2022/5782
The Midrash explains that the Makkah of darkness was also used to eliminate the Jews who weren’t righteous enough to leave Mitzrayim. The Midrash adds that this was specifically done during the Makkah of darkness so the Egyptians would not see the Jews’ downfall and say that the Hashem is punishing Bnei Yisrael alongside the Mitzrim. The Midrash records two opinions regarding how many Jews survived this Makkah: Either one in five survived, or one in fifty survived.
Rav Shimon Schwab raises two questions on this Midrash. Even if only one in five Jews survived, wouldn’t the Egyptians still notice that there was a drastic decrease in the Jewish population and say that Hashem is punishing the Jews alongside the Egyptians? Also, the several million Jews who died in the Makkah of darkness must be a greater figure than the Jews who died from the tribulations of the years of Egyptian enslavement. How could it be that one short plague produced more deaths than the many decades of enslavement?
Rav Schwab answers that a much smaller number of Jews died. Only the Jews that were complete Resha’im died; therefore, when the Makkah was over, the Egyptians didn’t notice a difference in the Jewish population. Rav Schwab adds that the one in five vs. one in fifty argument refers to the offspring of the Jews who died. Each Jew that died could have had either five or fifty descendants.
This is not the first time that the Torah emphasizes the importance of one’s descendants. After Kayin kills Hevel, Hashem tells Kayin, “Meh Asita Kol Demei Achicha Tzo’akim Eilai Min Ha’Adamah,” “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground” (BeReishit 4:10). Rashi cites a Gemara (Sanhedrin 37a), which states that the plural use of the word “Damim,” “blood,” teaches that Hashem was also referring to Hevel’s potential descendants .
The message from these two sources is clear: we must understand that our actions affect not only the person whom we are interacting with but also his/her descendants. If we have a positive influence on someone, we may not only tremendously benefit his/her life but also the lives of his/her descendants. We must also appreciate the fact that we come from Jews that survived the Shoah, pogroms, expulsions from many countries, and many antisemitic attacks. Maybe Hashem chose to save our ancestors because of the people who would come from them (us). Hashem chose us to be the future leaders of Am Yisrael, so let us try to show Hashem that He made the right choice. We should all be Zocheh to remember that every member of Klal Yisrael matters, even those who are not yet born.