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In this week’s Parasha, Varea, Egypt goes through seven difficult and painful plagues, with the goal of convincing Pharaoh to free the Jewish people. But Pharaoh? Nothing. He remains stubborn and determined, even when his opinion doesn’t seem logical at all. Pharaoh continues to refuse to liberate the Jews, and there are three more plagues that await him in next week’s Parasha.
Being stubborn causes a lot of trouble and misery, to the stubborn person himself as well as to his surroundings, especially when his or her arguments have no logic. King David, in his Psalms, says: “A stubborn heart turns away from me; I will know no evil.” (101:4). This means that when someone frees himself up from his stubbornness, only good things will happen to him!
As much as stubbornness is something negative, many of us still possess that trait. G-d has given it to us so we can use in for the good. Yes, there is positive stubbornness. When we continue to observe G-d’s words, even if we don’t feel like it at the moment, even if it is difficult, even if it does not seem logical. Our history is full of our grandmothers and grandfathers who, despite the wars, antisemitism, difficult economic conditions, continued to keep the Commandments. Despite the hardships of life, they continued stubbornly to transmit the Jewish tradition to the next generations.
Next time that we will find ourselves being stubborn about something, le us think a little. Is it a positive stubbornness, in order to continue something right? If the stubbornness is balanced and we are certain that it is about something good, we can continue. But if it is a simple stubbornness, better to relax and let go. As King David promised, we have only to gain from it.
Shabbat Shalom,
Hanna
