Art by Sefira Lightstone
A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT FROM RABBI MORDY
So this week’s parsha is Bo and the Jewish people are in a pickle. (Sound familiar?) Slavery is unbearable and so are the plagues that God keep making worse for the Egyptians. These are tense times indeed. And so, when finally the tenth plague arrives and the Egyptians are completely fed up, Moses instructs the Jewish people to each take a sheep into their home. Why? Because sheep were the deity of the Egyptians. Moreover, the Jews were instructed to be forthcoming about their intentions. Egyptian: “Excuse me, what is your intention with this sacred item, you know, the sheep you’ve brought into your home?” Jew: “We intend to slaughter it. No bones about it.” Why the need to rub it in their faces? (We know that this is the Passover sacrifice that we commemorate every year at the Seder, but still. There could certainly be a less conspicuous way to start things off!)
To understand this, we need to understand the state of the Jewish in those times. The Jewish people were slaves. They had the mindsets of slaves. They were meek and downtrodden for generations, and the idea of standing up for themselves was completely foreign. So what is one of the first things they are commanded as they begin their story as free people? Stand up for yourselves. Stand up for what’s right. Have some self confidence. Yes, you’re going out of Egypt and leaving this sinful, barbaric society behind, so stand up for what you believe in. Say it loud and say it proud and go out with your head held high. A story is told about one of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’ secretaries, Rabbi Krinsky, who had back pain; the Rebbe’s wife, the Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, instructed him to see a doctor, which he did. The Rebbe asked him what the doctor’s advice was. Rabbi Krinsky responded that he had suggestions regarding his posture and that he should strive to stand up straight. The Rebbe told Rabbi Krinsky, “I always instruct my followers to stand up straight with their heads up.”
The lesson for us is an obvious one. When we see something that needs to be corrected, when we see an injustice, we need to be confident in how we respond. We need to be refined in our behavior but we also need self-assurance, even occasional chutzpah. It was one of the first lessons the Jewish people needed in becoming free, and we should carry that torch proudly today. People respect people who respect themselves. Good Shabbos!