Rising Above the Stars

Our Sages teach us that the lamb was considered a God in ancient Egypt. What was it about the lamb that attracted the Egypt to worship it? The answer lies in the understanding that every nation has a Mazal, a sign in the Zodiac that represents their strengths and weaknesses. And when that Mazel is at the height of its power, the corresponding nation is also prosperous.

We see again and again in the Torah that ancient Egypt was very in tune to the movement of the stars. The Zodiac sign for the Egyptians was Aries, the Lamb. Aries is also the sign of the Jewish month of Nissan. Nissan is the beginning of the spring, a time of year which is blessed agriculturally, which is why Egypt was the agriculture head of the world.

Our Sages teach us that the world was created in the Month of Nissan, meaning under the Zodiac of Aries. This is why an individual or a nation under that Zodiac has a very strong disposition towards leadership, or the negative manifestation of that trait, excessive ego and tyranny, as was the case of Egypt. Firstborn children also have a special connection to that Mazal, since it is the “firstborn” of the Zodiac signs. Egypt was also the first country to have the concept of a “God-king,” viewed by his subjects as a deity. Egypt’s power resided in the fact they were, indeed, under the firstborn of all the signs of the Zodiac.

With this understanding, we gain much deeper insight into the events of that night that the Jewish people were released from their bondage. It was the 15th day of the month of Nissan, exactly midway through the month, at exactly midnight. It was the very moment when the Egyptian nation should be at the height of its power, the height of world power. But instead, at that very moment, Egypt came crashing down, and it began with the death of the firstborns, clearly showing that the Almighty is above all other forces of Creation.

And this was all initiated by the Jewish people taking that first bold step, to take the lamb and to slaughter it, instilling in their hearts that tonight, they were destined to rise above the stars. This was a fulfillment of the promise that God made to Abraham 400 years earlier when, while informing about the exile and redemption of the Jewish people, he told him to “rise above the stars”.

Indeed, on the night that we left Egypt we rose above all forces of nature. We became a supernatural nation that would be able to withstand all existential threats throughout its history. We became a nation that does not fall and outlives all our enemies, no matter how powerful they are. On that night, we rose above the stars.   

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