THE 10 PLAGUES By Shira Lebrett

Introduction YYaakov went down to Egypt with 70 people. They lived very happily in Goshen until he died at age 147. Then after a while, Pharaoh made the B’nei Yisrael work because they were multiplying too rapidly. HHashem decided to punish the Egyptians and put His plan of action into place… SSome say He made the plagues like an army officer would. See what you think…

The plagues: TThe first plague was blood. Hashem made all the water in Egypt turn into blood, but only the Egyptians water! This meant that the Egyptian’s had to pay money to the Jews to get normal water. Aharon brought this plague. TThe second plague was frogs. Originally, one frog came out the River Nile but the angry Egyptians hit it and more jumped out of its mouth. They got everywhere – in the ovens, beds and food! TThe third plague was lice. Unlike with the blood and frogs, the Egyptians couldn’t do this and had to agree that Hashem existed. The Egyptians itched all week! Hashem, the army officer! Hashem first cut off the water supply, then the food and then hit the people.

The Plagues:  The fourth plague was wild animals. Hashem brought animals from all over the world such as polar bears and camels with tigers.  The fifth plague was illness on the animals. Any animals which was left outside died during this plague. This was because the people were warned so those who had trust brought in their animals and they survived, those that didn’t lost all their animals.  The sixth plague was boils. Large boils grew on the Egyptians and were terribly itchy. There were 24 different types of boils! Hashem, the army officer! Enter city, kill animals which provide food and again attack the people.

The Plagues:  The seventh plague was hailstones. This was a mixture of fire and water and the miracle was that the water didn’t put the fire out. We can learn from here that everything will work together- even ‘enemies’- to do the will of Hashem.  The eighth plague was locusts. They ate all the grass and vegetation in the whole of Egypt. This left Egypt with no food! Pharaoh begged Moshe to stop the plague. There were so many, you couldn’t see the sky!  The ninth plague was darkness. Everything went dark for six days. In the first three days, it was dark but they could move. But in the final three days, the Egyptians couldn’t move and were stuck in their positions. The Jews used this time to check what gold and silver the Egyptians had so that when they left Egypt they could ask for whatever they wanted and they couldn’t refuse! Hashem, the army officer! Hailstones act as bullets/arrows, locusts block off food supply and darkness meant the enemy was at a disadvantage.

The Plagues:  The tenth plague was the death of the firstborns. Any firstborn Egyptians were killed. Any visiting strangers were also killed, however Egyptian firstborns outside Egypt were killed. Pharaoh thought that he would die so went running for Moshe but Hashem deliberately kept him alive for later… Hashem, the army officer! Finally, Hashem actually killed the people!

Quick Quiz: How many people went down to Egypt with Yaakov? 70 What was the first plague? Blood Who brought it? Aharon What was the third plague? Lice What was the ninth plague? Darkness How long did it last for? 6 days Who died in the last plague? The eldest in each family Why did Pharaoh run around looking for Moshe in the middle of the night? He thought he was going to die BONUS: HOW WAS HASHEM’S PLAN LIKE AN OFFICER’S IN THE ARMY? Because he attacked the city just like an army would!