There are several juicy topics in this Parsha that I’d love to discuss, but I’ll pick one that has helped inspire me during these days of darkness.
(Note: my darkness was increased after I wrote most of this post, and then lost it due to a browser crash. That, amongst other factors, contributed to another long break, out of frustration. Someone should tell the programmer to build an auto-save into this ;-). But we get back on the horse!)
Everyone wants to talk about Paraoh’s stubbornness. It extends beyond reason into a world of Divine intervention. But how do we understand Hashem’s persistence, and the rationale for His intervention that kept the Jews in Egypt a bit longer.
To this day, the events surrounding the exodus from Egypt remain a pillar of our existence. Pesach is the most celebrated holiday, and most of our prayers include some mention of our leaving Egypt. If the event took place overnight without a hitch, would we still recognize it with the same emotional excitement?
The experience in Egypt had a purpose. G-d planned and executed everything from start to finish. We can only speculate, but our observations tell us that 70 people went in, and 600 thousand unified men left. Could our nation have taken shape outside of this incubator, in freedom? Like a family united over a tragedy (Lo Aleinu), the Jewish nation grew together and thrived in slavery, and was given a new life through the process of the plagues, the Pesach lamb, and the Reed Sea.
G-d intentionally made a big deal out of 10 plagues, not 5, and not at the first sign that Paraoh was going to be flexible, because the exodus had to be a big deal. The Egyptians took notice, the Jews took notice, and history is the greatest witness of G-d’s might and determination and power over all.
It seems almost trivial to compare the power of G-d to business, but K’Viyachol, for whatever the relative comparison is worth, so too should we do in business. If you want the world, or even your target market, to sit up and notice you, it may be better to be patient and wait to do something big. Being first and in a hurry seemed to be the motto for Tech companies of late. But if you’re the best, and can afford to take your time and come out loud, then be patient and persistent, and you will reap your rewards.