In this week’s Parsha, Va’eira, Hashem sends Moshe to Pharaoh to warn him of the upcoming plague of wild beasts and that the plague will not be in Goshen, where the Jews lived. Then Hashem says, “I will place a distinction between My people and your people.”
The word Hashem uses for “distinction” here is “f’dus,” which actually means “redemption.”
What message is Hashem sending us by using the word redemption to mean distinction or separation?
As Jews, we are gifted with a strong sense of justice, and the idea of inequality just bothers us to no end. We can mistakenly think that all people are the same. People are people.
However, Hashem thinks differently. He chose the Jewish people and distinguished us from among all other nations. He wants us to be distinct, in the way we act, in the way we dress, in the way we speak, etc. Hashem wants us to be a light unto the nations, and when we are, we lift the world to a higher moral level, which brings redemption.
In Egypt, the Jewish people distinguished themselves in three ways; language, dress, and names. Everywhere a Jew went, Egyptians knew, “There walks a Jew.” Therefore, the way we acted made a difference, impacting our surroundings.
Since we distinguished ourselves for Hashem, Hashem separated us for redemption from Egypt.
As the Rebbe’s emissary in Temecula, CA, I found that people were always happy and respected that I was observant. I also found that they were very let down when a Jewish person did something wrong.
We are special and the world knows it, we need to embrace it and distinguish ourselves for Hashem. We need to be living examples to each other and a light unto the nations. If we do, we will once again merit Hashem’s redemption, the coming of Moshiach. May it happen soon.
