Distinction Between Peoples

Parshat Va'era

by Rabbi Avi Billet

In his "Living Torah," Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan summarized the many options ofwhat the 4th plague may have been, based on Midrash and commentaries: Flies (Rabbi Nechemiah), wild animals (Rabbi Yehuda) (Sh'moth Rabbah 11:4) (based on a literal reading of Psalms 78:11); dog-flies (Septuagint); blood-suckers (Philo); mixture of insects and snakes (Sefer HaYashar); Beetles (scarab or dung beetle); wolves (Rashbam), panthers, eagles or other birds (Midrash Tehillim 78:45); giant squid (Midrash Aggadah).

In the warning before the plague of "Arov," Moshe tells the King of Egypt, "On that day, I will miraculously set apart the Goshen area, where My people remain, so that there will not be any Arov there. I will therefore make a distinction between My people and your people." (8:18-19) If Goshen will be set apart, why is there a need to make a distinction between God's people and the Egyptian people?

Because even if Israelites are not in Goshen, they will not be affected by the Arov. Targum Yonatan summarizes the idea: While the [animals or flies or beetles] are annoying Egyptians, the Israelites will not be bothered.

Rashi and Rashbam use the terms "yavdil" and "havdalah" to describe the distinction that will take place between the two nations.

The Baal HaTurim focuses on the three times the word "p'doot" (which I have translated as "distinction") appears in the Bible. The other 2 times it is spelled with the vowel-letter Vov (פדות), while this time it is written without that letter-vowel (פדת) – the vowel is the three-dotted-diagonal slant which provides the "oo" sound. The word, which can also mean "redemption" is considered to be incomplete here because the redemption from Egypt was incomplete – either because it was followed by other exiles (Rabbenu Bachaye), or because many Jews died during the plague of Darkness (R Chaim Paltiel) and never experienced redemption.

The Baal HaTurim describes the redemption from Egypt as complete when it actually happens – but not at this time (during Arov). The complete "p'doot" (with a "vov") is in Tehillim 111:9 – referring to the redemption from Egypt –  while the next "complete p'doot" will take place in the future, as described in Tehillim 130:7.

We certainly hope and pray for the complete "p'doot" to take place speedily in our days. Until that time, I find the sentence that speaks of the "p'doot" in the plague of Arov to be quite compelling, especially when viewed by itself – out of context: "I will therefore make a distinction between My people and your people."

There has always been, and I guess there will always be, a distinction between My people (the Children of Israel) and your people.

Why is anti-Semitism on the rise in Europe? Why is the Arab-Muslim propaganda machine so focused on vilifying the Jew? Why does a Jew building a house in Jerusalem cause so much friction? Why does the subject of Israel raise so much anger – why are people around the world so anti-Israel, one of the smallest countries, with one of the smallest populations in the civilized world? Why is the word "Jew" sometimes used derogatively – as a verb (to 'jew someone') or as an adjective (a 'jew lawyer')? Because the Jew, by his very existence, is distinct.

I do not believe in Jewish exceptionalism. There are many ways to interpret the idea of being the "chosen" people, and the approach I favor is "chosen to represent God on this earth" as well as "chosen to bear responsibility as a moral compass." [See the Wikipedia entry on "Jews as the chosen people" for different perspectives on this subject. And read "Why the Jews?" by Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin to understand the history of and reasons for the existence of anti-Semitism.]

Nonetheless, the Children of Israel as a distinct unit, with membership being multi-faceted –  a national element, a religious element, and passed through birth; a group defined by both a homeland and Holy Land; and a feeling of brotherhood which surpasses nationalities, political differences and even language – this is the blessing of being distinct.

And distinction should never lead to extinction.

God was so intent on demonstrating His power to the Egyptians, He was going to demonstrate how a swarm of dog-flies could distinguish between slave and taskmaster, or how attacking animals (whether wolves, snakes, or wild animals, etc.) could pick out Egyptians vs. slaves.

This difference was cemented at Sinai when the Jewish people received the Torah and became the keepers of God's Word on this Earth. It does not make anyone a superior human being, for it is one's deeds that are honored, and one's life-choices that determine who is a role-model for all.

But the distinction began with Shmot 4:22 when God said, "You shall tell Paroh that my oldest, my first born, is Israel." All of humanity are God's children. And just as every family can only have one first-born, Israel is considered God's first-born. And the first-born has responsibilities. The first born can mess up and can suffer the consequences or the first born can earn the honorifics that come with the natural spot as leader of the family.

God made the distinction between His people who had suffered, and Paroh's people, who had caused all the suffering.

Distinct does not mean better – but it can mean "different." And it can refer to a group others can either learn from or ignore. God made the distinction between peoples – may we merit to best represent our role, for the betterment of mankind.