Moshe Gives the Israelites Instructions

G-d tells Moshe to sanctify every firstborn Israelite man and animal to Him, as G-d has acquired the firstborns through the plague of firstborns in Egypt.

Moshe tells the Israelites that they should remember the exodus from Egypt daily, and points out to them the kindness of G-d having taken them out during the spring, when the weather is pleasant.

Moshe then foretells that the Israelites will enter into the land of the Canaanites (scripture enumerates five sub-nations which were included under the category of "Canaanites", though there were actually seven in total. The five included here are: Canaanites, Chitites, Amorites, Chivites and Yevusites) as was promised to their forefathers Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Moshe says that this land will be with "milk" (from goats) and "honey" (from dates and figs)." He says that the Israelites should observe this Passover holiday annually, and educate their children who "don't know how to ask"* about it.

*This is a reference to 4th son mentioned at the seder who "doesn't know how to ask"

Moshe says that the Israelites must eat matzah for six days and then the seventh will be a holiday for G-d and they are not to eat or possess any leavened bread during those seven days. They should tell their children the story behind the holiday, how G-d rescued them as a result of their keeping the commandments*.

*Side note, this is a reference to the "wicked son", to whom the parents shall relate that were he around during that time, he would not have been redeemed.

Moshe now instructs the Israelites to keep a sign on one's arms and forehead of the exodus. This is referring to the mitzvah of Tfillin, in which a person binds parchment with the scripture concerning remembering the exodus to their forehead and (weaker left) arm.

He says that this Passover holiday should be kept annually.

Moshe says that in entering into the land of Israel, although it was promised to their forefathers, it will feel as if it is coming to them in their own right.

He then elaborates upon the commandment of the sanctification of the firstborn. Some commentaries say that this commandment only began once they entered Israel (and thus was not performed in the desert). Others say that they did keep the commandment in the desert, and in that merit, they were able to continue to keep it in Israel. Moshe says that every firstborn of man or clean animal, even if a miscarriage, should be given to G-d.

The only unclean animal which should also be redeemed is a donkey, since the Egyptian firstborns were likened to donkeys and the donkeys assisted the Israelites in leaving Egypt and carried the silver and gold that they took.

The way a donkey is to be redeemed is by giving a lamb to a Cohen to be sacrificed. If one fails to redeem a donkey, they must decapitate the donkey. For in failing to redeem the donkey, they have caused a loss to the Cohen (who does not receive a lamb), thus the owner of the donkey must lose out as well.

The price of redeeming a firstborn of a man is delineated in Bamidbar 18:16 as being 5 selas.

The Chumash now makes reference to the "Simple Son" who just asks "What is this?" and does not know how to ask more in depth. The text says that in the future when you have such a son who asks this question, you are to reply that "G-d took us out of Egypt with a mighty hand" and that we sanctify our firstborns of man and beast in commemoration of the slaying of the firstborn Egyptian men and beasts as a result of Pharaoh's stubbornness. Later on, in Devraim 6:20, the Chumash will allude to the Wise son, who asks more in depth questions about the exodus.

Moshe then makes more explicit allusion to the mitzvah of tfillin, hinted at above which will be the signs on ones hand and forehead to commemorate the exodus. These tfillin are made up for four boxes, each containing different passages concerning the exodus. Scripture refers to them with the word Totafot. Tat means two in the Kaspi language, and Pas means two in the Afriki language. 2+2=4 housings. Menachem ibn Saruk, a grammarian, gave another interpretation - saying the word totatfot is related to the word speech, meaning that the Tfillin will serve as a remembrance to the exodus and cause people to speak about it.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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Passover

Moshe tells all the Israelite elders to take one of their sheep (or if they don’t have a sheep, they should buy) and slaughter it as the Paschal sacrifice.

He also tells them to take three stalks of hyssop (i.e a bunch) and dip them in the blood that is in the basin. They should then smear this blood onto the lintel. And then they should dip the hyssop in the blood again and smear blood onto one side of the doorpost. And then dip once more and then smear the blood from that onto the other side of the doorpost. And then they should not leave their homes until morning.

Moshe explains that when G-d comes to smite the Egyptians, this blood will serve as a protector against the destroyer whom G-d will not permit to enter such homes that have this sign as G-d will pity such homes and pass over them.

Moshe says that the Israelites should uphold this idea and pass it down to future generations. He says that when they enter the land of Israel they will be obligated to observe this ritual as well. In all of their years wandering in the desert however, the Israelites were only obligated to bring one Passover sacrifice (during their second year).

Moshe then tells the Elders that if in the future their children will ask them about what this ceremony is to them, they should tell them that the sacrifice is in commemoration of G-d passing over the houses of the Israelites when G-d struck the Egyptians.

The elders bowed down and prostrated themselves in gratitude for their redemption, for their eventual entry into to the land of Israel and for their future children.

And all of the Israelites* resolved to do as Moshe and Aaron commanded them and went to do so**.

*Side note: Including Moshe and Aaron who technically were exempt from bringing the Paschal sacrifice due to their pre-occupation with everything involved with getting the Israelites out of Egypt. When a person is involved with performing a mitzvah, they are exempt from other mitzvah obligations at that time.

**Although scripture already told us that the Israelites performed the sacrifice, the reiteration here focuses on their 1)commitment to fulfilling the commandment as well as 2)how they went to perform it. They were granted merit for each of these things (doing the commandment, committing to doing it and taking the steps to go perform it).

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Plague of the Firstborn. The Paschal Sacrifice. The Holiday of Passover.

The Plague of the Firstborn

Moshe says that G-d said that he will go out into Egypt at approximately* midnight and at that time, all firstborn Egyptians will die, including the firstborn of Pharaoh, the slave women, the animals as well as the captives.

The slave women were smitten as they too participated in the suffering of the Israelites. The animals were smitten as these were the false gods of the Egyptians, and whenever G-d punishes a nation, he punishes their deities along with it.

The captives were smitten, although they had no part in afflicting the Israelites. This was so that the Egyptians would not mistakenly assume that it was their own deity that was punishing them for their poor treatment of the Israelites.

*Side note - He said approximately just in case the Egyptian astrologers would err in their calculation of when midnight would be and if nothing happened at their calculation of midnight, they could doubt Moshe's words.

Moshe predicts that a cry will be heard throughout all of Egypt that was unlike any before or since, yet the cry will not issue forth against the Israelites, so that the separation between the Egyptians and the Israelites will be obvious.

Moshe then predicts that Pharaoh's servants will prostrate themselves before Moshe and tell him to leave with all the Israelites. In reality, Moshe was prophesying that Pharaoh would be the one to prostrate himself before Moshe, however out of respect for the crown, Moshe said that it would be "Pharaoh's servants".

Moshe leaves Pharaoh in an angry state.

G-d tells Moshe that Pharaoh will not heed to Moshe, so that G-d will have the opportunity to perform three more wonders: The plague of the firstborn, the spitting of the red sea, and the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea.

In spite of all of the wonders Moshe and Aaron performed before Pharaoh, his heart hardened and he did not let the Israelites out.

G-d now gives instructions to Moshe and Aaron regarding His very first commandment to the Israelites. Aaron is honored with being present at this moment due to his hard work up until this point. These instructions are given outside of the city of Egypt, as the city was rampant with idols.

Right before sunset, just as it became dark (as G-d only spoke to Moshe during the day), G-d shows Moshe the moon renewing itself and says that the new month shall be declared at such a moment of the moon's renewal. He says that Nissan (the month they were in) shall be considered the first in the order of months.

The Paschal Sacrifice

G-d then says that they* should tell the Israelites that day that on the 10th of that month, each household should take one lamb. Or if a household is too small to eat an entire lamb within the requisite time frame, a few smaller households should band together and get one lamb for all of them combined. The sick and elderly were exempt from this commandment as it would be too difficult for them to eat the lamb.

*Side note - Moshe and Aaron had such tremendous respect for one another that whenever they would leave G-d's presence, they would ask the other one to teach them what G-d said, so that when they ended up giving it over to the Israelites, they spoke in what sounded like unison.

The lambs they should take must be either from the sheep or goats, be unblemished and within its first year.

G-d says that although the lamb is to be taken on the 10th day of the month, it is to be held and inspected for blemishes until the 14th day, at which time it will be slaughtered, in three successive groups, as the day starts to become dark.

Due to living in Egypt, the Israelites were steeped in idolatry. Giving them a commandment involving first taking a lamb (which was an Egyptian deity) on the 10th day and then having 4 days in between before they slaughtered it was a way of removing them from that. In subsequent generations, there was no time gap, and the Pascal lamb was both taken and slaughtered on the 14th of Nissan.

After slaughtering the lamb, they are to drop some of it's blood from it's neck into a vessel and then put that blood on either side of the inner doorposts and the lintel of their homes. But they do not have to do this for storage houses where they stored straw or cattle.

And then that night, they are to eat the roasted lamb flesh (but not the bones or sinews), together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, in commemoration of the bitterness they experienced in Egypt.

The lamb is to be eaten roasted in its entirety. Not boiled or rare. After washing its innards in preparation for cooking, they are to be returned inside of the lamb and the entire lamb roasted.

The meat is to be consumed that night. Any leftover meat at dawn must be burnt the following day (once Yom Tov is over).

Just as G-d "skipped over" (hence the name of the holiday being Pesach, which literally means to "skip over") the Israelite homes, the Israelites are to eat the meat in this same manner of "skipping and hopping", i.e in haste - with their loins girded, shoes on feet and staff in hand.

G-d declares that he will act out his judgement by killing all the firstborn Egyptian men, animals and gods (the wooden gods will rot, the metal ones will melt) that night. The men will be killed first as they were the first to sin (before the animals). Even Egyptian men who were not present at the time in Egypt were hit with this plague.

G-d assures the Israelites that the blood they put on their doorposts will serve as a sign to G-d that they are engaged in performing His commandments, and He will pass over their homes and not smite them. Since the blood was only on the inner (and not outer) doorposts, it was not visible to the Egyptians. He also assures them that even if an Israelite is in an Egyptian home, the Israelite will not be hit with the plague.

The Holiday of Passover

G-d says that the day after this passing over occurs, which will be the 15th of the month of Nissan, will be a day that is declared an eternal annual holiday for future generations. It was on that night of the 15th that they ate the Pascal sacrifice, and then the following morning they left Egypt.

G-d decrees that they should get rid of all leaven food from their homes on the 14th of the month and then for seven days thereafter, they should refrain from eating any leavened food*. Anyone who does not do this shall be cut off from the nation of Israel and from anywhere else (that is part of G-d's domain).

*Side note, later on in Dvarim 16:8 it says that one need only eat unleavened food for six days. This teaches us that we are only required to eat matza for the first six days and not on the seventh. However even on the seventh we are not allowed to eat leavened food just like the other six.

G-d declares that the first and last of the seven days shall be Holy days when no work is to be performed unless it pertains to food you or your animals will eat during the holiday (but not food for gentiles to consume). I.e. there shall be special food, drink and clothing on those days.

G-d says that the Israelites should watch the cakes to make sure that they do not leaven. There are two ideas that we learn from this: 1) If a woman is kneading dough and notices that it is beginning to swell, she should add cold water to it to prevent it from rising. And 2) Just as we do not wait for the matzos to rise, we should not let the mitzvos rise, i.e. if a mitzvah comes your way to perform, you should do it immediately, and not wait for it to "leaven" (From Rabbi Yeshaya).

G-d specifies that the time span for this holiday of eating unleavened bread is from the night of the 14th of Nissan until the 21st day of Nissan.

G-d clarifies that for 7 days the Israelites should not own any leaven (either leaven that is ready to be eaten or leavening agents that can be used to bake leavened bread) in their homes and that anyone who does will be cut off. However if there is any leaven that is in their home that belongs to a gentile, this is OK. A convert to Judaism (i.e. who was not born Jewish) is bound by these laws however.

G-d says that they may not eat any leavening even if it is mixed with other food and that the unleavened food must be permissible in their homes (i.e to exclude the second tithe and the matzah loaves that accompany a thanksgiving offering which were only permissible to be eaten in Jerusalem).

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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Moshe Negotiates with Pharaoh

Pharaoh summons Moshe and says that the Israelites can leave, and can even take their children with them (which is more than what he offered them before -see previous parsha). He says that their cattle and flock must remain in Egypt however.

Moshe rejects this deal and says that not only does he insist that they take their own flock and cattle, but he demands that Pharaoh give him his own animals the Israelites can use for sacrifices.

Moshe rationalizes that this is because the Israelites won’t know ahead of time how much will be required of them to sacrifice and perhaps their own animals won’t suffice.

G-d hardened Pharaoh’s heart and did not want to let them out. Pharaoh tells Moshe to leave his presence, to no longer “see his face, for when (Moshe) shall see his face, he shall die”.

Moshe responds that indeed, Pharaoh spoke the truth. Moshe will never see Pharaoh’s face again.

G-d tells Moshe that he will send one last plague, after which Pharaoh will not only let you out, but will expel you.

G-d asks Moshe to please tell all of the Israelites (both men and women) if they would ask their Egyptian neighbors to give them their gold and silver vessels.

This was a request and not a demand. G-d was asking Moshe to please ask the Israelites to request the vessels so that Avraham would not accuse G-d of only fulfilling the first part of his prophecy of the Israelites bring enslaved and afflicted (Breishis 15:13) but not the second part of them ultimately departing with great possessions (Breishis 15:14).

G-d made it so that the Israelites find favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and Moshe was regarded very highly by them.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email [email protected]

Moshe Negotiates with Pharaoh

Pharaoh summons Moshe and says that the Israelites can leave, and can even take their children with them (which is more than what he offered them before -see previous parsha). He says that their cattle and flock must remain in Egypt however.

Moshe rejects this deal and says that not only does he insist that they take their own flock and cattle, but he demands that Pharaoh give him his own animals the Israelites can use for sacrifices.

Moshe rationalizes that this is because the Israelites won't know ahead of time how much will be required of them to sacrifice and perhaps their own animals won't suffice.

G-d hardened Pharaoh's heart and did not want to let them out. Pharaoh tells Moshe to leave his presence, to no longer "see his face, for when (Moshe) shall see his face, he shall die".

Moshe responds that indeed, Pharaoh spoke the truth. Moshe will never see Pharaoh's face again.

G-d tells Moshe that he will send one last plague, after which Pharaoh will not only let you out, but will expel you.

G-d asks Moshe to please tell all of the Israelites (both men and women) if they would ask their Egyptian neighbors to give them their gold and silver vessels.

This was a request and not a demand. G-d was asking Moshe to please ask the Israelites to request the vessels so that Avraham would not accuse G-d of only fulfilling the first part of his prophecy of the Israelites bring enslaved and afflicted (Breishis 15:13) but not the second part of them ultimately departing with great possessions (Breishis 15:14).

G-d made it so that the Israelites find favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and Moshe was regarded very highly by them.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email [email protected]

The Plagues of Locust and Darkness

G-d tells Moshe to stretch his hand over Egypt and this will bring about a swarm of locusts which will eat all of the grass which survived the hail.

So Moshe stretched out his staff over Egypt and a great wind blew from the east (from the direction of the land of Israel) and continuously blew all day and all night and the following morning there was a swarm of locusts which rose over all Egypt, resting all around its borders. The species of locusts were more varied than at any time since or would ever been in the future*.

*In the future times of Yoel the prophet, there was a swarm of locusts that in total quantity exceeded the number of locusts here in Moshe’s time, however there was a bigger variety of locust species in the time of Moshe.

The locusts covered the entire land, so much so that the land appeared to have darkened. The locusts ate the grass and fruit that had survived the hail. There was no more greenery left in Egypt.

Pharaoh summons Moshe and Aaron and says that he has sinned to their G-d and to them and pleads with them to pray to G-d on his behalf to be forgiven just this once and saved from just this death.

Moshe and Aaron leave Pharaoh and plead with G-d. G-d sends a powerful west wind which blows all of the locusts (even the ones which the Egyptians had salted to eat) into the Sea of Reeds.

However G-d hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and once again he did not send the Israelites out.

G-d tells Moshe to stretch his hand upwards and it it will become darker during the day than it usually does at night, and at night it will become darker still. This darker darkness which resulted was so dark that it was tangibly palatable.

So Moshe stretches his hand upward and this great darkness came upon the Egyptians and lasted for six days total, divided into two three day periods, each serving it’s own function. During the first three days of darkness, all of those Israelites who were not on board with wanting to leave Egypt died, so that the Egyptians would not witness their death and conclude that the Israelites were being equally affected by this plague. During the second three days, the darkness was so thick that the Egyptians became physically immobilized. The remaining Israelites however remained unaffected by this plague and thus secretly entered into the Egyptian homes during this time and saw all of the Egyptians’ vessels. This was useful later on, when the Israelites asked their Egyptian neighbors for vessels to take with them upon leaving and the neighbors claimed they didn’t have any, the Israelites were able to retort that they knew that they did and were able to even say where the Egyptians kept them.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email [email protected]

The Plagues of Locust and Darkness

G-d tells Moshe to stretch his hand over Egypt and this will bring about a swarm of locusts which will eat all of the grass which survived the hail.

So Moshe stretched out his staff over Egypt and a great wind blew from the east (from the direction of the land of Israel) and continuously blew all day and all night and the following morning there was a swarm of locusts which rose over all Egypt, resting all around its borders. The species of locusts were more varied than at any time since or would ever been in the future*.

*In the future times of Yoel the prophet, there was a swarm of locusts that in total quantity exceeded the number of locusts here in Moshe's time, however there was a bigger variety of locust species in the time of Moshe.

The locusts covered the entire land, so much so that the land appeared to have darkened. The locusts ate the grass and fruit that had survived the hail. There was no more greenery left in Egypt.

Pharaoh summons Moshe and Aaron and says that he has sinned to their G-d and to them and pleads with them to pray to G-d on his behalf to be forgiven just this once and saved from just this death.

Moshe and Aaron leave Pharaoh and plead with G-d. G-d sends a powerful west wind which blows all of the locusts (even the ones which the Egyptians had salted to eat) into the Sea of Reeds.

However G-d hardened Pharaoh's heart, and once again he did not send the Israelites out.

G-d tells Moshe to stretch his hand upwards and it it will become darker during the day than it usually does at night, and at night it will become darker still. This darker darkness which resulted was so dark that it was tangibly palatable.

So Moshe stretches his hand upward and this great darkness came upon the Egyptians and lasted for six days total, divided into two three day periods, each serving it's own function. During the first three days of darkness, all of those Israelites who were not on board with wanting to leave Egypt died, so that the Egyptians would not witness their death and conclude that the Israelites were being equally affected by this plague. During the second three days, the darkness was so thick that the Egyptians became physically immobilized. The remaining Israelites however remained unaffected by this plague and thus secretly entered into the Egyptian homes during this time and saw all of the Egyptians' vessels. This was useful later on, when the Israelites asked their Egyptian neighbors for vessels to take with them upon leaving and the neighbors claimed they didn't have any, the Israelites were able to retort that they knew that they did and were able to even say where the Egyptians kept them.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

To sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice!For comments and inquiries, email [email protected]

The Plague of Locusts

In spite of Pharaoh just before (see end of last week's Parsha) admitting that he and the Egyptians are wicked and Moshe and Aaron righteous, G-d warns Moshe that nothing has changed.

G-d elaborates and says that it is He who has hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that G-d can send signs for future generations to see how He made a mockery of the Egyptians and so they will know who G-d is.

Moshe and Aaron approach Pharaoh and tell him that G-d is asking how much longer Pharaoh will refuse to humble himself before Him and demanding that Pharaoh let the Israelites out so they can serve Him.

Moshe and Aaron then warn Pharaoh on G-d's behalf that if he refuses to listen, G-d will send locusts into Egypt that will cover the entire land. The locusts will consume whatever was not destroyed by the hail, including all of the trees. These locusts will fill the homes of Pharaoh, and all of the Egyptians and will be something like no one in the history of Egypt ever saw.

They leave Pharaoh's presence and Pharaoh's servants try to talk sense into him. They are fed up with the Israelites bringing such bad luck to them and tell Pharaoh to let them out so they can serve their G-d. "Don't you realize that Egypt is lost?" They ask him.

So one of Pharaoh's messengers fetches Moshe and Aaron and they return. Pharaoh says, "Go serve your G-d. Who will be going?"

Moshe replies that it is a festival for G-d so they will be bringing everyone, young and old, daughters and sons, and all of their flock and cattle.

Pharaoh foresaw astrologically that there would be a star waiting for the Israelites in the desert called "Ra'ah"*, which was an omen for blood and killing. He refused to send the Israelite children into the desert under such circumstances which would require them to have Divine protection. And in refusing to let out the children, all the more so would he not let the animals out with them. He said that the men could go, but no one else.

*Side note, indeed when the Israelites sinned with the golden calf, G-d wanted to kill them, at which time Moshe pleaded with G-d to hold back, lest the Egyptians say that this is the action of Ra'ah which Pharaoh had foreseen. G-d harkened to Moshes's request and transformed the blood of killing into the blood of circumcision, which manifest in Yehoshua later circumcising all the men before they entered into the land of Israel.

G-d continues speaking to Moshe, saying that "tomorrow" he will bring about a redemption which will distinguish the Israelites from the Egyptians.

As He said that He would, G-d then sends a mixture of wild beasts into Egypt and the beasts destroy the land.

Pharaoh summons Moshe and Aaron and tells them to go worship their G-d, but in their homes, in Egypt.

Moshe replies that it would not be proper for them to do so, for the way that the Israelites will worship G-d would be to sacrifice lambs which are worshiped by the Egyptians. The fact that the Egyptians worshipped these animals was repugnant to the Israelites, and if the Egyptians witnessed the Israelites sacrificing lambs to their G-d, it would be repugnant to the Egyptians and the Egyptians would likely attack the Israelites. Moshe states that by contrast, the Israelites will go on on a three day journey into the wilderness to worship G-d.

Pharaoh relents and says that they can go worship in the wilderness so long as they don't travel very far.

Moshe says that he will go to plead with G-d to get rid of the wild beasts, however he implores Pharaoh to not back track on his promise and to follow through with letting the Israelites leave to worship G-d.

Moshe leaves Pharaoh's presence and prays to G-d to get rid of the beasts. G-d accepts his prayers and removes the beasts. Unlike the frogs which died on the spot, the beasts are removed rather than killed, since the Egyptians could have benefited from the dead animal's hides.

The beasts were all gone, and Pharaoh's heart hardened and yet again, he refused to let the Israelites out.

G-d tells Moshe to approach Pharaoh and say that G-d requested that Pharaoh let out the Israelites and to warn Pharaoh that if he refuses to let go of them, G-d will send a severe plague upon the livestock of the Egyptians, upon their horses, donkeys, camels, cattle and sheep. Additionally, G-d will differentiate between the Israelites and the Egyptians, whereby none of the Israelites' livestock will be harmed. G-d says that he will put all of this in motion the following day.

And so it was the following day, G-d caused all of the Egyptian's livestock to die, but the Israelite livestock remained unharmed. In spite of this obvious disparity, Pharaoh's heart hardened and he refused to let the Israelites out.

G-d then instructs Moshe and Aaron to each fill their cupped hands with soot (from extinguished coals) and then Moshe is to take all of the gathered soot and throw it upwards in front of Pharaoh. Miraculously, all of the soot that filled both hands of both Moshe and Aaron fit into one hand of Moshe (as one can throw more forcefully with one hand).

G-d predicts that this soot will miraculously cover the entire land of Egypt and that it will turn into a boil that will bring about blisters on all of the Egyptian people and animals.

And so it was that Moshe and Aaron took this soot and Moshe threw it upwards in the presence of Pharaoh and the soot turned into a boil that brought blisters upon all of the Egyptian people and animals*.

*Side note: The previous plague of pestilence only killed the Egyptian livestock which was kept out in the field. There were some Egyptians that recognized the hand of G-d and brought in their livestock. This livestock did not die during the plague of pestilence but was here stricken with the boils.

The Egyptian sorcerers were stricken with the boils as well and could not stand before Moshe. And as G-d had predicted, Pharaoh's heart was hardened and Pharaoh did not acquiesce to Moshe and Aaron.

G-d instructs Moshe to approach Pharaoh early in the morning and tell Pharaoh that G-d demands that Pharaoh let the Israelites out of Egypt so they can worship Him and that if he refuses to do so, G-d will send a plague that is so great that it is likened to all the plagues combined so that Pharaoh will recognize that there is no being like G-d in the entire world. Pharaoh should know that G-d could have killed him off already with the plague of the pestilence, but He refrained from doing so since He wanted Pharaoh to experience how powerful G-d is and that G-d would be publicized throughout the world.

Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Plague of Hail

G-d continues to dictate to Moshe what to say to Pharaoh:

He should say that Pharaoh is still oppressing Moshes's people by not letting them out and G-d will send an unprecedented hailstorm into Egypt at a specified time the following day.

Moshe should then tell Pharaoh to have all of the Egyptians gather inside together with their livestock and everything else. He warns that anything that is left out in the field will die from the hail.

There were some Egyptians who feared G-d and brought their livestock indoors. Those who did not fear G-d left everything outside.

G-d then instructed Moshe to stretch his staff upwards towards the heavens (some say it reached even higher than the heavens) and there was thunder and a downpour of hail began. There had never before been a hailstorm like this in Egypt. This hail was also extra unique in that there was fire within the ice. Although this is in opposition to their natures that fire and water should coexist in this way, for the sake of performing G-d's will, they made peace amongst themselves for this miracle. The hail struck everything which was outdoors in Egypt, with the exception of Goshen. In Goshen, where the Israelites lived, there was no hail.

Pharaoh summons Moshe and Aaron and confesses that this time he has sinned and says that he concedes that Moshe and Aaron are righteous and that the Egyptians are wicked. He asks them to plead with G-d to stop the hail, saying that this hail has been sufficient in serving it's purpose.

Moshe says that once he leaves the city*, he will pray to G-d to get rid of the hail and thus Pharaoh will know that the Earth is G-d's, although he knows that Pharaoh and his people are still degenerates who do not yet fear G-d.

*He isn't able to pray to G-d in the city as it is filled with idolatry.

The flax and the barely, being nearly ripe during the storm got totally destroyed however the wheat and the spelt, having not yet ripened were still resilient to the weather and did not get destroyed.

Moshe leaves Pharaoh and gets out of the city and stretches out his arms. The hail ceases. Even hail that was already on it's way down halted midair.

When Pharaoh saw that the hail had stopped, he once again resumed sinning and him and his people's hearts hardened and just as G-d had predicted, he refused to let the Israelites out.