Parshat Vaera5 min read

Fire Ate the Hail While Pharaoh Marked the Wall

Moses marked tomorrow on Pharaoh's wall. Hail fell with fire flashing inside the ice. Pharaoh begged, then sinned again the moment the sky went quiet.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. A Mark on the Wall for Tomorrow
  2. Fire Flashing Up Amidst the Hail
  3. The Confession That Melted With the Ice
  4. Counsel That Stands Before the First Blow

Pharaoh still owned a morning when the sky belonged to him. Moses came to take that morning. "Stretch forth thy hand toward heaven that there may be hail" (Exodus 9:22). Heaven and earth had been divided at creation. The heavens were the Lord's. The earth was given to the children of men. Hail would tear the treaty until a king who claimed the Nile learned the air was never his.

Fire Ate the Hail While Pharaoh Marked the Wall Click for full size

The midrash sets a king who forbids Rome to travel to Syria and Syria to travel to Rome, then changes the decree when he wants a meeting. So the Holy One once kept realms apart, and later brought the upper down to Sinai and the lower up to receive Torah. When He pleased, waters gathered. When He pleased, sea became road. Hail was another pleasure with a public date.

A Mark on the Wall for Tomorrow

"Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail" (Exodus 9:18). Zabdi the son of Levi said Moses made a mark upon the wall and told Pharaoh that when the sun reached that mark, the storm would begin. Time was a line of light crawling toward a scratch in plaster.

"Such as hath not been seen" meant a hail without past and nearly without future, reserved also for the war of Gog and Magog. Egypt was rehearsal. The wall-mark was a clock for a rehearsal of the end.

"Send, hasten in thy cattle" (Exodus 9:19). Mercy rode inside the threat. Shelter was offered to anyone who still feared the word of the Lord. Livestock left in the field was a confession written in hooves. Warning removes the excuse of surprise.

Fire Flashing Up Amidst the Hail

"And the Lord sent thunder and hail" (Exodus 9:23). Wherever Scripture says "and the Lord," the midrash hears Him and His heavenly court. Sarah's promised birth, Sodom's rain, Egypt's storm: the court stands open for gift and sentence alike.

"So there was hail, and fire flashing up amidst the hail" (Exodus 9:24). Ice did not cancel flame. After the hail, fire flashed and consumed what the ice had crushed. Wheat and spelt survived late. R. Phinehas heard a miracle in their lateness. R. Judah heard ordinary seasons. Some green stayed for a people still learning whether repentance can last past weather.

Pharaoh's body had been kept alive through earlier blows so the Name could be declared through all the earth. Survival was not favor. Survival was stage-lighting for a harder lesson.

The Confession That Melted With the Ice

"Entreat the Lord… and I will let them go" (Exodus 9:28). Moses answered with memory. You said this at the first plague. I pleaded. You did not send them. Pharaoh pressed harder and confessed sin against God and against Moses. Moses went out of the city and spread his hands. Rain, hail, and thunders ceased.

"When Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more" (Exodus 9:34). Trouble teaches a wicked mouth humility. Quiet teaches the same mouth arrogance again. The midrash sets Nebuchadnezzar beside him: praise while grass is dinner, pride when Babylon looks great, then a voice stripping the kingdom while the boast is still warm.

Counsel That Stands Before the First Blow

Heaven had already declared the end from the beginning. Pharaoh would speak and demand wonders. Hearts would harden. Counsel would stand. The pleasure of the Holy One is to justify creatures, not to delight in their death. "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live" (Ezekiel 33:11). Hail that leaves a door for cattle is still a door. Pharaoh shut it with dry clothes and an old heart.

Fire ate ice in midair. A wall held a prophecy for one day. A king knelt while thunder lasted and stood when silence returned. The mark on the wall remained after the storm, proof that time had been fair and the answer had not. Egypt's fields learned what its king refused: the sky has an Owner, and the Owner keeps appointments.

Moses left the city to pray so the storm would not be accused of sparing the prophet's roof. Distance made the mercy clean. When he returned, the quiet was complete enough for Pharaoh to sin in comfort.

Servants who had dragged cattle indoors under the warning now watched their king harden again. The wall-mark still held its scratch. Egypt had been given a clock and had chosen sleep.

MosesPharaohPlaguesHailEgypt
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The texts behind this telling. Some cards carry a translation of the source; others are our own retelling of it, and each card says which. Every card links out to the original.

Midrash Tanchuma, Vaera 15Midrash Tanchuma

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.Townsend 1989 translation of Midrash Tanhuma, S. Buber Recension · CC-BY

And the Lord said unto Moses: “Stretch forth thy hand toward heaven that there may be hail” (Exod. 9:22). Scripture says (elsewhere in allusion to this verse): Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that hath He done, in heaven and in the earth (Ps. 135:6). In reference to the heaven, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: The heavens are the heavens of the Lord (Ps. 115:16), and in regard to the earth, The earth hath He given to the children of men (ibid.). This may be compared to a king who decreed that the people of Rome should not migrate to Syria and that the people of Syria should not migrate to Rome. And similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed when he created the world: The heavens are the heavens of the Lord; and the earth He hath given to the children of men. However, when He decided to give the Torah, He abrogated the first decrees and declared: Let the earthly beings ascend on high and the heavenly creatures descend below, and I will be the first (to do so), as it is said: And the Lord came down upon Sinai (Exod. 19:20). And it is also written: And to Moses He said: “Come up unto the Lord” (ibid. 24:1). Hence, Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that hath He done.

When He desired it to happen, He said: Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together (Gen. 1:9). And when He was so inclined, He made the sea become dry and turn into land, as is said: And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea, upon the dry ground (Exod. 14:22). Therefore, whatsoever the Lord pleased, that hath He done, etc. With regard to the heavens, it is said: Stretch forth thy hand toward heaven that there may be hail (ibid. 9:22), and in reference to the earth it is stated: Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the earth (ibid. 8:12). What is written above concerning this matter? For now I have stretched out My hand … But in very deed for this cause have I made thee to stand (ibid. 9:16), so that you will not die as a result of the first plague, and so that My name may be declared throughout all earth (ibid., v. 36).

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Midrash Tanchuma, Vaera 16Midrash Tanchuma

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.Townsend 1989 translation of Midrash Tanhuma, S. Buber Recension · CC-BY

Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been seen (Exod. 9:18). Zabdi the son of Levi said: He made a mark upon the wall and told him that when the sun reached that mark tomorrow, the hail would fall. Such as hath not been seen implies that it would be a hail like none that had occurred previously, and would occur again only in the days to come, that is, in the time of Gog and Magog, as it is said: Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war (Job 38:23). It also says: And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; an overflowing shower and great hailstones (Exod. 38:22). And now therefore send, hasten in thy cattle (ibid. 9:19), on account of the plague of hail. He said to him: Wicked one, the Lord is righteous.

And Moses stretched forth his rod unto heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail (ibid., v. 23). Wherever Scripture says and the Lord it refers to Him and to His heavenly court. And the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken (Gen. 21:1), that is, He and His court. And the Lord caused it to rain on Sodom (ibid. 20:24), that is, He and His court. And the Lord sent thunder and hail (Exod. 9:23), that is, He and His court. So there was hail, and fire flashing up amidst the hail (ibid., v. 24). The words fire flashing indicate that after the hail, the fire flashed and consumed it, as is said: But the wheat and the spelt were not smitten, for they ripen late (ibid., v. 32). R. Phinehas and R. Judah the son of Shalum discussed this matter. R. Phinehas said: What is the meaning of ripen late? It indicates that the Holy One, blessed Be, performed a miracle with them. R. Judah, however, insisted that they were merely late in ripening. R. Phinehas maintained: It is written: And the hail smote every herb of the field (ibid., v. 25), and yet you insist that they were not smitten because they were still young. Obviously that is not so. The Holy One, blessed be He, performed a miracle with them.

At that very moment the wicked Pharaoh cried out: Entreat the Lord … and I will let them go (Exod. 9:28). Moses replied: You said that at the time of the first plague, and I pleaded in your behalf, but yet you did not send them away. Why should I entreat for thee and for thy servants? (ibid. 8:5). Pharaoh replied: I have sinned before the Lord your God and against you, but now I will let them go. When Moses heard that, Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread forth his hands unto the Lord; and the thunders and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth (ibid. 9:33). They were suspended in mid-air. When did they descend? Some descended upon the Amorites in the days of Joshua, as it is said: The Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them (Josh. 10:11), and the remainder will fall on Gog and Magog in the days of the Messiah. And the thunders ceased (Exod. 9:34). They, too, were suspended (in mid-air). They descended in the days of Elisha, against the camp of the Arameans, as it is said: For the Lord had made the hosts of the Arameans, to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses (II Kings 7:6).

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Midrash Tanchuma, Vaera 17Midrash Tanchuma

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.Townsend 1989 translation of Midrash Tanhuma, S. Buber Recension · CC-BY

And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased (Exod. 9:34). Such is the way of the wicked: whenever they are in trouble, they humiliate themselves, but once their troubles have ceased, they become corrupt again. When Nebuchadnezzar was in trouble, he said: Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and honor and extol the King of heaven, for all His works are truth, and His way is justice; and those that walk in pride, He is able to abase (Dan. 4:34).

R. Berechiah stated in the name of R. Helbo, who had said in the name of R. Samuel the son of Nahman: Most assuredly, the Holy One, blessed be He, judges the thoughts and the heart of man. Nebuchadnezzar praised Him in this verse just as David did in the Book of Psalms. Nebuchadnezzar said praise, and David said Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem (Ps. 147:12); Nebuchadnezzar said extol, and David said: I will extol thee, O Lord, for Thou hast raised me up (Ps. 30:2); Nebuchadnezzar said honor, and David declared: Thou art clothed with honor and majesty (ibid. 104:1). After he achieved greatness, however, he became arrogant, as it is said: Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for a royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty? (Dan. 4:27). Whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked him: Wretch! Again you are boastful, as it is said: While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven: “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee” (ibid., v. 28). Hence, whenever the wicked are in trouble, they humble themselves, but when their difficulties cease, they revert to their corrupt practices. Pharaoh did likewise. When he saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he continued to sin (Exod. 9:34). The gentiles add to their sins, but in the case of Israel The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion, he will no more carry thee away into captivity; He will punish thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will uncover thy sins (Lam. 4:22).

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Midrash Tanchuma, Vaera 11Midrash Tanchuma

Retold in our words. Read the original at the link below.Townsend 1989 translation of Midrash Tanhuma, S. Buber Recension · CC-BY

When Pharaoh shall speak unto you (Exod. 7:9). Scripture states (elsewhere in reference to this verse): Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying: “My counsel shall stand, and all My pleasure will I do” (Isa. 46:10). The Holy One, blessed be He, declared at the very beginning what the end would be, when He said to Moses: Behold, thou art about to sleep with thy fathers, and this people will rise up, and go astray (Deut. 31:16). They were destined to do so upon Joshua’s death. And will forsake Me, and break My covenant (ibid.), as it is said: And they forsook the Lord, and served Him not (Judg. 10:7). Hence at the very beginning he disclosed what would follow.

R. Phinehas the priest, the son of Hama, stated: One who reads this verse may think that there must be a difference of opinion above (in heaven), since it says: My counsel shall stand, and My pleasure will I do. What is the actual meaning of My counsel shall stand, and all My pleasure will I do? It means that He desires to justify His creatures, as it is said: The Lord was pleased, for His righteousness’ sake (Isa. 42:21). Certainly He does not take delight in proving anyone guilty, as it is said: For I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ezek. 33:11). Hence, it is said: All my pleasure will I do.

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