In this week's Parsha we read about the remaining three plagues which Hashem brought upon the Egyptians. Our Sages teach us that during the plague of darkness a large number of Jewish People died as well. There are various reasons given for why these Jewish People died during the plague, but the medrash relates one reason being that these Jewish People had a certain level of prominence and wealth within Egyptian society and because of their status they actually did not want to leave Egypt. It is hard to understand after so many years of bondage and labor, coupled with the knowledge that Hashem would one day redeem them and bring them to the Promised Land, that they would still rather stay put.

To a certain extent we all may suffer from the same problem. We get so caught up in our lives, our jobs, making money and enjoying life that we often forget what the real purpose is. We see this often when you have people committing financial fraud, running ponzi schemes and at the same time donating a tremendous amount of money to causes that make the world "a better place". How could it be that people act in this way? Assuming that they really do want to improve the world, they simply get too caught up in the means to achieve their goal that they forget what the real goal is. How many people spend so much time at work and making money and if you ask them why, they may answer that they want to be able to provide for their family in an honorable way. If you ask them why is that so important they will probably answer that they want their children to have a happy and healthy upbringing, and they want a happy and loving spouse. These are all important goals, but they may become so consumed by making money in order to achieve those goals, that they may simply neglect their family and spouse because of it. They never see their children or spend time with them and their spouse is left lonely and discontent.

We always need to keep our eye on the big picture.

Shabbat Shalom,

Heath