A word of Torah:
Last week’s Torah portion began with the words Bo el Par’oh/come to Pharaoh. A number of commentators wonder why the verse doesn’t say Go/lekh to Pharaoh. There is a subtle but important point the text is making when it suggests that at times of great conflict, we must “come” to the moment and be fully present at it. There are many moments in our life’s journey that we are confronted by challenges from other people. There are also moments of illness or loss. Too often, in the face of such difficulties we try to avoid them. Avoidance can take various forms—denial, anger, blaming others, or self-pity. We quickly move on or shift our focus. This is true not just on an individual level but as a society as well.
If in order to meet challenges we must see what is going on with clear eyes, Pharaoh is increasingly blind. The last three plagues share one common element—darkness. When locusts appear over Egypt, the Torah says: They hid all the land from view and the land was darkened (Ex. 10:15). The land could not be seen. The consequence of the next plague of darkness is described as one in which “people could not see one another, and for three days no one could get up from where he was” (Ex. 10:23). Finally, the last plague, the death of the first-born will bring final darkness both to the victims and the survivors.
The story seems a chilling warning as we approach Tu Bishvat/the New Year for the Trees, a holiday that has increasingly focused our attention on the environment. Faced with the crisis of global warming, there are many who deny what is happening. Despite a series of “plagues,” where nature runs wild in extreme weather events like wildfires or hurricanes, some act as if nothing unusual is happening. As water supplies decrease, bees vanish and crop yields diminish, for them “the land is hidden from view.” When what is needed is a massive, coordinated effort by countries throughout the world, we cannot see one another and rely on our own resources to get ourselves through the coming crisis. Partisanship rather than participation is valued. Reaching across the aisle is rejected. Instead, reaching for all you can grab is praised. It is inevitable that all this blindness will lead to the final plague where darkness and death will be our fate--from those who sit elevated on the seats of power to those being crushed by the millstones of prejudice.
The choice is set starkly before us in this week’s portion. Either take the courageous first steps by jumping into the sea in order to reach the far shores of freedom and justice. Or rush obliviously along, weighed down by the injustices of the past believing that the chariots of commerce and other forms of technology will be enough to carry us through.
The temptation is always to return to the familiarity of mitzrayim, denying how bad the past was. Instead in the face of personal challenges or worldwide ones, we need to find the path leading ahead to the promised land.
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