I.L. Peretz tells the story of Bontsha the Silent, a simple Jew who accepted all of life's humiliations — and he suffered far more than his fair share — with quiet resignation. His life and death went unnoticed in this world. But in Paradise, the arrival of Bontsha the Silent was a major event. Trumpets blew, important angels rushed to greet him, and he was crowned with a golden crown.

Bontsha reacted to all this commotion exactly as he would in this world: with silence. His silence was due to his great trepidation; he was certain that a terrible mistake had been made. However, when Bontsha's trial began, and the defending angel related the long tale of misfortune and mistreatment that had been Bontsha's daily lot, he slowly began to take heart. It is me they are taking about!

'Despite everything,' the defending angel concluded, 'Bontsha never complained. He never protested, not against his fellow man, and not against God.' The prosecuting angel conceded that just as Bontsha had always been silent, so too he would be silent. Then the heavenly Judge turned to Bontsha, and informed him, 'Your reward is not just one little portion of Paradise, but everything! Whatever you want!'

All turned to Bontsha, eager to hear what great reward he would request. Bontsha meekly responded, "What I would like, Your Honor, is to be served every morning a warm roll with fresh butter."

There was shocked silence in the court. The angels bent their heads in shame, and the prosecutor laughed a bitter laugh.

Emancipation of the Spirit

Slavery is not just a legal status; it is also a state of mind. It is not enough to emancipate the slaves. They must be trained for independence, for courage and greatness. A lifetime of oppression can create a poverty of spirit, where the greatest good imaginable is a warm roll with fresh butter. The Torah relates that the enslaved Israelites were incapable of accepting Moses' message of hope due to "smallness of spirit" (Ex. 6:9). Even in the desert, the former slaves would remember Egypt nostalgically, fondly recalling 'sitting by the pot of meat' as they ate fish, onions, and melons (Ex. 16:3; Num. 11:5).

Asking the Hebrew slaves to borrow gold, silver, and fine clothes from their neighbors was an educational exercise. God wanted to raise their ambitions above fish and onions, to help them acquire a love for beauty and aesthetic living. Of course, gold is not the true goal. Therefore the Israelites only entreated, not commanded. Only regarding spiritual goals and mitzvot does God command us.

It was not easy for the Hebrew slaves to borrow from their former masters. The Midrash tells us they would have happily foregone the Egyptian gold and leave Egypt right away. But they would require courage and greatness of spirit for the difficult journey ahead. Maimonides wrote in the Guide for the Perplexed that the forty years of hardship in the wilderness instilled in the former slaves those traits of independence and courage that a free nation must have.

God desires humility — but the true humility of Abraham and Moses, great men willing to argue against Him — not the passive meekness of a Bontsha.

(adapted from Ein Eyah vol. I, p. 44)

Copyright © 2006 by Chanan Morrison