I just visited a bedridden elderly gentleman. When I asked him how he is doing, he responded with a smile, “Pretty good considering the circumstances. But when you view circumstances as challenges to overcome, it’s more fun that way!”
His good cheer was a pleasure and our visit was quite enjoyable for both of us. He had so much wisdom to share and we had the opportunity to do the mitzvah of Tefillin together. But the most important lesson I walked away with was his perspective on circumstances: They are defined by your response.
In this week’s parsha we learn of when the Jewish people in Egyptian slavery reached rock bottom. It did not happen when there was no apparent redeemer on the horizon. Moshe had already arrived in Egypt with a message of freedom and had been verified by the experts to be legitimate.
However, when he started fulfilling G-d’s mission to impress upon Pharaoh to release the Jewish slaves, everything went downhill from there. Pharaoh made life unimaginably miserable for everyone and even Moshe was mortified with his failure.
G-d sent Moshe to the people with a newly worded message of freedom that surpassed all previous messages in confidence and divine revelation - but alas, his words fell on deaf ears. The situation was so bleak that they could not bring themselves to pay attention to the confirmed messenger of G-d.
It was at this low moment that everything started to change. The ten plagues commenced - a watershed moment in world history. Never before had the world witnessed such clear divine intervention in nature.
For example, during the first plague, the water did not just merely turn to blood. It became blood only for the Egyptians and not for the Israelites. This had nothing to do with different locations and water sources for if an Egyptian forced his Israelite slave to sip out of the same glass of water/blood drawn from the Nile River together with him, the Egyptian would drink blood and the Jew would drink water. The only way the desperate Egyptians were able to drink water during the week-long plague was if they would buy it from the Israelites.
The rest of the plagues were no less wondrous and the ultimate redemption that followed has ramification till today.
The lesson is clear. When the circumstances are the worst possible, all is not lost. Respond to them as challenges meant to be mastered and the results will be as wondrous and redeeming as Passover.
Apparently they more fun that way as well.