Or HaChaim on Exodus 1:11/אור החיים על שמות א׳:י״א

1 וישימו עליו שרי מסים, They set taskmasters over them, etc. Where was the superior intelligence in applying brute force to the Jewish people? This was not an act of wisdom! Besides, why did the Jews appear to have accepted this procedure without protest? Why did the people who were famed for employing their brains suddenly become bricklayers? The sages in Sotah 11 describe the enslavement of the Jewish population as having occurred progressively; they were sweet-talked into volunteering their services for patritotic reasons until they suddenly found their labour not only as being taken for granted but they could not withdraw it from their superiors. This whole process must have started somewhow. We must assume therefore that before appointing taskmasters, the Egyptians appealed to the Israelites to demonstrate patriotism in return for all the good the Egyptians had done for them during the previous century.

2The plain meaning of the verse, however, seems to be that force was used to make the Israelites become bricklayers. The words: "let us outsmart them" must therefore not be applied to the details of the enslavement but to the drowning of Israelite babies in the sea as discussed by the Midrash.

3At first glance, the words "in order to oppress them" seem superfluous; the intent was clear without these words. We must also analyse why the Torah needed to add the word בסבלותם, "during their forced labour." What precisely is this word meant to exclude?

4Perhaps the shrewdness of the Egyptians can be understood thus: Pharaoh no doubt had a team of engineers and builders who were civil servants employed in the construction of towns, etc. Such engineers were known as Mass. The word occurs in that context in Kings I 5,27. The 30.000 people described there as מס were the ones appointed over the total work force of over 150.000 described as doing the preparatory work for building the Holy Temple. Pharaoh appointed such people to guide the inexperienced Israelites in their labours. The Israelites were not able to object to this as the fact that they were being bossed by qualified engineers was not demeaning seeing they themselves were novices in that field. The Torah adds that the intention of the Egyptians in appointing these engineers as taskmasters was not because of their superior skills as the Israelites assumed, but to assert progressively harsher pressures and discipline on the Israelite labourers. The Egyptians withheld vital data from the Israelites without which the tasks allotted to the Israelite labourers could not be successfully completed. The Israelites therefore depended on the help of these engineers which gradually turned from help to oppression. This is what our sages had in mind when they spoke about the Egyptians sweet-talking the Israelites into forced labour, i.e. פה דך turned in to פרך.