“For at this time, I will send all My plagues.” Rashi explained that we learn that the plague of the firstborn is equivalent to all the plagues. The Re’em [Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi] explained that “bechorot” [firstborn] has the letter bet with a patach vowel [which would mean the early crops], because in the hail, only the early-ripening [crops] that had ripened early were struck, as it says, For the barley was aviv [early-ripening]. Rashi explained: “It had already ripened.” Some versions read “betzarot” [famines] instead of “bechorot” [firstborn], because the hail caused them hunger and famine, and this is the version that Abarbanel taught. Nevertheless, the questioner’s concern was not satisfied as to why this plague was greater than all the other plagues. One cannot say that it was greater because of the great terror that came from “the voice of God hewing flames of fire,” for these are truly terrifying things, because if so, why did Rashi attribute the matter to the striking of the early crops or to famine? Weren’t the thunderous sounds the main cause of terror? On the contrary, it appears they weren’t so concerned about the crops, for if they were, the plague of locusts would be equivalent to all the plagues, since it consumed what the hail left behind. Rather, certainly they weren’t so concerned [about the crops] since the wheat and spelt were not struck. So why would this plague be greater than all the plagues?

According to the simple interpretation, we can resolve this by saying that it is actually referring to the plague of the firstborn, because we need to examine why it states for at this time I am sending all My plagues to your heart — why isn’t the phrase “to your heart” used in any plague except this one? Rather, it means that in the sequence of the last three plagues, I am sending you one plague that will cause you, if you are wise, to take to heart the plague of the firstborn which will come at the end of this sequence. This is because from the beginning, God warned Pharaoh about the plague of the firstborn, as it is written And you refuse to send him, behold I will kill your firstborn son (Exodus 4:23), as Rashi explains there. And because at that time he had not yet felt how great this calamity would be, since he had only heard verbal warnings but had not seen it, therefore he did not take it to heart and did not repent because of mere words. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, said that now I am sending you a plague on the firstborn of the produce of the ground, and I know that this plague will cause you much more pain than all the previous plagues, because all fruit that ripens first is especially beloved to a person, as will be explained, God willing, in Parshat Ki Tavo (26:2) regarding the reason for the first fruits. And the proof is that with this plague, he admitted and said, I have sinned this time, which he did not say in any of the previous plagues, because truly it pained him greatly that the fruits that had ripened first were struck, since they are especially dear to a person. And if this is so with the fruit of the ground, how much more so with the fruit of your loins — how great is the pain at the death of your firstborn son! And if until now you have not felt this, behold at this time when I strike the firstborn of the produce of the ground, then you will take to heart all My plagues, that is, the plague of the firstborn of human offspring — how great the pain is. And regarding this it is said, For at this time I am sending all My plagues, meaning the plague of the firstborn of human offspring, to your heart, that you should set your heart to contemplate and infer a fortiori: If for the firstborn fruits of the ground the pain is so great because they are dear to a person, how much more so for the firstborn fruit of your loins. Therefore, Rashi properly states that the plague of the firstborn itself is equivalent to all the plagues, for the verse calls it all My plagues. And this is the truth, for in all of them Pharaoh did not submit except with the plague of the firstborn. And with this is resolved why the verse needed to say And the flax and the barley were struck because the barley was in the ear and had already ripened, and this is a very precious explanation.

And by way of allusion, it seems to me, along the lines I wrote above (7:17), that the plague of hail and the thunder came to Pharaoh because he refused to listen to the voice of God in majesty. Therefore, God made terrifying and frightening sounds reach his ears. That is why he would specifically confess this particular sin, saying The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. This was because he had denied God, saying, He is not [the Lord], thus sinning with his voice and speaking evil about his Creator. Therefore, he was judged with thunderous voices, similar to what they said (Leviticus Rabbah 16:7) about the person with tzara’at [skin disease] who brings birds that make vocal sounds to atone for the voice of evil speech. Therefore, it says here The sounds will cease and there will be no more hail. One might question: why not combine them and teach The sounds and hail will cease or there will be no more [sounds and hail]? Rather, this is what Moses said to Pharaoh: “Why do you cry out to me saying ‘Plead with the Lord’? If you turn from your ways and stop making your voice heard in public — a voice of strife with insults and blasphemies against the Almighty, saying Who is the Lord? — then automatically the hail will be no more, because when the cause is removed, the effect will also be removed.” This is what it means: “When your thunderous voices cease, then automatically the hail will be no more, so that you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord when you return in repentance, not as you said at first, Who is the Lord?”

And because this sin was with the tongue, and it is known that the sin of the tongue magnifies sins equivalent to the three cardinal sins, which are idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder, and the entire Torah in general. For anyone who acknowledges idolatry is like one who denies the entire Torah. Therefore, it is appropriate that the one who sins with their tongue should be judged with all forms of capital punishment, because the punishment for idolatry is stoning, as is the punishment for blasphemy, and the punishment for murder is beheading, and the punishment for general sexual immorality is strangulation, and for a priest’s daughter who commits harlotry it is burning. Thus we find that all four forms of execution by the court apply to these three cardinal sins. Therefore, it is appropriate that one who sins with their tongue should be judged with all these plagues, for it is equivalent to all of them. This is what is meant by For this time I will send all My plagues, because we find in the plague of hail examples of all four forms of capital punishment by the court: Stoning with stones — corresponding to this, hail descended upon them along with hailstones, and he shall surely be stoned. Burning — as it says, fire went along the ground. Beheading — as it says He killed their vines with hail (Psalms 78:47), and the term “killing” is not normally used with vines, but rather it alludes to their important people who are compared to vines, as it says You removed a vine from Egypt (Psalms 80:9). And strangulation — this refers to the abundance of water that fell with the hail, for perhaps some of them drowned in the field in the rain of the hail, for anyone who is liable to strangulation will drown in a river, etc. (Ketubot 30b).

And the hail struck that which ripened first, because Pharaoh sent forth his tongue against the Holy One, blessed be He, who is the Firstborn of the world, as is mentioned in the book Neveh Shalom. And incidentally, the scripture informs us that the flax and the barley were struck, etc. Although its simple meaning suggests that it comes to inform us incidentally that just as the flax was struck because it was standing in its hardness, so too was Pharaoh struck for his stiff-neckedness like this stalk. Nevertheless, along the way, it also comes to inform us who the afflicted ones are who receive damage from the slanderers, and who is free from the slanderers, in a way that everything is measure for measure. Anyone who receives damage from the voice of the slanderers, correspondingly those plants resembling him were also struck by the sound of the hail. And anyone who was saved from the voice of the slanderers, those plants resembling him were also saved from the voice of the hail. For it is known that two groups receive damage from slanderers: The first group are those who are superior in rank, whom many jealous people harm because they envy their great stature. Moreover, because of their elevated status, they are more affected by slander. This excludes those of lesser rank, whom others do not envy as much and do not direct the arrows of their tongue at as much. And even if their arrows do strike him, nevertheless he is not as affected and it does not harm him as much as slander harms people of high rank, who have the right of the firstborn, who sit foremost in the kingdom of heaven. Indeed, this trait is common among many of our people, for slanderers leave no one innocent; any man of valor with many accomplishments — with their tongues they bring down every high wall, and every mighty cedar of Lebanon is pierced by the worm of Jacob. The second group are those who stand up against the slanderers like this stalk and are not subdued by them, to hear their reproach and not respond, but rather want to stand against them to answer their revilers, or one who prides himself on his stature, for his height is compared to a palm tree — then slander harms him even more.

And the one who is saved from evil speech is, the one who is among those who obscure themselves, who do not show themselves before others, to fulfill what is said Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide for a little while until the fury passes (Isaiah 26:20). Even though their tongue is a sharpened arrow that passes through many walls; and [even] one who sits in the innermost chambers who is protected from all weapons, nevertheless he is not protected from these archers. However, there is at least a small protection when a person does not display his virtues before them and does not respond to those who insult him, and is like a man who does not hear. Therefore, the Torah tells us that the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. It is difficult to understand what this is teaching us. If it is to inform us that because the wheat and the spelt were not struck, Pharaoh hardened his heart, why did the Torah need to give a reason why these were struck and those were not struck? Rather, it is to hint to us that just as the voice of the tongue harms those of first-rate importance and those who stand tall like a stalk, so too by the sound of the hail, the flax and the barley were struck, because the flax was a stalk standing in its hardness, and the barley was early, it ripened first. But the wheat and the spelt were not struck. Similarly, all those who obscure themselves and are not seen by others in their greatness, and who make themselves as if they do not hear, these are not struck. And this will be explained, God willing, in the portion of Ki Tetze And you shall have a spade among your tools (23:14). For silence is the main weapon of a person to defeat those who insult him.

And with this is resolved, what is written When I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord (Exodus 9:29). Rashi explains that it was because the city was full of idols. And people question why he [Moses] was particular specifically about this plague, even though according to the simple meaning one could say that certainly he was particular about this in all the plagues, and Moses did not need to inform Pharaoh when he would pray, and whether inside the city or outside it, except for this plague where Pharaoh said, Enough of these divine sounds, which indicates that he was so terrified by the thunders that he wanted them to stop immediately. Therefore, Moses needed to inform him that it was impossible for them to stop immediately, since he [Moses] needed to first leave the city and there he would entreat the Lord. Nevertheless, even according to our approach, he [Moses] hinted to him [Pharaoh] that the sin of the tongue caused the Lord to turn away from Pharaoh, and He did not want to be seen even by Moses as long as he was in the same space as Pharaoh, in the way that our Sages said (Arakhin 15b): “Whoever speaks evil speech [lashon hara], the Holy One, blessed be He, says, ‘He and I cannot dwell together,’ as it is said Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him I will destroy; him who is haughty of eye and proud of heart, him I will not tolerate (Psalms 101:5) — do not read ‘him’ [oto] but ‘with him’ [ito].” Therefore it is said, When I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord, because the city is full of idols. For just as He sent all His plagues against him because evil speech magnifies sins comparable to idolatry, forbidden sexual relations, and bloodshed, so too He mentioned the phrase full of idols to indicate that this sin encompasses many idols and fills the entire city with all types of idols.

And there are those who say, that he needed to pray in the field, the place where the plague was most active. And it seems further to say that he needed to say when I go out of the city so that Pharaoh would not suspect that out of fear of the sounds and the hail, he would go to some house to pray. Therefore, he said to him when I go out of the city to show him the greatness of the miracle, that in every place where the sole of his foot would tread, there would be no hail.

For before you will fear, etc. Rashi explains, “still you will not fear.” He needed to say this to him specifically in removing this plague because Pharaoh only asked for the removal of the sounds and hail, as it is written, enough of God’s sounds and hail. But regarding the rain, he did not say it should cease because the land of Egypt needs rain more than other lands. And thus Moses promised him, as it is written, the thunder will cease and the hail will be no more. But in the end, it was not so, rather the sounds and hail ceased, and rain did not pour to the ground. Moses thought that perhaps Pharaoh would consider him a liar and say that this is not what he had promised him. Therefore, Moses said, “If I had known that from today onward you would fear God, I would have done all your will, for the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfills the desire of those who fear Him. But I know that still you do not fear the Lord with a complete heart, therefore the Lord will not fulfill all your desires so that a sinner should not profit. Therefore, everything will cease at once and there will be no rain, for He only gives to those who fear the Lord, as it is written And they did not say in their hearts, let us fear the Lord our God, who gives rain, the early and late rains in their time, etc. (Jeremiah 5:24).”