During the “Bris Bein Ha’bsorim” at which Hashem foretold Avrohom that the
Yidden would go into exile, He promised him that they would leave with great wealth.
And so when the Yidden were about to leave Mitzrayim, Hashem told Moshe to beg
the Yidden to please borrow things from the Egyptians so that the great tzaddik
would not be able to complain that Hashem only kept part of the deal, namely, that
He took them out of Egypt but didn’t give us great wealth.
Many meforshim raise a simple question: Why did Hashem tell them to borrow things in order that
Avrohom shouldn’t be able to complain? Didn’t Hashem have to command them to take out great
wealth because He had made them this promise and therefore was required to keep it? Even if
Avrohom wouldn’t complain, Hashem would still have to keep His word. Why tie this request
to Avrohom’s potential complaint? He should have simply told Moshe to ask the Yidden to
take out great wealth so that His own promise is kept!
Perhaps the answer is a simple one. We find that the Yidden collected far more
riches from the dead Egyptians after they crossed the “Yam Suf” than they did when
they actually left Mitzrayim. While this would certainly have satisfied Hashem’s
promise, it may still have raised questions on Avrohom’s part when he saw them
leave Mitzrayim empty handed. In order to avoid any questions even if they were
only for a few days, Hashem asked Moshe to tell the Yidden to borrow the money as
they were leaving and not wait for later