A careful reading of this week’s Torah portion, Va’erah, וארא, chapter 9:14-26, reveals that Moshe’s concern was not just for the Hebrews but for the Egyptians as well, and by extension for all of humanity. In particular, the 7 th plague, ברד “hail,” was to be a demonstration from which everyone was to learn about God’s relationship to mankind.
At this juncture in the Torah after enduring 6 previous plagues, Moshe comes before Pharoah and tells him, “You and your people really deserve to be wiped out. But you will not be obliterated in order to show you My strength, and so that My Name may be declared throughout the world.” (Shemot 9:15-16) In other words, according to strict justice Pharoah and all his people should be destroyed by the next plague. But now Moshe is informing the Egyptians that they will serve another purpose. If God annihilates the entire nation, how will the rest of the world hear and learn about God? Why don’t we say, the Jews will tell everyone? We will come back to this question.
First, we must explain what was unique in the plague of hail that would accomplish Moshe objective? Before the onset of the hail, Moshe says something very interesting, something that he does not mention before the onset of any other plague. Moshe gives the Egyptians a warning, a way to avoid the devastation of the coming hail. “Any person or animal left outdoors during the hail will be killed. Those that stay indoors, man or animal, would be spared.” What is the uniqueness of this plague?
The hail contained a challenge to the Egyptians. It was the only plague that set up a situation where the Egyptians had to use their בחירה, faculty of free choice. It was a test and their life or death depended on everyone’s decision. Free choice is a situation where a person clearly sees two realms of operation and chooses one. Do ideas and intellect determine a person’s actions and the way to relate to the world, or does a person deny knowledge and resort to following their emotions, feelings, and instincts? Having witnessed and experienced firsthand the previous 6 plagues, the Egyptians were now face to face with that choice, follow their intellect and knowledge or their feelings and emotions. The Torah makes clear those Egyptians who chose knowledge survived along with their livestock. Those who did not perished.
Why was it necessary for God to create a situation where some or many Egyptians would survive? The Torah said the nation was worthy of annihilation, but then the Torah states their survival was necessary, “to show you My strength and so that MY name may be declared throughout the world.” (Shemot 9: 15-16) Why couldn’t the Jews
accomplish that goal, isn’t that our mission?
In this case the Jews would not serve as credible witnesses. First, the Jews did not experience the hail. They were living in a segregated district in Egypt called Goshen and hence not subject to this plague. The second reason is that of course, the Jews would say God saved them. The Egyptians are evil and worthy of death. They on the other hand are righteous deserving of freedom and life. Therefore, only those people that were placed in the situation of having to make a choice, in this case the Egyptians, could testify to the Moshe’s warning and the truth of what then transpired. Only survivors could truly bear witness to the choice God presented them and why they were saved.
The Egyptians that survived could then proclaim this truth to the rest of the world and bring to all mankind a recognition of God. In fact, at the beginning of next week’s parsha, בא, Bo, we read that the surviving Egyptians implore Pharoah, “How long will this be a snare to us? Send out the men that they may serve Hashem, their God! Don’t you yet know that Egypt is lost?” (Shemot 10:7) We are also told at the end of Parshat Bo that at the time of the Exodus, a mixed multitude of people, among them Egyptians, left Egypt with the Hebrews.
This situation, the opportunity to use of free choice to determine our conduct was not just for the people living in Egypt at the time of the 10 plagues. Rather, it is the tool every human being has at his/her disposal to use every day, at every moment of life. At the end of ספר דברים, Deuteronomy (Chapter 30: 19-20) God implores us at every moment to choose life. The Torah there outlines the benefits of that choice. Of course, it is up to each of us to decide how we will live. God does not compel us one way or the other. If He did, we would not have a free choice. The Torah would be lying to us. But we can and should pray to God for the strength and sometimes courage we need to properly and wisely use the tool of free choice every human being is endowed with.