[Avodah] Learning from the past - another look at the 10 plagues of Egypt

[Shoshana L. Boublil]

When looking at the 10 plagues of Egypt, the question arises - why those?
Hashem could have achieved the same effect of liberating the Israeli nation
by bringing in an enemy that would have let the Jews go (side note: perhaps
a problem with this one - that the Egyptians could claim that their fears
were true, see Parshat Shmot...);

Hashem could have brought upon them earthquakes; the nile could have
overflowed and flooded the land; meteorites could have fallen; I'm sure you
can all think of many other scenarios. But Hashem selected the 10 plagues. 

Chazal bring various answers: Mida KeNeged Mida; To show the Egyptians the
falseness of their gods; To teach Israel the might of Hashem; But my
question is then - we have a tradition that anything that is in the Torah is
intended LeShe'ata VeLeDorot. What is it that we can learn from the 10
plagues that is relevant to OUR generation?

In examining this question, and re-reading the Torah I realized that there
is one theme that keeps repeating itself: Israel is about to leave the Land
of Egypt and go to the Land of Israel where they will have to lead a normal
life. No longer slaves; No Mahn from Heaven; Just a regular state with all
the issues that need to be addressed. [note: if they hadn't sinned they
would have been in Israel within a year].  Now, Moshe Rabeinu was raised in
the House of Pharaoh and probably had an education in governance, but the
people were slaves for 210 years and were used to doing without; suffering
or relying on the Egyptians for such issues. How were they going to become
aware of what was involved? How could they learn and understand that they
need to make the effort to care for these issues? And more importantly -
what were the issues?

And that's when I realized that the 10 plagues could give us the answer.
They were environmental disasters of the highest order. The Jews could see
first hand the results of these disasters and thus learn that it was
important to prevent them when they reached the land of Israel.

So, here are some thoughts/notes (that can be expanded) on the 10 plagues,
as environmental disasters:

Water based disasters:
Blood - without water, there is no life!  Water also symbolizes our
spiritual life. 
Frogs - Even if there is water, we have to guard it, that it won't be
spoiled (indicated by too many/few frogs living near water resources etc.)
 
Soil  based disasters:
Lice - This plague is created from the earth, the soil.  When the soil is
sick - so are the people.
 
Animal kingdom disasters:
Wild animals/flies & rodents: There are 2 basic understandings of this
plague. In both cases, an imbalance occurs in the animal kingdom, generating
more wild animals/rodents and pests than can be tolerated by the general
animal life/plant life of humans. This teaches us the importance of the
balance in nature and in the need to support this balance and not do
anything to damage it.
 
Disease:
Livestock plague: Disease that strikes the livestock which is part of the
livelihood of a nation that lives on agriculture and animal husbandry.
Human plague: Human disease.  We know nowadays, that cleanliness and basic
care can minimize human disease. 
 
Natural Disasters:
Hail and Fire: This special hail combines water and fire, two of the most
powerful natural forces. The hail represents the weather and the disasters
it can cause. Fire represents volcanoes and other related natural disasters
(and perhaps energy based human disaste).
Locusts: An animal/plant based disaster that again is created b/c of certain
specific conditions that cause the locusts to swarm and travel from place to
place seeking food - and destroying all plant life in its path.
 
Community Disasters:
Darkness: The first thing that darkness prevents is the ability of people to
get together, to cooperate - and to build a community. This is both in the
physical and the spiritual sense.
The death of the firstborn: Prior to building a  community, you need to
build a stable family. The firstborn is considered, in Jewish thought, to be
the link that connects the generation of the parents to the generation of
the children. The firstborn comes into the world the closest to the parents'
marriage (usually), when they are the youngest (usually). But the firstborn
is also a child and a member of the next generation. The death of the
firstborn symbolizes the destruction of the united family that is the basis
of a healthy society. In fact we involved Eliyahu HaNavi in our Seder to
remind us of the importance of bringing peace and cooperation to the
children and the parents: VeHeishiv Lev Avot Al Banim VeLev Banim Al Avotam!
 
I have only said a few words here. There is a lot more that can be said and
written on this topic. This was just to give you a taste and some room for
thought.
 
I wish us all a disaster free holiday, joy and a good life!
 
Shoshana L. Boublil
Permaculture Designer
Israel