Ein od Milvado

In memory of my friend Yosef Refael ben Chaim zt'l Newman who lived and died with Ein od Milvado

The main focus of this week's parashah, Vaeira, is the punishments (makkos) that Hashem inflicted upon the Egyptians. However, a broader perspective suggests that the overarching theme is Hashem’s control and power.¹ Ibn Ezra explains that the miracles of the makkos came through the Emunah of Moshe and his uninterrupted connection to Hashem.²

On the one hand, the makkos were designed to punish Pharaoh and the Egyptians, who had oppressed the Bnei Yisrael. At the same time, the Makkos were intended as a sign to B’nei Yisrael that Hashem alone rules in the heavens and on the earth, and 'Ein od Milvado' — there is nothing and nobody but Him.

Pharaoh was in denial and sometimes, we may find ourselves in a similar state. That state may come even when we try to serve Hashem and are left with questions as we try to understand why things happen the way they do.

The parashah teaches us that even if all other potential seems to dry up, we still have our secret weapon, Emunah.

This idea has been su…