God and Moshe tell the Jews to take;

of this command what are we to make?

They’re told to take from the Egyptians before they leave,

and to this mission, they’re asked to cleave.

And yet, somehow, this doesn’t seem right,

that God seems here to use His might,

to push the Egyptians to give to the Jews.

Why is this the approach that God did choose?

Perhaps it’s to show that God is King,

to help this message go forth and ring.

It’s possible too, that there’s something else at play,

and here comes a novel thing to say:

Maybe the giving of gifts was of the Egyptians’ free will,

and wasn’t just what God wanted them to fulfill.

Perhaps the Mitzrim came to respect the Jews and their God,

and there’s more at play than the power of Hashem through Moshe’s rod.

And as the Egyptians came to respect the Jews,

something else happened which is really big news.

Maybe the Jews came to see and like the Egyptians as well,

and in the end, peace was achieved, which shows you never can tell.

Rabbi Neil Fleischmann, an ordained rabbi from RIETS, has taught Torah for over 30 years, primarily at The Frisch School, where he coached the award-winning poetry team. As an integral part of the Yeshiva Poetry Society, Fleischmann is a passionate advocate for the arts within the Torah world. He was named New York’s funniest rabbi and has performed stand up comedy, as well as presenting as scholar in residence, across the city and country. His literary work includes the haiku collection, “In The Field,” and he has contributed close to 20 poems to the “Stories of Our Lives” anthologies, parts 1 and 2. Currently, Fleischmann is working on a book of parsha poems that combines meaningful content with whimsical formatting. You can reach him at [email protected].