Va’eira

The makah of barad had a number of nissim which I’d like to explain.

The passuk says הנני ממטיר כעת מחר ברד. Rashi explains: exactly this time tomorrow. Moshe Rabeinu marked a line in the wall, when the sun would reach that mark the barad would fall. However by dever the passuk says מחר יהיה without any specific mark on the wall. Why did barad have this while dever did not?

The Be’er Yosef (HaRav Yosef M’Salant) answers that normally before it rains the sky thickens with dark and heavy clouds; only then does the rain come. The makah of barad did not follow this natural sequence of events. Hashem said when the sun reaches the mark on the wall, כעת מחר, suddenly barad will rain down. This will happen when the sun is shining, without prior warning of clouds covering the sky. This magnified the unbelievable nes.

The passuk mentions “there was barad on man and animals and all of the blades of grass.” The Griz explains since the Torah singles out these things: people, animals, and grass, it seems that the makah of barad was not everywhere in Mitzrayim. Rather it was targeted to directly hit the ones standing outside and the grass. The passuk says the ones who brought in their animals were saved. The Griz explains it is not because the house protected them, but rather the barad only targeted things outside and not things which were inside!

The passuk says אשר לא היה כמוהו במצרים. The Rabeinu Bachye is medayeik that it doesn’t say אשר לא היה במצרים. Meaning, it says “it wasn’t as that way, in Mitzrayim” and not “it wasn’t in Mitzrayim that way ever.” Rabienu Bachye explains this teaches us it was never that way in the whole world and not in Mitzrayim either. The Torah adds במצרים to teach us the great wonder that although Mitzrayim was a place which didn’t have rain or barad, still it would come down in Mitzrayim!

Rashi explains barad was a nes within a nes. The Maharal explains one nes was the barad itself, that there was nothing like it. The other nes was the mixture of fire and water which generally put each other out.

The passuk mentions קולות by the barad. Rabeinu Bachye explains the sounds were thunder like before it rains. It was to frighten the Mitzriyim and break their hearts. This is as Chazal say “why did Hashem create thunder? In order to straighten the crookedness of people’s hearts.”

May Hashem help us learn from the nissim which Hashem did in Mitzrayim to recognize Hashem’s greatness even more.