Parshat Bo
January 31, 1998

Last week's parsha described the first seven plagues and their devastating effect on the land of Mitzrayim, as well as Pharaoh's obstinate refusal to release the Jews.

This week, the Torah portion opens with Hashem sending Moshe in to warn Pharaoh about Number 8:  "And Hashem said to Moshe, 'Come to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart hard, and the heart of his servants stubborn in order that I may put these signs of mine in his midst.'" (10, 1; Artscroll translation, p. 341, my emphasis)

Rabbi Chaim ben Attar, author of the classic commentary on Chumash, Ohr HaChaim, asks why Hashem, in referring to the three upcoming plagues (l ocusts, darkness and the death of the firstborn), says, "these signs." It sounds as if G-d hardens Pharaoh's heart in order to bring about these specific afflictions; no other ones, it seems, would do the trick, even if they were to be of comparable magnitude.  

The Ohr HaChaim answers that Hashem stresses the importance of these three because He realizes that Moshe might be wondering why there need to be any more plagues at all! Surely the first seven have conclusively demonstrated Hashem's complete power over the world, His ability to alter the laws of nature at will; hailstones with fire flashing inside of them (a miracle within a miracle, as Rashi points out) had only just stopped falling. What further display of power is really needed at this point?

The answer is that "these signs" are needed not to extend the punishment of Pharaoh, but to complete the spiritual education of the Jews. We tend to forget that the purpose of the 10 plagues was not only to humble Pharaoh and the Egyptians, but also to strengthen the faith of our people. G-d multiplied His wonders so that the Jewish people--in that generation, and for all time--would have perfect faith in His omnipotence and His providence: "...so that you may relate in the ears of your son and your son's son that I made a mockery of Egypt...that you may know that I am Hashem." (10, 2; ibid.) Obviously, Hashem could have punished Egypt and whisked us out in one fell swoop; he extended the process over a period of almost a year (a plague a month), however, because WE needed a refresher course in true emunah (faith). We had been deeply affected by the idolatry of Egypt, and we were not ready to become His people and receive His Torah until the rust on our Jewish souls had been sanded away through witnessing the plagues.

Granted that the purpose of the plagues was to convince the Jews, and not just humble the Egyptians. The original question still remains: what would the last three plagues-- locusts, darkness and the death of the firstborn--teach the Jews that they had not learned already?

The Ohr HaChaim explains that although Hashem had shown himself to be no puny Being, He still had not proven that He was the Creator and Master of the winds, or of the sun and moon. So He brought locusts on Egypt--the eighth plague--by means of the wind: "...Hashem guided an east wind through the land all that day and all the night...and the east wind carried the locust swarm." (10, 13, p. 343) When the plague was over, He also made use of the wind to remove ALL the locusts from Egypt, living or dead: "Hashem turned back a very powerful west wind and it carried the locust-swarm and hurled it toward the Sea of Reeds; not a single locust remained within the entire border of Egypt." (10, 19)

Next came the plague of darkness, which, in its later stage, was so thick that it prevented the Egyptians from moving for three days; the light of the sun and the moon was completely blotted out for the Egyptians. Hashem had established Himself as G-d of the Heavens, as well as of the earth.

But a Jew could conceivably still think that though G-d rules in the heaven and earth, over winds and the heavenly bodies, He has no jurisdiction over the womb! Perhaps He is not the Former of human beings, and doesn't know everyone's true parentage. To convince His skeptical people otherwise, G-d brings the final plague, and strikes down only those who were the firstborn of their mothers (some say the firstborn of fathers, too). Not such an easy task. In fact, in describing His complete attention to every detail of His creation, the Almighty invokes this final plague, saying of Himself (as quoted in the Talmud!): "I am the one who distinguished between a drop [of semen] that became a firstborn, and a drop that didn't..." (Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 61b) You just can't pull ANYTHING over on Hashem.

What's remarkable is how thoroughly and systematically Hashem, through the 10 Plagues, dominates all the competing forces which could have captured the spiritual allegiance of the Jews: the Nile, the earth and its climate, the sun and the moon --all were shown to be playthings in the Hand of G-d. The Rabbis explain, similarly, that Hashem commanded the Jews to slaughter a lamb for the Pesach offering because the Egyptians worshipped the sheep as a god. Therefore, we had to SLAUGHTER AND DEVOUR it, in a joyous celebration, so that both we and they would see clearly that it was no divinity.

All of the false ideas had to be uprooted, all of the idols broken. Then, and only then, would we be fit to leave. As the old saying goes (more or less): It's easier to take the Jews out of Egypt than to take Egypt out of the Jews. How true! But Hashem, by means of the 10 plagues, accomplished just that.

We, too, are a bit like the Jews of Egypt. We are influenced by the modern idolatries of our civilization: Science and Medicine, Technology, Career, Personal Rights, Pleasure...complete the list for yourself. Gone are the days of bowing to statues (for us, that is--millions still do), but the essence of idolatry--attributing supreme power or value to something other than the One G-d and His will--certainly remains.

We also need a refresher course in emunah--every day. Each one of us needs to be redeemed from our personal Mitzrayim constantly. Torah study and prayer will help us along the way...as will remembering (and mentioning twice daily) that Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim with an unparalleled display of strength.

May the time quickly come when we will see that strength openly once again, and the whole world will declare, "Hashem, He is the Lord!"

Good Shabbos!

Archives

Insights Into Genesis | Insights Into Exodus | Insights Into Leviticus
Insights into Numbers | Insights Into Deuteronomy

Rabbi Yosef Edelstein, Savannah Kollel. Phone: 355-0157; fax: 354-9923; e-mail address: Yosef18@aol.com