Because "you were a stranger in his land." It sounds simple enough, but Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah digs deeper. The Egyptians, let's be real, weren’t exactly acting out of pure altruism when they took in the Israelites. It was self-serving. Yet, even with their less-than-pure motives, God still insists on a reward for them!
Think about the logic here. If someone accidentally does you a favor, they get credit for it. So, how much more credit is due to someone who intends to do you a favor? It's a powerful lesson in recognizing even imperfect kindness.
But the story doesn't end there. Rabbi Shimon brings up a tougher question: What about those who actively harmed us? The Egyptians, after all, eventually drowned Israelites in the sea. And the Edomites came at us with swords! Yet, we’re only forbidden to marry into those nations for three generations.
Then there are the Ammonites and Moabites. What did they do? They didn't attack. They didn't wage war. They took counsel to cause Israel to sin. And for that, they are forbidden forever.
Why the harsher punishment?
It's a question that gets right to the heart of Jewish ethics. The text argues it's because causing someone to sin is worse than killing them. Harsh. But consider this: When you kill someone, you only take them out of this world. But when you lead someone to sin, you potentially take them out of both olam hazeh (this world) and olam haba (the world to come).
That’s a heavy thought. The power of influence, the weight of our actions on another person's spiritual well-being... it's a responsibility we often overlook. We tend to focus on the physical harm we might cause, but this passage from Sifrei Devarim challenges us to consider the deeper, more lasting damage we can inflict through our words and deeds.
What choices are we making that might lead others astray? And are we giving enough credit to those who, even imperfectly, have shown us kindness along the way? It's a lot to consider, isn't it?