Barad, ברד Hail is the seventh plague.

1. אַפּ֗וֹ“His anger” - Thunder and lightning caused their heart to be overwhelmed and the Egyptians to become distressed. That is why Pharaoh said to Moses, “Plead with HaShemthat there may be an end of God’s thunder and of hail and I will let you go...” (Ex. 9:28) Because of Pharaoh’s great fear his heart became overwhelmed.

2. עֶבְרָ֣ה“Wrath” - The rain was so heavy that each drop of rain was equal to the amount of water in a Mikvah, 40 Sea. The proof of this is what remained (of the rain) pending, as it states, “No rain came pouring down upon the earth.”¹ (Ex. 9:33) The rain was called hailstones (gav’eesh)² which then fell in the time of Joshua. It was bound up by a mighty storm. The sages presumed that the rain drops weighed 40 Seah, as they have explained.

footnotes: ¹ See Rashi no rain came pouring down upon the earth. לא נתך means [RAIN] DID NOT REACH the earth (i. e. no fresh rain came down) — that rain, too, which was already in the air at the moment when Moses was praying remained there and did not reach the ground. ² See Rashi on Ezekiel 38:23, and great hailstones They were hailstones that glisten like precious stones named גָּבִישּׁ, crystal, as the matter is stated (Job 28:18): “Coral and crystal (וְגָּבִישּׁ).” Our Sages said (Ber. 54b): עַל גַב אִישּׁ: Hailstones that started to fall on Egypt, and stood in the air over the man (עַל גַב אִישּׁ), Moses, who prayed that they not fall, as the matter that is stated (Exod. 9:33), לֹא נִתַּךְ אַרְצָה “[it] did not reach the ground.”

3. זַ֣עַם “Indignation” - At first there was rain, as is stated, “as HaShem rained down.” (Ex. 9:23) From the power of the wind it became hail, as Scripture states, “Storm wind that executes His command,” (Ps. 148:8)

4. צָרָ֑ה“Trouble” - There was a burning fire within the hail so that the hail smashed trees and the fire burned them and dried them out. This is what the sages explained, “but the wheat and the emmer were not hurt, for they ripen late.” (Ex. 9:32) God caused wondrous things to them. But the real wonder was that the fire was within the hail, mixed together. Normally the trees would have damaged the wheat and the emmer but God caused this miracle (that it remained undamaged) This is explained by the author of Toldot Yitzchak.

5. מִ֝שְׁלַ֗חַת מַלְאֲכֵ֥י רָעִֽים“A band of deadly messengers.” - It is explained in the Midrash that since the hail was like a wall before the flocks, it blocked the flocks and they were unable to leave. The Egyptians said, “Woe to that person who allows the flock to be slaughtered without feeding his children.” When they slaughtered one of them and placed it on their shoulder (to take it away) a bird flew down and grabbed it from their shoulder (and flew away), as is stated, “Just as the children of sparks fly upward.” (Job 5:7)