Dear Friends,
In this week’s Torah portion, we read the final plagues that fell upon Egypt. Among them is the plague of darkness, and compared to the rest of the plagues, it is reasonable to ask: “What’s so bad about darkness?” Darkness may be scary, but is it bad enough to be considered a plague?
The truth is that darkness need not simply be the absence of light. It can also be an absence of reason, love, understanding and consideration for others.
From this perspective, there is darkness when. . .
. . . we close our eyes to that which is going on around us;
. . . we turn away from those who need us;
. . . we close our ears to the cries of injustice;
. . . we close our hearts to pleas which confront us;
. . . we close our minds to the ideas of others;
. . . we dig in our heals and insist that we are always right.
How often do we find ourselves generating a sense of darkness in our lives?
The truth is – we do it a lot, and if we hope to remain enlightened, we need be aware of the pitfalls of the plague of darkness every day. To do so we need to keep open minds and an open hearts. We need to be honest with ourselves and those around us. We need to be aware of our personal shortcomings and willing pull our EGOs back — just enough — to allow for broader, better solutions to the challenges we face.
If we can strive to do this, we can begin to minimize the darkness in our lives and maximize a light for a brighter tomorrow.
L’Shalom,
Steve