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Parsha Ponderings -Va’iera – Through with Growing ? You’re Through!

 

ואתה ועבדיך ידעתי כי טרם תיראון מפני ה’ אלקים

 And as for you and your servants, I know that you have yet to be afraid of God

 

The plague of fire-filled hail having reigned (read: rained) long enough, Pharaoh, stuck between a rock and a hard (read: hot) place, finally seeks out Moshe, begging him to call the weather off. Acquiescing to his desperate plea, Moshe promises to pray for the plague’s cessation. Yet, as the Torah tells it, Moshe makes sure to remind Pharaoh that he knew full well how he and his servants remained indifferent to God

The Torah then continues:

 

והפשתה והשעורה נכתה, כי השעורה אביב הנה והפשתה גבעול והחיטה והכסמת לא נכו, כי אפילות הנה

And the flax and barley were crushed, for the barley was ripe and the flax in its stalks. And the wheat and spelt were not crushed, for they ripen later.

 

For generations, commentators have sought to make sense of this seemingly disjointed passage, with its hail-casualty bulletin so awkwardly out of place. Indeed, Rabbeinu Saadiah goes so far as to suggest that the entire verse is actually a continuation of Moshe’s words to Pharaoh. Yet the basic question, as Ramban points out, remains unanswered: Why would Moshe find it necessary to update Pharaoh as to the plague’s toll precisely at this juncture?

In his typically brilliant style, the great Rabbi Akiva Eiger provides a most enlightening approach toward resolving the entire issue. Indeed, he asserts, these words are part of Moshe’s rebuke to Pharaoh, and a most important part at that. Yes, you have yet to fear God, said Moshe, yet even so it would be worth your while to at least soften your supercilious, hardened posture. Take heed from the experience of the grains- the hard ones were crushed, while the soft ones were able to avert annihilation by virtue of their flexibility, which allowed them to bend under bombardment rather than be crushed by the impact.

It is not a matter of religiosity, explained Moshe, but simple pragmatism. If you don’t want to be broken, don’t be so tough and haughty. Adversity rarely succeeds in breaking the humble and unpretentious, and rarely fails at shattering the prideful and supercilious.

The message is indeed incisive, yet perhaps the true lesson runs even deeper. What gave the wheat and spelt their elasticity was the fact that they were still engaged in the process of growing, whereas their flax and barley counterparts had already reached full maturity. When one is stagnant, the slightest hint of adversity can throw him off of the high perch he has established for himself, from which to disdainfully observe all those little lemmings still pathetically trying to make something of themselves. When one is actively engaged in the never-ending process of self-creation, however, adversity is nothing more than another crooked step in the obstacle-ridden ladder of growth, which constitutes the entire purpose of life.

Go brown, and you’re sure to be a rotten grump.

Go green, and you’ll never feel another bump.

 

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