The Egyptian suffering was measure for measure

Dvar Torah - The Ten plauges G-d's Measure for Measure

 

BS”D

We first learn the source of the Judgements to be mete out on the Egyptians from Hashem when he is talking to Abram at covenant of the parts:

Genesis ch 15 v 13:

13.  And He said to Abram, "You shall surely know that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will enslave them and afflict them…

14.  And also the nation that they will serve will I judge, and afterwards they will go forth with great possessions.

SYMBOLISM WE WERE STRANGERS – PESACH OFFERING

The sacrificial lamb was killed and eaten during the days when the Temple stood. A shank bone is used.  We are all strangers longing for the ingathering to our Land Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6) and the fulfillment of the prophecy of the rebuilding of the final Temple as fore told by Ezekiel. (Ch 37:26-28). The bravery of the Israelites in carrying out this request was remarkable the lambs were an Egyptian deity; to sacrifice them was to defy all the Egyptian country believed in to their faces and to oppose their false forms of worship. Rabbi Aurbach told me Pesach means Passover, as Hashem passed over the Israelite homes he had rachamim - compassion on his nation, so we should endear ourselves with this quality to the strangers around us. According to Rabbi Khan who has learnt the details of the preparation of the Pesach offering as per Rabbi Hirsch, the lamb was not put in a pot, it was not cooked and not held within a base setting, it was roasted on a spit,  it spun round and round on a stick, this can be compared to a stranger who is not grounded in the area he resides. Refer to Exodus Parsha Bo Ch12 V 8.

12 The L-rd said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ² “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. ⁴ If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. ⁵ The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. ⁶ Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. ⁷ Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. ⁹ Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. ¹⁰ Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. ¹¹ This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the L-rd’s Passover.

ENSLAVED - MATZAH

Passover is a commemoration of the exodus from Egypt. The biblical narrative relates that the Israelites left Egypt in such haste they could not wait for their dough to rise; the bread, when baked, was matzah. (Exodus 12:39). The other reason for eating matza is symbolic: On the one hand, matza symbolizes redemption and freedom, but it is also lechem oni, "poor man's bread." Thus it serves as a reminder to be humble, and to not forget what life was like in servitude.

AFFLICTION -MAROR

Maror and Chazeret Two types of bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Ancient Egypt. For maror, many people use freshly grated horseradish or whole horseradish root. Chazeret is typically romaine lettuce, whose roots are bitter-tasting. Either the horseradish or romaine lettuce may be eaten in fulfillment of the mitzvah of eating bitter herbs during the Seder. The bitterness is symbolic of our Affliction.

When I was in Australia for my niece's Bat mitzvah, I went to a Shiur by a Rabbi Goodheart; his drosh gave me incredible insight into the 10 plagues as documented by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch ztl, in his Chumash describing the order of the plagues.

He worked out the plagues go in sets of three followed by a warning but also that there is a connection between plagues and the wrongs that Egypt did to the Israelites: Plagues 1-4-7 deals with us being strangers; 2-5-8 deals with our enslavement;  3-6-9 deals with our Afflictions. 10 deal a knockout blow to the Egyptians.

We see a parallel in history to these wrongs, the holocaust started with Jewish curfews and wearing yellow stars – you are not part of us you are strangers; We were rounded into areas or ghettos and finally we were exposed to untold suffering and afflictions. Kal ve chomer (how much more so) do we need to learn to be welcoming to those different from us, those who are vulnerable around us;  We need to treat those less fortunate than us with humility and respect and finally to ease the suffering of those around us when we see it. (these are the antithesis of the Egyptian evils)

A good friend of mine who has been in Torah learning for over 30 years, a big Tzaddik who suffers with his health, despite this he regularly visits the elderly in the old age homes, often socialising with old aged parents, lonely so far away from their children who have emigrated overseas, he alleviates their isolation by knowing them well and by name and by listening to their stories and taking an interest in their life experiences, may his deeds be repaid in this world and the next!  He told me, he learnt the antidote to arrogance is to develop a love of creation and our fellow human beings, by doing so we move away from self and into the realm of the other, caring and thus bring a Tikkun Olam – a fixing of the world. But the smiles and blessings these elders shower on him is something to also see!

The Plagues explained

Strangers

1-4-7   Deals with making the Egyptians feel alienated from their land:

 

1. Blood – the Nile was a source of comfort and convenience to Egypt - it was their "god", a source of water for crop growth, they washed and bathed in it, so G-d polluted it to show them only though his blessing however hidden it is could they have settled there!

4. Wild Animals – Normally stay in the wild, but now they came into the cities and caused havoc and fear, so the Egyptians needed to flee and run away.

7. Hail of ice and fire – Rain was uncommon in Egypt, it must have been frightening we recently had a storm in Bedfordview the hail stones, the size of golf balls fell, wreaking havoc on the roads, destroying trees and breaking windows.

We see all the above judgements are measure for measure, you made my people feel unwelcome and unsettled let me show you what that feels like!

Enslaved

Plagues 2-5-8

2. Frogs – The Egyptian masters were arrogant and looked down on the Israelite slaves, so Hashem sent his most timid of creatures, frogs to brazenly harass the Egyptian population.

5. Domestic Animals died of disease– These were luxury items for the Egyptians a means of transport, a form of wealth so Hashem slowly stripped them of the net worth their Assets died off.

8.Locusts – The vegetation a source of food was finally taken away from the Egyptians by the locusts.

Incredible three hits against their being supercilious and thinking they had a right to enslave us – their better than thou attitude; Arrogant from their wealth so he took it all away and finally stripped them of their basic livelihood!

Affliction

Plagues 3-6-9

3. Lice – These were small creatures that caused itchiness and frustration on the outer body of the Egyptian people an external affliction.

6. Boils– These were afflictions on the body of the Egyptian people!

9.   Darkness – Total paralysis, unable to eat or walk, they remained still!

Hashem afflicted them going from outer layers of the body to total paralysis where they could not even move!

Plague 10...!

Now all these judgements are done Hashem’s final message, you tried to destroy my first born the nation of Israel, it is time to attack your foundation, when you hit at the foundation the cookie crumbles, I will destroy all your first born, then you will know Hashem!

LAST WORDS

MORALITY IN THE JUDGEMENTS:

We see the morality in the judgments too, the first plagues, worked in sets of threes as described above were preceded by warnings to the Egyptians and their leader, the fact that Moses knew in advance and controlled the timing of the plagues from start to finish affirmed that prophecy and his connection to Hashem was a reality.

Moses does not take the lead in the plagues that involved the Land that he benefited from, he used it to hide the Egyptian body, or the judgement on the River Nile that protected him as a baby in the basket, these tasks are given to Aharon his brother to initiate, sensitivity and gratitude are so important, how much more so to living human beings. 

I heard on a tape by the late Rabbi Goldfein Ztl that the death of animals through sickness and the death of the first born are carried out by Hashem who is the true judge, these could not be done by fellow creations, a lesson of how we as mere mortals must value life, and especially the lives of our fellow human beings!

 

Have a good week

G-d Bless

Michael

PS I have just seen the pictures of the locust plague in 2013 just near the Suez, uncanny right before Pesach how incredible - there were close on 30million by estimates. Arbeh in Hebrew the word for locust it also means many! But don't worry too much Hashem assured us there will never again be a plague in Egypt like the one he did during the Exodus, i.e. where the locusts totally covered the face of the city so sky could not be seen!