Parashat Shemot

When Assimilation Turns To Hatred: The First Exile Begins

Parashat Shemot opens the Book of Shemot with the final stage of Jewish life in Egypt following the deaths of Yosef and his brothers. During the lifetime of Yaakov’s sons, the Jews were respected. They lived as a distinct people, loyal to their values and traditions.

But after that generation passed, everything changed.

“Now Yosef died, and all his brothers, and all that generation… And a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Yosef” (Shemot 1:6–8).

Rabbi Zilber explains that as long as the Jews maintained their identity, they were tolerated—even respected. The turning point came when a new generation reasoned: We live in the most advanced society in the world. Why shouldn’t we be like the Egyptians? Many Jews abandoned circumcision and sought cultural assimilation, believing it would bring acceptance.

It was precisely then that the Egyptians began to despise them.

This pattern has repeated itself throughout Jewish history. Rabbi Zilber notes that antisemitism has consistently been most intense in countries where Jews assimilated most deeply. Rabbi Zilber does not draw crude historical parallels, yet the lesson is unmistakable. Germany before the Holocaust serves as a tragic reminder: assimilation did not protect Jews—it left them vulnerable. The Torah, Rabbi Zilber insists, speaks to every generation personally.

Pharaoh expressed the classic antisemitic fear: “Behold, the people of the Children of Israel are more numerous and stronger than we are. Come, let us deal wisely with them…” (Shemot 1:9–10).

Oppression followed swiftly. The Egyptians enslaved the Jews with crushing labor, embittering their lives with brickwork and fieldwork. According to Shemot Rabbah, the enslavement began deceptively. Pharaoh announced a National Volunteer Day, even carrying bricks himself to inspire participation. When the project remained unfinished, work continued—until the Jews were trapped in permanent forced labor under Egyptian overseers.

Next came “humane” housing near the work sites. In reality, Jewish men were separated from their families, condemning the nation to extinction through isolation.

When this failed, Pharaoh escalated to genocide, commanding the Hebrew midwives to murder every male newborn. Yet the Torah records their defiance: “The midwives feared G-d and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded…” (Shemot 1:17).

Chazal teach that these women—Yocheved and Miriam—risked their lives not only to save infants, but to sustain families. Jewish women gave birth secretly in fields, hid their children, and brought food to their enslaved husbands. Despite terror and deprivation, there was not a single case of intermarriage—and not a single abortion. On the contrary, they strove to bring more Jewish life into the world.

It was these women who ensured Jewish survival.

As reward for their awe of Hashem, the Almighty “made houses for them” (Shemot 1:21). Yocheved became the mother of Moshe and Aharon—the leaders of Israel. Miriam became an ancestress of King David and the eternal Davidic dynasty.

The parashah ends with Moshe confronting Pharaoh, only to see the suffering intensify. When Moshe cries out, Hashem responds:

“Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh… for with a mighty hand he will send them out” (Shemot 6:1).

Rabbi Zilber concludes: Jewish history does not begin with redemption—it begins with identity. When Jews try to disappear, hatred finds them anyway. When they remain faithful to who they are, redemption follows.