24 Jan BO: SENSITIVITY TO THOSE WHO HAVE LESS

The ninth plague
which Hashem brought
upon the Egyptians was
חושך – the plague of

darkness. The Egyp-
tians were plunged into

darkness for six days,
while Beneh Yisrael had light. The Rabbis
teach that for three days, the Egyptians could
not see anything, and during the other three
days, the air was not just dark, but thick, to
the point where the Egyptians could not
even move. They were stuck in their places
for three days.

I always wondered, how did the Egyp-
tians eat during those three days? If they

couldn’t move, how did they obtain food?
The answer is given by the Netziv, in his
Ha’amek Davar commentary, where he
writes something remarkable. He explains
that since Beneh Yisrael were able to move
and see, they went into the Egyptians’ homes

and fed them. They took care of the Egyp-
tians who were unable to move during those

few days.
The Netziv writes that this is why, as the
Torah tells later, the Egyptians gladly gave
Beneh Yisrael their belongings at the time of
Yetziat Mitzrayim. Before Beneh Yisrael

left, they approached their Egyptian neigh-
bors and asked for their utensils and cloth-
ing, and the Torah says that Beneh Yisrael

“found favor” in the eyes of the Egyptians,
who gladly gave them their possessions.
The Netziv explains that the Egyptians were

so grateful to Beneh Yisrael, and so im-
pressed by what they did during the plague

of darkness, that they happily gave them
their belongings.
As the plagues unfolded, Beneh Yisrael
did not look smugly upon the Egyptians, nor
did they become insensitive to them. They
were kind and caring, even as they began to
rise and the Egyptians began to decline.

Sometimes, we forget about how sensi-
tive we need to be around people who do not

enjoy the blessings we have.
A person told me that two women from

the community were sitting at a beauty par-
lor and talking with one another. One was

talking about the nurse who was taking care

of her baby. They spoke about housekeep-
ing help, and the trouble they were having

finding good housekeepers. They spoke
about the decisions they needed to make
about which luxury car to lease. These
women were completely oblivious to the
fact that the employees working on their hair
were probably earning around $15 per hour.
I’m sure these aren’t bad people. They
are probably nice and considerate women.

But sometimes we simply forget that oth-
er people do not necessarily enjoy the

blessings that we have, and it could be
very hurtful for them to hear us talk about

a lifestyle that they cannot possibly af-
ford.

We need to think very carefully before
we talk about our children’s successes in
the presence of people who don’t have

children, or who are having serious prob-
lems with their children. We need to

think very carefully before we talk about
our vacations in the presence of people
who cannot afford to go on vacation. And

we must be extremely careful before post-
ing pictures of our vacations on social

media.
The Torah tells that before Yetziat
Mizrayim, Moshe Rabbenu was held in
בעיני עבדי פרעה -ובעיני העם esteem high very
– in the eyes of Pharaoh’s noblemen, and in
the eyes of the people. As Moshe rose to
prominence, he earned the admiration of all
kinds of people – both the rich aristocrats,
and the simple, ordinary people. He was
able to relate to all of them, because he cared
about all of them.
When we achieve success, of any kind,
we must not forget about those who are not
as successful. We should never be oblivious
to the fact that there are others who are

struggling, whose jealousy could easily be

aroused by our remarks about our house-
keepers, our cars, our vacations, our children

and our family celebrations.
Let us always remember that although we
are blessed with “light,” there are others
who sit in “darkness,” who do not enjoy the
same blessings and achievements that we
do. Like our ancestors in Egypt, let us be
considerate and compassionate, and be kind
and sensitive towards all people, realizing
that they may be struggling and going
through things that we know nothing about.