For believers in time-travel



Is time-travel possible? I firmly believe it is, but not in the sci-fi sense. It is only a more primitive notion of time-travel that conjures images of people from the future entering strange looking vehicles which deftly pop them into alternate ages. The time-travel that I’m thinking of, is the kind you experience when enjoying a good novel or film, whose opening scenes are opaque at first, but become crystal clear once specific information has been revealed. The reader/viewer is tempted to revisit the story a second time, to appreciate new meanings with the ‘aha’ that they have now earned.

Perspective changes the past. Understanding the underlying motives, can reshape an act perceived as malicious into one that can be appreciated as love. A hard teacher or a stern parent, can, with the passage of time be re-viewed as an enlightened pedagogue with a true understanding of their mentee’s long-term needs.

Which leads me to a fascinating nuance in Rashi’s commentary on the way in which Moshe caused the seventh plague, hail, to stop. Once Pharaoh demonstrated regret, the Torah describes Moshe’s prayer following which we are informed that ‘the sound quietened as did the hail, and the rain did not nitach to the ground’ (Shemot 9:33). Yes, nitach is not an English word. Rashi provides two alternate definitions: (a) ‘reach’; or (b) ‘pour’.

What seems to be in issue, is what occurred to the hail that was currently in the atmosphere en route to the ground. Did it pause and remain suspended there not reaching the earth, or did it disappear, ceasing to pour entirely? Both options seem fantastical (as does the whole concept of the Ten Plagues, to be honest) and begs for explanation.

Time-travel is what might be at play in this instance. Did Pharaoh’s regret change his initial stubborn refusal to free Bnei Yisrael, turning it into something that could now be viewed somehow as a positive, or did his initial position remain evil, compromised only as a result of the consequences he now faced?

It would appear that option (a) reflects the latter view. Pharaoh's intentions were only to hurt, thus the consequences remained in place until the point that his intentions changed. As such, the hail simply stopped, exactly at the point in time that the regret was registered on High. Option (b) reflects the former view. Pharaoh, at the core of his being, somehow meant to benefit Bnei Yisrael by his indignation, and it was the consequences which brought this out of him. Thus, when his regret became manifest, the hail disappeared entirely – reflecting the fact that his initial intentions were no more than a mirage.

If such can be said of Pharaoh, more than this can be said of us. Many of us make poor decisions at some stage or other, and we behold what seems to be evil perpetrated by those we feel should be our brothers and sisters. Beneath it all lies a purity, which requires time to reveal itself. We just need to give time, time.

Based on Lekkutei Sichot vol. 6 pp46-56

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