Divine Micromanagement
The entire future of the world, the ultimate age of Redemption, is not necessarily dependent on some earth shattering gesture on our part. One minor act of kindness and goodness, one more Mezuzah on our door posts, one more dollar to tzedakah, can be the one act that will transform the entire world.
The Third Plague
This week’s Torah portion highlights seven of the ten plagues that G-d used to crush Pharaoh and the Egyptian people. It is obvious that had G-d wanted it so, Pharaoh could have been “convinced” that it was in his own best interest to let the Jews go after the first plague. Why was there a need for all ten?
Commentators point out that each plague served an educational objective as well as a form of punishment and a means of coercion.
In this week’s message we will focus on the third plague, referred to in Hebrew as Kinnim or lice. What was unique about this plague in terms of the effect it had on the Egyptians?
G-d’s “Finger”
Upon closer scrutiny it is clear that this plague was the first to impress the Egyptian sorcerers that this was not magic, but it was, in their words: “the finger of G-d.”
Considering that these pagans did not even know of G-d’s existence previously as Pharaoh exclaimed earlier: “I don’t know G-d that I should hearken to his voice!” their admission now that this was an expression of His power, represented a major change in their attitude.
The Talmud -– cited by Rashi — explains why they were impressed with the plague of lice more than the two earlier ones of blood and frogs. Whereas their powers of magic extended to larger forms, they were impotent insofar as creatures that were smaller than a “barley grain.” When these sorcerers saw that G-d did not have that limitation and he was able to produce even lice that were smaller than a barley grain, they were convinced that G-d’s power exceeded theirs.
Upon deeper reflection it would seem that their admission that G-d’s power that wrought this plague was greater than the power of magic, in more than just a quantitative sense. To suggest that G-d’s preeminence over the sorcerers of Egypt was limited to the size of the object they wished to create is hardly an educational “coup” and victory for the forces of holiness.
Could G-d Relate to Small Things?
In truth, their perception that their powers did not extend to miniscule things, derived from their limited notion of what a deity is. For them, a great power could not relate to anything less than a power that is virtually as great. A mighty monarch would never lower himself to deal with the lowliest subjects of his kingdom. To reach them, he must delegate responsibility to lower level officials.
This was, in essence, the very origins of paganism. According to Maimonides the original pagans believed in G-d, but they also believed that it was beneath His dignity to deal with the lowly affairs of our physical world. G-d, they reasoned, must have delegated power and responsibility to lower deities such as the sun, moon and other celestial bodies.
When the sorcerers saw that G-d could indeed relate to the most miniscule and insignificant creatures, it introduced them to the truth about G-d’s ability to relate to the greatest and the lowliest equally.
Only a finite king can be more partial to a higher level of power and indifferent to lower levels. G-d who is truly infinite can relate to even the most insignificant being. In short, G-d is no closer to a more important creature and no more distant from the most inconsequential one.
Judaism Sanctifies the Small just like the Big
This lesson forms the basis of Judaism as well. Most of the Torah is filled with G-dly commands that dictate to us how we should think, talk and act.. Many ask the question, why would such an omnipotent G-d be concerned with such “trivial” matters as the food we eat, the words we speak etc.? Wouldn’t G-d get more out of the more spiritually glamorous experiences than with the minute details of our everyday lives?
The answer is that because G-d is absolutely infinite, He can relate to anything without it affecting His greatness. The more trivial the action that we do for G-d, the more it expresses the “finger of G-d.”
One Action can Save the World!
With this in mind, we can better appreciate Maimonides’ statement that even one positive action can save the entire world. The entire future of the world, the ultimate age of Redemption, is not necessarily dependent on some earth shattering gesture on our part. One minor act of kindness and goodness, one more Mezuzah on our door posts, one more dollar to tzedakah, can be the one act that will transform the entire world. And just as the recognition of the Egyptian elite that the Jewish G-d can be expressed through the most miniscule action was a major step in preparing the Jewish nation for Redemption, so too, in our day and age, the recognition that every Mitzvah counts, will usher in the future Redemption through the coming of Moshiach.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Voeira by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
