The Worst Possible Plague
Terror. Annoyance. Foreboding. Among the Egyptians, each plague feels so much worse than anticipated. A shared sense of eeriness seeps in as the world becomes apocalyptic. Yet, each time a plague ends, the depth of the horror dissipates, forgotten until the next one arrives鈥攎ore all-consuming and destructive than before. Locusts, darkness, death, grief. The world is overturned by a foreign God. Egyptian safety depends on the emotional whims of their leadership, plagues ending only when God softens Pharaoh鈥檚 heart.
What plague do you see outside your window? Fire and smoke, drought, disease, or gun violence? Or perhaps you, like the Israelites, are spared while your neighbors experience devastation. Deportation, infestation, or discrimination鈥攚hether natural or human-made, these experiences evoke the same fear that the Egyptians felt. Is our darkness as dark as their darkness? Are our plagues as terrible as the ones that the Egyptians experienced?
In Exodus 11:5, Moses tells Pharaoh of the final, most horrific plague:
讜旨诪值郑转 讻讎旨诇志讘职旨讻讜止专之 讘职旨讗侄郑专侄抓 诪执爪职专址謷讬执诐謷 诪执讘职旨讻证讜止专 驻址旨专职注止讛謾 讛址讬止旨砖值讈郑讘 注址诇志讻执旨住职讗謹讜止 注址謿讚 讘职旨讻郑讜止专 讛址砖执旨讈驻职讞指謹讛 讗植砖侄讈謻专 讗址讞址郑专 讛指专值讞指謶讬执诐 讜职讻止謻诇 讘职旨讻芝讜止专 讘职旨讛值诪指纸讛變
And every [male] first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the first-born of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; and all the first-born of the cattle.
The death of the first-born son would strike all Egyptian families from the richest and most powerful to the slaves who labor alongside the Israelites. The Torah: A Women鈥檚 Commentary suggests that “the intent of this act is to affect all Egyptian households, from the highest male aristocracy to the lowest female slave. The Torah is not concerned with the guilt or innocence of any specific victim, nor with the ethical implications of blanket punishments; the focus remains resolutely on exemplifying God鈥檚 supreme power.” It doesn鈥檛 matter that Pharaoh is the one calling the shots, refusing to let the Israelites go. The plagues impact all Egyptians.聽
Furthermore, the Torah does not tell us how each plague impacted different groups of Egyptians. We don鈥檛 know if the locusts were as bothersome to Pharoah鈥檚 courtiers as they were to the Egyptian slave girl behind the millstones. However, we do know the plagues were 鈥渢he most severe they had ever been鈥� and 鈥渢he most severe ever will be.鈥� Regarding the locusts, Exodus 10:14 states:
诇职譅驻指谞指譅讬讜 诇止讗志讛指吱讬指讛 讻值证谉 讗址专职讘侄旨讛謾 讻指旨诪止謹讛讜旨 讜职讗址讞植专指謻讬讜 诇止芝讗 讬执纸讛职讬侄讛志讻值旨纸谉變
[N]ever before had there been so many, nor will there ever be so many again.
If the locusts in Egypt were 鈥渢he worst locusts of all time,鈥� all subsequent human experiences with locusts must be less bad, right?
Rashi and Hizkuni both wrestle with later examples of really bad locusts in Tanakh, such as those in Joel. Because Rashi and Hizkuni need Tanakh to be correct in stating that the Egyptian experience of locusts is “the worst of all time,” they need to solve the inconsistency of Joel having horrific locusts. Hizkuni quotes and agrees with Rashi’s take, saying:
讜讗讞专讬讜 诇讗 讬讛讬讛 讻谉, 鈥渁nd there will never be a plague of locusts like this;鈥� according to Rashi, the meaning is 鈥渁 single type of locust.鈥� Seeing that the Bible records other plagues of locusts at least as severe (Psalms 105:34, Joel 1:4), and Rashi was surely aware of this, we must understand the words of Rashi as referring to a single species of locusts at the same time. In the days of Joel ben Patuel each type of locust came separately, one after the other.
By distinguishing between different species of locusts, Rashi and Hizkuni allow all locust plagues to be “the worst of all time.”聽
Perhaps Rashi and Hizkuni are right to narrow the definition of the plagues. While we need to understand that what the Egyptians experienced was 鈥渢he worst possible鈥� experience of locusts and that their collective cry over the deaths of the first-born sons was 鈥渢he loudest cry there could possibly be,鈥� the depths of their despair do not diminish the depths of our despair today. The Torah needs to be clear that the Egyptians experienced horrible pain so that we understand that our freedom came at a cost to others. That clarity doesn鈥檛 take away from the pains we experience today. We face 鈥渄ifferent species of locusts.鈥� Our cries of mourning hit a different pitch. Just as their grief was 鈥渢he worst possible鈥� grief, so too, our grief is 鈥渢he worst possible grief.鈥� We don鈥檛 have to compete for who has it hardest during a plague because we all do.
Of course, those with the least power and privilege face the hardest recovery from plagues. The Egyptian slave girl likely starved when the locusts devoured the crops, while Pharaoh remained well-fed. However, Rashi and Hizkuni鈥檚 insights remind us that grief and despair do not need to be qualified to be valid. Losing a home is materially harder to recover from for a low-income family than a celebrity family, but the grief for both families is 鈥渢he worst that has ever been鈥� and 鈥渢he worst there will ever be.鈥� We can acknowledge privilege without diminishing pain.
By illustrating the depths of the Egyptians鈥� despair, Parashat Bo allows us to feel the depths of our own. When we give ourselves permission to feel our pain and acknowledge its reality, we can move through it and beyond it. Living a life filled with plagues can harden our hearts. Honoring our grief鈥攁nd the grief of others鈥攃an soften them again.
The publication and distribution of the JTS Commentary are made possible by a generous grant from Rita Dee (z鈥漧) and Harold Hassenfeld (z鈥漧).
