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 servants plead for Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to leave. He continues to defy God, and as a result all of the Egyptians are struck with the deadly final plague.
We have long admired leaders who “stand by their principles.” But when does such adherence become a dangerous disregard for consequences? A traditional Jewish text advises that “Those who stubbornly refuse to learn from the negative consequences of their behavior will suffer doubly for their stubbornness.” Pharoah learned this lesson only after the devastation of his country by the death of all of the first born in the final, terrible plague.
Today, we see in the United States and in Israel leaders who ignore the potential disaster of continuing to stick to their “principles.” Can Israel find peace through a dream of a “Greater Israel” which annexes the West Bank? Is the “ownership” of Greenland more important than NATO which has protected us for 75 years, and is the use of masked para-military in our country’s cities turning our country into an autocratic state?
