Liquid Gratitude

In this week's Torah portion, Va'eira, Moshe is sent down by G-d to Egypt to redeem his brothers & sisters, the Jewish nation. During Pharaohs decree decades earlier, that every male born must be thrown into the Nile river and drowned, Moshe's mother Yocheved gave birth to Moshe. But instead of handing him over to the Egyptian authorities, she placed him in a secure basket, and placed it into the river. Miraculously, the basket flowed along until it is seen by Pharaoh's very own daughter, Batya, who saves the boy (incidentally, Batya means 'daughter of G-d.' She is named such in honor of her saving one of G-d's children, Moshe.) Needing a mother to nurse the baby, Yocheved (mother of Moshe) is chosen. She nurses & raises Moshe, teaching him of his heritage and people, before he is given back to Batya's care. One day, already an adult in Pharaoh's household, Moshe walks out of the palace and sees an Egyptian taskmaster brutally beating a Hebrew slave. A man of action, Moshe utters a secret name of G-d, killing the Egyptian, and buries him. When Pharaoh finds out, he wants to kill Moshe, so he runs away, only to return many years later upon G-d's command.

When Moshe returns to Egypt, he demands the release of his people from slavery. When Pharaoh scoffs at this cheeky request, G-d strikes the Egyptians with 10 plagues. What's peculiar, however, as noted at the top of this page, is that G-d tells Moshe to take part in bringing down the plagues, but only the last 7 of them. It is his brother Aaron who is told to take part in the 1st 3: Water turning to blood, and frogs & lice infestations. How come? The Midrash explains: "Since the river protected Moshe when he was thrown into it, it was not stuck by him at the plague of blood or that of frogs, but was instead struck by Aharon." (Midrash Shemot Rabah 9:10) And the lice? "It was not fitting that the dust be struck by Moshe because it protected him when he killed the Egyptian & hid him in the sand, so it was instead struck by Aharon." (Rashi)

Lest you think this was an isolated case of gratitude to a non human entity in Torah, look at this commentary by one of our great Sages on the Talmud: 'What is the reason why we cover the challah? The rationale is that we do not want to embarrass the bread. If the bread was to be uncovered, it would be humiliated because every day, we bless over the bread first and afterwards we bless over the wine, but on Shabbat we start with the wine.' (Mordechai, Perek Arvei Pesachim). If Judaism emphasizes the need for gratitude toward inanimate matter, how much more so toward the human beings around us! Those who choose to act kindly toward us. Unlike the river or earth in Moshe's life, the people in our lives who help us & act kindly - choose to do so. The "Hakarat Hatov," the gratitude, we need to show our Parents - for example - is tremendous. And yet, how often is it today that a son or daughter - after receiving 95% of what is needed to live happy and productive lives - have anger toward their parents for not giving something? The Torah teaches us, that for even the simplest thing given to us, we must show gratitude. And how much more so toward our Parents, and ultimately G-d, who gave us life, sustained us, and continues to support us. "For every breath I praise you" (Last verse of Psalms, according to Chassidic interpretation). May we all feel gratitude, and express it to G-d & our loved ones, as often as we can!

Shabbat Shalom!