Vaera
In the portion of Vaera things have gone from bad to worse for the Israelite slaves, but God reassures Moses that the redemption will begin. We read about Moses' staff turning into a serpent and the first seven plagues.
Vaera - Michael Harris
Michael Harris has been rabbi of Hampstead (United) Synagogue since 1995. He is also a research fellow in philosophy at the London School of Jewish Studies. He is a frequent presenter at national and one-day Limmuds.
The Sidra of Vaera covers the first seven of the ten plagues. If we examine the structure of the plagues, something very interesting emerges:
Plague 1 - Blood: God commands Moses to wait for Pharaoh early in the morning on the banks of the River Nile to warn him that the plague is coming.
Plague 2 - Frogs: God simply instructs Moses to go to Pharaoh, presumably to the royal palace.
Plague 3 - Lice: God tells Moses to initiate the plague without any warning whatsoever.
This pattern repeats itself twice more. Moses waits for Pharaoh on the banks of the Nile in order to announce the fourth plague, wild animals. He goes to Pharaoh to inform him of the fifth plague, pestilence. The sixth plague, boils, is visited on the Egyptians without notice. Plagues seven, eight and nine follow the same template.
What is the significance of this unmistakeable structure? In the sixteenth century, the Maharal of Prague suggested that the pattern of warning and lack of warning reflected Moses's God-directed psychological warfare against Pharaoh. Initially, Moses treated Pharaoh with respect, patiently waiting for him by the river. Next, Moses acted more assertively, approaching Pharaoh when he saw fit rather than waiting for him. Finally, he showed Pharaoh no regard at all, striking Egypt without informing Pharaoh in advance.
A further explanation can perhaps be offered. The Torah is showing us how negative patterns of behaviour, what we might term 'inner plagues', can creep up on us. They begin by waiting patiently; next, they tempt us more directly; ultimately, they become second nature, reflexes which strike without warning and determine our conduct.
The Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Succah 52b, powerfully describes this process:
"Rava said: Initially the Evil Inclination is called 'wayfarer', then it is called 'guest', and finally it is called 'master'".
This is what happens to Pharaoh in our Sidra. The movement from warning to no warning concerning the plagues mirrors the shift in Pharaoh's psyche. Initially, Pharaoh hardens his own heart and refuses to release the Jewish people from slavery. Ultimately, as the text of the Torah indicates, God hardens Pharaoh's heart. Maimonides, in the sixth chapter of Hilchot Teshuvah (Laws of Repentance), among other sources, explains that God took away Pharaoh's free will as punishment for all the sins he had committed when he had free will. According to the line of thought we have been developing, there is no mystery about how God takes away Pharoah's free will. Pharaoh becomes caught in a downward moral spiral, held hostage by his own previous actions and attitudes. He becomes so used to defiance of God and indifference to Israelite suffering that no other mode of behaviour is possible for him any longer.
This kind of negative spiritual dynamic is a danger of which sensitive human beings are aware. The good news is that there is another side to the coin. Positive, upward spiritual momentum is equally possible. Compassion and ethical behaviour can become instinctive. As the Rabbis said in Pirkei Avot (the Ethics of the Fathers): "Aveira goreret aveira" - one sin tends to bring another in its wake. Yet it is also the case that mitzva goreret mitzva - one mitzva often pulls another along behind it.
Another Voice - Naomi Hass
In the Torah there are three different stories which have a similar central symbolic character, the snake or in Hebrew, the nachash. The snake who talks to Eve in the garden of Eden, the serpent with whom God demonstrates His power to Moses and finally, in this week's parsha, the showdown between the Egyptian magicians and Moses and Aaron. Why has this figure, with so many associations ranging from protection, rebirth and recovery to deceit and temptation, been used so many times in the Torah, and in so many different ways?There is much commentary about why the nachash is chosen as the vehicle for Eve's temptation. It seems to bridge the animal and human kingdom, and according to some commentators (Pirkei Rabbi Eliezer; Zohar 1:35), is chosen because it walks on two feet and was able to use this as a disguise. One of the main aspects of the nachash's punishment is that it is clearly and unambiguously confined to the lower ranks of the animal kingdom. His legs are removed, and he is both symbolically and physically closer to the dust of the earth. Isn't it surprising, that such a similar figure is used as the representation of God's power and might, first to Moses and then to Pharaoh's court?
One could also question the coherence to its symbolism. In both stories there is a deceit and the snake or serpent is linked with a demonstration which will be able to convince people of something. The serpent has this strength of representing both at the same time, illustrating the duality of all symbols and the importance of pressing beyond the metaphor. Poison or cure, protection and temptation; rather than being opposite extremes, definition as one or the other is simply a question of how much, when and for whom. Sometimes the snake is depicted with its tail in its mouth, forming a circle. With so much venom, it can simply bite itself.