Most of you know that Jewish folks read a section of the Tora (what many of you call the Old Testament) every week, as well as a reading from the prophets.

And, we are now up to the last of the plagues- starting with the 8th. Interestingly, this plague (locusts) hit Egypt on the 8th day of Shvat- today. OK, not today- but the date I wrote this and  2331 years ago.

You know the 9th plague- darkness. Which afflicted the Egyptians, but not we Jews. And, Hashem ordered us to reconnoiter the Egyptian homes, to discern what wealth they contain. (More on this in a bit.)

And, then, the devastating 10th plague- where the first-born of everything Egyptian was smitten. Not the Jews, once again. Oh, wait. Not quite true.

You see, we were commanded to kill a lamb. One of the Egyptian deities. And, take it’s blood and smear it on our doorposts. In other words, sticking our collective tongues out at the Egyptians.  But, for those folks who lacked the courage (or conviction) to do so-  their houses were afflicted.

Remember, we were not yet free. However, Hashem promised us we were to be free. We were to think of ourselves as no longer under the yoke of the Egyptians. And, we were provided our first commandment. To denote the new moon as a special day, a semi-holiday.

Now, you might ask why would the Supreme Being provide the very first commandment as to the keeping of a new moon? I mean- aren’t there a slew more important things with which we should be dealing?

Well, no.

If our first command is to denote the new moon, it means we while me may not have left Egypt yet, we are acting “as if”. Slaves can’t control their own time- free people can and do. So, this was a commandment to change our mindset. To consider ourselves free people.

And, that’s a key consideration. Releasing folks from slavery may or may not afford them the ability to act free. They have to think so. This reminds me of a conversation I had with my son a few weeks ago. We were discussing a message Rabbi Kamenetsky shared with us.
There is a wonderful story of a poor farmer who lived under the rule of a miserable poritz (landowner) in medieval Europe. The evil landowner provided minimal shelter in exchange for a large portion of the farmer’s profits. The farmer and his wife toiled under the most severe conditions to support their family with a few chickens that laid eggs and a cow that gave milk. Ultimately, time took its toll and hardship became the norm. The farmer and his wife had their bitter routine and never hoped for better. One day the farmer came back from the market quite upset. “What’s the matter?” cried his wife, “you look as if the worst calamity has happened.” “It has,” sighed the anxious farmer. “They say in the market that the Moshiach is coming. He will take us all to the land of Israel. What will be of our cow and our chickens? Where will we live? Who will provide shelter for us? Oy! What is going to be?” His wife, who was steeped with faith in the Almighty, answered calmly. “Don’t worry my dear husband. The Good Lord always protects His people. He saved us from Pharoh in Egypt, He redeemed us from the evil Haman and has protected us from harsh decrees throughout our exile. No doubt he will protect us from this Moshiach too!”

Unless folks realize that they are free, change – even if good- is absolutely frightening. And, the Jews of Egypt were about to leave the land where they’d been trapped for some 200 years as slaves. After seeing the first-born of every animal and family die. Moreover, they will be told to leave immediately. (This is why when we re-enact the Pesach [Passover] holiday, we are all wearing our shoes. Because if the Mashiach (messiah) is to come, we must be ready to leave immediately, too.

I am sharing this because tomorrow is Martin Luther King’s birthday. (No, not the inane holiday where we choose any convenient Monday, but his real birthday.) And, we should recognize that the Emancipation Proclamation was simply a political statement. It had no effect whatsoever on the slaves within the domain of the Confederate States.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a change in the law- but not the attitudes, beliefs, or prejudices of those in the South- and much of the North. It took many more years (given TheDonald and his prejudices and his embrace of white nationalists, I’m still not sure that we’re done with that transition) to have the majority accept that fact of law.

It reminds me of a quote from Dr. Paul Freund of Harvard Law (as expounded in “On the Basis of Sex”): A Court ought not be affected by the weather of the day, but will be by the climate of the era.

We need to ensure that we change the climate of the era.

Oh, you thought I forgot. The Jews reconnoitered because when the Egyptians finally banished them after the Plague of the First Born, they asked for proper wages for their 200 years of slavery- knowing exactly what they wanted from their erstwhile masters.