Page 27 - Harlem Pesach Companion 2021

When Celebration is Accompanied by Loss

By Liran Messinger

. םיניכ .עדרפצ .םד
Blood. Frogs. Lice.
. ןיחש .רבד .בורע
Flies. Pestilence. Boils.
. תורוכ תכמ .ךשוח .הברא .דרב
Hail. Locusts. Darkness. Death of the firstborn.

With the mention of each plague, we spill a drop of wine,
either by dabbing with our finger or pouring from the cup
itself. The cup is then refilled.

“And G-d heard their groaning, and G-d remembered His covenant with Avraham, with
Yitzchak and with Yaakov” (Shemot 2:24). G-d saw the Israelites’ affliction in Egypt and
intervened on our behalf. But why bring plagues upon the Egyptians instead of taking a
more direct route toward liberating the Israelites?

The Egyptians suffer from plagues parallel to the afflictions the Egyptians inflicted upon
the Israelites. More than just physical occurrences, the plagues were a reflection of the
Egyptians’ own wrongdoing which allowed them to feel the misery they brought upon
the Israelites.

When the Israelites are pained by the Egyptians, it is not G-d’s goal to immediately
declare the destruction of the Egyptians. G-d hoped to discipline the Egyptians with
sensitivity, sending the plagues individually, in three groups (according to the mnemonic
presented by Rabbi Yehudah: DETZACH, ADASH, BEACHAV). G-d also precedes
each of the first two plagues in each group with warnings. When the Egyptians do not
stop torturing the Israelites after the first two plagues in each group, G-d sends the third
plague in the group. Similarly, when the Egyptians continue to inflict violence upon the
Israelites after the first group of plagues, G-d sends the second. When even the most
significant reprimand is not enough for the Egyptians to end their hate, G-d brings about
the third group of plagues, resulting in the liberation of the Israelites. It is clearly G-d’s
preference to not send all of the plagues upon the Egyptians. G-d spaces out the plagues,
hoping that after the first, the Egyptians will stop acting in hateful ways, instead of
sending the plagues all at once to destroy them.

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