פירוש על שמות 5:9

ואל ישעו בדברי שקר AND LET THEM NOT REGARD VAIN WORDS — let them not think and speak always about “words of wind” saying, “Let us go and sacrifice”. Of similar meaning is, (Psalm 119:117) “And I will speak of (ואשעה ב־) thy statutes continually”. The phrase (Deuteronomy 28:37) למשל ולשנינה “[thou shalt become] a proverb and a byword” we translate in the Targum by “a topic of conversation (שועי)”, and the word ויספר (Genesis 24:66) “and he related” by ואשתעי “and he spoke about”. One cannot possibly say that the word ישעו has the same meaning as the verbs in (Genesis 4:4) “And the Lord turned (וישע) to Abel” and in (Genesis 4:4) “but to Cain and his offering he did not turn (שעה)”, and that we must translate אל ישעו by “Let them not turn”, for if this were so Scripture should have written אל דברי שקר or לדברי שקר (instead of בדברי) for so is the construction in all such cases. Examples are: (Isaiah 17:7) “A man shall turn to (ישעה אל) his Maker”; (Isaiah 17:8) “and he shall not turn to (ישעה על) the altars”; (Isaiah 31:1) “they turn not unto (שעו על) the Holy One of Israel”. I do not find the construction of a ב following these verbs in the sense of “turning to”, but after an expression of דבר “speaking” — as when one intently directs his conversation upon a matter — the construction with כ is quite an appropriate one. For instance: (Ezekiel 33:30) “those who intently direct their conversation (הנדברים) upon thee (בך)”; (Numbers 12:1) “And Miriam and Aaron directed their speech (ותדבר) upon Moses (במשה)”; (Zechariah 4:1) “And the angel who directed his conversaion (הדובר) upon me (בי)”; (Deuteronomy 11:9) “To turn your conversation (לדבר) intently upon them (בם)”; (Psalm 119:46) “And I will direct my speech (אדברה) upon thy testimonies (בעדותיך)”. So, too, here: ואל ישעו בדברי שקר means “let them not always be conversing about vain and idle matters”.

ישעו, they will turn willingly. The same word as used in Genesis 4,4 when it describes G’d’s turning with goodwill to Hevel’s offering while rejecting Kayin’s offering by not turning to it with favour.

ואל ישעו, “let them not pay heed, etc.” some commentators believe that the root is שען, to rely on, to draw support, and that the root letter נ has been omitted in this case. Ibn Ezra explains the term as meaning “so that they do not become weak,” ירפאו, in the sense of becoming weak through indolence, נרפים. False hopes would engender general slackness.

תכבד העבודה, “increase the workload!” The Egyptians were punished for this new decree at the sea when their chariots found it especially difficult to escape the onrushing waters. This is why the Torah specifically mentions (14,25) that “G’d made it כבד, “hard, difficult,” for the drivers to guide their chariots. Because the Egyptians decreed that the Jews had to provide their own straw, we find that they were tossed on the sea like straw (15,7). When we read here that the people had to scatter in order to find the straw, we find that in Jeremiah 18,17 the prophet describes that the Egyptians were scattered all over the sea. G’d’s punishing arm made the punishment fit the crime wherever possible. As to Pharaoh’s derisive comment that Moses and Aaron should not cause the people to turn to “false hopes,” Onkelos renders the words דברי שקר as “vain slogans.”

It is impossible to say that “ ואל ישעו (Let them not talk)” has the same meaning as: “Hashem ( וישע ) turned to Hevel.” This raises a difficulty: Rashi explained the verse “Hashem ( וישע ) turned to Hevel” (Bereishis 4:4), that וישע has the same meaning as in “ ואל ישעו ” in our verse. Nevertheless, there is a view that even “ ואל ישעו ” means “turn.” (Maharshal)

V. 9. תכבד וגו׳. Ich tue das nicht aus Barbarei, auch nicht in meinem Interesse; müssen die Juden kultivieren, heranziehen, es muss schwer der Dienst auf den Männern liegen, in dieser Arbeit müssen sie ihre natürliche Tätigkeit finden, müssen schaffen lernen, produktiv, praktisch sein: ויעשו בה, nicht mehr spekulieren, denken, träumen, ואל ישעו, sollen sich nicht im Geiste hin- und herwenden in unpraktischen leeren Dingen; "Geist"; "Gott", "Religion", "Furcht vor Gott" lauter unpraktische Dinge, die den Juden unnütz für den Staat machen.

ואל ישעו, (according to Rashi), the root שעה can have one of two meanings. It can mean the same as הגה, “to speak, articulate”, etc; or it can mean: “to turn to in expectation.” In Genesis 4,4, it meant the latter, when G–d turned willingly to Hevel’s offering, but had not turned gracefully to the offering tendered by his brother Kayin. Rashi prefers to interpret the word here as meaning the same as in Isaiah 17,8 and as in Jeremiah 31,1.

ואל ישעו בדברי שקר, “let them (the Israelites) not pin their hopes on falsehoods.” According to Ibn Ezra, the meaning of ישעו is derived from the root שען, the letter נ being missing here. The meaning is: “to lean on something for support.” Examples quoted are: השע ממני Psalms 39,14: “look away from me; (do not count on me for support)” also Isaiah 22,4 השע ממני. “leave me alone!” Let them not slacken their labor because of the lies that Moshe and aaron have told them.