Rabbi Heller's Blog

How are things going? Hard to say. In Israel, the first 3 Jewish hostages are home, with 30 more to follow, but so are hundreds of terrorists who had been jailed for murdering innocent Israelis. With a ceasefire, Israeli troops are a bit less in harm’s way, but will they be in greater danger from a reconstituted Hamas? For decades pundits will debate whether the deal was worth it (see my take from last Shabbat here). What is clear is that the deal has left the Israeli government hanging by a thread, and further negotiations will be much more gut-wrenching. Meanwhile, here at home we have a new administration that is making sweeping changes. Everything from the price of eggs and health care, to the safety of different segments of our society, to our world future is in flux. From the most parochial Jewish perspective, it is clear that some changes (like pressure on universities) will put check on antisemites on the left, while others (like releasing leaders of antisemitic militias jailed following January 6) are emboldening antisemites and neo-Nazis on the right. What wisdom does the Torah have for us at this moment?

“Out of the Frying Pan, into the Fire”- we are told that for any situation, there are responses that will improve the situations and others that will exacerbate it. Sometimes it is not easy to predict which will have what effect. Two of my all-time favorite rabbinic tales surrounding the plague of frogs, described in this week’s portion, provide examples of both outcomes.  

One interpretation is attributed to Rabbi Akiva. He notes that the plague begins with the phrase “and the frog (singular) came up out of the Nile.” Grammatically, this expression most likely means that there was a mass of frogs too great to be counted. Rabbi Akiva explains that, in fact, it was only a single frog that came up out of the river, but that as the Egyptians beat it, it multiplied until their homes were filled with frogs.    The approach that seemed to make the most sense had a paradoxical effect.

Theodosius of Rome (an unusual name for a Rabbi) spins another tale. The Bible says that the frogs jumped into homes of the Egyptians, their bedrooms, their kneading troughs, and their ovens. When the Bible describes their departure, it notes that the frogs died in the homes, the bedrooms, and the kneading troughs, but does not mention the ovens. He explains that all of the frogs died except, paradoxically, those who jumped into the ovens. The most hostile environment, a hot oven, was actually the one that turned out to be the most hospitable. I find this interpretation particularly telling because it is created by someone who lived it. Rome is the empire that would cause so much suffering to the Jewish people, yet Theodore and his people thrived there and created a community and a legacy that persists until today.

When we approach a situation, there is often a “conventional wisdom” as to what approach will bring about the best outcome. Rabbi Akiva reminds us that sometimes our attempts to improve a situation only make it worse. Theodosius of Rome tells us that, conversely, sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better, and that bringing a situation to an untenable state is a necessary preliminary to its resolution.