32 | JANUARY 14 • 2021 

SPIRIT

An Eco Revelation
P

arshat Vaera is the 
most theological par-
shah, as God reveals 
Godself to the world at 
the burning bush and then 
through the first seven plagues 
upon Egypt: bloody 
water, frogs, lice, mix-
ture (of insects or wild 
animals), livestock pes-
tilence, boils and hail.
The Spanish rabbi 
Bahya ben Asher ibn 
Halawa (1255–1340), 
explains that God is 
“the hand that directs 
all of the phenomena 
of the world which 
exercise their influence 
on our lives in one 
form or another.” Our theolog-
ical error, he argues, is when 
we change “all” to “some.” It’s 
not that God causes some 
things and not others: God is 
the system of interconnected 
causes and effects. God is the 
great ecosystem in which we 
dwell, and Vaera dramatizes 
how the system behaves.
Today, there are several expla-
nations of the plagues. In one 
hypothesis, an aberrant El Niño 
initiates the chain reaction of 
the plagues. In another, a tor-
rential overflow floods the Nile 
with reddish silt, flagellates and 
anthrax spores. Another says it 
began with a red algae plume. 
The theories all agree on one 
thing: Each successive “plague” 
is part of a chain reaction that 
plays out within ecological sys-
tems. An oxygen-deprived Nile 
causes death and frog exodus. 
Rotting frog carcasses attract 
vermin and their lice, then fly 
swarms, followed by cattle dis-
ease and so on.
In our day, we have learned 
that viruses like HIV, the 

H1N1 swine flu, the rodent 
hantavirus and COVID-
19 originate when humans 
encroach on the habitat of 
wild animals (plague 4) usu-
ally to raise cattle and swine 
for meat leading to the 
communication of wild 
animal virus to rodents or 
livestock (plague 5) and 
then to humans.
Recognizing God as the 
system of interconnection 
in which we dwell is to 
recognize that our actions 
produce chain reactions. 
Denying God is to act as 
if the outcomes of our 
actions go maybe one step 
and then stop and that we 
are entitled to our short-sight-
edness.
Do human beings really 
deny the existence of chain 
reactions within large systems? 
Actually, yes, all the time. For 
instance, people continue to 
use plastics that are not recy-
cled without thought to its 
consequences. As long as they 
don’t see immediate conse-
quences, people do not see a 
reason to change their behav-
ior. This is what it means that 
Pharaoh’s heart continues to 
harden. As soon as one plague 
recedes, Pharaoh goes back to 
business as usual in denying 
God. We do this all the time.
Torah is teaching us that we 
have the special gift of fore-
knowledge, of understanding 
our interconnection in the 
system recognizing that every 
action, or inaction, has a rip-
ple effect on the system and 
on the future. 

Rabbi Nadav Caine is the rabbi at 

Beth Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor. 

His podcast ”Judaism for the Thinking 

Person” is widely available.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi Nadav 

Caine

Parshat 

Vaera: Exodus 

6:2-9:35; 

Ezekiel 

28:25-29:21.

Stay in the know 
with all things Jewish...

Get The Detroit Jewish News print edition
delivered to your door every week for less
than $2 per issue.

thejewishnews.com/subscription

Get The Detroit Jewish News print edition
Subscribe Today!

