This week’s portion – the second in the Book of Exodus,
entitled Va’Era, literally “I have been revealed” (as in God tells Moshe that
He has been revealed to the three Forefathers) – tells the story of seven of
the Ten Plagues inflicted by God on Egypt and its King Pharaoh. As I have noted
here last week, this story – or its essence, at least – should be quite
familiar to every Jew who celebrates Passover; or, in other words, to almost
any Jew. Just to recall the factual background, Moshe asks Pharaoh to “let my
People go” but Pharaoh refuses. In
response, God (through Moshe) inflicts ten horrible plagues on Egypt. Each of the seven mentioned in this week’s
portion – Blood, Frogs, Lice, Wild Beasts, Pestilence, Boils, and Hail – is
described in great detail, including the warning preceding it, the manner in
which it occurred, the (usually) horrific aftermath it left in its wake, and
the effect it had on life in Egypt in general. Yet throughout this remarkable
display of divine power, King Pharaoh remains steadfast in his reluctance to
let the People of Israel go. We are to wait until next week in order to see
what finally broke this stonehearted King’s will.
I would like to make three short observations about this
week’s portion. The first relates to the connection between Moshe’s leadership
style and that of Dr. King, whose Day we marked this week. The second relates
to the use of the number “ten,” seemingly belonging to the decimal system, in
the Jewish bible (as in the “Ten Plagues,” the “Ten Commandments,” etc.). And the third note raises the issue of “our
God” versus “their God.”
I. Moshe & Dr. King
Earlier this week we celebrated Martin Luther King’s
Day. It would be quite interesting to
compare the leadership styles of Moshe – who was one of Dr. King’s favorite
Biblical figures (in his last speech, for example, Dr. King famously invoked
the image of Moshe’s last day, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98k-pjN6nl0&feature=related)
– and that of Dr. King himself. Both
leaders represented members of an oppressed minority, who (at one point) were
used as slaves. Both were men of God. Both never hesitated to invoke God – either
in their addresses to their people or in their negotiations with the
oppressing-class’ leaders. Yet one used
God to advocate a sophisticated form of non-violent resistance, while the other
used God – according to today’s portion – in order to inflict horrific harm
(the Plagues) on the oppressing class. Which one was more correct? What style of leadership is better in these
situations?
Obviously, no single “right answer” exists to this question.
However, one thought-experiment we may try to conduct in order to understand
the question better is this: Assume for a moment that Dr. King had the same
ability to perform miracles as Moshe had.
Would Dr. King actually go ahead and inflict Ten Plagues on White
America during the 1960s in order to “let his people go?” And if so, would he
still be remembered (and celebrated) today in the same way? Conversely, going back to biblical times,
would Moshe be so successful in his plea to let his People go without
inflicting such serious harm on Pharaoh and his people? And if he would not, what does that tell us
on the non-violent resistance movement? Is it always the best path to choose? I
would be happy to hear your thoughts on those issues in the “comments” section
below.
II. Ten Plagues? Ten Commandments?
Every year in Passover when we read the Haggadah we mention
the Ten Plagues. Similarly, every kid knows (or at least supposed to know)
about the Ten Commandments. Yet the
biblical text itself never mentions the number “ten” – or any number at all,
for that matter – in either context (of the Plagues or of the
Commandments). The text simply goes
through the description – of the Plagues and the Commandments, respectively.
Indeed, it is only in later generations that we find the enumeration of both,
each characterized by the round number “Ten.” And while the text’s silence on
the issue of the exact number may be coincidental, at may also be telling. With
the Plagues, for example, we see very clearly that the first seven are
separated from the last three in terms of portions. Clearly, if the number “Ten” were so important, the portions
would not have been separated in this manner.
Second, and more importantly, the
“Plagues” are not disconnected from their background. Thus, for example, just
before inflicting the Plagues we learn about the marvel of turning Aharon’s rod
into a serpent (Exodus 7:8-13). While
not very persuasive to Pharaoh as a mean to “let my People go,” it plays an
important role in helping us to understand the background to God’s later
decision to inflict serious harm upon Egypt. To put it plainly, the King of All
Kings provided ample opportunity to the King of Egypt to escape His might
without any harm.
The text, therefore, tends to emphasize the importance of
understanding the Plagues in their proper context: First, non-violent measures
were offered by Moshe. Only then harm was inflicted, in gradually growing
measures. [The situation with the Ten Commandments is even more complicated;
the lack of orderly division between the first “three commandments” led to
numerous debates about the precise scope and content of each of them, some
lasting to this day. I will elaborate on that issue when we arrive – in about
three weeks – to the commandments themselves.]
Thus, the next time someone mentions the Ten Plagues to you, you may
surprise them by answering: “True, but they did try some non-violent measures
first!”
III. From Their God to Ours
Finally, some of you are probably aware of the very
interesting order of the Ten Plagues.
In terms of physical description, the Plagues seem to move from the Earth
to the Heavens: First blood appears “from within” the River Nile, then Frogs
leap from that same river into people’s homes, then the “ashes of the earth”
produces lice, and so on and so forth until the Hail comes from the heavens.
(Next week we will be reading about the great wind that first brings the
Locusts unto Egypt, then blows it away; about the Darkness from the heavens
that covered all of Egypt for several days; and finally, on the divine killing
of every first born in Egypt.)
But in a deeper sense, the Plagues also represent the move
from the Egyptian god to our own Jewish God.
It should be remembered that the relationship between the Lord and His
Chosen People was nascent at that point. It was important for Him to show us,
too – and not only to Pharaoh – who God really is. Accordingly, the Plagues
move from the physical and earthly Nile – the symbol of all Egyptian gods
(Pharaoh, the Egyptian God-King, was often referred to as “standing on the
Nile”), as well as Egypt’s sole source of livelihood – to the transcendental
surroundings of the heavens, from which the most serious Plagues are inflicted.
Thus, by moving from “their” god to “ours,” the Plagues
signal both to the Egyptians and to the Israelites where they should always
look for salvation – not down at the river, but up in the heavens.
Shabbat Shalom,
Doron
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