The name of the Sidra means Go and Appear. God told Moses to go back to the Palace and confront Pharaoh once more. Seven plagues had not convinced Pharaoh to release the Israelite slaves, and three more were still to come. At this point, Moses was told that the plagues had an additional purpose. They will serve They were intended to serve as an educational tool for the Israelite people for all times. From the plagues every generation would learn to recognise God’s greatness and power because parents would teach their children how God punished the Egyptians. Moses and Aaron obeyed this latest commandment, went to Pharaoh and warned him and his servants that it was time for them to relent and let the people go. Moses and Aaron said to Pharaoh: “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?”
Many commentators are astonished by the fact that Pharaoh was able to endure so many plagues, one after the other, without giving in. They explain that it shows how arrogant he was. Rabbi Zelig Pliskin in his book Growth Through Torah elaborates on this point and says: “A person with humility will ask forgiveness when he has wronged someone, even if he feels that the other person is more to blame than himself. The arrogant person will not ask forgiveness, even when he knows that he is really at fault. A person with humility will reach out to others when he needs help. The arrogant person will feel that it is beneath his dignity to show that he has any weaknesses and will suffer rather than do what he considers belittling to himself.” Pharaoh was indeed extremely arrogant and considered himself to be a god.
Moses warned Pharaoh that the next plague would bring a massive number of locusts into Egypt that would cover and darken the entire landscape and sky. The locusts would consume all the crops and even invade the houses. Moses and Aaron delivered the warning and walked out. They did not wait for Pharaoh’s response because by then they knew from experience that all his promises were utterly dishonest. Whilst Pharaoh remained obstinate, his ministers, who were listening to the warning, advised Pharaoh to change course. They realised that Egypt was on the brink of catastrophe. Pharaoh listened to them and ordered Moses and Aaron to return to the Palace. After an angry exchange, he said that he was prepared to allow the men to go to worship God in the desert but no one else. Moses refused the offer and insisted that everyone had to be allowed to go. In response, Pharaoh ordered Moses and Aaron to get out of the Palace. Shortly afterwards, Moses raised his staff over the land of Egypt, which served as a signal for a strong east wind bringing with it huge hordes of locusts. The Torah says that such an attack of locusts had never happened before and, more remarkably, it predicts that it will never happen again.
The next plague was darkness which lasted for three days. The Torah uses a rare Hebrew expression to describe the darkness which suggests that it was caused by a huge sand storm which filled the atmosphere to such a degree that it was able to be touched. Worse still, it was so thick that no one could move from his place. Miraculously, “for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings”. This verse is so remarkable that it was chosen, by our Masoretes, (The rabbis who determined the breaks) to serve as the end of the section for the Levi.
After the plague of darkness, Pharaoh was ready to make further concessions, but Moses refused the offer. It was not sufficient. At the end, Pharaoh warned Moses not to come again and Moses left in anger.
In the next scene God informed Moses regarding the last and decisive plague, the killing of the firstborn. He also instructed him to tell the people to prepare for their departure by asking the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry. The Torah tells us that the Egyptians liked the Israelites and held Moses in great esteem as well. This is why they were ready to give the Israelites what they asked. They also recognized their guilt.
The way Pharaoh responded to the tenth plague gives us an insight into his relationship with his own people. Pharaoh not only enslaved the Israelites, but he showed complete callousness towards the welfare of his own people. They, in turn, were not behind him. They objected strongly to the cruel persecution of the Israelite nation. Even his own daughter rejected his policy. Only the plague of the firstborn, which affected his own household as well, most directly, finally, smashed his confidence.
At the beginning of chapter 12, we read about the first commandment given to the Israelites by God through Moses. The first three Commandments are mentioned in the book of Genesis. The commandment is to count the 12 months of the year from the beginning of spring and make the month of spring the first month of the year. This commandment also implies that the Israelites were told to follow the lunar calendar, which has remained with us ever since. The author of the Sefat Emet, Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, understands the Hebrew lunar calendar as a metaphor for the miracle of Jewish survival for thousands of years. Whereas other nations survived only when the sun shone for them, when they were successful, prosperous and strong, the Jews survived and managed to spread light, as the moon does, even during periods of darkness.
In the next section, we are told of the ceremony of the eating of the Pascal lamb on the night of the 14th of the first month, which later became known as the month of Nissan. This special meal became the basis for the Seder night which we celebrate to this very day. The Pascal lamb had to be eaten roasted in fire. In all probability, this was in order to emphasise the rejection of pagan practices during the spring festivals, when the ancient Egyptians and Canaanites ate raw or partially-boiled meat. Today, since we don’t have the Temple, it is forbidden to eat roast meat or chicken at the Seder. We must not be seen to be eating anything resembling a sacrifice outside the Temple.