Living with the Parsha
Warming Up

Sam wasn't feeling very good about himself. Class four just had recess, and all the boys had stood around him in a circle.

Dave was the first one to speak. "Hey, Sam, betcha you spent five hours studying for the math test last night!"

Chaim continued, "No, you probably first copied out all the notes, in your perfectly neat handwriting, so let's see...it probably took you 7 hours!"

At that point all the boys chuckled, while some muttered, "teacher's pet" and "goody goody" under their breath.

Sam's cheeks turned crimson. He couldn't help it. Schoolwork was important for him, and he tried his utmost to succeed. Why would that be a reason for his classmates to make fun of him?

As the bell rang, and all the boys playfully piled back into the classroom, Sam dragged his feet in, behind the boisterous bunch. He didn't notice the laughter around him, the good natured cheer of the others, nor the fact that his teacher was right behind him.

Mr. Cohen could see that something was terribly wrong. "Sam? What's the matter?"

Sam looked up, brushed aside a tear, and in a low voice, explained that the others were teasing him, just because he was studious.

Mr. Cohen looked serious as he walked straight up to the teacher's desk, put his briefcase down, and wrote "TEN PLAGUES" on the blackboard.

Instantly, the room full of boys became silent, as everyone read the board.

Charles called out, "Mr. Cohen, this week's Torah reading is Va'eira, and recounts seven of the ten plagues that afflicted the Egyptians. The plagues came because the Egyptians were enslaving the Jews, and not letting them free."

Mr. Cohen nodded. "What happened in the first plague?"

Paul answered. "All the water in Egypt turned to blood, even the bathing and drinking water!"

Mr. Cohen nodded again. "If the ten plagues happened so many years ago, why do we still speak about them?"

Sam ventured his hand. "Probably because there is a lesson to be learned, even now, although I am not sure what that could be..."

Mr. Cohen wrote the word "WATER" and the word "BLOOD" on the board.

"Boys," he said, "water is coldness, apathy, simply not caring. Blood shows life, warmth, and energy.

"G‑d is giving a hint to us about how we should live. We need to move from the coldness and apathy of water to the warmth of blood. That is the way to get out of every kind of Egypt, every kind of limitation.

"We should live our lives with excitement and energy. G‑d is hinting to us that we should do the mitzvot to our utmost ability, and to throw ourselves in to whatever we are doing 100%.

"Imagine someone performing a task half-heartedly, compared to someone who gives it his all. Who do you think will do a better job? Who do you think will succeed?"

Suddenly, the boys all looked at their classmate Sam. They realized the benefits of really caring and working hard for school.

Dave, the very same one who had been making fun of Sam earlier, said in a loud voice. "Sam...I am really sorry for making fun of how much time you spend on your schoolwork.....can I join you tonight?"