As we have seen in this last couple of Torah portions. The Egyptians were tyrannical slave masters. In many ways they are the paradigmatic slavers and Antisemites throughout history. Besides the sadistic enslavement and horrible mistreatment of the Israelites, they were killing all of the male infants. And yet even with this backdrop it is noteworthy that with the 10th plague that we read about in Bo, this week’s torah portion, we do see an interesting limit. The death of the firstborn finally breaks Pharaoh’s resistance, and he literally drives the children of Israel from his land.

We say this so many times that we overlook the meaning of it. The killing of the first born sons is the last straw and Pharoah capitulates to Moshe in letting the people go. Even if the Egyptians are our sworn enemies, loving out children speaks to our common humanity.

Amidst the backdrop of the staged return of our hostages by Hamas and Islamic Jihad for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, it is important to not take this for granted. It is our own love of our children and their willingness to sacrifice their own children that makes them such difficult enemies of our people.

The fact that we will do anything for our children and to save a life is our highest virtue. But the fact that our enemies know this about us is our Achilles Heal. They know that they will be able to extract from us great price for the return of our captives.

Ironically we share this love of our children with the Egyptians from the Torah, but not Hamas or Islamic Jihad today. When will the world hold Hamas accountable for putting their own children at risk? They are a terrible plague. Who will partner with Israel to free the Palestinians from their oppressors so they can build a state along side Israel?

For months I have replaying a scene from Jerry Maguire (1996) in my head. Jerry Maguire is a romantic sports drama film starring Tom Cruise as the titular character, a high-powered sports agent. After experiencing a crisis of conscience, Jerry writes a mission statement advocating for a more personal and ethical approach to sports management. This leads to his sudden firing from his prestigious agency. Through his journey, Jerry learns the value of genuine human connections over financial success. With Rod Tidwell’s eventual career breakthrough and Jerry’s realization that love and loyalty matter most, the film ends on a triumphant and heartfelt note. here we see the reaction of another player and agent to the love between Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and Jerry Maguire:

Groucho Marx famously said, “I don’t care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members”. We are living in a dark time when people want to matter. People want to be seen and loved. Despite Marx, we all want to belong.

Golda Meir wisely said in 1957, before the National Press Club in Washington: Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us. It worked for our liberation from Egypt in the time of the bible.

When will the rest of the world and the Palestinian people look at what Israel is doing for their captives and say, ” Why don’t we have that?” The love we have for our fellow Jews should not be our Achilles Heal, but a guiding light and a pathway toward liberation.