הנה יד ה' הויה, “here the hand of the Lord is about to be, etc.” In introducing the fifth plague the Torah mentions “the hand” of G’d, the word הויה representing the attribute which forms the last letter ה in the Ineffable Name, the tetragrammaton. This is a name which allows for 12 permutations [different spellings using the same letters, a widely accepted kabbalistic method. Ed.]. The words זה שמי לעולם, in 3,15 provided an allusion to this concept, the word לעולם hinting at concealed methods of writing this name. Seeing that this was the fifth plague, the Torah makes a point of listing five species of animals which would be afflicted, i.e. horses, donkeys, camels, cattle and flocks.

במקנך אשר בשדה, “amongst your cattle which are out in the field.” He warned them about those animals which are normally out in the field. This is a typical construction similar to when the Torah wrote in Exodus 22,30: ובשר בשדה טרפה לא תאכלו, “you must not eat the flesh of an animal that was torn in the field.” The example the Torah cites is one that is commonplace; the legislation includes animals which are diseased in the stable. Similarly, here; the Torah singles out the animals which are usually in the field. This does not mean that the other animals would be safe from the plague. When the Torah reports how the plague affected the Egyptians it writes that all the cattle of Egypt died (verse 6), i.e. including the cattle kept at home.

Nachmanides writes that the reason the Torah mentions the word בשדה in connection with the cattle is that the Egyptians kept their cattle outdoors on a permanent basis. The reason was that shepherds of cattle were considered an abomination in Egypt (compare Genesis 46,34). These cattle were grazing far from Egypt proper, on the border of the province of Goshen, so that the cattle of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians intermingled. The fact that none of the Israelites’ cattle were affected by the plague was therefore all the more remarkable. Another reason why this was remarkable could have been that the bacteria causing the plague came from the same airspace so that it could have been expected to affect all the animals in equal measure

וישם ה' מועד לאמור מחר יעשה ה' הדבר הזה בארץ, “G’d appointed a set time, saying: “G’d will carry out this matter in the land tomorrow.” Why this cumbersome language? All the Torah had to write was: “Tomorrow I will do it.” The plain meaning of this verse is that G’d gave Moses the date on which this plague would occur and he was to tell the Israelites the date, i.e. on the following day.

A kabbalistic approach: The apparent repetition וישם ה', ה' יעשה, “G’d (set) determined, G’d will do,” refers to G’d Who together with His celestial tribunal would orchestrate this plague. G’d’s celestial tribunal had already been mentioned at the beginning of the paragraph with the word הנה יד ה' הויה. This is not the only time when mention of G’d in the third person rather than quoting G’d in the first person means that the reference is to G’d’s celestial tribunal. Another example of this is found in Exodus 16,29 where the words ראו כי ה' נתן לכם השבת, “see, for the Lord has given you the Sabbath,” instead of “I have given you the Sabbath” refer to the same thing. There are many such examples. .

וזרקו משה השמימה, “and Moses is to throw it heavenward.” It is a well known fact that each one of the ten plagues contained within it a number of miracles. In this instance the expression “your (pl) handfuls” combined with the singular “let him throw it heavenward” poses a problem. Why did they both have to fill their hands with the soot if only Moses was to throw it? The verse teaches therefore that Moses took in his one hand the combined four handfuls of soot, both his own and that of his brother Aaron. If one throws something upwards one uses only one hand; otherwise it is hardly called “throwing.” The ability of throwing all this soot with one hand then was one of the miracles. Another miracle was the fact that the whole land of Egypt became filled with dust which had originated only in the palms of two pairs of hands. The third miracle, of course, was the plague itself, the fact that this soot turned into erupting boils infecting man and beast alike in the whole of Egypt.

ויחזק ה' את לב פרעה, “G’d hardened the heart of Pharaoh.” This was the sixth plague already and it is the first time that the Torah writes that it was G’d who made Pharaoh’s heart strong. Up until now he had hardened his heart unassisted by G’d but due to other considerations as we explained. Now there were no sorcerers who would have lent backbone to Pharaoh by their very presence and would have caused him to remain obstinate. They were ashamed to appear in public as they themselves were suffering from the symptoms of this שחין פורח אבעבעת. Had G’d not interfered at this point, Pharaoh might have capitulated and perhaps would have decided to let the Israelites go.

את כל מגפותי, “all my plagues.” According to the plain meaning of the text the reason G’d referred to the plague of hail as “all My plagues” is that this plague contained within it most of the plagues that man and beast suffer from. This is why the Torah added the words מאדם עד בהמה, “from man to beast” in verse 25 when the impact of the plague is being described. All the trees were broken by the hail, not to mention any crops which were ready or close to harvesting. The ice, i.e. the cold which accompanied the phenomenon of this hail froze all plants which were already above ground. We find confirmation of this thought by Assaph in Psalms 78,47 “He killed their vines with hail, their sycamore with frost.” The word חנמל in that psalm is a variety of hail. It is a strong frost which breaks the blossoms of the trees and dries out their moisture. Shemot Rabbah 12,4 explains that the reason why this kind of hail is called חנמל is because when it came נח מל, “it settled on the trees and cut them (as if ‘circumcised’) a cut which does not grow back and regenerate itself.” This hail which contained destructive fire within it was even more damaging.

A Midrashic approach based on Shemot Rabbah 12,4: The words “all My plagues” refers to the hail which broke the trees whereas the fire contained within it burned the roots. The force of the cold did not extinguish the fire, nor did the heat of the fire melt the hail (ice). You may understand the phenomenon when you consider the following parable: a king has two dukes who hate each other. After a number of years of such feuding between the dukes war broke out in the kingdom and the king required the services of both dukes in order to defeat the enemy. He needed to see to it that the two feuding dukes stopped fighting each other and combined to help him win the war. This is the deeper meaning of Job 25,2: המשל ופחד עמו,עושה שלום במרומיו, “Dominion and dread are His; He imposes peace in His heights.” The word המשל refers to the archangel Michael, the word פחד, to the archangel Gavriel. Michael is in charge of water, Gavriel in charge of fire. G’d imposes peace between them in order for His war against evil to be fought successfully.

We find a similar concept in Ezekiel‘s vision of the מרכבה, “G’d’s heavenly entourage.” The prophet described a vision of the angels supporting G’d’s throne as respectively fiery and icy (1,13 and 1,22). If we consider that water or ice usually descends whereas fire usually rises, it becomes clear that we speak of natural forces with opposite characteristics, not to mention heat and cold which are opposites also. G’d arranged for water, i.e. the sky to have its habitat in the heights, whereas fire has its habitat down below.

You will observe that our paragraph contains the word ברד, hail 14 times. [The word יד equals 14 in the numerical value of its letters. In other words, ברד was a manifestation of G’d’s “hand, יד.” Ed.] According to the author the reason that the word ברד appears 14 times is that it reflected the power of water. It is generally known that the planet moon exercises a force upon the water similar to the planet sun exercising its force upon fire. The moon is responsible for the phenomenon of the tides receding and rising respectively. During the first 14 days of the month the moon appears to increase in size, whereas during the last 14 days of the month the moon appears to decrease in size.

A kabbalistic approach: The word כל, “all,” in the expression את כל מגפותי, “all My plagues,” may be understood as similar to the word “all” in ולא יעיר כל חמתו, “and did not give vent to all His fury” (Psalms 78,38). The meaning of the word in that context is the attribute called כל. This attribute describes G’d’s anger. Here too the Torah describes that this plague will be the result of G’d’s anger at Pharaoh having failed to respond to earlier methods to discipline him. Henceforth this attribute would be employed in order to humble him. This is why Moses needed to raise his hands (verse 29) when he prayed for the removal of this plague when the time came. He had not had to do this when he prayed for the removal of any of the preceding plagues. People had actually been dying from fear when they merely heard the sound of the hail. Seeing this plague was the result of the combined efforts of G’d and His celestial court it was more severe than the plagues preceding it. This fact is alluded to in the Torah especially mentioning the word קולות as part of the actual plague in verse 23: “and G’d sent thunder and hail.” Seeing this had been so, Moses had to make an increased effort in his prayer to stop the plague by using also his outstretched hands in prayer. He needed to sanctify all his ten fingers. The symbolism contained in raising one’s hands heavenwards in prayer is that it is an expression of one’s awareness of the source of the disaster which one wants to prevent by one’s prayer and by invoking G’d’s attribute of Mercy towards what transpires on earth. The plague’s effect on Pharaoh was that for the first time he publicly acknowledged that he and his people had sinned, that G’d was righteous (verse 27). As soon as Moses engaged in this kind of prayer the hail, etc. ceased (not on the next day as in previous plagues).

בעבור תדע כי אין כמוני בכל הארץ, “so that you will appreciate that there is no One like Me in the whole universe.” Moses informed Pharaoh by means of this short line that G’d in His capacity as Hashem exists, exerts power over the fate of man on earth and that He has the ability to make things happen or to even reverse them. Moses had already demonstrated that Hashem exists when the plague of frogs occurred, when the Torah had introduced it by the words: “in order that you should know that there is none like Hashem” (8,6). This had meant that there is no Existence comparable to that of Hashem. The fact that this Existence exercises its dominion over creatures on earth was the purpose of the fourth plague, the wild beasts roaming at will through urban areas had been introduced with the words: “in order that you should appreciate that I am an Existence active in the very midst of the earth” (8,18). The message was that G’d acted on earth just like a king within his realm. At this point Pharaoh was taught the additional lesson about the uniqueness of every aspect of that Being known as Hashem. The reason that Moses had to repeat all this was that initially, Pharaoh had denied all three aspects of the meaning of Hashem, His existence, His impact on events, and His uniqueness. This meant simply that no other power in the universe commanded this range of abilities.

According to Pessikta Zutrata on our verse, whenever we encounter such expressions as למען תדע, בעבור תדע “in order that you will know, so that you will know,” this is Moses’ reminder to Pharaoh of his original sin which consisted of his denial of the existence of Hashem. We have a proverb in Proverbs 27,22 “even if you pound the fool in a mortar, with a pestle along with the grain, his folly will not leave him.” Moses reminded Pharaoh constantly of his sin. Pharaoh’s problem was that the constant pounding he received was such that it completely deadened his ability to react. He needed the weeks of relief between plagues to reassert his former obstinacy.

בעבור הראותך את כוחי, “in order to demonstrate to you My power.” G’d did not also display His גבורות, as this was an aspect of His which He did not display in Egypt. However, during the redemption of the future G’d will display this aspect of His power also as testified to by Ezekiel 40,4 who mentions this in connection with his vision of the building of the Third Temple. The key word in Ezekiel’s vision is the words הובאתה הנה הראותכה spelled with the letter ה at the end. This is a hint that at that time additional dimensions of G’d’s power and greatness will become manifest. The letter ה is absent in the word הראותך used by Moses to describe what G’d had shown Pharaoh.

אשר לא היה כמוהו במצרים, “the like of which had never occurred in Egypt.” Moses did not say אשר לא היה במצרים כמוהו, but אשר לא היה כמוהו במצרים. This means that in the whole world there had never been a plague of hail comparable to the one that would strike Egypt. The reason that he added the word “in Egypt,” was that even in Egypt in which there is never any rain, i.e. precipitation, such a precipitation would now be experienced in its most catastrophic form.

שלח העז את מקנך, “send, gather in your cattle.” Did they not die already during the plague of pestilence? Did not the Torah state in 9,6: “all the cattle of Egypt died?” Perhaps the cattle in our verse had been replacement cattle which the Egyptians had imported after the plague of pestilence. This may have accounted for the fact that Moses advised the Egyptians to bring these cattle home to save them from the hail. Alternatively, the meaning of 9,6 could have been that “most of the cattle died,” seeing that we have a Talmudic principle of רובו ככולו, that when most of something is affected we treat it legally as if all of that something had been affected. (Midrash Sechel Tov to 9,6 stipulates that such comments as the word “all” are not to be taken literally.) A third alternative: previously the animals which were owned in partnership between Jews and Egyptians did not die.

קולות וברד ותהלך אש ארצה, “thunder and hail; the fire traveled earthward.” It is a well known fact that atmospheric changes occur during periods of hail. All diseases strike creatures composed of the four basic raw materials. The underlying reasons for such diseases afflicting man are the atmospheric changes which affect the four basic materials fire, water, wind, and earth. As long as these four materials maintain their respective balance the bodies of the human beings consisting of them remain healthy. If one of those materials becomes stronger at the expense of the others, disease will manifest itself amongst human beings.

In this instance two of these raw materials were in imbalance. The words “and the fire traveled earthward” expresses the reaction to this imbalance by the other two basic raw materials. The Torah describes fire as doing the reverse of its normal function, i.e. as traveling downwards instead of upwards, i.e. as doing the same as earth which always has a downward tendency. All of these phenomena demonstrated how G’d could change at will all the scientific axioms accepted by man as immutable.

ה' הצדיק ואני ועמי הרשעים, “Hashem is the righteous One whereas I and my people are the wicked ones.” Pharaoh said to Moses in effect: ‘“you who are the messenger of Hashem are righteous and Hashem is righteous in His application of judgments. I and my people are wicked in that we refused to obey His commandments.” Seeing he had repeatedly denied even Hashem’s existence, Pharaoh now spelled out his mistake in detail as befits people confessing a sin. Actually, he only had to confess his own personal sin. However, seeing he was afraid he might be held responsible for the sins of his people because he was their king and he could have restrained them, he confessed their guilt also saying: “I and my people are the wicked ones.”.

ורב מהיות קולות אלו-הים וברד, “there has been plenty of heavenly thunder and hail.” The word רב is an entreaty or allusion to the One who is “great” in providing salvation, i.e. G’d. Onkelos also translates the word in that way, i.e. וסגי קדמוהי רווחא. The meaning of the words העתירו אל ה' are an introduction, i.e. “entreat Hashem who is capable of providing such great relief.” It is noteworthy that while Pharaoh asked Moses and Aaron to plead with Hashem, he attributed the thunder to elohim, a different attribute of G’d. This may have been because the sound of this thunder inspires fear and leaves a palpable effect on one’s body. Our sages (Berachot 59) said that thunder was created in order to break the crookedness of the heart. Pharaoh mentioned the thunder before the hail seeing that in verse 23 when the plague first began, the thunder was the first manifestation of what was to come. After the people had become suitably frightened the hail began to fall and man and beast who were outside died. You will find the same sequence occurring after Moses’ prayer to G’d to stop the plague (compare verse 33). That which had come first also ceased first. According to this principle we would have expected the Torah to write: וירא פרעה כי חדלו הקולות והברד והמטר ויוסף לחטוא, “when Pharaoh saw that the thunder, the hail and the rain had stopped, he continued to sin.” The fact is that the Torah writes the verse in such a way that the words “he continued to sin” are adjacent to the word “thunder.” This shows that the only factor which had caused him previously to agree to dismiss the Jewish people was the fear which the thunder had inspired in him. This testifies to the obstinacy of Pharaoh. Even the damage caused by the hail would not budge him; the only thing which he responded to was personal fear inspired by the sound of the thunder. As soon as this fear evaporated as a result of the cessation of the thunder, he continued to sin.

ידעתי כי טרם תיראון. והפשתה והשעורה נכתה. “I am aware that you have not yet developed reverence for the Lord G’d. The flax and the barley had been struck down.” These words are connected to the words: “you still have not developed reverence, etc.” They applied to a situation preceding Pharaoh’s confession that he was the sinner and G’d the righteous One. When Pharaoh spoke those words the flax and barley had already been struck, seeing their stalks were hard and the hail would break them. They were beyond reprieve, could not recover. However, the wheat and the spelt whose stalks were softer were able to recover after cessation of the plague. They could be saved if Pharaoh and his people would not continue to sin. This is the view of Rabbeinu Saadyah Gaon. והפשתה גבעול, “the flax was in its stalk.” The word may be split into גבו על. The seed had already entered its stalk so that it grew. This is why it broke.

כי אפילות המה, “because they would ripen later.” As the stalks had not yet started growing they were not struck down by the hail.

According to Tanchuma Vaeyra 16 the words אפילות הנה are related to פלאי פלאות, that miraculous things happened to them. The fact that they were saved from the hail was not due to their being in a less advanced state of growth than the flax. Their natural state was such that they should have fallen victim to the hail. The roots beneath the ground should also have been fatally struck. The fire inside the hail would have seen to this. A miracle occurred. Instead of reading the word אפילות the meaning of it is פלאות, miracles.

ומטר לא נתך ארצה, “and the rain did not reach the earth.” The Torah did not write that the rain did not descend to earth; it wrote לא נתך ארצה, “it was not allowed to complete its descent” (even after it had melted to become like regular rain). Our sages in Tanchuma 17 state that the descent of the rain was arrested in mid-air for 41 years until Joshua 10,11 when it finally descended in the form of large (hail)stones from the sky. The prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 13,11) commanded these stones to fall. These stones were then called אלגביש, seeing that during these many years they had been “standing” on the back of איש. The איש in question was Moses who has been described in Numbers 12,3 as והאיש משה. Seeing that the hailstones give the illusion to the onlooker that they are pearls, they are called אבני אלגביש, as pearls are described in these terms in Job 28,18. The thunder also was suspended in mid-air only to descend to earth in the days of Elisha (Kings II 7,6) where we are told: “the Lord had made the camp of Aram hear the sounds of chariots, a sound of horses, a sound of a mighty army.” [The sound was equated with thunder. Ed.]

ויוסף לחטא, “he continued to sin.” When the wicked experience troubles they are temporarily humbled; as soon as their troubles disappear they continue on as previously. When the Torah (verse 27) wrote that Pharaoh had exclaimed: “and Hashem is the righteous One,” this was an example of such a short-lived repentance. The very arrogance of the wicked is the cause of their eventual downfall. The pride which had originally caused Pharaoh to say: “who is Hashem that I should listen to His instructions” was the reason that ultimately he perished in the Sea of Reeds. We find a parallel with Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon who had said (Daniel 4,27) “Is this not the great Babylon which I have built up into a royal house with my powerful strength and for the glorification of my splendor?“ It did not take long for him to be humbled as we read in verse 29 of the same chapter that a heavenly voice announced that he would be driven from mankind and would have to live amongst the wild beasts. The righteous, on the other hand, do not display arrogance but humble themselves. They attain whatever glory and prominence they achieve as a result of their very humility. This is what Solomon said in Proverb 29,23: ”the pride of a man will humiliate him, but the humble in spirit will retain honor.”