We often picture them as swift, dramatic events, but the stories tell a different tale—one of drawn-out suffering, and, yes, even a bit of divine trickery.
Let's zoom in on the plague of darkness, the penultimate horror visited upon the Egyptians. It wasn't just a day or two of dim lighting, oh no. According to the Legends of the Jews, this darkness lasted a full seven days, mirroring the duration of the other plagues. But here’s the kicker: it wasn't a uniform darkness.
For the first three days, it was… manageable. Unpleasant, sure, but the Egyptians could still move around. They could shift positions, get up, sit down. But then, things took a turn for the truly dreadful.
For the next three days, the darkness became so thick, so oppressive, that they were completely immobilized. Imagine being stuck, unable to move from whatever position you were in – sitting, standing – for three whole days! It’s a chilling thought.
And the seventh day? Well, that one found the Egyptians still engulfed in darkness, but this time they were at the Red Sea, desperately chasing after the fleeing Israelites. Talk about a bad trip.
This wasn’t your garden-variety power outage, either. The Legends of the Jews describes it as a darkness "from hell," a darkness that could be felt. It was as dense as a dinar (an ancient coin), almost a tangible thing.
But here's where the story gets even more interesting. While the Egyptians were groping around in this infernal gloom, the Israelites? They were bathed in celestial light! A light so bright, they could see exactly what the Egyptians were doing.
Now, why would that be useful? Well, think about what was about to happen. The Israelites were about to leave Egypt, and they were instructed to ask their neighbors for valuables – raiment, jewels of gold, jewels of silver – for the journey. But the Egyptians, predictably, weren't exactly forthcoming.
Here's where that celestial light comes in handy. During those days of darkness, the Israelites had been carefully observing the Egyptians, cataloging their treasures, noting their hiding places. As Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews makes clear, when the time came to ask for these items, the Israelites could describe them with pinpoint accuracy, even revealing their secret locations.
You can almost hear the conversation, can't you? "Remember that gold necklace, shaped like a serpent, hidden under your floorboards?" The Egyptians were floored. How could they possibly deny having something when the Israelites knew so much about it?
And here's the really clever part. The Egyptians, according to the legend, reasoned that the Israelites had to be telling the truth. Why? Because if they'd been planning to steal from them all along, they could have simply taken whatever they wanted during the darkness. The fact that they were asking for it, describing it in detail, proved their honesty. It's a fascinating bit of psychological reasoning.
So, the Egyptians, feeling they had no choice, readily lent the Israelites all the treasures they asked for. And with that, the stage was set for the Exodus.
What does this all tell us? Perhaps it's a reminder that even in the midst of suffering and oppression, there can be moments of divine intervention, and even a bit of cleverness on the part of the oppressed. And maybe, just maybe, that light in the darkness is always there, if we know where to look for it.