Shabbat's Bo Sermonette

This week in the triennial cycle of Parshat Bo, we read the last plagues: Locusts, Darkness and the introduction to the Death of the First Born.
My colleague, Vernon Kurtz, posted on line an interesting drash this past Shabbat. Exodus Rabbah, in one of its passages, suggests that darkness fell upon some Israelites as well. These were individuals who “had Egyptian patrons and lived in affluence and honor and were unwilling to leave. So G-d said: ‘If I bring upon them publicly a plague from which they will die, the Egyptians will say: ‘Just as it has passed over us so it has passed over them.’” Therefore G-d brought darkness upon the Egyptians for three days, so that the Israelites should bury their dead without their enemies seeing them, and for this they should praise G-d.
There were two aspects which I riffed from his remarks in the Chicago Jewish News. First, part of human nature is to often see the darkness instead of the light. Only after times of crisis and true agonizing darkness do we sometimes realize the blessings we enjoy. "Survivors" often realize and appreciate life and stop taking the little things, like friends and loved ones, which are really important for granted. The Israelites described in the midrash above were enveloped in a darkness of their own design - they couldn't see anyone but themselves. On the other hand, the Israelites who "had light in their dwellings," had feelings of mutual concern and responsibility for each other. One of the great sources of light in our lives is sharing our pain and then hopefully also our joy with friends and family. God's light flows in our relationships with those around us. And I often find that my spiritual batteries, when low, are recharged by reaching out and helping someone else. More often than not I gain energy when I touch another soul.
We live in a stressful time. The normal pressures of 21st Century living have been increased with our present economic circumstance. One of the best ways to cope is to be sure that we have spiritual light in our lives: helping those in need, good times with friends, caring for our loved ones... these insure that we enjoy that light that is always there for us to tap into.