Va'eira: Mixed Feelings
The Fourth plague inflicted upon the Egyptians was the plague of wild animals. These beasts ravaged the land and wreaked havoc to all that crossed their paths.
The Torah described the animals as being a “mixture” of various types of dangerous creatures (scorpions, snakes, beasts).
One may incorrectly deduce from the Torah’s inclusion of the seemingly unnecessary word “mixture” a rather negative message. One may think that this indicated that God favours mixtures, and that all moral, ethical and spiritual barriers can or should be broken down.
The Torah teaches us that this isn’t the case, by proclaiming that God “set apart the Land of Goshen where my people remain” so they shouldn’t be attacked by the ravishing beasts.
This teaches us an extremely important lesson that we take with us into our daily lives.
Sometimes, a Jew has to venture out into the unchartered waters of “mixed” values and blurred boundaries. However, one must realise, and constantly remind himself and others, that God does not favour this mixing and diluting of moral and ethical values.
Rather it is the Divine will that the Jews should be “set apart” and removed from the rest of mankind, in the way that we must uphold our Jewish identity and remain proud of who we are.
We must not give in and become assimilated with perverse, crooked reasoning and values of today’s dark world; we must strive, even whilst subjugated to this very “slavery”, to be a shining light to the nations of the world.
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