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Drash for Shabbat Va'era By David Silva - January 19, 2007 In this week’s portion we read about God reaffirming His covenant with Moses and the Jewish people. By Tucsonan standards Moses and Aaron, age 80 and 83 respectively, should be golfing or taking bus trips to Las Vegas, not mincing words with the self proclaimed "god" of Egypt. Their unwavering faith in God and their belief and love for the Jewish people give them the strength to charge on. Moses and Aaron demanded that Pharaoh release the Israelites from bondage, but Pharaoh refused. Thus God brought ten plagues upon Egypt, though only seven are covered in this parsha. Each plague began and ended in response to the prayers of Moshe, showing us the power and efficacy of prayer. The Ten Plagues and the miracles of the Exodus showed God’s complete control over nature. They showed that God was able to contravene, ignore, and change the laws of nature at will. Each plague distinguished between Jew and Egyptian, between the oppressed and the oppressor, demonstrating the existence of reward and punishment and Divine Providence. The plagues demonstrated God’s omnipotence as clearly as creation. Yet it was witnessed and experienced by the entire Jewish People. The Great Plagues strengthened the principles of Jewish belief. Moses had complained about the confrontation with Pharaoh and his apparent inability to release the Israelites from bondage immediately. Even in today’s world, it takes many individuals to succeed in the fight for freedom. Great change required patience and persistence. I feel the main purpose of the plagues was not only to expedite the release of the Israelites from Egypt; that could have been accomplished without the sound and light show. I found the process to be educational, a very high impact educational seminar, by today’s standards. The plagues illustrated to the Egyptians just how false their sense of superiority was. The plagues impressed upon the Jewish people the basic principles of monotheism and Judaism, demonstrating that God’s power was all-encompassing. We have seen many times over that the misuse of power is self-destructive and in the end does not prevail. It is compassion and integrity that triumphs. Let us always remember that no matter how much power you yield or how lofty a seat you sit upon, God trumps all. Shabbat Shalom.
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