Tanach · Acharonim on Tanach · Or HaChaim · Torah
Or HaChaim on Exodus 12:35/אור החיים על שמות י״ב:ל״ה
אעָשׂוּ כִּדְבַר מֹשֶׁה. פֵּרוּשׁ, לֹא לַהֲנָאַת הַמָּמוֹן אֶלָּא לְמִצְוַת נָבִיא. עוֹד יִרְצֶה עַל פִּי מַה שֶׁהֶעֱלָה רַמְבַּ״ם בְּפֶרֶק ט׳ מֵהִלְכוֹת יְסוֹדֵי הַתּוֹרָה, כִּי אִם יָבֹא נָבִיא וְיֹאמַר לְיִשְׂרָאֵל עַל פִּי ה׳ לַעֲבוֹר עַל מִצְוָה אַחַת הוֹרָאַת שָׁעָה כְּאֵלִיָּהוּ בְּהַר הַכַּרְמֶל וְכַדּוֹמֶה – שׁוֹמְעִין לוֹ חוּץ מֵעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה, וְהוּא אָמְרוֹ וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עָשׂוּ. וּלְצַד כִּי מַעֲשֶׂה זֶה הוּא מַעֲשֶׂה בִּלְתִּי הָגוּן לִגְנוֹב דַּעַת גּוֹי, גַּם לִגְזוֹל מָמוֹנָם, וְאֵיךְ יַצְדִּיקוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לָאוֹמֵר לָהֶם עֲבוֹר עֲבֵרָה? לָזֶה אָמַר עַל פִּי מֹשֶׁה, פֵּרוּשׁ, אֲשֶׁר הוּבְחַן לְנָבִיא וּבִפְרָט זֶה יֵאָמְנוּ דְּבָרָיו כַּנִּזְכָּר:
1 עשו כדבר משה, they did in accordance with Moses' instructions. The Torah stresses that the reason the Israelites "borrowed" all this silver, gold, etc., was not because they were greedy for material goods but because Moses had instructed them to. The Torah may also teach us an object lesson in what Maimonides wrote in chapter nine of his Hilchot Yesodey Hatorah that if a prophet orders the people to commit an act which is against Torah law and such an order is of a temporary nature, an emergency situation, the people are to accept the prophet's instructions as long as the violation is not in the realm of idol worship. The people here were not happy about deceiving the Egyptians by making them think they were borrowing these trinkets intending to return them in a few days. Seeing that Moses was a duly accredited prophet, however, they complied with bis instructions in spite of their misgivings.