The letters of אל-הים, one of the Names of Hashem, can be rearranged to spell מי אלה – “who are these?”
These two arrangements of the letters represent two different ways we can look at the world and at things that happen in life. One way is to wonder, מי אלה – “What is all this?! What’s going on?!” This is the reaction of feeling overwhelmed and anxious by everything we see going on around us.
The other reaction is to see אל-הים, to recognize that everything is just a piece in a perfectly-designed puzzle put together by Hashem. We might not be able to see how everything fits. It might not make any sense to us. But even so, we must try to feel אל-הים instead of מי אלה, to truly believe that Hashem is behind everything that takes place, and everything is exactly the way it’s supposed to be.
When Moshe confronted Pharaoh the first time, and relayed to him Hashem’s command that He let Beneh Yisrael out of Egypt, Pharaoh responded, מי ה' – “Who is Hashem?” He felt confident and invincible. He thought he controlled everything. The process of the plagues was meant to break this feeling of invincibility and make Pharaoh realize that only Hashem is in charge.
At the end of last week’s parashah, Parashat Vaera, it seemed for a brief moment that this was successful. After seven plagues, Pharaoh finally admitted, חטאתי...ה' הצדיק ואני ועמי הרשעים – “I have sinned; Hashem is the righteous one, and I and my nation are wicked.” The message finally got through to his mind.
But this didn’t last. As soon as the seventh plague – the plague of hail – ended, Pharaoh continued defying Hashem.
In the beginning of Parashat Bo, Hashem tells Moshe that He would be bringing more plagues, למען שתי אותותי אלה בקרבו – so that these miracles would be placed within Pharaoh. The message of אלה, that all the different things that happen in the world are all part of Hashem’s plan, needed to enter קרבו, the fiber of Pharaoh’s being. He understood it in his mind, but now it had to reach his heart.
The Titanic was built to be the greatest, most invincible ship ever built, but it is now synonymous with human error and tragedy. Lou Gehrig was called the “Iron Horse” for his durability, but now the cruel, deadly disease that took his life is named after him. Kobe Bryant was one of the most successful and well-respected professional athletes in the world, and he was killed in a crash. These are all terrible tragedies, and it goes without saying that we can never claim to know why Hashem caused them to happen. But when things like this occur, they remind us that מי אלה is really אל-הים, that only Hashem runs the world.
The current pandemic, hopefully, will have the effect of bringing this message בקרבנו, within our hearts and souls. If before this crisis we knew in our minds that Hashem controls the world, the extraordinary events of the past year should instill this belief deep within our beings. And when we feel deep within our beings that Hashem controls everything, and nothing happens by chance, we can live with greater confidence and calm, fully trusting that no matter what is going on around us or going on in our lives, we are being cared for by Hashem. May this emunah serve to inspire us, uplift us, encourage us, and reassure us that we are under Hashem’s loving care at all times.