From Online Torah Classes with Rabbi Mendy Goldberg by R Mendy Goldberg.

• Published: Mon, 12 Jan 2026 20:22:37 GMT
• Duration: 00:55:54
• Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/10f48890/podcast/play/113889723/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-0-12%2F415981199-44100-2-b6bb89df29334.mp3
• Page: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mendy-goldberg/episodes/Egypt--Iran--The-Mystery-of-the-Ten-Plagues-e3di4vr
• TorahApp: https://torahapp.org/share/p/3P_r_mendy_goldberg_online_torah/e/3b25160e-2c6b-4c15-9aaa-8a9d0b92e091

Egypt. Iran. The Mystery of the Ten Plagues

There are parallels between the biblical plagues of Egypt and Iran's current crises. Just as Egypt suffered from water contamination, darkness, locusts, and hail, Iran now faces a decade-long drought causing water shortages, widespread power outages due to non-functioning power stations, an agricultural catastrophe from dried lakes and rivers, and recurring earthquakes.

This raises a fundamental question that has puzzled religious commentators for millennia: Why did God take an entire year to free the Israelites from Egypt instead of acting immediately? Why use ten gradual plagues rather than simply deploying the most devastating one—the death of the firstborn—right away to break Pharaoh's will? The same question applies to Iran's prolonged suffering today.