Dr. Raymond Schinazi was born to Jewish parents in Alexandria, Egypt in 1950. Twelve years later, the Egyptian government expropriated his family’s house and possessions during a spate of anti-Semitic decrees. His family moved to Europe, where he grew up and went on to pursue postgraduate studies in chemistry, virology, and biotechnology. He subsequently founded a pharmaceutical company called Pharmasset that developed a revolutionary drug called sofosbuvir, which transformed the treatment of hepatitis C, enabling patients to be cured much more quickly and with far fewer side effects.
Egypt, the country that chased a young Raymond Schinazi away, had at that time the highest prevalence of hepatitis C in the world. In 2014, he returned there to help them obtain the drug for a small fraction of its market price, which has dramatically reduced the number of Egyptians suffering from this terrible disease. Dr. Schinazi noted ironically that the same government that once forced him out of the country was now warmly welcoming him back so that he could cure the citizens of a nation that once persecuted his family.
Rabbi Dan Lifshitz notes that Dr. Schinazi’s generosity of spirit in graciously helping Egyptians who had wronged him has a precedent in the Torah. After Moshe was similarly compelled to flee the country (2:15), the Torah tells us that he later returned and became great in the eyes of Pharaoh’s courtiers and the Egyptian people. The Netziv writes that the courtiers realized that Bnei Yisrael would eventually leave, and Pharaoh’s obstinacy was merely postponing the inevitable at the cost of tremendous Egyptian suffering. Nevertheless, they saw that Moshe continued to pray on their behalf, attempting to minimize their pain despite all the brutality they had displayed toward his brethren.
This respect for human dignity was not limited to Moshe. Rashi writes (10:22) that during the final three days of the plague of darkness, the darkness was so thick that the Egyptians could not move. If so, why didn’t they all die from starvation and dehydration during this period? The Netziv posits that the Jews voluntarily entered the homes of their oppressors and gave them food and drink to keep them alive. The Gemara says (Yevamos 79a) that Bnei Yisrael possess three defining characteristics: We are merciful, bashful, and doers of kindness. Moshe and his contemporaries showed that our national commitment to the welfare of all of Hashem’s creations
