The Ten Plagues (I)

These are the Ten Plagues which the Holy

One, blessed be He, brought upon the

Egyptians, namely as follows:

Blood. Frogs. Lice. Wild Beasts. Pestilence. Boils. Hail. Locust. Darkness. Slaying of the First-born.

Punishment with an Educational Goal

In the Torah the Ten Plagues are divided into two Torah portions. In the Torah portion of Va’eira, only seven of the ten are mentioned. The balance of the plagues is mentioned in the next parsha, Bo.

What is the significance of the Ten Plagues being divided into two, and why seven in one parsha and three in the other?

We often think of these terrible calamities G-d visited on Pharaoh and the Egyptian people as examples of Divine retribution. Yet, if G-d wanted to punish them, there was no need for ten plagues. G-d could have eliminated them in one devastating plague. Why the need for dramatics?

In truth, G-d does not punish for the sake of punishment. The purpose of bringing the ten plagues was educational as much as it was G- d’s way of expressing His outrage at the treatment the Jewish people received from the Egyptian people.

Furthermore, it could be demonstrated that G- d was not simply punishing Pharaoh. The Torah states that G-d said, “And I will harden the heart of Pharaoh” (Exodus 7:3). If Pharaoh deserved to be punished, why didn’t G-d merely punish him without taking away his free will? Rather Pharaoh’s punishment was meted out by G-d measure for measure. Pharaoh rebelled against G-d, saying, “Who is G-d that I should obey his voice?” Anyone who insolently refuses to recognize G-d, and thinks he can do as he pleases, deserves that G-d will show him he is not his own boss; that without G-d’s consent he could not even express his own will.

But, the educational lesson of the plagues extends to each and every one of them. Each of the ten plagues introduced the world to another dimension of G-d and His love for the Jewish people. Education cannot come in one sweeping and overwhelming experience. There was a need for ten lessons.

The Ten (Seven?) Lessons

What follows is but one approach to the educational value of each of the ten plagues.

The first plagues of blood and frogs, which demonstrated that the Nile was not the G-d the Egyptian people thought it was.

The third plague of lice, which the Egyptians could not replicate, demonstrated that the one G-d of Israel is the only true G-d.

The fourth and fifth plagues of the mixture of wild beasts and the plague of pestilence— which, as the Torah stresses, did not affect the Jewish people—expressed the love G-d has for them. The fourth plague demonstrated the love He has for their lives, whereas the fifth plague demonstrated that the love for them extended even to their property. Even their animals were protected form the plague of pestilence.

The sixth plague of boils, in addition to the fact that it comprised many miracles, as Rashi explains, it was also the first plague that was directed against their bodies. The preceding plagues touched their gods, environment and property, but not their bodies. Even the the fourth plague, which involved the mixture of wild beasts, did not necessarily harm anyone who did not stand in their way, though it certainly frightened them. This plague actually afflicted all of their bodies.

This plague taught them that G-d is in control not only of the natural world, but also of man.

Another moral lesson to apply to our own educational practices is that corporal punishment, even when mandated, should be used only as a last resort.

The seventh—and last plague discussed in this week’s Torah portion—the plague of hail, was intended to give them one final pivotal lesson, without which all the other six would have proven futile.

Hail to the Chief

What was unique about the plague of hail? No only was it miraculous but it unified the opposing forces of fire and water, as the hail contained a burning fire within it.

By punishing them with hail that contained within it fire, they realized that G-d had the ability to combine fire and water; that G-d was able to bring together two conflicting forces of nature and make peace between them.

Until this plague, the Egyptians could have thought that each plague was generated by another deity, who they thought was in control of each of the natural forces. When they saw how fire and water, the two most diametrically opposed natural forces were brought together, they realized that there is one G-d who transcends—and can therefore unite—all the forces of nature.

Had they not been exposed to this plague, they would have remained ignorant of the true nature of the one G-d. This seventh plague was the ultimate educational experience for them.

Post-Graduate Education

In the next parsha, the remaining three plagues are discussed.

Offhand, it is rather strange that the Torah split up the Ten Plagues into two separate portions.

In light of the analysis of the Ten Plagues as a series of educational experiences, however, we can understand why this week’s parsha concludes with the seventh plague. Upon witnessing the plague of hail, they had already “graduated” the first and primary stage of their schooling. What follows in the next represents a more advanced—post-graduate level of education.

Or, perhaps, as the title of the next parsha, Bo- Come to Pharaoh, indicates, the objective of the last three plagues was to internalize the basic lessons that they received through the first seven plagues.

We are in Grade Seven Now.

“As in the days of your departure from Egypt, I shall show him wonders.”

This Biblical verse informs us that the future Redemption will parallel the Exodus from Egypt. If one looks around at what is happening in the world, one could see how life’s experiences are educational devices that point to the extent of G-d’s powers and the imminence of a spiritual revolution that will usher in a new world. But of all that has transpired in the past century, one thing is becoming more and more obvious: the theme of unity.

Science and technology are becoming increasingly aware of the unification of the world on all levels. This is a reenactment of the seventh and final plague (Read: educational device) mentioned in the parsha of Va’eira that is a precursor to the Messianic Age when the entire world will recognize that “G-d is one and His name is one.”

The next three plagues parallel the heightened level of education that will follow the coming of Moshiach.

This echoes the Kabbalistic interpretation of the Biblical prophecy that in the Messianic Age we will inherit three additional lands that will be incorporated into the Land of Israel that originally comprised seven nations.

The original seven represent the lower aspects of our personality that requires refinement and elevation. That, we were capable of doing even in the past.

But the “post-graduate” level corresponding to the three nations cannot be tackled now. For that we will have to wait until we “Come to Pharaoh,” (the opening words of the Torah portion that contains the last three plagues), which the Zohar interprets as entering into the most intimate precincts of G-dly energy.

From the book Light from the Future: Haggadah Shel Pesach by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.