צְפַרְדֵּעַ Tzfardia,“Frogs” This is the second plague.

1. אַפּ֗ו “His Anger” (Ps. 78:49) - As a result of God’s anger, they had no place for the people to stand, as it states, "But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief.” (Ex. 8:11) If Moses had not prayed for the frogs to die, they would have no space. They were exceedingly cramped (by the frogs) so when (Moses prayed) and Pharaoh saw that there was room, he initially softened and decided to obey God’s command.

2. עֶבְרָ֣ה “Wrath” (Ps. 78:49) The frogs croaked so loud the people were not able to sleep or speak to one another. That is why it is states, “they shall come up and enter your palace, your bedchamber and your bed,” (Ex. 7:28)

3.זַ֣עַם “Indignation,” (Ps. 78:49) When the Egyptians put flour in the bowl, the frogs went into bowl and ate the dough. They would quickly heat the oven to bake the loaves in the oven but the frogs would cause it to cool off, as it states, “and your ovens and your kneading bowls.” (Ex. 7:28) The verse states “your ovens,” and then “your kneading bowls,”to teach us that the Egyptians were troubled by the cooling of the ovens when they put their dough in it the frogs ate it.

4. צָרָ֑ה “Troubles” (Ps. 78:49) The frogs would enter their stomachs while still alive and croak while in their bodies, as Scripture states, “The frogs shall go up in you and in your people,” (Ex. 7:29) The sages state this was the most difficult thing of all. It was because of this that Pharaoh asked Moses, “Plead with HaShem to remove the frogs from me and my people,” (Ex. 8:4)

5. מִ֝שְׁלַ֗חַת מַלְאֲכֵ֥י רָעִֽים “A band of deadly messengers,” (Ps. 78:49) The frogs castrated the Egyptians, as Asaf wrote, “He inflicted upon them swarms of insects to devour them, frogs to destroy them.” (Ps. 78:45) Rashi explains this verse: “They would pull off their testicles.” (Rashi ad locum) This is from the Midrash which Rabbi Yochanan said: Any place the Egyptians rested, frogs appeared. Did they actually appear in houses of alabaster or bricks? Rabbi Ishmael ben Yossi said to him: this is one of the few times where the soft ruled over the hard. The frogs would come up (to the walls) and say, “I am the emissary of the Holy One,” and the alabaster would crack open and the frogs would come up, as is stated, “frogs to destroy them.” (Ps. Ibid) As is written elsewhere in Scripture, “for they are mutilated, they have a defect.” (Lev. 22:25)¹⁴⁹ It is helpful to clarify here - how could the alabaster be broken open before the frogs since God does not change the nature of the world without reason. But when God comes down to perform a miracle, we are obligated to magnify Him as much as possible.¹⁵⁰ But here Scripture proves their word. It is written, “And they shall come up and enter your house…” (Ex. 7:28) “Come up,” must mean from below to above. “In your house,” must mean, into the bed chamber of Pharaoh. Certainly the house of Pharaoh was made of alabaster, and if so it must be that the floor broke open before the frogs so that they could go up.

footnotes: ¹⁴⁹ This verse in Leviticus is speaking about castration or damage to the genitals - the same verb is used here. ¹⁵⁰ In other words, it is OK to over exaggerate when speaking of God’s miracles!