Posted on 01/23/2004 7:31:15 AM PST by Zionist Conspirator
If we take a close look at the Exodus from Egypt, we notice that practically the entire story centers around the plagues which Pharoah and the Egyptians suffered. From our early childhood, we are familiar with, and take great pleasure in, the episode of the plagues. The plagues play such a central role, that we sometimes forget to ask: Hey, wait a minute! Why should the Exodus focus so predominantly on the plagues? Why should the liberation of the Hebrews, the nation which brings light to the world, have to be so closely associated with the suffering of another people?
An Exodus Without Plagues?
Let us rephrase the question: Could the Almighty not have taken us out of Egypt in another fashion? Could he not have taken us out with “Darke Noam” (plesantly)? Could God not have performed a few miracles (“nice” ones, where nobody gets hurt) in which the Egyptians would somehow be unable to prevent the Jews from leaving? If so, then why did God have to make the Exodus hinge upon cruel abuse of Pharoah and the Egyptian population? Hashem is Omnipotent, and if He wants to redeem His people, he can do so without plagues and without pain. Since every detail of the Exodus (our redemption and establishment as a nation) is important, we must ponder this question.
The question is compounded when we read the Haggadah of Pesach, and see a very peculiar dispute among the rabbis. If until now we had thought that there were ten plagues, the rabbis in the Haggadah learn out from the verses that there were actually many more. One of the sages reaches 50 plagues, the second 200, and the third, 250! How odd. Who cares how many plagues the Egyptians were stricken with? Isn’t the important thing that the Jews left Egypt?
How to Make a Better World
To understand this, we must understand that the Jewish People is like no other nation, and consequently, its “national liberation” is like that of no other nation. The Jewish nation is the representative of the Almighty in this world; the chosen nation, whose goal is to bring good and Divine kindness to a world which was created for this very purpose. If so, its liberation has a clear goal, too. And that is to bestow goodness upon the world - Divine Goodness from the God Whom these people represent.
But when bestowing good upon the world, there is a “small” obstacle in the way: the evil which also exists in the world. Obviously, good cannot reign in a world in which evil exists. As we have said so often: there can be no co-existence between good and evil. And so whenever one wants to bring good to the world, he must overcome an obstacle which is not always a pleasant one: He must “burn out the evil from thy midst”.
Striking Down Evil - Kiddush Hashem!
Now we know why when an event of this magnitude takes place the liberation and establishment of God’s People in the world it had to focus upon the confrontation with, and the defeat of, evil. The confrontation with the Egyptians was not an incidental one, as one would deal with some annoying pest. This confrontation expressed the eternal struggle between good and evil. It is the confrontation between blasphemy of Hashem (“I do not know Hashem”, as Pharaoh brazenly proclaimed), versus “I know Hashem”, which is expressed through the very existence of the Jewish People in the world.
Every plague against Pharoah, who stubbornly stuck to his evil and his refusal to accept Hashem was in essence a plague against the ideology of “I do not know Hashem”, and a proof that indeed, there is a God in this world, and He is the God of Israel. Now it is clear why it was important for the rabbis in the Haggadah to multiply the number of plagues in Egypt: Because the plagues are an expression of the power and existence of the true God who defeats falsehood. In other words, each plague against the evil gentile is a Kiddush Hashem. A sanctification of the God of Israel.
There is No Peace With Evil
The same holds true today, in these times of redemption. Today, as well, many do not understand why the redemption must revolve around conflict and war with the Ishmaelites. Now it is clear. The Ishmaelites try with all their might to halt the redemption process, the process which is meant to bring good upon the world. They spearhead the evil and falsehood that exists in the world! Each and every “pigua” is a “pigua” against God, a declaration of “I do not know Hashem, and I will not let Israel be redeemed”. On the flip side, every time we strike them; every victory over them; any act of vengeance is a step forward in the redemption process, the process of Kiddush Hashem.
This authentic Jewish viewpoint pulls out the rug from under the feet of all those who seek “shalom” with those who “do not know Hashem” and aspire to wipe out His People. Peace can only be with those who acknowledge God’s choice of Israel and the land He chose for them. Any kind of “shalom” with such people is a coming to terms with evil with those who aspire to liquidate God’s sovereignty. Furthermore, this authentic Jewish view pulls out the rug from under those who “share in the sorrow”, or condemn acts of vengeance, that are taken against the enemy. God forbid that we ever feel sorry about it. It is a Kiddush Hashem, just as in the Exodus from Egypt, which we celebrate until this very day.
If you would like to read articles and Divrei-Torah from a similar viewpoint there are any number of Kahanist sites online, such as http://www.hameir.org/.
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