Weekly Torah from Jewish Everything. Net

A Thought On Parshas Bo

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"...u'v'kol elohea Mitzraim e'eseh shefatim..."
"...I will make judgements against all of Egypt's gods..." (12:12)

HaShem announces that as the Egyptians are humbled again and again for their oppression of our people, there will be judgements against their gods. Now, obviously, the plural word "gods" represents the fact that they worshipped many idols. What is less clear is the plural word "judgements." It would seem to suffice if HaShem would dispell their illusion that their 'gods' had any power, and that this would be a single act of judgement. What is the word shefatim telling us?

The Rambam (Biur Shemos Kodesh v'Chol) brings three ideas, which cumulatively may explain the use of the word in plural, as well as the significace of the word "gods". The first he brings in the name of Chazal (the source is obscure to us) that the Egyptians reacted to their disasters, in the wake of the plagues, by feeling enraged towards their deities, and they then demolished their "holy places." They lost hope. This was the first level of judgement.

The second idea he brings in the name of the "masters of homiletics" (the source can be found in the Targum Yonasan ben Uziel and in some midrashim) that at some point, the idols and shrines just disintegrated, the wooden ones rotting and the metal ones decaying. This was the second judgement against the Egyptian gods.

The third ideas he attributes to the "Baa'lei Kaballah". The "gods of Egypt" refers to sar shel Mitzrayim, the heavenly representation of Egypt which symbolizes their presence on Earth. In Shomayim, the relative merits and iniquities of the Egyptian people were weighed. They failed the Divine test, and the Heavenly decree came forth that it was time for them to reap the results of their centuries of causing pain to others. This was the third level of judgement.

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The Rosh offers a contrasting thought. We know that our tradition tells us that during the plague of darkness, those Jews who had failed to maintain their Jewish identity and those who had been drawn into the evils and decadence of Egyptian life perished. They disappeared and never made it out of exile. They were not among us during the Exodus.

Now, we also have a tradition that Dasan and Aviram, the two men who were fighting earlier in parshas Shmos, and whom Moshe referred to as rasha, bad, made it out of Egypt. They continued to torment Moshe and to defy his word later in the Bible. One must ask, if they were in fact deemed "bad" and they continue to be a biblical image of rebellious and negative people, how is it that they merited to go out during the Exodus? Why did they not die with the other renegades during the plague of darkness?

The Rosh writes that apparently, they were not "fully evil" (rasha'im g'murim). How so? He explains that despite their misdeeds and their foul play, they never gave up on the idea of redemption. They always accepted that sooner or later, despite the problems in Egypt and despite the suffering, HaShem would come through and fulfill His promised word that the Jews would be redeemed and saved. In the merit of that belief, Dasan and Aviram were not considered "rotten to the core." They deserved to join the Exodus.

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We contrast the Egyptian reaction to suffering, per the Rambam, of giving up on their gods, with the Jewish reaction per the Rosh, of not losing hope and keeping the faith. Perhaps this has helped our people survive through our many trials and exiles. I was in a taxi the other day here in Jerusalem, and as is my custom, I opened up a conversation with the driver, a secular Jew. I asked him if there was any news in the world beyond that of the disasters in Haiti. He responded sadly that yes, there was sad news in the world. I asked him to explain and he said, there was a traffic accident in the south of Israel and four Jewish people were badly hurt. That too felt like world news.

Yesterday the rain was pouring here and today, I asked a modern young Jewish man if he knew today's forecast. "It is going to rain!", he said with a big smile. I asked him if he thought it was going to be as heavy as yesterday's thunderstorms and he said, "That is what we pray for!"

The best times are when we Jews maintain perspective and unity. We care when HaShem takes care of us, whether or not there may be some inconvenience to us. We care when there is sadness among us r'l. But we do not give up or give in. We maintain the firm view that this is HaShem's world and He watches over us, regardless of what seems to be going on. Bless our people.

Good Shabbos from Jerusalem. D. Fox