| A Message from the Kalever Rebbe | |
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| Human being is not just an advanced animal | |
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.png/:/rs=w:686) | Arov in the Itingen Haggadah from 1729 |
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| "And I will separate on that day the land of Goshen"... (Shemos 8:18) | |
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| One who understands that there is a Creator of the world — who created the universe and all it contains for a purpose, accepts the mitzvos, and does not allow himself to be drawn after corrupt desires that contradict the purpose of Creation. | |
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| A person who has emunah knows that he was created with intellectual power, placed within the mind, to govern the desires of the heart. As the Baal Shem Tov taught in the name of Rabbeinu Saadiah Gaon, that the primary task of a person in this world is to break and refine the negative traits and natural inclinations of the heart. | |
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| In contrast, one who believes that the magnificent creation of the world arose by chance, without purpose, and that the human being is nothing more than a more advanced animal, evolved from a monkey or the like, comes to justify a life without moral boundaries. | |
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| Such a person may see no reason to restrain even destructive impulses, since within this worldview the killing of a human being is regarded no differently than the killing of an animal. | |
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| In modern times, we have seen Chazal's teaching came to fruition that says (Sotah 49b), "In the footsteps of Moshiach, the government will turn to heresy... there will be no rebuke, and the meeting place will become a place of immorality." Those who deny faith, multiply and gain influence within governments, moral rebuke is silenced, and all boundaries of decency are publicly and officially dismantled. | |
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| Indeed, the so-called "advanced" era of the twentieth century — an age in which disbelief spread widely — witnessed more murder than all previous generations combined. It was precisely the people of "advanced" Germany who descended into the most brutal cruelty. The heretical tyrants Hitler and Stalin, may their names be erased, brought devastation upon the world, murdering millions of human beings in horrific ways unlike anything seen before. | |
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| Throughout all generations we have seen, that those who deny Hashem's existence, ultimately break all moral boundaries, openly immerse themselves in corrupt desires, and greatly increase bloodshed—until Hashem removes them from the world. | |
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| This was seen most clearly among the Egyptians. They were complete deniers of the Creator, as Pharaoh himself declared, "I do not know Hashem." As a result, they permitted themselves to indulge in every desire, showing no regard for the Seven Noahide Laws that Hashem commanded in order to uphold the purpose of Creation. | |
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| Therefore, the Torah refers to Egypt as the "the nakedness of the land," for it was the most openly immoral place—so much so that it maintained designated marketplaces for prostitution. They would also strike and murder people, and even drown children. | |
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| The Torah warns us about this saying (Vayikra 18:3), "Like the practice of the land of Egypt in which you dwelled, you shall not do..." We are told not to behave like the Egyptians, who followed the heretical doctrines of the natural philosophers. | |
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| The pasuk continues and says "And in their statutes you shall not walk..." We are instructed not to attend stadiums and the like, as Rashi explains, where they would set a slave to fight a goring bull and watch with pleasure as the bull struck the man and spilled his blood. | |
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| Therefore, before the Jewish people descended into Egypt, Hashem orchestrated that Yosef would arrive there first, to serve as a guide and show how one can preserve faith and holiness in all circumstances—even within the impurity of Egypt. | |
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| However, as Yaakov Avinu and Yosef passed away, the eyes and hearts of the Jewish people became closed to the necessity of guarding their holiness. Many of them assimilated among the nations, learned their ways, and went to places of entertainment where people gathered to watch bloodshed, mockery, and frivolity that inevitably leads to immorality. As the Midrash states on the verse "And the land became filled with them" — the theaters and circuses became filled with Jews. | |
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| After the Jewish people had been immersed in the impurity of Egypt for many years, when Moshe Rabbeinu came and told them that Hashem was about to redeem them from Egypt and give them the Torah and its mitzvos, many of them did not listen to him. They did not wish to leave, because their hearts and minds had become so dulled, that they preferred to remain slaves as long as they could continue indulging in the desires they had learned in Egypt. | |
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| Therefore, Hashem brought punishments upon Egypt through the Ten Plagues. By means of them, He made known that He is the ruler of all creation, and through this the faith of the Jewish people was strengthened, until they merited redemption. | |
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| It may be understood that the plague of wild beasts (Arov) was uniquely fitting as a measure-for-measure response to the Egyptians' heretical worldview. | |
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| They claimed that man is nothing more than an animal like all others—merely more developed by chance. Therefore, Hashem sent upon them every manner of savage beast. According to their own belief and conduct, human beings possessed no greater worth or purpose than animals, and thus they had no claim when the animals turned against them, for in such a world "the stronger prevails." | |
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| Yet at that very moment, they witnessed that in the land of Goshen—where the local Jews lived apart from Egyptian conduct—not a single wild beast entered. Then all understood the reason: the Jews lived with faith, knowing that Hashem is the Creator of the world, and that man is the crown of creation. Therefore, Hashem did not allow the animals to enter the places of settlement or to cause them harm. | |
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| Accordingly, we can clearly understand why Hashem said specifically regarding the plague of Arov, "And I will set apart on that day the land of Goshen, upon which My people stand, so that there will be no swarm there, in order that you will know that I am Hashem in the midst of the land." | |
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| Through the distinction made in this plague between Goshen and the rest of Egypt, the difference between Israel and Egypt became evident. | |
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| Through this, the Jewish people were strengthened to know and remember that Hashem is the Creator and Ruler of all beings, that every person has a unique purpose. | |
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| And, with this understanding, this faith and this belief, they were able to leave Egypt to receive the Torah of Hashem. | |
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