COMMUNITY MAGAZINE March 2021

14 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Words of Rabbi Eli J. Mansour לעילוי נשמתם של משה בן עליזה, יצחק הלל בן עליזה, והנרייט לאה בת עליזה, דוד בן גילה, רבקה בת גילה, יהושע בן גילה, משה בן גילה, שרה בת גילה, יעקב בן גילה, ואליאנה בת גילה. ולרפואה שלמה ליוסף בן אהובה מסעודה, שילת אהובה בת עליזה, ודניאל בן עליזה. The famous Kabbalist Rav Shimshon of Ostropoli (d. 1648) wrote a letter which he encouraged his students and followers to read once a year, preferably on Erev Pesach. He assured that reading this letter and imbibing its lessons will yield great benefits, and many observe this practice even today. In one passage in this letter, Rav Shimshon gives us insight into the ten plagues which Gd brought upon the Egyptians, as we mention and discuss at the seder . He writes that these plagues served a dual purpose: bringing devastation to the Egyptians, and bringing “healing” to Beneh Yisrael. Of course, we don’t normally associate plagues with “healing.” But Gd saw to it that the same supernatural phenomena which brought illness, poverty, and death to Egypt had a “therapeutic” effect upon Beneh Yisrael . Rebuilding Faith This “healing” was not a cure of a physical ailment, but rather a cure of the spirit. The Ramban (RavMoshe Nachmanides, Spain, 1194-1270) writes that our nation’s patriarchs were the “chariot,” as it were, of the Shechinah , the Divine Presence. They lived with such pristine faith, and with such devotion to Gd, that their homes were sanctuaries, where the Divine Presence resided. In fact, the Ramban writes, the Mishkan – the Temple which Beneh Yisrael built and carried with them in the desert – served as a replica of our patriarchs’ homes. The ideal abode of the Shechinah was the homes of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov. Toward the end of Yaakov’s life, he and his family were forced to move to Egypt. At that time, Egypt represented the polar opposite of the Shechinah . It was overrun by paganism and a culture of decadence, that directly contradicted everything the patriarchs embodied. Over the course of the 210 years our ancestors spent in Egypt, the emunah (faith) they had inherited from Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov had waned. The influence of Egyptian beliefs and lifestyles proved too strong for them to withstand, and they began losing their faith in Gd. Beneh Yisrael desperately needed “healing” – the reinforcement of their faith. This was the second function of the plagues. Besides punishing the Egyptians for their cruelty towards Beneh Yisrael , the plagues also rebuilt Beneh Yisrael ’s faith, showing them Gd’s force. Only the One who created the world and the laws of nature could then suspend those laws and overturn nature, as was done during the ten plagues. Moreover, the plagues affected only the Egyptians, and spared Beneh Yisrael . This clearly demonstrated Gd’s direct involvement in world affairs, how He controls the forces of nature to punish the wicked and rescue the oppressed. And, Gd overpowered even the strongest natural forces. He brought fire and water together during the plague of hail, and he darkened the sun and moon during the plague of darkness. Over the course of the ten plagues, Beneh Yisrael were shown the three most fundamental tenets of emunah : that Gd exists; that Gd is intimately involved in world affairs, fully controlling everything that happens; and that there is no force in the world outside His control or jurisdiction. This was the “cure” brought by the plagues. They helped cure our spiritually ailing ancestors, reawakening their emunah and inspiring a process of return to their forefathers’ beliefs and value system. A Time for Spiritual Healing