The last three of the Ten Plagues are visited on Egypt: a swarm of locusts devours all the crops and greenery; a thick, palpable darkness envelops the land; and all the firstborn of Egypt are killed at the stroke of midnight of the 15th of the month of Nissan.
God commands the first mitzvah to be given to the people of Israel: to establish a calendar based on the monthly rebirth of the moon. The Israelites are also instructed to bring a “Passover offering” to God: a lamb or kid is to be slaughtered, and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel of every Israelite home, so that God should pass over these homes when He comes to kill the Egyptian firstborn. The roasted meat of the offering is to be eaten that night together with matzah (unleavened bread) and bitter herbs.
The death of the firstborn finally breaks Pharaoh’s resistance, and he literally drives the children of Israel from his land. So hastily do they depart that there is no time for their dough to rise, and the only provisions they take along are unleavened. Before they go, they ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold, silver and garments—fulfilling the promise made to Abraham that his descendants would leave Egypt with great wealth.
The children of Israel are commanded to consecrate all firstborn, and to observe the anniversary of the Exodus each year by removing all leaven from their possession for seven days, eating matzah, and telling the story of their redemption to their children. They are also commanded to wear tefillin on the arm and head as a reminder of the Exodus and their resultant commitment to God.
SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH ALL OF THIS?
The Torah portions from the past several weeks reveal a God who acts from a place of power and violence. God is harsh and unrelenting. This image of God seems to lack any compassion or empathy. This portrayal of God excludes any acknowledgement that the Egyptian people are innocent bystanders, subject to the whims of their Pharoah and God.
One way to reconcile this, is by taking the events as metaphor. If they really didn't happen then they aren't real and nobody really got hurt and nobody really died (children didn't die). But, the greater challenge is in accepting the possibility that something like this did happen. And if that is the case, how do we accept and embrace a belief and a relationship in a God who would act this way?
It is hard. It is very hard.
Without condoning harm to others, as a way of obtaining freedom, we might look at the larger picture. All of this is taking place during a time when a most radical move is happening and God is the one instigating it all.
Remember, the Torah is the story of the creation of monotheism. God is taking a humungous risk breaking away from the group of gods to become one God with one people. This risk requires tremendous strength and a significant demonstration of extreme power. God has to be the most powerful, the most awesome, the greatest God that every "lived".
God never implements plagues like this again in the Torah. Over time God has ceased to insert God's power, ceased to intervene in human conflict and struggle (even though there are many times I wish God would). Maybe the 10 plagues and the horror they brought onto the lives of so many Egyptians is the necessary cost of freedom at that time?
Unfortunately, even though God is no longer intervening in human conflict, humans continue to sacrifice innocent lives in the name of their cause. I wish this weren't the case.
May we be committed to never taking our freedom or the cost of our freedom for granted. We do this by standing up and fighting for the freedom of all who continue to be enslaved.
In blessing and friendship, Shabbat Shalom,
Laurie
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