Why was there a plague of darkness?
In Parshat Bo, Shmot 10:22 we read:
Moshe stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was total darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days.
Each of the plagues was a punishment measure for measure for what the Egyptians did to B’nai Yisrael. Darkness came upon the Egyptians because they darkened the eyes of B’nai Yisrael by enslaving them.
The Midrash, Shmot Raba 14:3 asks if there was another reason for the plague of darkness which was connected specifically with B’nai Yisrael and not with the Egyptians?
The Midrash answers:
In that generation, there were among B’nai Yisrael transgressors who had Egyptian patrons who lived in affluence and honor and were unwilling to leave Egypt and return to God and the Torah, they preferred to worship idols. God said: “If I bring upon them publicly a plague from which they will die, the Egyptians will say: ‘Just as the plague has passed over us, so has it passed over them.’” On this account, God brought darkness upon the Egyptians for three days, so that B’nai Yisrael should bury their dead without their enemies seeing them, and for this, they should praise God.
Today as well, there are Jews who are in the dark who have no interest in Judaism or Israel. Not only will they not advocate for Israel, in some cases they are advocating against Israel.
Unfortunately, the uprisings that have taken place in Europe and on the US college campuses have shown that antisemitism is everywhere. The antisemitic protesters want to see the end of all of the Jews, affiliated or not.
We must work on overcoming the darkness and see the light at the end of the tunnel. No matter where we are in the world, Israel is ultimately the homeland of the Jewish people.