Only 1/5 of the Jews in Mitzrayim left?

amother

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 12:50 am

I'm always astounded by the fact that 80% the Jewish population didn't merit to leave and quietly passed during the plague of darkness.
This is such a massive trauma to the remaining Jews. Can you even imagine 4 out of every 5 people you know just all drop dead at once?
But it's not talked about in the hagaddah.
It feels swept under the rug.
Can anyone share something they learned that makes sense of this? Please.

amother

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 12:36 pm

I know it's erev Shabbos and everyone is still on Purim, but this has been so much on my mind so I'm bumping it up and hoping for a response.

amother

Aubergine

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 12:48 pm

amother OP wrote:

Can you imagine all the Mom’s whose babies were drowned felt? How could they rejoice?

happy7

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 12:56 pm

Every experience of the Yidden has been full of trauma.
Yes, this is the harsh reality. Only the maaminim left Mitzrayim. At the end of the Galus, during makas choshech many Yidden died.
I believe this is explained in Rashi on the words vachamushim Alu mimitzrayim.
At the end of our galus, even the non-maaminim will be taken out. No one will be left behind! May it be immediately now!!

amother

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:03 pm

happy7 wrote:

I understand all this. But it's not spoken of in the Haggadah (as far as I'm aware). How can something this huge not be mentioned?
One of the many interpretations of why we spill out wine from our cups during the recitation of the makos, pertains to not taking pleasure in the death of our enemies - that we can't be 100% happy when any of Hashems people, even the mitzrim, suffer. How much more so should there be some mention of the 4/5 of our people who were wiped out overnight? It bothers me that it's swept away.

amother

Dustypink

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:05 pm

I actually learn something really beautiful about this. I can’t remember all the details, but it was about how everyone left left with all of the children of those who died. They basically adopted the remaining children and took them out as part of their families.

justforfun87

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:05 pm

They didn't merit to leave or chose not to? I didn't realize they passed. I thought it was because life was too comfortable. Sort of how we have it here in America.

amother

Blush

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:10 pm

There are over 15 million people that identify as Jewish, but only 2 million orthodox. If moshiach came today and only 1/5 merit to leave galus that would include all of your friends and family. I would assume the ones that didn’t leave mitzrayim were like the assimilated Jews of today.

amother

Bluebell

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:11 pm

amother OP wrote:

I feel like there are many specific details and horrors that went on in mitzrayim that are not explicitly mentioned in the haggada.

Often you need to look into meforshim and medresh.

amother

Bisque

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:14 pm

amother Blush wrote:

This always scares me...maybe an assimilated Jew who keeps Shabbos once is better then me who was brought up frum and I do sin.. Like H-shem expects more from me.. Like who really knows, idk.

Lemonade 2323

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:15 pm

justforfun87 wrote:

They didn't merit to leave or chose not to? I didn't realize they passed. I thought it was because life was too comfortable. Sort of how we have it here in America.

They didn't merit.

amother

Gladiolus

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:15 pm

justforfun87 wrote:

They didn't merit to leave or chose not to? I didn't realize they passed. I thought it was because life was too comfortable. Sort of how we have it here in America.

It’s a common misconception. I’ve seen it more than once here on imamother. Those who didn’t leave didn’t choose not to leave. They didn’t feel comfortable and not want to leave their homes. They sank to such a low level of impurity that they didn’t merit being redeemed. They died during the plague of darkness.

Ellie7

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:16 pm

amother Blush wrote:

You don't have any friends or family who aren't frum?? (Or even Jewish?)

GrowingUp

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:21 pm

amother Dustypink wrote:

Esther Kurtz said it over recently in her Parsha for Non-Rebbitzens podcast. I just went back and re listened to it to get it straight.

In short:
Rashi says Chamushim means either A: armed or B: 1/5 of the jews left mitzrayim.

4/5 of Jews died, but none of the kids died. There were a lot of orphans and the rest of klal yisroel took these families with them when they left. Each family that left mitzrayim had 5 families with them, their own plus four families of orphans.

So bnei yisroel were armed with mitzvos/chessed when they left, and they were no longer on the lowest madreiga of tumah anymore.

https://open.spotify.com/episo.....94866

amother

Gladiolus

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:27 pm

amother Blush wrote:

Don’t assume anything. We don’t know who’s leaving. We don’t know who’s guilty of what or what nisyonos people have. The assimilated Jews of today are part of the tragedy of 2,000 years of galus. Let Hashem decide what they deserve. You might be surprised.

amother

Olive

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:36 pm

GrowingUp wrote:

Wow and it was this mitzva that brought them up
Food for thought

amother

Gladiolus

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:42 pm

amother Olive wrote:

Wow and it was this mitzva that brought them up
Food for thought

This was a great mitzva. Logically, this was not the mitzva that brought them up.
They only took over care of those orphans after the parents of those orphans died.
The parents died at the time (plague of darkness) that those who didn’t merit leaving Egypt died. At that time these people were judged worthy to leave and that’s why they didn’t die and that’s why they were still around to take care of the orphans.
I’m sure they had some merit (or maybe they weren’t as deeply involved in sin) but this could not have been the merit. This merit of caring for orphans did not present itself until after the time when those who merited redemption were separated from those who weren’t worthy.

amother

Dustypink

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:51 pm

Every single Jew is leaving this galus.

This is actually one of the reasons that we tell the Rasha (of the 4 sons) that if he was there he would have been left behind because in the times of yetzias mitzrayim only those who deserved went out. But we’re telling him you wouldn’t have deserved to go out then but this galus you will because Hashem is taking everyone out.

honey36

Fri, Mar 22 2024, 1:57 pm

I listened to this last year. Sorry forgot what she said. You can listen to it below.

Ms. Chevi Garfinkel
pesach understanding the four fifths left behind

TorahAnytime Links
🎤 Audio https://MyTAT.me/a184227