  |
   |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
         |
|
|
|
Parshat
Va'eyra: The Ten Plagues: A Lesson in Faith The devastation that the ten plagues brought to Egypt was of epic
proportions. The entire water supply of the country turning to blood, a
plague of swarming lice, painful boils breaking out all over the body,
total blackout and darkness. These ghastly acts brought daily life in
Egypt to a standstill. Pestilence destroyed the livestock of the country
and locusts destroyed the crops. By the time we are finished, we can
almost visualise this land, broken beaten and worn, in the aftermath of
the most severe disaster situation ever experienced. It is not
surprising that Pharaoh’s aides say to him: “How long will this be a trap
for us? Let the men go to worship Hashem their God! Are you not yet
aware that Egypt is lost?” (10:7) Everyone in Egypt can see that “Egypt is lost”, the country has
been brought to its knees. Apparently, the plagues have achieved their
aim. But what of God? What is the aim of these plagues? What is their
purpose? Traditionally, we assume that the plagues were utilised by God
in order to gain Pharaoh’s permit to leave the country. But does God
need to bring such damage, chaos and ruin to achieve this goal? God
should be able to do anything! If you are already doing miracles, why
not put the Egyptians to sleep for a week and let the Jews walk out
unnoticed? Why not make one catastrophic plague which would tip the
balance in one fell swoop? Why plague after plague, an ongoing series of
wreckage? Indeed, we can strengthen our question by turning to another aspect
of the Plagues; that of God’s psychological control over Pharaoh.
Throughout this story (from the sixth plague and on) we see God
“hardening the heart of Pharaoh”. God toughens Pharaoh’s will to
enable him to withstand the pressures of the plagues, to weather the
storm: “God hardened the heart of
Pharaoh and he did not listen to them” (9:12) “For I have hardened his
heart...” (10:1) “And God hardened Pharaoh’s
heart and he did not set the Israelites free”(10:20) If God’s true desire is to free the
Children of Israel, then why does he harden Pharaoh? Let Pharaoh break
under the pressure! Let his rule crumble! The means are not important.
We should be working to get the Israelites out of Egypt and slavery!
Certain commentators suggest that God wants Pharaoh to remain balanced.
He wants Pharaoh to make a decision based on rational argument, rooted
in “free will”, rather than under duress. But what is the point? God
wants the Jews out! Why make things more difficult? Chavruta
Study: 1. See the very beautiful Ramban at the
end of Parshat Bo (13:16 "uletotafot") which enters into an
entire philosophy about miracles in general, and the specifics of the
Yetziat Mitzrayim example in particular. 2.
The plague of Blood: Read 7:14-7:25. * From passuk 17-18 what would seem to be
the method of the plague? * How does this fit in with passuk 19? Are
they suggesting different plagues? What really happened in practise? * If all the water turned to blood, where
did the magicians find water to perform their "trick" with?
See the Ibn Ezra 7:22. How does his explanation fit with passuk 19? 21? * The duration of the plague: Rashi on
7:25 and Chizkuni on 7:20 * Did the Jews get affected by this
plague? See Ramban (8:18) and Ibn Ezra (7:24). Is the basis of their
explanations TEXTUAL or CONTEXTUAL? 3.
The structure of the plagues See the Sephorno 8:12, Rashbam 7:26,
Chizkuni 8:15. What pattern are they identifying here? 4. See 4:21-24 How does this relate to the plague of the
firstborn? See Rashi, Sphorno. The Shiur Section: EDUCATIONAL GOALS. The text of the Torah gives us a clear
answer to our question. It tells us that included in the strategy of the
ten plagues was an educational objective. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh. For I have hardened his heart and the heart of his courtiers, in order that I may display my signs amongst them, and that you may recount and tell your children and your children’s children how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I displayed my signs amongst them - in order that you may know that I am the Lord.’” (10:1-2) What is the stated aim of the plagues? It
is so that we can tell future generations of the power of God. The
ultimate purpose is that we should “know” God. Through the clearly
miraculous events in Egypt, the Children of Israel witness a spectacle
that will forge into their hearts the imprint of the Almighty. They
witness this when they understand that God can harness both natural and
supernatural forces directing and controlling their phenomenal strength
and enormous power in the fulfillment of his word. A moment of
realisation of this sort is a moment of “knowing God”. MIRACLES AND FAITH Nachmanides develops this idea further. He
concludes his commentary on the plagues and the exodus saga with an
interesting piece discussing the role of miracles in the furtherance of
faith. In this context he talks also about the proliferation of laws in
our Jewish tradition, which are explicitly aimed at preserving and
perpetuating the exodus: “zecher li’yetziat mitrayim”. Why do we
need so many laws with this purpose in mind? The Ramban connects the two
ideas (Commentary on Exodus 13:16): “I will now
state a general principle which lies at the foundation of many mitzvot
(commandments). Since the
introduction of idolatry into the world... the attitudes of people, as
regards matters of faith, have become confused and have diverged from
the true beliefs. Some people believe that the world has been in
existence eternally with no creation ... others feel that God exists but
that he does not know the ways of man .... and that there is no reward
nor punishment. They say (Ez 8:20) “God has departed from the
earth”. When God
performs a miracle in the sight of a desirable collective or individual
- a miracle which will affect a change in the laws of nature - these
(false) attitudes of faith will be disproved in the clearest way. For
the miracle demonstrates God’s mastery over the world: his creation of
it and his knowledge of, and involvement in its affairs. Additionally,
when a particular miracle is preceded
by a prophetic announcement, the existence of prophecy - that God speaks
with man and tell him his secrets - will be proven and this in turn will
prove the truth of the entire Torah.” According to the Ramban, a miracle manages
to transform certain philosophical truths into reality. The person who
experiences the miracle will be convinced in the most powerful manner,
of the existence of God, his involvement in the affairs of men and his
ability to reward and punish. The Ramban feels that this was the purpose
of the plagues. We might put it in this context. The
children of Israel are at a fundamental nexus in their development. They
are at the birth of their nationhood. They have had the foundation
period of the forefathers. They have grown in size, but have been
enslaved, in exile. Now is the moment that they are to emerge as an
independent entity, as a nation who can control their own affairs. God wants this nation to
be born in an atmosphere of faith. It is essential that the Jewish
nation enters the stage of nationhood with the existence of God in the
forefront of their minds. The Ramban continues: “.... Seeing that God will not perform a sign or miracle in each
and every generation, in the presence of any heretic or evil-doer, he
commands us to continually create memorials and
signs to that which we saw with our own eyes. Thus we reproduce
these events to our children, and they to their children, until the last
generation. The Torah was very particular about this matter .... and
commanded us to write about this miracles “on our hand and between our
eyes” (Tefillin. see 13:9,16), and that we write about it on our
doorposts (mezuza) and that we mention it at morning and at night (The
Shema)... and that we build a Sukka each year, and so on, for all the
laws that we have “zecher l’yetziat mitzrayim” (to remember the
exodus from Egypt).” If a single miracle has the power to
engender belief in God, then ten miracles of the magnitude of the
plagues have a tenfold likelihood of establishing the basic tenets of
faith. . The preservation of this episode in the Jewish consciousness,
an event that teaches the most crucial of theological lessons is of
vital importance. We attempt to preserve the feeling and the memory of
the exodus because they testify to the existence and providence of our
God. We do this through our numerous religious acts which commemorate
and preserve the memory of these events. Through all the practices in
which we remember Egypt: kiddush, pesach, mezuza, the shema, sukkot and
many others, we recall and try to re-live these thoughts and experiences
which lead us so directly to a full belief in God. THE PATTERN OF THE PLAGUES. This far, we have discussed the
educational objective of the plagues as regards the Children of Israel
(as found in 9:1-2). But if we look at the verses which describe the
drama of the plagues, we shall soon see that there is an entirely new
dimension to the story with a very different educational
agenda. We read in the Passover Haggada how Rabbi
Yehuda would divide the plagues into three groupings, identifying each
of the plagues by initials. The division (DeTZaCh ADaSH BeACHaV) puts
the plagues in this structure: 1. Blood
Frogs
Lice 2. Wild Animals
Pestilence
Boils 3. Hail
Locusts
Darkness
The plague of the firstborn. How and why did Rabbi Yehuda divide the
plagues in this way? Why not two groupings of five or some other
division? What is the unifying character of each group? When looking closely into the text of the
Torah, we can reveal a most deliberate pattern in the narrative of the
plagues. It is a recursive structure. This table gives some indication
of how the plagues are ordered in the text.
What we see here is a recurring pattern,
with the plagues grouped in threes. (We will ignore the plague of the
firstborn for now and come back to it later. As we shall see, this
plague is in a class of its own.) Each of these groups can be viewed as
a “wave” of plagues. In each wave, the first two plagues are
preceded by a divine forewarning while the third plague strikes
suddenly, without a prior notice. We can also identify the cyclic rhythm
in the language of the commands given to Moses. But what does it all
mean? Why would three waves of plagues be necessary? Is there anything
which differentiates one group from another? SOME DISTINGUISHING FEATURES. It is interesting to note some of the
features of this structure from within the descriptions of the plagues.
We will give some examples. In “Wave 2” it would seem that there
is a detail that is stressed repeatedly: that the plague will strike
only Israelites and not Egyptians. In the warning of the plague of wild
animals God states: “ On that day I will set apart the region of Goshen, where my people
dwell, so that no wild animals shall be there....And I will make a
distinction between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will
come to be” (8:18-19) In the next plague of this wave -
pestilence - we see a
similar stress in the details: “ ... the
Lord will strike your livestock .... with a very severe pestilence. But
the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the
livestock of the Egyptians so that nothing will die that belongs to the
Israelites. The Lord has fixed a time: tomorrow the Lord will do this
thing in the land.” (9:3-5) Pharaoh even does a spot check to
ascertain whether God is keeping to his word: “When Pharaoh investigated, he
found that not one head of the livestock of Israel had died” (9:7) The third plague - boils - also affects
only Egyptians (see 9:11). We can see a clear theme here. In this second
wave, the theme of differentiation between Egyptian and Israelite is
highlighted. A clear divide is being drawn, by
God, between the two peoples. We will see why this is so in a
minute. WAVE THREE - UNPRECEDENTED POWER In the “Third Wave” a similar thematic
makeup is apparent. This time the stress is on the uniqueness of the
plague, or more accurately, its unprecedented power. All the plagues
here will be unparalleled. The plague of hail begins this “wave”.
The warning to Pharaoh is expressed in the following way: “I have
spared you for this purpose: in order to show you my power and in order
that my fame may resound throughout the world.... This time tomorrow, I
will rain down a very heavy hail, such as has not been in Egypt from the
day it was founded until now.” (9:17-19) And when the hail arrives, it is true to
this forewarning: “God
rained down the hail upon the land of Egypt. The hail - with fire
flashing in the middle of the hailstones - an exceptionally heavy hail
such as had not befallen Egypt from the day it was founded until now”
(9:24) The same is true about the locust plague.
Both in the warning and then when it happens it is described as a swarm
of locusts of such magnitude : “Something
that neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen from the
day they appeared on earth to this day ... never before had there been
so many, nor will there ever be so many again.” (10:6,14) And as for the plague of darkness where
“for three days no-one could get up from where he was” (10:23), we
clearly have a plague of unprecedented proportion. The linkage between
the three plagues of this group is the magnitude of their power; each
plague is on a scale unexperienced previously. Each plague is an
unparalleled phenomenon. Another point worth mentioning is how the
third plague in each group attacks the human body itself whereas the
preceding plagues attack property: houses, livestock and crops. Lice,
boils and the darkness that you cannot move in (eating? going to the
bathroom?) all represent very unpleasant bodily afflictions. It is as if
in each wave, God gives certain chances, but by the time we reach the
third plague of a group, we need no warning and the plagues are designed
to really “hit home”. But where is this all leading us? What are
these three cycles of suffering? THREE WAVES - THREE THEOLOGICAL LESSONS. We have seen that the “waves” or
groups of plagues can have unifying themes. In truth, we can say that
for each of these three groups there is a distinct objective which
relates to that theme. This aim is expressed in the opening warning of
each group or “wave” of plagues. Let us see. In the introductory warning to each plague
grouping, God gives his motive for that “wave”. The objectives
relate to certain theological understandings that Pharaoh has to acquire
through the process of the plagues. The motives read as follows: For the first wave: “Thus says the Lord
“By this you shall know that I AM THE LORD’.” (7:17) The second wave: “..that you may know that I am the Lord IN THE MIDST OF THE LAND” (8:18) The third wave: “ in order that you may know that there
is NONE LIKE ME in all the world.” (9:14) God is teaching Pharaoh three theological
lessons. It would seem that God wants to bring home to Pharaoh certain
facts about God’s nature and his power. There are things that he has
to “know”. The first wave of plagues is aimed to
demonstrate to Pharaoh the fact of God’s EXISTENCE - “I am the
Lord”. The second group will teach of God’s involvement in the
affairs of man, God has the ability to effect and control events “in
the midst of the land”. This lesson teaches of God’s PROVIDENCE. The
third wave is aimed at proving God’s OMNIPOTENCE -
that God has ultimate power high above any other being. THEMES OF THE PLAGUES This approach is borne out through the contents of each wave. In the
first wave God begins to demonstrate his very existence. In the first
two plagues, Pharaoh remains unimpressed as he watches his own magicians
or holy men reproduce the plagues of blood and frogs. It is only when we
get to the third plague that the magicians themselves acknowledge the
existence of God. When they are confronted by dust turning into lice, a
phenomenon that they cannot replicate, they exclaim: “This is the finger of
God” (8.15) If the religious authorities recognise
God, then Pharaoh’s refusal to accept God must result from his
stubborn-ness and nothing else. God has been given recognition. The other “waves” express their themes
rather elegantly. The second “wave” as we have noted, is animated by
the notion of the distinction between Israel and Egypt. This is aimed at
expressing God’s INVOLVEMENT or PROVIDENCE. In these plagues, God
demonstrates that he has precise control over His actions in the world.
He can differentiate between groups and individuals. He can time his
actions with precision - each of these plagues are to be performed
“tomorrow” - he can work within a worldly time frame. In this group
of plagues God shows his ability to be involved in the worldly arena. The third group are designed to prove
God’s EXCLUSIVE POWER. To this end, God brings plagues which “never
before had there been .... nor will there ever be” any like them.
These plagues are unprecedented, unique in their style - ice and fire
together in the hail - and in their force. God clearly shows that he is
all-powerful. PHARAOH’S MOCKERY Why do we need all three lessons? Why are
these three points so important that God wishes to drive them home to
Pharaoh? In fact, why are
we bothering to “educate” Pharaoh at all? When Moses makes his first approach to
Pharaoh, he receives a sharp rebuff. Pharaoh rejects his request with a
rejection of the Jewish God. “Moses and
Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, God of Israel:
Let My people go that they may celebrate a festival to me in the
wilderness. But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should heed him
and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”
(5:1-2) Pharaoh’s rejection of the Israelite
plea for freedom is an outgrowth of his non-recognition of God. He does
not accept the existence of God and certainly does not accept His
ability to control him. As far as Pharaoh is concerned, the gods of
Egypt are far more powerful than the God of Israel. The Israelite
slavery testifies to that fact. If Egypt can enslave Israel then the
Egyptian god must overpower the Israelite God. There are, the, three stages to
Pharaoh’s education. First he has to admit the existence of this God.
But he can still claim that this God is a transcendent God who has no
involvement in human affairs and therefore can be effectively ignored.
God comes to teach him of his ability to intervene in the most minor of
details in this world. But still, Pharaoh might suggest that this God
exists and is involved in human worldly events, but that the Egyptian
gods are stronger, more influential and powerful. To this God answers
with the third wave of plagues expressing God’s exclusive and supreme
power. THE PLAGUE OF THE FIRSTBORN At the beginning of this “shiur” we
discussed the possibility of God bringing a single plague, a decisive
blow, which would activate the freedom of the Israelites. We realise now
that God had a very different plan in mind. But it would seem that the
plague of the firstborn fits NOT into the educational model that we have
just described but rather, to this category. The killing of the
firstborn is designed to be the final blow, the last step to freedom. This plague has been sitting in the
sidelines exactly for this purpose from the very beginning. Even before
Moses enters Egypt, God has told him: “... say to
Pharaoh ‘Thus says the Lord: Israel is My first-born son. I have said
to you “Let my son go that he may worship me”, yet you refuse to let
him go. Now I will slay your firstborn son.’” (4:22-23) The plague of the firstborn was always
ready for this purpose. It was this blow that was designed to trigger
the latch of freedom, to make a breech in the prison walls. But the
other nine plagues have a very different motif. The nine plagues come to
teach Pharaoh about God. CONCLUSION Through a very deliberate and systematic
look at the literary structure of the plague narrative, we have come up
with a new understanding of the role of the ten plagues. We have spoken
of theological lessons for both the Jewish people and for the Egyptians. Other details of the story reflect this too. Moses was supposed to
introduce each plague as he met Pharaoh by the river in the early
morning. Here again, he was attacking the notion that was popular in
Egypt. For Egyptians, both Pharaoh and the Nile were gods. God
deliberately chooses to confront Pharaoh at this place. This is a
showdown of the Gods. And we know who wins! Shabbat Shalom
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
