Ex.10:1-13:16
Précis: God sends additional plagues (locusts and darkness) and alerts Moses that the 10th and final plague will follow. God instructs Moses on the institution of the Passover. Then, the final plague, the death of the first born, is wrecked upon Egypt. The Israelites, accompanied by the “mixed multitudes,” leave Egypt, carrying with them the “spoils of Egypt” given to them by the Egyptians. The parasha ends with a repetition of the laws regarding Passover.
Ex. 10:8 “How long shall this one be a snare to us? Let the men go to worship Adonai, their God! Are you not yet aware that Egypt is lost?”
Pharaoh’s advisors, united in their dismay of what they see as a result of the “heart-hardened” ruler, plead with their god/king to allow the Israelites to depart. He again refuses.
Perhaps there are modern lessons to be learned here. When a leader ignores the information and advice received from the most trusted advisors and aids, dismissing the information as “fake news” or lies, the leader has failed as a leader, and has failed those he rules.
Second, a leader’s advisors and aides are obligated to speak truth to power, even when that power emerges from a Pharaonic “god/king” who appears to have the power of life or death over the obsequious advisors.
Third, we must always keep in mind that a leader is a human being with the faults inherent in being human, lest we fall into a cultish trap which causes us to support a leader whose policies are, in actuality, adverse to our own personal interest, let alone those of our country.
