By Sandra Lilienthal, Ed.D.
As we get closer to Pesach, we spend so much time preparing, cleaning, cooking and stressing, that we many times miss the opportunity to think about the story in a deeper way.
I believe that leaving Egypt is much more than what initially meets the eye: the story of the enslaved Israelites reaching freedom.
The Torah is a blueprint for life, a manual for the development of the human race – not merely a record of ancient tales. The episodes recorded in the Torah represent timeless, spiritual tales occurring continuously in the heart of each person. In that vein, I would like to examine the purpose of the plagues and how we can apply that event to our personal lives in the 21st century.
You may have heard that mitzrayim, the Hebrew word for Egypt, is related to “constraints,” and that each and every one of us has to leave behind, move away, from those things that oppress us, that make us feel as if we are in the situation of slavery, enslaved to outside forces.
Inspired by a lecture by Rabbi YY Jacobson on the kabbalistic understanding of the plagues, I say that Egypt, in our personal lives, represents the situations in which our ability to be who we are meant to be is hindered.
Blood represents excessive confidence. As important as confidence is, if excessive, it will lead to destruction and death. I need to go no further than the events of the last few months to explain this.
Frogs represent an emotional state of detachment. They are cold-blooded animals. When we are emotionally detached, we are unable to experience genuine emotional intimacy with any other person, be it friends or relatives, spouse or child.
The third plague, lice, represents unhealthy humility. As important as it is to be humble, being able to recognize our weaknesses and where we need to grow, excessive humility will ultimately lead to submission. When one thinks of oneself as being worthless, one is deprived of one's vitality.
The fourth plague is that of arov, a word that means mixture (of wild animals, as it's mostly understood). It represents unhealthy ambition. Of course, having ambition can drive a person to greatness. But excessive ambition turns a person into a “wild animal,” devouring anyone who is standing in one’s way.
Pestilence is deceitful compassion. When one presents oneself as compassionate in order to exploit others for selfish purposes, they damage the person they are pretending to be compassionate toward.
Boils are associated with fire, and kabbalah relates it to rejection. Rejection removes us from others and can easily turn into hate, bitterness and cruelty which affect both ourselves and those around us.
Hail, the seventh plague, is frozen water. Water is symbolic for generosity, which flows. But frozen water is love and generosity which has become cold and no longer nurtures.
Locusts represent a corrupted mind. How many times do we find ways to justify our actions intellectually, when we know they are morally questionable?
Darkness represents the darkness one’s soul can feel in a world that pays so little attention to it. How many times do we deprive our soul from growth because we are more concerned with growing our bank accounts or our muscles?
The last plague, the death of the firstborn, represents the destruction of the purest instincts and motives of the soul
As discussed by many commentators, the plagues undo Creation. Egypt, the strongest empire of the time, ends up in a state of darkness and chaos. Looking back at Egypt from the other side of the Sea of Reeds, one would see a land with no people, no animals, and no vegetation – a land that seems unformed and void exactly as the whole world was before Creation.
The plagues and the subsequent Exodus create a strong distinction between Israel and Egypt. G-d took chaos and ordered the universe so that there would be light. Egypt led the world to darkness, and Israel will be called, shortly after the redemption from Egypt, to lead it back to light.
When they arrive at Sinai, the Israelites will be told to build a society that is almost the exact opposite of what Egypt was, especially in regard to bein adam l’chavero, the interaction between human beings. They are expected to create a society in which every human being is respected and valued.
If we are to build such a society (and such a world) we must leave Egypt; from a moral and practical standpoint, we must leave behind the chaos which the world presents as “normal.”
If we have learned anything from the plagues, we have a lot of work to do – both on a personal, spiritual level, and on a communal level. We are being called to work on ourselves and to make our souls stronger as much as we are being called to follow G-d’s instructions to build a better world, to be a light unto all nations. We will have 49 days, starting on the second night of Pesach, to work on ourselves. Let’s take it seriously.
Let’s understand that Pesach is not about an abstract freedom, a freedom from everything, a do whatever you want freedom. It is about bringing a redemptive freedom into the world, which cannot happen without inner and external work on our part. I hope all of us are committed to this and successful in our efforts. May we start building the days in which the world will see no wars, famine, destruction and will – instead – be restored to what it was meant to be.
May this be a meaningful holiday for you and your loved ones. Chag Sameach!
Sandra Lilienthal is an adult Jewish educator (www.sandralilienthal.com) and co-founder of Wisdom Without Walls: An Online Salon for Jewish Ideas (www.wisdomwithoutwalls.org)
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