PLAGUES: More Than Mere Myth 

There is an old joke about how, when a little boy came home from religious school one day, his father asked, "Well son, what did you learn at Temple today?"

"I learned about how many, many years ago, our people were slaves in Egypt.  Then there arose a leader by the name of Moses who promised to free them.  To do so, Moses organized an army of freedom fighters.  His army conducted guerilla raids against the Egyptians in order to pressure them into letting our people go.  They poisoned the Egyptian’s water supply.  They blew up their power plants.  The set fire to their food warehouses.  They released bio-toxins, killing many cattle and men.  They performed all sorts of acts of terrorism.  Then, when the Egyptians were reeling from these attacks, Moses organized a mass escape.  When the Jewish people got to the Red Sea, Moses had his corps of engineers build a pontoon bridge so that they could cross.  No sooner did the Israelites start crossing the bridge then the entire Egyptian army showed up.  Well the Egyptians started chasing them.  But when all the Jews were safely on the other side, and all the Egyptian soldiers were on the bridge, Moses ordered his men to blow up the bridge, using the charges of C-4 which they had strategically placed on it earlier.  When the bridge exploded any Egyptians who were not killed in the blast drowned in the sea.  And that is how Moses led the Children of Israel to freedom from slavery in Egypt."

The father was dumbstruck.  Stuttering and stammering in rage, he asked, "Is that really what they taught you in religious school at Temple today?"

"Not exactly," replied his son.  "But if I told you the story the way they told it to me, you wouldn’t believe it!"

On this Shabbat and next, we will read from the Torah the account of the Ten Plagues.  They, along with the splitting of the Red Sea and the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, are perhaps the most miraculous events to be reported in the Torah.  For our people, it was these experiences, culminating with their encounter with God at Mount Sinai, which secured the bonds of faith which have existed between God and the Jewish people ever since.

It is ironic that it is also these events which are so often attributed as being the breaking point of faith for so many of our people.  Many have been the times when I have discuss God and faith with our Confirmands, and the question of miracles comes up.  There have been so many students over the years who have said that they don’t believe in miracles.  They find the Torah’s account of the Ten Plagues and the splitting of the Red Sea simply to be incredible.  From that, many extrapolate that if the story is not credible, then the Torah is not credible, and therefore God is not credible.  Indeed, so many of our people refuse to believe in miracles and as a result, do not believe, or do not believe seriously, in God.

One of the attempts to respond to this painful phenomena of rejecting miracles and therefore rejecting belief in Torah and God has been that of reconciling the Torah accounts with explanations which appear to be more "rational".  This approach tries to chop through the mythology and reconstruct the story in more plausible terms.  For example, there are those who believe that the Children of Israel did not really cross the Red Sea but rather the Sea of Reeds, which is a marsh land.  While the Israelites, primarily burdened with only that which they could carry on their backs, were able to make it through this swamp, the Egyptians, with their heavy chariots and armor, quickly became bogged down.  It was as if they were swallowed up by the sea of reeds.

The same approach has been applied to the Ten Plagues.  It goes something like this: The Nile turning to blood was actually a result of pollution caused by the eruption of Mount Santorini, in 1500 B.C.E.  The ash could have made the water turn blood red and undrinkable, killing fish.  If the water was toxic enough to kill fish, then it naturally it would have driven the frogs out of the water, to die on land.  Consequently, the lack of frogs, which normally eat insects and therefore keep their numbers in check,  would have let the insect population explode.  The increased numbers of insects would have transmitted various diseases to livestock in epidemic proportions.  The same volcanic activity which turned the Nile red also could have impacted upon the weather patterns of the area, producing hail.  The hail could have destroyed most of the crops, leaving several insects and other animals without a food source.  The remaining crops would have been targeted heavily, and thus destroyed by swarms of locust.  The volcanic ash could have also blocked out the sun, causing darkness.  The sun could also have been blocked out by large swarms of locust.  As far as the death of the firstborn is concerned, this could refer to massive deaths due to food which was polluted by the previous conditions.  Indeed, the first born, who were given preferential treatment in ancient societies, may have had more access to the scarce food supply and therefore fallen as the first victims to the toxins found in the food.1

Such reframing of Torah miracles into more natural terms can be a mixed blessing.  In the struggle to keep the account whole, yet understandable in modern terms, the focus is turned to the events and away from God.  In fact, such explanations can have the effect of removing God completely from the story.  As a result, the credibility of the Ten Plagues is maintained, as is somewhat the accuracy of the Torah, but this version in and of itself is hardly inspiring in terms of our relationship with God.

On the other hand, such explanations can serve a very important purpose.  By reframing such miracle stories as that of the Ten Plagues into natural terms, it can help us to reapproach and redefine what we mean by a miracle.  The Ten Plagues can still be seen as a miracle, but as a miracle which happened within the laws of nature; within the everyday world.  For the miracle of the Ten Plagues is not so much how they happened, but that they happened and that they happened when they happened.  The miracle is not to be found in whether or not they were supernatural, but rather in that they helped to bring about the liberation of our people; a liberation from slavery to the greatest empire of their day.  Something which otherwise would be logically unthinkable.

As the Ten Plagues could have very well happened perfectly within the natural order of the universe, so could many other miracles be found occurring within that natural order.  And that is something important for us to consider.

Another funny story - one which you have probably heard:

It is hurricane season and it seems inevitable that this one coastal city is going to be hit hard.  As the rains start, the National Guard goes from house to house, calling upon people to evacuate.  When they arrive at one home, the owner says, "No thank you.  If I am in danger, I know that God will save me."  The storm grows worse and the waters rise so much that they drive this man to the second story of his home.  While there, a Coast Guard boat comes by and the sailors beg the man to leave his home and come aboard.  Yet his refusal is adamant as he informs them, "No thank you.  If I am in danger, I know that God will save me."  The waters continue to rise and the man is forced up to the roof of his home.  While there, a Marine Corps helicopter hovers overhead and drops him a ladder, imploring him to climb the ladder to safety.  Once again, he refuses stating, "No thank you.  If I am in danger, I know that God will save me."  Not long afterwards, the waters rise above his roof and he drowns.  He then finds himself in heaven, standing before the throne of God.  He turns to God in anger, exclaiming, "I believed in You!  I believed You would save me!  Why did You fail me?"  To this, God calmly replies, "What do you me, I failed you?  I didn’t fail you.  After all, I sent you the National Guard, the Coast Guard, and the Marines!  You failed yourself!"

Like the man in the story, we fail ourselves if we believe that miracles must be spectacular and supernatural in nature.  Our world and our lives are filled with miracles; miracles which naturally manifest themselves daily.  And God is very present in those miracles, if only we would open our eyes to their miraculous nature.

In Birchot HaShachar, the blessings that introduce the morning worship service, there is a prayer which states, "Praise to You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who formed the human body with skill creating the body’s many pathways and openings.  It is well known before Your throne of glory that if one of them be wrongly opened or closed, it would be impossible to endure and stand before You.  Blessed are You, Adonai, who heals all flesh, working wondrously."2

If we are searching for miracles in our lives, this prayer tells us that we need look no further than our very bodies.  They are wondrously made.  That our lives are sustained on a daily basis is a magnificent miracle in and of itself.  That our bodies have the ability to heal from injury or illness is a greater miracle still.  And this is but one of God’s manifold miracles that fill our daily lives.

When we look into the faces of our loved ones - our spouses, our children, our parents, our friends - we should sense the miraculous, and God’s presence, if we but open our eyes and our hearts to it.  In every act of creativity, whether it be ours or someone else’s, God’s miraculous hand is there to be found if we but know how to look.  In every act of compassion, in every pursuit of justice, God is there, partnering with us in the creation of daily miracles.  There are miracles to be found in every smile, in every laugh, and also in every tear.

Whether natural or supernatural in nature, the Ten Plagues helped effect the miraculous redemption of our people.  God performed those miracles then, and God continues to perform miracles for us today.  The only difference between miracles which can transform our lives and miracles which daily go unnoticed lies solely within us; with whether or not we have chosen to open ourselves up enough to come to recognize the miracles which surround us.  If it is not so now, may it soon come to be in each and every one of our lives.

AMEN

1  Wikepedia, "Plagues of Egypt", "Natural Explanations".

2  "Asher Yatzar, translation from MISHKHAN TEFILA, p. 32.