Parsha of the Week

God rebuked Moses for having asked Him, “Why have You mistreated this people?” by saying to him, “I am GOD this is My proper Name, which indicates that I can be relied upon to reward those faithful to Me – for because of My transcendence, nothing can prevent Me from fulfilling My promises.

Yet, I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob only as El Shadai [‘God Almighty’], which is just an appellation indicating My omnipotence, when I promised them the Land of Israel. Since I did not fulfill this promise in their lifetimes, I was not manifest to them by My Name GOD, which indicates My trustworthiness, even though they were aware of this Name.

Nonetheless, they did not question My trustworthiness. The proof is that when I appeared to them as El Shadai, I also made My covenant with them to give them Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. But even though I did not fulfill this promise to them, none of them questioned My justice.” These same three verses contain the instructions God gave to Moses after rebuking him: [2] He said to him, “I am GOD as I said, My proper Name indicates that I can be relied upon to fulfill My promises. [3] But when I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I did so only as El Shadai, which indicates My omnipotence, but I was not manifest to them by the Name indicating My trustworthiness – ‘GOD’ – [4] because when I appeared to them, I also made My covenant with them to give them Canaan – the land in which they lived as sojourners – but I did not fulfill this promise to them. Thus, although they knew of My proper Name, they did not experience its significance.

So now, in order to now fulfill this promise, I have heard the Israelites’ groaning, complaining that the Egyptians are enslaving them, and I have recalled My covenant to punish the nation that enslaves them.

Therefore, in accordance with My promise to the patriarchs, convey to the Israelites: ‘I am GOD, who can be relied upon to reward those faithful to Him. I will therefore free you from the oppression of the Egyptians, as I promised your forebears, rescue you from their servitude, and redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great chastisements.

I will take you to Myself as a nation, and I will be your God. And thus you will know that I am GOD, your God, who is freeing you from the burdens of the Egyptians.

I will bring you to the land regarding which I raised My hand to swear by My throne that I would give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a heritage; for I am GOD.’”

When things got worse after Moses announced the redemption, the scoffers and skeptics again succeeded in demoralizing the people and making them despair of being redeemed. So Moses related God’s message – via Aaron – to the Israelites, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their anguish of spirit (evinced by their shortness of breath), which had made them despair of being redeemed, and because of the harsh labor, which had made them skeptical of Moses’ promises.

GOD then spoke to Moses, saying,

“Come and speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, so he will send the Israelites out of his land.”

But Moses spoke before GOD, saying, “Even the Israelites have not listened to me, so how will Pharaoh listen to me? For it is clear now that not only do I stammer and have a slow tongue; even when I addressed the people via Aaron, I was so inept at transmitting Your message that I may as well be a man of blocked lips, who cannot speak altogether. Now answer me; tell me if You intend to redeem the Jews or not.”

GOD therefore spoke to Moses, instructing him to convey His words to Aaron, giving them specific instructions regarding how they were to address Pharaoh. He commanded them to be His emissaries to the Israelites and to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, charging them to speak patiently to the former and respectfully to the latter, in order to successfully take the Israelites out of Egypt.

The following are the heads of the paternal clans of the first three tribes: The sons of Reuben, Israel’s – i.e., Jacob’s – firstborn, were Chanoch, Palu, Chetzron, and Karmi; these are the families of Reuben.

The sons of Simeon were Yemu’eil, Yamin, Ohad, Yachin, Tzochar, and Sha’ul, son of Dinah, who was considered the Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.

These are the names of the sons of Levi in their order of birth: Gershon, Kehat, and Merari. The years of Levi’s life came to 137 when he died, in the year 2332.

The sons of Gershon were Livni and Shim’i, with their respective families.

The sons of Kehat were Amram, Yitzhar, Chevron, and Uzi’eil. The years of Kehat’s life came to 133 when he died, in the year 2370 or a year or two before.

The sons of Merari were Machli and Mushi. The above are the families of Levi, in their order of birth.

Amram married Yocheved. Yocheved’s lineage was equally as noble as Amram’s: Both of them were descended from Levi (she being Levi’s daughter and he being Levi’s grandson), and both of them were related to Levi’s most distinguished son, Kehat (she being Kehat’s sister, making her Amram’s aunt, and he being Kehat’s son). She bore him Aaron and Moses. The years of Amram’s life came to 137 when he died, some time before the year 2399.

The sons of Yitzhar were Korach, Nefeg, and Zichri.

The sons of Uzi’eil were Misha’eil, Eltzafan, and Sitri.

Aaron married Elisheva, daughter of Aminadav and sister of Nachshon, the prince of the tribe of Judah, and she bore him Nadav, Avihu, Eleazar, and Itamar.

The sons of Korach were Asir, Elkanah, and Avi’asaf; these are the families of the clan of Korach.

Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Puti’eil – i.e., a descendant of Jethro, who fattened [pitem] calves to sacrifice them to idols, and of Joseph, who talked [pitpeit] his evil inclination out of making him sin with Potiphar’s wife – and she bore him Pinechas. The above are the heads of the paternal clans of the Levites, by their families.

Having now established the lineage of Moses and Aaron, the Torah finishes describing how Moses and Aaron were suited for their mission: These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom GOD said, “Take the Israelites out of Egypt according to their tribal groups.” They both played integral roles in this mission; in this sense, they were equal.

They are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, in order to take the Israelites out of Egypt. They were selected for this mission because they were raised in an environment of selfless dedication and bravery, and they lived up to these expectations. They were Moses and Aaron: both accepted and fulfilled God’s mission in accordance with their unique qualities, and both were consistent in their dedication and integrity throughout their mission.

The Torah now resumes the narrative: On the day that GOD spoke to Moses in Egypt,

when GOD had spoken to Moses, saying, “I am GOD; tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I am saying to you,”

Moses had said before GOD, “The people themselves did not listen to me, even though I spoke to them via Aaron. It is clear now that not only do I stammer and have a slow tongue; I am also so unskilled in conveying Your message that I may as well be a man of blocked lips, so how will Pharaoh ever listen to me?”

To this, GOD now replied to Moses, “Observe! I have made you master over Pharaoh. You will rebuke him forcefully and afflict him with plagues and suffering. Your brother Aaron will be your spokesman. Specifically, despite your speech impediment and inarticulateness, I will give you the ability to speak authoritatively:

You must repeat before Pharaoh everything that I command you, exactly as you will hear it from Me, in Hebrew. Pharaoh does not understand Hebrew, but that does not matter – the purpose of your oratory will be to establish you as a ‘master over Pharaoh,’ and repeating My exact words in a stern tone will have this effect. Afterwards, your brother Aaron must repeat it to Pharaoh, translating it into his language and articulating it eloquently so that he be convinced to send forth the Israelites from his land.

Nonetheless, I will make Pharaoh insensitive. He refused to listen to Me, brazenly asserting that he can do as he pleases. Measure for measure, I will punish him for this by depriving him of his free choice. At first I will make him stubborn indirectly, by allowing him to think that you are performing witchcraft and the like. If he persists in refusing to submit to My will, I will then make him stubborn directly, as a punishment for his own stubbornness. I will thereby have cause to increase My miraculous signs and marvels in Egypt by punishing him. This will impress the Israelites with My power and bolster their faith in Me.

Thus, despite Aaron’s eloquence, Pharaoh will not listen to you. I will then lay My hand upon Egypt to strike it and bring out My hosts – My people, the Israelites – from Egypt by bringing great chastisements upon it.

The Egyptians, too, will recognize that I am GOD, when I raise My hand over Egypt and bring out the Israelites from their midst. Nonetheless, even though I will make Pharaoh obstinate, if he truly wishes he will still be able to repent.”

Moses and Aaron did exactly as GOD instructed them, as will be described presently.

years old and Aaron was 83 years old when they spoke to Pharaoh in the year 2447.

In addition, GOD said to Moses and Aaron as follows:

“When Pharaoh speaks to you and says, ‘Produce a marvel for yourselves, to prove that God, who sent you, is powerful enough that I should listen to you,’ you must say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh. It will become a serpent.’” God knew that this would not overly impress the Egyptians, but it would enable a further miracle to occur that would demonstrate His dominion over Egypt.

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did exactly as GOD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and in front of his courtiers, and it became a serpent. Once the staff had turned into a serpent, this miracle had fulfilled its purpose, so after a short while the serpent reverted to its former state, a staff.

Pharaoh, too, summoned his wise men and magicians, and the necromancers also did likewise through their incantations:

Each of them threw down his staff and the staffs turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff – even though it was once again a staff – swallowed up their staffs, but it did not become any thicker because of this. Since a staff is a symbol of power and dominion, this miracle demonstrated God’s power and dominion over Egypt.

But despite this, Pharaoh was stubborn, and he paid no heed to Moses and Aaron, just as GOD had said.

So GOD told Moses and Aaron to announce the first plague. On 15 Sivan 2447, He said to Moses, “Although I indirectly caused Pharaoh to be stubborn by allowing the necromancers to make him think that your demonstration was simply magic, he chose not to pay attention to the fact that Aaron’s staff swallowed up theirs. He thus acted stubbornly on his own, beyond whatever I did to make him stubborn. Pharaoh is obstinate; he refuses to send the people forth and deserves to be punished.

Go to Pharaoh in the morning, for that is when he goes out to the water to relieve himself privately, so he can pretend to be a god the rest of the day. Station yourself opposite him on the bank of the Nile River. Take in your hand Aaron’s staff, which turned into a serpent.

You must say to him: ‘GOD, God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you to say: Send forth My people, so they may serve Me in the wilderness! Until now you have not paid attention to My command, and I know that you will not pay attention until the tenth plague, the slaughtering of the firstborn.

Now this is what GOD has said: Through this you will recognize that I am GOD. I am now going to strike the water of the river with the staff in my hand, and it will turn into blood.

The fish in the river will die and the river will become putrid, and the Egyptians will grow weary of trying ways to treat the river in order to drink water from it.’” Since the Egyptians worshiped the Nile as their source of life-giving and irrigating water, God struck it first, in order to demonstrate its vulnerability. This demoralized the Egyptians. Aaron continued to warn Pharaoh for three weeks.

On 8 Tamuz, GOD said to Moses, “Since the Nile served to protect you when you were a baby, you should not be the one to strike it. Instead, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and raise your hand over the water of Egypt – over their rivers, their canals, their ponds, and all their other bodies of water – and they will turn into blood. There will be blood even in the bathhouses and private baths throughout all Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone, for the water in them will also turn to blood.’”

Moses and Aaron did exactly as GOD had commanded: Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile River in the sight of Pharaoh and his courtiers, and all the water in the river turned into blood.

The fish in the river died and the river became putrid, so that the Egyptians were unable to drink water from the river. There was blood everywhere in Egypt, wherever the river water was drawn. The plague also affected the river in Goshen, where the Jews lived, in order that Pharaoh not have the opportunity to say that the Nile, the Egyptians’ deity, was immune to God’s plague there. The people were, however, able to dig wells that provided fresh water. This made it clear that the sole object of the plague was the Nile, the Egyptians’ deity.

The necromancers of Egypt then did likewise, changing some of the well water into blood with their demon-conjuring incantations. So Pharaoh rationalized that Moses and Aaron were just performing magic, which was commonplace in Egypt. He was stubborn, paying no heed to Moses and Aaron, just as GOD had said.

Pharaoh turned and went into his palace, paying no attention even to this, just as he paid no attention to how Aaron’s staff had turned into a serpent. In both cases, he convinced himself that Moses and Aaron were simply performing magic.

All the Egyptians dug around the river for drinking water, since they could not drink any water from the river.

Seven full days passed from the time GOD struck the river until the blood reverted to water, but Pharaoh did not relent. Each plague lasted a month: Moses and Aaron spent the first three quarters of the month informing Pharaoh about what was going to happen and warning him of the consequences of his obstinacy, and the plague itself lasted a week. Thus, the 10 plagues spanned a time-period of 10 months.

On 15 Tamuz, immediately after the first plague ended, GOD told Moses to announce the second plague: frogs. He said to Moses, “Come to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what GOD has said: Send forth My people so they may serve Me.

If you refuse to let them leave, I will plague all your territory with frogs.

The river will swarm with frogs, and when they emerge, they will go first into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, and then into the homes of your courtiers and among your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls. Since you were the first to propose oppressing the people, you will be the first to suffer.

The frogs will enter alive into you, your people, and all your courtiers and croak from within your stomachs.”

After three weeks, on 8 Menachem Av, GOD said to Moses, “This plague involves the Nile River as well, so you will not be the one to initiate it, either. Instead, say to Aaron, ‘Raise your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals, and the ponds, and make the frogs come up over Egypt.’”

Aaron raised his hand over the water of Egypt, and the swarm of frogs came up and covered Egypt in the following way: one frog emerged from the water, but when the Egyptians struck it, it miraculously split into many swarms. Frogs also swarmed out of the river in Goshen, where the Jews lived – again, in order that Pharaoh not be afforded the opportunity to claim that the river, which was the Egyptian’s deity, was immune to God’s plague there.

The necromancers did the same with their incantations: they too made a frog that split into many swarms of frogs come up over Egypt. So Pharaoh could again rationalize that Moses and Aaron were merely performing magic.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Entreat GOD to remove the frogs from me and my people, and I will send forth the people so they may sacrifice to GOD!”

Moses replied to Pharaoh, “Try and show off at my expense by daring me to do something you don’t think I can do: have God remove the frogs at a specific time. For what time should I pray – for you and your courtiers and your people – that God should eradicate the frogs from you and your homes so that they remain only in the river?”

Pharaoh would have preferred to be rid of the frogs immediately. But he still thought that Moses and Aaron were just practicing magic, and that if God was involved in this plague at all, it was because Moses and Aaron were using magical means to conjure Him into doing their bidding. He therefore assumed it would take them some time to perform the rites necessary to end the plague. With this in mind, he replied, “Pray now that they disappear at least by tomorrow.” So Moses said, “It will be as you say, so that you will recognize that there is none like GOD, our God.

The frogs will depart from you, as well as from your houses and your courtiers and your people, and they will remain only in the river, as a constant reminder of how this plague proved your deity to be powerless against God.”

Moses and Aaron then left Pharaoh’s presence, and Moses cried out to GOD concerning the frogs that He had brought upon Pharaoh, that He should remove them the next day, which happened to be the seventh day of the plague in any case.

GOD did as Moses asked, and the frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died.

The Egyptians gathered them into heaps, and the land stank.

But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he remained obstinate, paying no heed to Moses and Aaron, just as GOD had said, since his necromancers had also produced swarms of frogs, allowing him to rationalize that this plague, too, was just magic.

So, on 15 Menachem Av, God told Moses to announce the third plague – lice – and to warn Pharaoh about it. But Pharaoh did not listen, so, after warning Pharaoh for three weeks, GOD said to Moses on 8 Elul, “This plague involves the soil, which you used to hide the Egyptian you slew. Therefore, in recognition of its help, you will not be the one to initiate this plague, either. Instead, say to Aaron, ‘Raise your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it will turn into lice all throughout Egypt.’”

They did this. Aaron raised his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and the swarm of lice came upon man and beast. All the dust of the earth turned into lice throughout Egypt. This plague, too, struck the Jews in Goshen, for it was necessary to demonstrate to Pharaoh’s necromancers that it affected all of Egypt and therefore could only be an act of God, rather than affecting only a part of Egypt, which could allow them to think that Moses and Aaron produced it by means of magic.

The necromancers tried likewise to bring forth lice from some other source with their demon-conjuring incantations, but they could not, for the demons had no power over anything smaller than a barleycorn – and a louse is smaller than a barleycorn. The swarm of lice remained on man and beast.

The necromancers said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger – i.e., an act – of God, and not magic, for we cannot imitate it.” But nevertheless, since this plague was produced by something Aaron did, Pharaoh rationalized that it was done by some kind of magic, but that Moses and Aaron were more skilled magicians than his necromancers. So Pharaoh remained obstinate, paying no heed to Moses and Aaron, just as GOD had said.

So, on 15 Elul, God told Moses to announce the fourth plague – the mixed horde – and warn Pharaoh about it. GOD said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and station yourself before Pharaoh as he is going out to the water, and you must say to him: ‘This is what GOD has said: “Send forth My people, so they may serve Me.

For if you do not send forth My people, I will incite a mixed horde of wild beasts, snakes, and scorpions against you, your courtiers, your people, and your homes. I will incite them to be especially vicious, and they will harm you and wreak destruction throughout your land. I will bring them into Egypt from the surrounding areas, and they will miraculously come in a chaotic mixture. This will be more terrifying than if they were to have come naturally, species by species. The houses of the Egyptians will be filled with the mixed horde of wild beasts, as will the ground upon which they stand be filled with snakes and scorpions.

On that day, unlike with the first three plagues, I will set apart Goshen, where My people dwell, so that there will not be any mixed horde there. Thus you will realize that I am GOD not only in heaven but also on earth, in the midst of the land.

I will make a redemptive distinction between My people and your people. This miraculous sign will come about tomorrow.”’”

But Pharaoh did not heed Moses’ warning, so, on 8 Tishrei 2448, GOD did this, and a huge mixed horde of wild beasts came upon the homes of Pharaoh and of his courtiers; all throughout Egypt the land was devastated by the mixed horde of wild beasts. Since Moses and Aaron did not perform a specific act to cause this plague, the necromancers had no illusions that it was performed by magic, and therefore did not try to imitate it.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go and sacrifice to your God in this land. You can serve Him here; there is no need for you to make a journey into the desert.”

Moses said, “It would not be proper to do so, for it is the deity of Egypt that we would sacrifice to GOD, our God. We are going to sacrifice sheep, one of the animals you worship as an idol. If we were to sacrifice the deity of the Egyptians before their very eyes, would they not stone us?!

We must make a three-day journey into the wilderness and sacrifice there to GOD, our God, in accordance with what He will tell us.”

Pharaoh said, “Very well; I will send you forth so you can sacrifice to GOD, your God, in the wilderness, but you must not travel far. And pray for me!”

Moses answered, “I am now going to leave your presence and I will pray to GOD, and tomorrow the horde of wild beasts will go away from Pharaoh and his courtiers and his people. But let Pharaoh not mock us again by not sending the people forth to sacrifice to GOD!”

Moses then left Pharaoh’s presence and prayed to GOD.

GOD did as Moses asked and removed the mixed horde of wild beasts from Pharaoh and his courtiers and his people. They went back to where they came from and not one remained. They did not simply die, as did the frogs, for then the Egyptians could have made use of their hides.

But this time, too, Pharaoh continued to be obstinate, and did not send forth the people.

So, on 15 Tishrei, God told Moses to announce the fifth plague – an epidemic – and warn Pharaoh about it. On the last day of the warning, GOD said to Moses, “Come to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘This is what GOD, God of the Hebrews, has said: “Send forth My people, so they may serve Me.”

For if you refuse to send them forth and continue to detain them,

the hand of GOD will be directed against your livestock in the field – against the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the cattle, and the flocks – with a very severe epidemic. It will not, however, affect the animals in the barns and stables.

GOD will also differentiate between the livestock of the Israelites and the livestock of the Egyptians, and nothing belonging to the Israelites will die.

GOD has fixed a time, saying, “Tomorrow GOD will do this thing in the land.”’”

So Moses and Aaron went to warn Pharaoh, but Pharaoh did not heed their warning. Nonetheless, there were Egyptians who had learned by now to take Moses seriously, and they gathered their animals into their barns and stables. Thus, when GOD did this thing the next day, 8 Marcheshvan, all the livestock of the Egyptians that were left in the fields died. But of the livestock of the Israelites not a single animal died, even those in the fields. Here, too, Moses and Aaron did not perform any specific act to cause this plague, so the necromancers did not try to prove that it was magic by imitating them.

Pharaoh inquired and discovered that not even one animal of the livestock of the Israelites had died, but nevertheless, Pharaoh was obstinate and did not send forth the people.

So, on 15 Marcheshvan, God told Moses to announce the sixth plague – inflammation of the skin – and warn Pharaoh about it. But Pharaoh did not pay heed, so on 8 Kislev, GOD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves two handfuls each of soot from a hot kiln, and Moses will then miraculously take hold of both his and Aaron’s two handfuls in one of his fists (which normally holds only half a handful). Then, let Moses throw all four handfuls at once heavenwards before Pharaoh’s eyes.

It will miraculously spread and become dust over all Egypt, and even though by then it will have turned cold, it will miraculously cause an inflammation, erupting into blisters on humans and animals throughout Egypt. Furthermore, the inflammation will miraculously erupt over the whole body, not only where the dust will touch the skin. Nonetheless, here too, the plague will affect only the animals left out in the fields.”

They took the soot of a kiln and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses threw it heavenwards. It spread and became dust over all Egypt, and caused an inflammation, erupting into blisters on humans and animals.

The necromancers were therefore completely demoralized: they could not stand before Moses to challenge him because the nature of this inflammation overthrew their stance, for the inflammation had attacked the necromancers together with all Egypt. From this point on, they no longer tried to expose Moses as a magician, even when he did seem to produce a plague by performing a specific action.

There was thus no room for Pharaoh to rationalize, but now GOD made Pharaoh stubborn directly, as a punishment for his earlier stubbornness, so he did not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as GOD had said to Moses.

On 15 Kislev, God told Moses to announce the seventh plague – hail. God did not have Moses warn Pharaoh, because since He had already deprived him of his free choice, issuing a warning would have been pointless. He simply had Moses demand of Pharaoh that he release the people and inform him that He was going to send the next plague. On the last day of the announcement-period, GOD said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and station yourself before Pharaoh, and you must say to him: ‘This is what GOD, God of the Hebrews, has said: Send forth My people, so they may serve Me.

For this time I am about to send a plague that will prove as devastating to your beliefs as all My other plagues together. I will send it against your very heart and against your courtiers and your people, so that you will realize that there is none like Me in all the world.

I could now have stretched forth My arm and smitten you and your people with the epidemic I sent against the animals, and you would have been obliterated from the world.

Nevertheless, I have spared you for this purpose: in order to show you My power, and in order that My Name resound throughout the world. I will spare you until the end – even when I kill all the firstborn, even though you yourself are a firstborn – for this purpose.

Yet you continue to trample My people by not sending them forth.’

Make a scratch on the wall where the sun will cast a shadow, and say further to Pharaoh:‘I will demonstrate My absolute power over the forces of nature by showing you that I can control them with perfect timing. At this time tomorrow, when the shadow reaches this mark again, I will rain down a very heavy hail. Never before in Egypt, from the day it was founded until now, has there been anything like it. I am using the sun – rather than any kind of man-made timer – to measure the time, so that no one will be able to contest the accuracy of My prediction because of the inaccuracy of their clocks or because someone might tamper with them.

So now, send word and gather in your livestock and everything you possess in the field. Any man or beast that is in the field and is not brought indoors will be pelted by the hail and will die.’”

Pharaoh did not heed Moses’ warning, but those among Pharaoh’s courtiers who by now feared the word of GOD made their slaves and livestock flee to take cover indoors,

while those who did not heed the word of GOD left their slaves and livestock in the field.

On 8 Tevet, GOD said to Moses, “Raise your hand toward heaven, and there will be hail all throughout Egypt – on humans, on animals, and on all the vegetation of the field in Egypt.” To demonstrate to Moses that He was giving him power over heaven, God miraculously transported him above heaven and told him to stretch out his hand above it.

Moses raised his staff toward the heavens. GOD gave forth thunder and hail, and fire miraculously came down to the ground inside the hail, even though fire by nature rises rather than descends, and GOD rained down hail over Egypt.

The hail was very heavy – with lightning flashing miraculously in the midst of the hail – such as had never occurred in all Egypt since it became a nation.

All throughout Egypt, the hail struck down whatever was outdoors, whether man or beast. The hail struck down all the vegetation of the field, and shattered every tree in the fields.

Only in Goshen, where the Israelites were, was there no hail.

Pharaoh sent word and summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned. GOD is the Righteous One, and I and my people are the wicked ones.

Pray to GOD. There has been enough Divine thunder and hail. I will send you forth and you need stay no longer.”

Moses said to him, “Now that some of your people have gathered their sheep into the city, your city is full of the object of your idol worship, so I cannot pray within it. But when I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to GOD. The thunder will cease and there will be no more hail – so that you will recognize that the world belongs to GOD.

But as for you and your courtiers, I know that you do not yet fear God, despite what you claim.”

The flax and the barley were crushed by the hail, since the barley was ripe and the flax had formed stalks.

But the wheat and spelt were not crushed, since they are late in sprouting and were therefore still pliable. They merely bent from the force of the impact. Even so, it was a miracle that the hail did not destroy them, too.

Moses left Pharaoh’s presence and went out of the city, and spread his hands out to GOD in prayer. The thunder and hail ceased: the hailstones in mid-flight disappeared before reaching the ground. The rain stopped pouring down on the ground: even the drops that were falling stopped in midair when Moses prayed; they either fell to the ground later or evaporated on the spot.

But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had ceased, he continued to sin. He, like his courtiers, remained obstinate.

Pharaoh remained stubborn and did not send forth the Israelites, just as GOD had said through Moses.