Parshas Vaeira 5780
As a society, we are notorious for leaving vacation days on the table. Life is too busy, work is too important, and vacationing is too expensive to actually go about using the time off that as employees we are entitled to. We tell ourselves that in the grand scheme of things, a few days off is such a fleeting engagement that it can’t possibly be worth the hassle. Our parsha seems to tell a very different story.
Seven plagues are unleashed upon Egypt over the course of Parshas Vaeira, and the Jews are inching closer and closer to being let free. But, free for how long? At the end of Parshas Shemos (5:3), Moshe requests nothing but a three-day’s journey out into the desert. Again in this week’s parsha (8:25), Moshe reiterates the intention to bring the Jews out for only a short while. Taking Moshe Rabbeinu at his word, Yetzias Mitzrayim would have amounted to a short excursion into the desert for the people to serve Hashem, offer sacrifices, and then immediately return to the slavery that had begun 210 years prior.
At first blush, the holiday in the desert seems like nothing more than a ruse; the promise of an entire nation to willingly return to slavery seems about as sincere as a gambling addict promising to repay a loan on time. And yet, why bother with the charade? Hashem is willing to compel the Egyptians to set the Jews free with supernatural plagues; why are they trying to pull a fast one on Pharaoh?
Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky (אמת ליעקב ג:יח) offers an astounding explanation: when Moshe asked for three days, he actually meant it. As per the promise made to Avraham, his descendants were to be enslaved for a full 400 years. Yet 210 years in, the Jews were assimilated nearly beyond recognition and were in desperate need of a spiritual shot in the arm. Rav Kaminetzky explains that what the Jews needed was not so much a retirement from slavery, but a vacation from it. A three day vacation could have served to recharge the spiritual batteries, rekindle the relationship between G-d and His People, and strengthen their resolve in seeing the next 190 years through while remaining spiritually unscathed. Had Pharaoh acquiesced, this vacation is all the Jews would have taken at this juncture. Remarkably, it actually could have worked.
Perhaps we don’t take vacation time because we see it as having value only while it actually lasts. In this capacity, a vacation is as fleeting as it is fun. Sure, it would be nice to relax, but it will end all too quickly, and then it’s back to life as normal. Our parsha creates a different paradigm: time away is not only valuable while you are away, but also once you get back. A vacation planned and taken with intention can leave you rejuvenated long after you resettle back into the regularly scheduled program of life.
Let’s consider just two of the elements of the would-be three-day retreat out into the desert and how they can be replicated in our own lives:
Strengthened relationships – The Jews were looking to do more in the desert than veg. The stated purpose of this retreat was to connect with Hashem, to offer sacrifices, to spend time with Him. What if strengthening relationships was an official, stated goal of our vacationing? Be it with Hashem, our spouses, children, or all of the above? A vacation can be a time to revel in a longer Shmoneh Esrei without fear of morning rush hour or a soon-ending lunch break. It can be a time to deeply connect with family members unencumbered by the usual stresses of work and home. It’s an opportunity to enjoy deep conversation without being beholden to a phone. These are benefits that come about through the conscious decision to use a vacation to connect with those most important to us and can be had without spending an arm and a leg on airfare, hotels, or costly activities. A meaningful retreat need not be pricey; the Egyptian desert wasn’t a five-star resort.
Disruption – Simply disrupting the routine can have value in of itself. The very first middah discussed by the Mesilas Yesharim is that of zehirus, which he effectively defines as “consciousness”. This middah serves as the gateway to all further character refinement, for without a clear consciousness of self and an awareness of our own behavior, it is impossible to improve or set out on a new path. Indeed, the Mesilas Yesharim writes that one of the primary strategies of the Yetzer HaRa—the Evil Inclination—is to increase the workload and busy-ness of life to such a degree that the possibility of contemplation and reflection of the path taken is simply squeezed out for lack of time and mental space. One of the very items that keeps us from taking time off—the compulsion to keep the balls forever juggled in the air lest catastrophe strike should they ever be set down—creates the immense need to do just that. Left to our own devices and routines, we will never adequately reflect upon them and leave no space to ever consider a minor tweak–let alone a major change of course–that could render us happier, more fulfilled, and overall better people.
Three days was legit. Three days, nothing more, nothing less. But if it seems like a three day vacation would hardly even be worth bothering with, we’d be well advised to reconsider the enormous impact that just three days can potentially have.