176 years prior to the Exodus,
Yaakov died in Egypt. His 12 sons and a delegation of Egyptian nobles
brought his body to Israel for burial in Chevron. It says in Genesis
(50:10-11) that they came to Goren HaAtad and held a eulogy for
Yaakov. When the Canaanites saw this imposing eulogy, they showed
kindness and respect.
What did they do?
The Medrash has a few different opinions. According to Reb Elazar,
the Canaanites loosened their waistbelts, Reb Shimon ben Lakish says
that they loosened their shoulder straps, the Rabbanan say that they
stood up straight and Rav Yudan says that they pointed with their
fingers at the assembly. It was in the merit of these seemingly
insignificant acts of respect from the distant past that protected them.
The Medrash says that if for these acts of respect and kindness(which
really were not acts of kindness) God spared the Canaanites from
warfare with the Jews had they traveled directly north to Israel,
imagine how much we are spared when we do actual deeds of kindness
for others!
This Medrash is telling us of the unfathomable protective power of
doing acts of kindness! If a mere pointing of the finger by one
Caananite to show his friends what was happening, can unleash a
protective power for 176 years, imagine what it can do when we exert
ourselves to help and show respect to others! This ideally should not
be our motivation for doing kindness, but knowing just how much the
Almighty values it can inspire ourselves to do more!