Once,
there was a frog–
climbing out of the banks
of the River Nile,
in Ancient times,
tormenting the Land of Egypt.
That frog,
that tiny, average frog,
was charged by G-d
with tormenting Pharaoh,
as he was all of Egypt.
The ebb and flow of the Nile,
the rising and falling of the sun,
revolved around Pharaoh.
And that frog,
that brave little frog,
was the one chosen
to break that mold.
That frog,
that minuscule, unassuming frog,
would go down in our history.
Once,
there was a frog,
climbing up the stairs
up to the doors of Pharaoh’s Palace
to be a beacon of hope
for a weary people,
generations deep into slavery.
That frog,
that inconsequential, modest frog,
held our fate in its webbed feet.
The future generations,
the Rabbis, the Sages,
our children at the sederLit. Order. The festive meal conducted on Passover night, in a specific order with specific rituals to symbolize aspects of the Exodus from Egypt. It is conducted following the haggadah, a book for this purpose. Additionally, there an ancient tradition to have a seder on Rosh Hashanah, which has been practiced in particular by Sephardi communities. This seder involves the blessing and eating of simanim, or symbolic foods. The mystics of Sefat also created a seder for Tu B'shvat, the new year of the trees. table,
would and will recall
that little frog,
facing Pharaoh,
as a disruption
of the normal way of the world
in Ancient Egypt.
And that frog,
that intrepid little frog,
became, for us, the face of G-d;
a compassionate, loving G-d,
who would lead us out of Egypt.
That frog,
that paltry, humble frog
is named alone in our Story.
In our TorahThe Five Books of Moses, and the foundation of all of Jewish life and lore. The Torah is considered the heart and soul of the Jewish people, and study of the Torah is a high mitzvah. The Torah itself a scroll that is hand lettered on parchment, elaborately dressed and decorated, and stored in a decorative ark. It is chanted aloud on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbat, according to a yearly cycle. Sometimes "Torah" is used as a colloquial term for Jewish learning and narrative in general.,
in the story of the Exodus,
during the Plagues,
the Plague of Frog(s)
is listed in the singular.
So, when I read Exodus,
I think of a tiny, incredible little frog,
who would help change our lives
forever.
