Often, when our faith is challenged, our faith has the potential to become the strongest. The greater the test, the greater the opportunity for connection.
For example, there are times when you genuinely want to be nice, to do the right thing, but all you get in return is disappointment. It can feel like you are mixing fire and water. You don’t end up with warmth, nor with refreshing cold. Instead, there is confusion, a feeling like you are neither here nor there.
Looking at this week’s Torah portion, Va’eira, we learn about the plagues brought upon the Egyptians. When it comes to the seventh plague, hail, Moses does something very unusual. He draws a line on the wall, stating that tomorrow at this exact time another plague will befall the Egyptians. In addition, Moses tells the Egyptians that they can show their trust in G-d by bringing their cattle from the fields into their barns. Any animals that are indoors will be spared from the plague.
Why did Moses tell Pharaoh the exact time of the coming plague? And even if announcing the time made sense, why draw a line on the wall? Why not mark it on a water clock or some other instrument? And why did he give the Egyptians a heads-up, allowing them to spare their cattle from this plague at all?
The line on the wall that Moses drew could not be altered. It represented an absolute moment in time. Moses was not using a ploy to scare them. He wanted it to be absolutely clear that it was G-d bringing these plagues, and not a magic trick or coincidence. The line on the wall emphasized G-d’s hand.
At the same time, G-d wanted to give the Egyptians a chance to show their faith in Him.
Fire and water are both natural creations. Bringing them together is supernatural. For an Egyptian to place faith in G-d was asking a lot. Therefore, Moses first marks a line on the wall, to prove that everything comes from G-d. Only then does he turn to them and say, now it is your turn to tap into something beyond yourselves and show faith.
We, too, face challenges all the time. Our faith is challenged. Our existence is challenged. Our very essence can feel challenged. But if we bother to see the writing on the wall, those challenges can turn into opportunities. It becomes clearer what we are meant to do.
Sometimes the response is to bring things indoors. Sometimes it is to bring things outdoors. The main thing is to take ownership of our faith and Judaism.
Shabbat Shalom