Well, we all know which chag is coming up after Purim...
Last night I came across a cool paper by Dr. Aton Holzer. Holzer is a medical doctor who's taken up writing scholarly-level, Torah-related papers in recent years.
In this paper he discusses the question of the Israelite right to the riches they "borrowed" from the Egyptians. He references the story of Geviha ben Pesisa who debated the Egyptians on this topic in the time of Alexander the Great. I once suggested that at the time, the Greeks/Macedonians held those riches, and neither side had the chutzpah to turn and demand it from Alexander...
Holzer brings a novel suggestion based on an ancient Hittite custom which demonstrates that though the Israelites officially borrowed the riches, it was lent to them out of awareness that the riches weren't supposed to be returned.
Here's a link to the paper:
Last night I came across a cool paper by Dr. Aton Holzer. Holzer is a medical doctor who's taken up writing scholarly-level, Torah-related papers in recent years.
In this paper he discusses the question of the Israelite right to the riches they "borrowed" from the Egyptians. He references the story of Geviha ben Pesisa who debated the Egyptians on this topic in the time of Alexander the Great. I once suggested that at the time, the Greeks/Macedonians held those riches, and neither side had the chutzpah to turn and demand it from Alexander...
Holzer brings a novel suggestion based on an ancient Hittite custom which demonstrates that though the Israelites officially borrowed the riches, it was lent to them out of awareness that the riches weren't supposed to be returned.
Here's a link to the paper:
Ma'ot Hittite: Finding Divine Morality in Borrowing from an Ancient Near East Context 1 The Problem
On the eve of the Exodus, God commands the Jews to “borrow” vessels and clothing from their Egyptian neighbors, which are not to be returned but rather become spoils of Egypt. The apparent deception presents a thorny challenge to Divine morality, and
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