This past Passover, if you participated in a seder, you recited the 10 plagues God brought upon Egypt. Blood, frogs, lice, and the rest. It was a unique experience for most of us to be recounting ancient plagues while living through a modern-day global one. Did that context influence how you understood the plagues? How so?
As we read the story of the plagues in the Torah this week, I am left troubled by the notion of indiscriminate plagues from God. Without a doubt, the plagues precipitated Pharaoh releasing the ancient Israelites. At the same time, like our modern plague, the ancient plagues must have brought extra suffering to the poor Egyptians who did not have reserves of water to drink when the Nile turned to blood nor oil to burn when darkness spread over the land. One lesson I take from reading this story of the ancient Israelites today is to advocate on behalf of those who are suffering the most under our current plague of COVID-19.