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There were numerous safeguards that protected the Jewish people from the Egyptian melting pot: a) keeping their Jewish names,2 b) keeping their Jewish language, the 'Holy Tongue'3 and c) keeping their Jewish clothing, including their modest (not very Egyptian) dress4 . Additionally, Moses managed to convince Pharaoh to let the Jews have a day off to recharge—which coincidentally came out to be Shabbat5 .
We know that Pharaoh wanted to drown all the Jewish baby boys, but less known is that he wanted to force the Jewish girls into assimilation.6 He figured that by “Egyptianizing” the girls, they’d eventually set up home with Egyptian men, and that would be the end of the Jewish nation. Needless to say, Pharaoh’s plan failed.
Unfortunately, the Jews did not adhere to the ways of the forefathers as much as they should have. Some ate non-Kosher Egyptian food, and many grew to like the idolatrous and immoral Egyptian lifestyle so much that they did not want to leave when the time came. For the nation as a whole, the Egyptian experience was a big spiritual nosedive. Of the 50 mystical gates of impurity, the Jews sank to the 49th. But as bad as things got, the Jewish people made an ‘about face’ and climbed their way up the spiritual ladder to the 50th rung of purity just in time to receive the Torah at Mt. Sinai.
In summation, the Jews abandoned many of the mitzvahs, even assuming idolatrous tendencies, but they maintained a strong sense of Jewish identity. This preserved the nation—and luckily so, for otherwise there might not have been a Jewish nation to redeem.
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History » Egypt
