Man Plans…
There is a well known Yiddish expression, “Der Mentsch Tracht Un Gott Lacht (man plans and G-d laughs)”. While this lesson has always been relevant, over these past two years it has been felt even more profoundly.
As our lives are constantly progressing and changing, we naturally try to plan ahead to mitigate any risks we may encounter in the future. This may manifest itself in financial planning, taking out a good insurance policy, or opening savings accounts for our children.
While we are expected to do our part and act responsibly by planning for the future, at the same time we must remember not to put our absolute trust in anyone or anything other than G-d.
As it is written, "G‑d will bless you in all that you do," (Deuteronomy 15:18). Our blessings come from G‑d, but we must do. Of course, we believe in miracles—but we must not rely on them. The combination of our own hard work and efforts coupled with G‑d's blessing is the ideal road to success.
Despite all the medical, scientific, economic and technological advances we have made in recent years, we must remember that there is always a higher power which is setting everything into motion and that G-d is taking care of all of our needs. By letting go of the belief that we are in control of our own destiny and instead placing our complete trust in G-d enables us to live a more liberated and serene life.
In this week’s Torah portion, Vaeira, we learn about the first seven of the ten plagues which G-d brought upon the Egyptians. Many of the commentators struggle regarding the significance of these particular plagues. If they were meant to serve only as a punishment to the Egyptians for brutally enslaving the Jewish people, there were many faster and easier ways for G-d to accomplish this.
One of the great Biblical commentators, Rabbi Don Isaac Abarbanel (1437, Lisbon, Portugal- 1508, Venice, Italy), who also served as the financier and treasurer of King Afonso V of Portugal, explains that the plagues were meant to not only serve as a punishment for the Egyptians, but rather, more importantly, to provide a lesson regarding certain truths about G-d's existence and providence. As the verse states, “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand over Egypt and bring out the Israelites from their midst” (Exodus 7:5).
The Nile was the mainstay of the Egyptian economy. No rain falls in Egypt, so the Egyptian farmer did not look to the heavens for sustenance. The Egyptians instead worshipped the Nile River for it provided irrigation for their fields. The very first plague turned the waters of the Nile to blood. This forced the Egyptians to recognize a higher power and to turn to G-d for assistance. The same was true with each of the subsequent plagues, they served as an important lesson for the Egyptians by removing their false sense of ego and belief in their own accomplishments.
Pharaoh is identified with his stubborn boasts, “I do not know G‑d,” and “the river is mine and I have fashioned it,” denying G‑d’s influence in our world and replacing it with a belief in self and man’s power. The fundamental purpose of the plagues was to negate this approach, to manifest G‑dliness openly so that all could see, and in doing so, to break the pride of Pharaoh and his nation.
This also serves as an important lesson to the Jewish people. The message of the miracles of the plagues is to probe beneath the surface and become conscious of G‑d’s involvement in our lives. Nature itself is no more than a recurring series of miracles. Nothing happens by chance. Instead, in a way in which only His infinite wisdom can fully comprehend, G‑d is guiding our lives and working miracles on our behalf. The only difference between the plagues in Egypt and our present situation is the degree in which G‑d’s hand is overtly manifest, but the presence - and the working - of that hand always remains the same.
Belief in one G-d means not only to negate the idea of polytheism, but also to reject the notion that there are other forces which control the world. Nature, science, the stock market, and medicine are no more than tools which G-d chooses to use to provide for our needs. They lack any inherent power of their own. As Maimonides explains in his Guide to the Perplexed, "[the sun acts in the same manner] as 'the axe in the hand of him that hews with it." Just as an axe has no independent choice of its own, so too nature has no power of its own and is only a tool in the hand of the Creator.
The mission statement of the Jewish people to the world is to reveal G-dliness within the universe by demonstrating how every physical creation is meant to serve and express its true good and divine purpose. This mission helps us prepare the world for the coming of Redemption when all nations will live in peace, harmony, and prosperity together and serve G-d as one. As stated by our Prophets, “I will turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the Name of the Lord, to serve Him of one accord” (Zephaniah 3:9).
