Friday, January 27, 2012

Pharaoh, Grab A Piece of Humble Pie

In order to persuade Pharaoh, God sends ten plagues to promote the Israelites' liberation. At first, Pharaoh's courtiers imitate the plagues. Like God with the Nile, they use powder to turn water into blood. As the plagues continue, the magicians find it harder to duplicate God's wonders. By the final three plagues' arrivals, all of Egypt is stunned by God, yet Pharaoh continually grants the Jews freedom and restricts it just as quickly. In Egypt, Pharaoh arrogantly rise above all his subjects. God continually hardens his heart to humiliate Pharaoh, for Pharaoh believes he is higher than God. Pharaoh thinks the Egyptian gods and their kingdoms exceeds the greatness of anything else in the universe. God sends locusts to destroy the fields that feed the vast population of Egypt. Then, God casts darkness over Egypt, showing the darkness of Pharaoh's heart. Finally, God sends the worst of wonders. In an ultimate attempt to free Israel, God releases the Angel of Death. The angel passes over any Israelite house, for they are distinguished by the lamb's blood on their doorposts. The Torah proclaims a horrid cry shrieked throughout Egypt. Every family from the Pharaoh's to the slaves' suffers during the tenth plague. This horror angers Pharaoh, but he releases the Israelites. In a hurry, the Israelites run to the sea of reeds, waiting to escape Egypt.

After a few plagues, Pharaoh begins to succumb to Moses' demands, yet God continually changes Pharaoh's mind. When one's arrogance rises to the level of Pharaoh's, utter humiliation is the only solution. Humility is the recognition of one's own faults, realizing that one lacks the abilities of another person or God. As God destroys the foundation of Pharaoh's empire, the stubborn man learns humility. Due to his sins in Egypt and the wilderness, Moses learn humility by not going to the Promised Land. Many think modesty lessens the quality of a human's character, but this virtue contrarily enhances the human state. Without it, humans puts themselves on a pedestal. This arrogant thinking leads to the feeling of being superior to others. Following suit, the arrogance forces one to place him or herself above God, an impossible feat. The ability to seek help when needed is a key aspect of every great leader. President Obama fails to complete every governmental task alone, for every person excels in some realms and fails in others. Unfortunately, one must always keep their humility in check. While sheepishness improves a human's character, an abundance of humility is disastrous for one's self esteem. Life is an ongoing struggle between confidence and humility.

It is hypocritical of me to discuss humility, for I lack much of it in my own life. This conflict between arrogance and modesty is one I encounter daily. Last year, I lacked confidence. I was too humble, scolding myself on every exacting detail. Now, I exude confidence wherever I go, but sometimes it comes without restraint. Confidence is a blessing of success, but it also intimidates others. Self-pride leads to arrogance, and arrogance forces divine intervention, as seen in the parashat. God frowns upon the arrogant. To escape this inevitable fate, I must discover this balance. Music helps me uncover these internal faults. I find playing the drums difficult, for the number of things to keep in mind is unruly. While the basic percussionist only worries about playing rhythms correctly, one must remember dynamics, tempo, stick height, accents, and a number of other musical foes to truly produce music. Even when I play the drums well, I know some aspect of music lacked in my performance. The only way to improvement is through practicing and seeking help from experts. Keep humility in mind this week. Why do we criticize prior to complimenting when we observe others? As we go through this week, we should be especially aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses. The balance between humility and arrogance is a tough median to find, but only together can we avoid a horrible cry throughout the land of Egypt.
-Being aware of others strengths and weakness

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