וראיתי את הדם ופסחתי עלכם ולא יהיה בכם נגף למשחית בהכתי בארץ מצרים
“I well see the blood, and will pass over you, and will protect you when I smite the Egyptians” (Shemos 12:13)
With the relatively recent proliferation of unprecedented weapons of mass destruction and talk of chemical and even, G-d forbid, nuclear warfare, it seems quite natural to fear for one’s own fate and that of the entire Jewish nation. With neighbors who would desire nothing more than its total annihilation, Eretz Yisroel certainly seems to be perched in a precarious position should such a war break out.
Rav Nosson Wachtfogel notes that for a believing Jew, this trepidation and anxiety is misplaced. The Torah tells us that throughout all of the plagues in Egypt, Hashem placed an artificial “wall” at the border of the Jewish region of Goshen and protected them from the various plagues. Even though the laws of nature dictate that frogs, lice, and hail should not discriminate within the Egyptian borders, even “nature” is subservient to Hashem’s commands.
He Who declared that under normal circumstances animals should not differentiate between potential victims also decreed that during the plagues, an alternate set of laws of nature should govern that afforded miraculous protection to the Jews. Even the mass destruction caused by the plague of the slaying of the first-born completely passed over the Jews, killing an Egyptian attempting to hide in the house of a Jew but protecting a Jew who was in the house of an Egyptian (Rashi Shemos 12:13).
Similarly, it seems that with the tremendously destructive abilities of today’s bombs and missiles, there is nowhere to hide from the invisible radiation and chemicals that could be deployed by our enemies at any moment. Fortunately, the Torah teaches us otherwise. As long as we continue following in the ways of our ancestors in Egypt by remaining separate from our non-Jewish neighbors and maintaining our beautiful Jewish customs and traditions, we remain above the “inviolable” laws of nature and have nothing to fear at all. (R’ Ozer Alport)
