PARSHA61 -14: Parashat Vaera

From:          "Yeshivat Har Etzion's Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash"
To:            yhe-parsha@vbm-torah.org
Subject:       PARSHA61 -14: Parashat Vaera

                   YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
      YISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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                     PARASHAT VAERA


             The Purpose of the Ten Plagues

                   By Rav Amnon Bazak

1. INTRODUCTION

      In God's revelation to Moshe in the burning bush,
the Torah gives its first description of the Divine plan
to deliver Bnei Yisrael from Egypt. Armed with the
foreknowledge that "the king of Egypt will not let you
go" (3:19), God's reaction to this situation is already
predicted:

   "And I shall set forth My hand and I shall strike
   Egypt with all My wonders which I shall perform in
   their midst, and thereafter he will send you out."
   (3:20)

      From these verses it would appear that the sole
purpose of the plagues was to force Pharaoh to send out
Bnei Yisrael, and that God played no role in Pharaoh's
stubbornness. But in God's revelation to Moshe in Midyan,
we detect a different tone: "And I shall harden his heart
and he will not send out the nation" (4:21). From here we
already understand that the very hardening of Pharaoh's
heart was part of the Divine plan, and the explanation is
presented without delay:

   "And you shall say to Pharaoh, So says God: Israel is
   My firstborn son. And I said to you, Send out My son
   that he may serve Me. And you refused to send him;
   behold, I will kill your firstborn son." (4:22-23)

      In the second account, the hardening of Pharaoh's
heart is part of the process of punishment, setting up a
"measure for measure" situation: since Pharaoh wished to
enslave Am Yisrael - God's "firstborn" - for   all
eternity, it is fitting that the Holy One punish him by
killing his own firstborn son. Here, then, the plague of
the firstborn assumes a significance beyond applying
pressure to Pharaoh; it becomes an educational tool in
punishing him measure for measure.

     A third dimension appears in our parasha:

   "And I shall harden Pharaoh's heart and I shall
   multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of
   Egypt. And Pharaoh will not listen to you, that I may
   set My hand upon Egypt." (7:3-4)

      Here, too, we find that it is God who will harden
Pharaoh's heart, but here the hardening of the heart
leads not only to the plague of the firstborn, but also
to a long list of signs and wonders. Here, too, the
reason for all the plagues is made explicit: "And Egypt
will know that I am God when I stretch out My hand upon
Egypt and when I take Bnei Yisrael out from among them"
(7:6). The purpose of the plagues is therefore to teach
Egypt Who it is that afflicts them, and for this purpose
the killing of the firstborn is not sufficient. Only a
succession of plagues will truly reveal God's hand to
Egypt, teaching the Egyptians something of the way in
which He operates.

      How, then, do the first nine plagues achieve this
aim?

2. THE FIRST NINE PLAGUES

      We are all familiar with the line from the Pesach
Haggada:

   "Rabbi Yehuda used to abbreviate them: 'Detzakh Adash
   Be'achav' (a mnemonic made up of the first letters of
   each of the ten plagues)."

   It is reasonable to assume that R. Yehuda's original
intention was to categorize the plagues in three groups,
with the final plague - the killing of the firstborn -
representing an independent entity. Indeed, the Torah's
description clearly demonstrates that there are three
groups of three plagues each. The first plague in each
group opens with a description of WHEN Moshe is supposed
to APPEAR before Pharaoh, warning him of what is about to
happen:

Blood (7:15): "Go to Pharaoh IN THE MORNING, WHEN HE GOES
OUT TO THE WATER, AND YOU SHALL STAND to meet him on the
river bank."
Gnats (8:16): "Get up early IN THE MORNING, and STAND
before Pharaoh when he comes out to the water."
Hail (9:13): "Get up early IN THE MORNING and STAND
before Pharaoh."

      In contrast, the second plague in each group
contains no mention of the timing ("in the morning"),
which also involves the place ("on the river bank").
Instead, we find here a different common element: the
expressions,   "Come to Pharaoh" and    "For   if   you
refuse...":

Frogs (7:26): "AND GOD SAID TO MOSHE, COME TO PHARAOH and
you shall say to him... AND IF YOU REFUSE TO SEND THEM,
behold I will afflict all of your borders with frogs."
Cattle plague (9:1-3): "AND GOD SAID TO MOSHE, COME TO
PHARAOH and tell him... AND IF YOU REFUSE TO SEND THEM
and still hold them, behold, the hand of God will be upon
your cattle..."
Locusts (10:1-4): "AND GOD SAID TO MOSHE, COME TO
PHARAOH... AND IF YOU REFUSE TO SEND OUT My nation,
behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts in your borders."

      The third plague in each group arrives, as we know,
without any prior warning. The plague simply overtakes
Egypt without Moshe notifying Pharaoh of what is going to
happen.

      The well-organized literary structure of these nine
plagues in their three groups demands some explanation:
what is the significance of the categorization into these
groups? Is each group of plagues meant to fulfill a
different function?

3. "BY THIS SHALL YOU KNOW THAT I AM GOD"

     It seems that each group does indeed bring about a
different aspect of the Egyptians' recognition of God. At
the beginning of the first plague in each group, we find
the definition of the aim of that group, and the nature
of the plagues is determined by that definition.

      The first group is defined as being meant to prove
to Pharaoh - "By this shall you know that I am God"
(7:17). Indeed, the central drama in the first group of
plagues involves the battle against the sorcerers, and in
this respect we see a development from one plague to the
next. In the plague of blood we see that the river is
stricken, but it appears that the sorcerers, too, are
capable of turning water into blood: "And the sorcerers
of Egypt did the same with their arts, and Pharaoh's
heart was hardened and he did not listen to them" (7:22).
We are told nothing of how the plague is removed; despite
the severity of the disaster, the Egyptians manage to
overcome the problem - "And all of Egypt dug around the
river to find water to drink" (7:24), and hence the
plague of blood has failed, in effect, to prove anything.
All that has been demonstrated is that Moshe's power is
equal to that of the sorcerers.

      We detect some progress when it comes to the plague
of frogs. Here, too, the sorcerers succeed in performing
the same wonders as those shown by Moshe and Aharon -
"And the sorcerers did the same with their arts, and they
brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt" (8:3), but there
is now a recognizable degree of distress in Egypt,
causing Pharaoh to request of Moshe and Aharon: "Ask of
God that He remove the frogs from me and from my nation"
(8:4). Here we already see the superiority of Moshe and
Aharon, representing God, over the sorcerers. Indeed,
Moshe hastens to make the most of this opportunity,
suggesting to Pharaoh: "Challenge me - when should I ask
for you and for your servants and for your nation, that
the frogs be destroyed from you and from your houses...?"
(8:5). And when Pharaoh answers, "Tomorrow,"    Moshe
replies, "As you have spoken, that you may know that
THERE IS NONE LIKE OUR GOD" (8:6). Here a certain victory
has been achieved - God's power has been proven superior
to that of the sorcerers.

      In the plague of lice, the aim is achieved in its
entirety. Here there is no mention of the sorcerers
succeeding in producing a similar phenomenon; on the
other hand, we are told that they try in vain to remove
the plague: "And the sorcerers did the same with their
arts to remove the lice, but they could not" (8:14).
Immediately   thereafter we read of   the    sorcerers'
conclusion: "It is the finger of God!" (8:15). The aim of
the first group of plagues - "in order that you will know
thI am God" - has been achieved.

      It should be added that it was specifically the
Egyptians who first needed to be taught about the
existence of a transcendental Divine Cause, for - as
opposed to other ancient Middle Eastern religions -
Egyptian culture regarded the king himself as a god. This
is highlighted in the haftara of parashat Va'era -
Yechezkel's prophecy of punishment for Egypt, in which we
read,

   "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh - king of Egypt,
   the great crocodile that crouches in the midst of his
   river, who said, 'The river is mine; I made it for
   myself." (29:3)

Pharaoh presumes to be the creator of Egypt's source of
water; he pretends that he has the creative power of a
god. For this reason it is emphasized in this prophecy,
too:

   "The land of Egypt will be desolate and waste, AND
   THEY SHALL KNOW THAT I AM GOD, for he said 'The river
   is mine and I made it.'" (29:9)

     It is therefore no wonder that the first two plagues
are the only ones that involve the river, the source of
Pharaoh's pride: the first plague strikes the river
itself - the same river over which Pharaoh claims to have
complete control - while the second plague emanates from
within the river: "the river shall bring forth swarms of
frogs, and they will go up and come into your house..."
(7:28). The third plague, which spreads "throughout the
land of Egypt" (8:12), demonstrates that God's dominion
is not limited only to the river, but rather His actions
are felt throughout the land.

4. "IN ORDER THAT YOU WILL KNOW THAT I AM GOD IN THE
MIDST OF THE LAND"

     Following the demonstration of the actual existence
of a transcendental God through the first set of plagues,
the second set has as its aim - as emphasized at the
outset - "in order that you will know that I am God IN
THE MIDST OF THE LAND" (8:18). This group is meant to
prove that not only does God exist, but He is involved in
"the land" - in worldly, human affairs, and that He
watches over those who fear Him. The perception which
this second group of plagues is meant to counteract is
the philosophical approach presented at the beginning of
Sefer Ha-Kuzari by the philosopher (first speech, 1):
"Thus the Deity does not know you; how much less does He
know your thoughts and deeds."

      How can God's involvement in "the midst of the
land," in worldly affairs, be proven? This set of plagues
highlights the distinction - as yet unmentioned - between
the Egyptians and Bnei Yisrael. Thus we find in the
introduction to the plague of gnats:

   "And I will separate on that day the land of Goshen,
   in which My nation dwells, that no swarms of gnats
   will be there, in order that you will know that I am
   God in the midst of the land."

      Once again there is a recognizable progression in
the internalization of the message when we reach the next
plague, which afflicts the cattle. Here, too, Moshe
emphasizes in his warning, "And God will separate the
cattle of Israel from the cattle of Egypt, and nothing
will die of anything belonging to Bnei Yisrael" (9:4).
But now the emphasis is carried through to the action:
"And all the cattle of Egypt died, while of the cattle of
Bnei Yisrael not one died." And Pharaoh is indeed curious
to know the outcome: "And Pharaoh sent (sought out) and,
behold, not one of the cattle of Bnei Yisrael had died"
(9:7).

      The plague of boils, representing the third plague
of this group, comes without warning, and therefore there
is no mention of a division between Bnei Yisrael and the
Egyptians. We might still have expected Pharaoh to
conduct an investigation, as he did in the case of the
previous plague, to find out whether once again Bnei
Yisrael had survived the plague unscathed. No such
investigation is explicitly mentioned, but it would seem
that this is precisely the intention of the text in its
description of how "the sorcerers could not stand before
Moshe because of the boils, for the boils were upon the
sorcerers AND UPON ALL OF EGYPT" (9:11). This is the
first   plague where Pharaoh and the sorcerers    are
completely passive, and for this reason   they    are
physically prevented from assessing the situation among
Bnei Yisrael.

5. "IN ORDER THAT YOU MAY KNOW THAT THERE IS NONE LIKE ME
IN ALL THE LAND"

     Two messages have been conveyed so far to the
Egyptians - the existence of God, and His guidance over
the world. Now the time has come to express another
message: the uniqueness of God. The third group of
plagues gives special expression to the idea that God is
the only God, for His actions are without precedent in
anything that has ever happened in the world.

      Once again, we see a progression from one plague to
the next. In the first plague of this group, hail, we
read:

   "For this time I shall send all My plagues upon your
   heart... in order that you will know that there is
   none like Me in all the land... Behold, at this time
   tomorrow I will rain down a very heavy hail, SUCH AS
   HAS NEVER OCCURRED IN EGYPT SINCE ITS FOUNDATION
   UNTIL NOW." (9:14-18)

      Again in the description of how this threat is
realized, we read:

   "And there was hail, and fire flaring within the
   hail, very heavy - SUCH AS HAD NEVER OCCURRED IN ALL
   THE LAND OF EGYPT SINCE IT BECAME A NATION." (9:24)

      In the second plague - that of locusts - it is once
again emphasized in the warning that the punishment will
be unprecedented:

   "Behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts in   your
   borders... and they will fill your houses and the
   houses of all your servants and the houses of all of
   Egypt, SUCH AS YOUR FATHERS AND YOUR FATHERS' FATHERS
   NEVER SAW, FROM WHEN THEY WERE FIRST UPON THE EARTH
   UNTIL THIS DAY." (10:6)

But in the description of the plague itself we see an
escalation:

   "And the locusts went up over the whole land of
   Egypt, and they rested in all the borders of Egypt,
   VERY HEAVY, THERE HAD NEVER BEEN SUCH LOCUSTS BEFORE
   NOR WOULD THERE BE SUCH THEREAFTER." (10:14)

We sense here that not only was this an unprecedented
phenomenon, but that it was a unique, one-time event -
like the great flood - that would never be repeated.

      From this perspective, the third plague is an
exception to its predecessors. It describes not a natural
phenomenon, whose principal message turns on its timing
and scope, but rather a completely unnatural phenomenon -
"a thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three
days." This plague demonstrated God's absolute    and
exclusive control over the entire world.

6. CONCLUSION

     As noted at the outset, the plagues that befell the
Egyptians had a dual purpose: they were meant both to
persuade the stubborn Pharaoh to send out Bnei Yisrael,
as well as to teach him something of the nature of the
God whom he presumed to challenge. The final plague - the
killing of the firstborn - had a special purpose,
illustrating the nature of the conflict between God and
Pharaoh - "Israel is My firstborn... Behold, I shall kill
your   firstborn." The other plagues conveyed    three
messages, expressed in the three groups of plagues: the
existence of God, His providence and His uniqueness.

      The plague of the firstborn contained in itself all
of   these elements, since it demonstrated both the
separation between Bnei Yisrael and the Egyptians ("But
against Bnei Yisrael not a dog shall move its tongue,
against either man or animal, in order that you will know
that God separates between Egypt and Israel" - 11:7), as
well as a one-time exception to the regular laws of
nature ("such as had never been, and such as would never
be again" - 11:6). Clearly, all of this also gave further
proof of God's existence.

      Hence we find that before God struck Egypt with the
final, decisive blow and took Bnei Yisrael from slavery
to freedom, he taught Pharaoh and the Egyptians a
fundamental lesson in religious thought, concerning the
three fundamental elements of belief in God. Ultimately,
Bnei Yisrael themselves would hear the same messages, in
concise form: "Hear O Israel, (1) THE LORD (2) OUR GOD -
the Lord (3) IS ONE."

(Translated by Kaeren Fish)

YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH
ALON SHEVUT, GUSH ETZION 90433

Copyright (c) 1999 Yeshivat Har Etzion
All Rights Reserved

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