"Moses extended his hand toward the heavens, and there was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt for three days. They did not see one another, and no one rose from his place for three days; but for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings" (Exodus 10:22-23). Pretty intense, right?

But where did this darkness come from? That's the question that the ancient rabbis grapple with in Shemot Rabbah, a rich collection of Midrashic interpretations on the Book of Exodus.

The text presents us with a fascinating debate between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nehemya. Rabbi Yehuda suggests the darkness came "from the heavenly darkness," citing Psalm 18:12: "He made darkness His secret place, His pavilion around Him." Think of it as a divine shadow, a manifestation of God's hiddenness.

Rabbi Nehemya, on the other hand, offers a much more chilling explanation. He proposes the darkness originated from Gehenna, often translated as Hell. He points to Job 10:22, "A land of darkness, like blackness, the shadow of death and disorder, [where the light is like darkness]." Woe to a house whose windows open into that darkness!

This idea of Gehenna as the source of the darkness is further explored. The text quotes Ezekiel 31:15, "On the day he descended to the grave I caused the deep to mourn [he’evalti], and cover itself for him." The rabbis cleverly interpret he’evalti as hovalti, meaning "I led him into the depths." It's a subtle, but powerful shift in meaning.

Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi asks a haunting question: With what are the wicked covered in Gehenna? His answer? Darkness. Ḥizkiyya adds an earthy analogy: how do you cover a clay tub? With another piece of earthenware. It's the same substance. Similarly, the wicked, whose deeds are done in darkness, are covered in darkness. Isaiah 29:15 says it plainly: "Their deeds are in the dark." Thus, God covers them with the dark depths, as we see echoed in Genesis 1:2: "And darkness on the surface of the depths."

So, could this mean that the darkness that plagued Egypt wasn't just a natural phenomenon, but a manifestation of the darkness of Gehenna itself? The text leaves us pondering this possibility.

It's a powerful image, isn't it? The idea that the darkness visited upon Egypt was not merely a physical absence of light, but a tangible emanation of spiritual and moral darkness. It serves as a potent reminder of the consequences of our actions and the depths to which we can sink if we choose to dwell in the shadows. Could it be that the plagues weren't just punishments, but also warnings, glimpses into the potential consequences of choosing darkness over light? Maybe the story of the plague of darkness is a mirror reflecting our own choices, asking us: what kind of light are we choosing to bring into the world?