God said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and raise your hand over the water of Egypt—over their rivers, their canals, their ponds, and all their other bodies of water—and they will turn into blood. (Ex. 7:19)
God said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Raise your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals, and the ponds, and make the frogs come up over Egypt.’” (Ex. 8:1)
God said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Raise your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it will turn into lice all throughout Egypt.’” (Ex. 8:12)
Why are the first three plagues of Egypt – blood, frogs, and lice – instigated by Aaron rather than Moses? Rashi points out that the first two plagues require striking the Nile river – the same river that saved Moses when he was a baby by carrying him to the safe embrace of Pharaoh’s kind daughter. The third plague required striking the earth – the same earth that Moses used to bury the Egyptian officer that was beating a Hebrew slave. Moses owed the river and the earth deep gratitude, explains Rashi, so it would have been inappropriate to strike them.
But water and dirt are inanimate objects that don’t have the capacity to have their feelings hurt. So why is it so important for Moses to show them gratitude? Rabbi David Fine teaches that gratitude is not centered around the recipient “but is rather a character trait that should be built up and living inside of us regardless of who the receiver is.” Gratitude is a key element of Moses’ character no matter who or what the recipient. And if it’s important to show gratitude to inanimate objects, how much more so should we show gratitude to the people in our lives!
Image: “Aaron’s rod swallowing the magicians’ rods” from the Sister Haggadah, c. 1370
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