Rabbi David Wolpe – Even during a plague, choice is destiny We are simultaneously committed to interaction and distance. Both can be governed by the precedent of the Passover. The contagion of the time was slavery in Egypt and the separation had to be complete. Still the bonds of closeness were just being formed among the Jewish people, because in a time of transition, of anxiety and of looming cataclysm, human connection becomes more, not less, urgent. We combat this modern plague by separateness and togetherness. God ensures the Israelites protection in the wilderness; solidarity does not mean vulnerability. The legacy of the plagues was Israel’s ability to create a new and safer society, one based on both law and goodness. If this pandemic encourages us to do the same, to extend what is good in our society and repair what is broken, we will have learned as much from our modern trials as our ancestors did from ancient ones.


haggadah Section: -- Ten Plagues