This week's Torah portion is Bo (Shemot/Exodus 10:1-13:16). In some ways this is one of my least favorite portions, even though it includes the redemption of the Israelites from slavery. What makes me uncomfortable about the narrative is the price that was paid by the Egyptian first born in order for the Israelites to finally become free. No one in the entire land was spared, from Pharaoh down to the Egyptian slaves and servants. But the Israelites remained unscathed thanks to the lamb's blood they put on the doorposts of their homes as a sign that Israelites dwelled within.
As I began writing this commentary I was about to write that it was "The Angel of Death" who wrought the destruction of the tenth plague. After all, that is what it says in the Haggadah (the book telling the story of the Exodus that is used at the Passover seder). Yet, in the text, God says to Moses:
| "About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again." (Exodus 11:4-6). But does it really matter whether God or the Angel of Death slew the first born? After all, angels are simply manifestations or messengers of God.I believe the answer is yes. It is important to remember that throughout the first nine plagues it was as if God was two degrees removed from the actual events. For the plagues were announced by Moses through his brother Aaron. Then Aaron would raise Moses's staff and the plague would commence. That is why, at first, Pharaoh and his magicians believe these were just tricks, such as they could perform, and not divine miracles. However, when it comes to the final death and destruction of the first born, it is God who comes down to earth, so to speak, and kills them. God cannot be two degrees removed when the lives of human beings are at stake. But this happens only after God instructs Moses and Moses instructs the people to sacrifice a lamb per household, smear it's blood on the lintels of their doors and then to share a ritual meal to thank God for their deliverance (the prototype of the Passover seder). Only after these instructions were given and the rituals carried out did the plague actually take place. When this plague occurred, Moses and Aaron were not involved. Moses uttered no final words of warning to Pharaoh. No staff was raised by Aaron. Both brothers were seated at the ritual meal along with the entire people of Israel at the moment when death struck the land. Just as no one in Egypt, including Pharaoh, was exempt from the plague, no one among the Israelites, including Moses and Aaron, was exempt from the obligation to stop for the moment, give thanks and be sheltered from the death around them. So often in our lives we either participate in or are the cause of chaos, and perhaps even destruction, though on a smaller scale. And so often we try to distance ourselves from our actions, create stories in our minds to put the blame on others or relieve our own sense of guilt or even blame God. But in the end, the only way we can grow is if we take responsibility for our actions. This is especially true during the "life and death" decisions we make in our lives. When lives were clearly at stake, God could no longer send messengers to announce what was to come. God could not allow anyone to believe that Moses and Aaron had anything to do with this plague. God needed to take full responsibility and make it clear to everyone, both Egyptian and Israelite, that this was a Divine intervention. At the same time, before the final act was to take place, God wanted to make sure that every Israelite was truly present and connected to the moment of redemption. God insured this by commanding them to gather in their own homes, slaughtering their own lamb, spreading the blood for protection and by participating in their own ritual. Then at around midnight, the time of transition and uncertainty, God brought about the destruction of the tenth plague. In the moment when the plague struck, the Israelites were living out what is perhaps the most difficult, yet essential, tension of human existence. They were dwelling in a place of gratitude and joy, as well as one of fear and sadness. For I cannot help but believe, even though it does not say so in the Torah, that the Israelites were still cringing in fear and overwhelmed with sadness over what was occurring around them, while still celebrating and giving thanks for their redemption. God made sure that the Israelites could not ignore this existential tension and the reality of the moment. For each person was commanded to give thanks and rejoiced, while the blood that each family spread on its doorpost insured that each would also remember the destruction happening around them from which they were spared. And while the Israelites were caught in between these contradictions, God was focused on what needed to happen in order to bring about the promised redemption. But even God was not immune from the tension of the moment. We read in a midrash (rabbinical exegetical legend) that when the Egyptians were drowning in the Sea of Reeds and the angels began to sing a song of celebration, God rebuked them by saying "how can you sing when my children [the Egyptians] are drowning?!" If God mourned the loss of the Egyptian soldiers in the Sea, even though they were pursuing the Israelites, it stands to reason that God would be even more saddened by the death of multitudes of innocent first born men, women and children. So God too was experiencing that mix of joy and sadness that is the essence of so much of our lives. In reading this narrative it is important to remember not only that we are the descendants of the Israelites, but that we are created in the image of God. As Israelites, we need to be present in each moment and recognize the joy and sadness, fear and elation that are always present within us. We must also remember that there are forces around us that are out of our control, but which are clearly the catalyst for those mixed emotions within us. Yet, as beings created in God's image, we must also remember that often we have the ability and the power to wreak the havoc and destruction around us as well. We create and we destroy from moment to moment, even if we don't realize it. Both creation and destruction are necessary in life; they are mutually dependent. In the end, God could not create freedom for the Israelites without destroying part of the Egyptian world. The Israelites could not celebrate their freedom without also acknowledging the destruction. Nor could they ritually celebrate their freedom without taking the life of an innocent animal for God. No joy can happen without some sadness. No creation can occur without destruction. And vice versa. As we live our lives from moment to moment, let us be aware of these constant contradictions. But let us not judge either aspect as good or bad, for they are neither and both. They are all part of the whole. All part of the One of existence. And let us always remember, that whatever is happening within and around us, just as that horrible-wonderful night in Egypt, God is the source of all that is happening and the force that connects us and everything. Only then can we sit in our homes, in our bodies, aware of all that is happening in that moment and give shouts of Hallelujah for the awesome wonderful terrible glorious gift of life and of this moment that God has given us. Shabbat Shalom. | |
