פירוש על שמות 10:2

התעללתי means I HAVE MOCKED, as in, (Numbers 22:29) “Because thou hast mocked (התעללת) me”; (I Samuel 6:6) “Indeed, when he mocked (התעולל) them”, which, also, is said in reference to Egypt. It is not an expression denoting doing and action, for were this so it should have written עוללתי, similar to (Lamentations 1:22) “And do (עולל) unto them as thou hast done (עוללת) unto me”, and to (Lamentations 1:12) “which he has done (עולל) unto me”.

HITH’ALALTI.’ “I have mocked him, for it is I Who hardened his heart and exacted punishments of him.” This is similar in intent to the verse: He that sits in heaven smiles, the Eternal mocks them.⁴Ibid., 2:4.
The Holy One, blessed be He, now informed Moses of the plague of locusts, [although this is not stated here in Scripture], and that he should tell it to Pharaoh, for what sense was there that he be commanded, Go in unto Pharaoh,⁵Verse 1. and not say something to him, the plague being mentioned only in the words of Moses to Pharaoh,⁶Verses 4-6. as Scripture spoke succinctly of this. So also was the case above with the plague of hail, where Scripture told of the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses, Stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, etc.,⁷Above, 9:13. but did not at all mention that Moses said so to Pharaoh, as I have explained.⁸Ibid., Verse 18. The reason for it is that Scripture does not want to elaborate on it in two places, [i.e., when G-d said it to Moses, and when Moses relayed it to Pharaoh], and so it shortens the narrative sometimes at one point and other times at another.
In Eileh Shemoth Rabbah,⁹Shemoth Rabbah 13:5. I have seen it stated: “And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son. The Holy One, blessed be He, informed Moses what plague He is about to bring upon them, and Moses wrote it down with a hint: And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, which is an allusion to the plague of locusts, just as it is said [of the locusts in the days of the prophet Joel], Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, etc.”¹⁰Joel 1:3. This was said by the prophet during the terrible plague of locusts and drought. See Ramban further, Verse 14. The Midrash thus confirms Ramban’s explanation that within G-d’s command to Moses, as stated in the Torah, there was also included the oral communication concerning the locusts. The Midrash however added that the plague is alluded to in the expression, And that thou mayest tell, etc., which is a reference to the locusts.

התעללתי, engaged in actions.

ולמען תספר, and so that you Israelites will be able to tell about My attributes and remember this throughout future generations.

ולמען תספר, "and in order for you to tell, etc.," Why did G'd have to provide this additional reason to justify the plague of locusts? Besides, what is the meaning of the words אשר התעללתי במצרים? Why did G'd add: "and My miracles," as if this was something distinct from אשר התעללתי? Why did G'd add: וידעתם כי אני השם?

ולמען תספר, “and in order that you will tell, etc.” What G’d said to Moses here, He said on behalf of the whole Jewish people, i.e. for the people to tell their children and grandchildren all that had happened to the Egyptians just before the Exodus, how G’d had made a mockery of the Egyptians. He mentions the hardness, obstinacy, of the Egyptians who were the servants of Pharaoh, seeing that the Torah had reported that both Pharaoh and his servants had (on their own) stiffened their attitude (9,34). This audience with Pharaoh had as its purpose to warn him of the impending plague of locusts if he would persist in reneging on his promise to let the Israelites depart. There would have been no point in sending Moses to Pharaoh unless he was meant to deliver a message. The Torah abbreviates the narrative of the first audience involving this warning, describing Moses as not waiting for any response from Pharaoh. The Torah sometimes chooses to be more succinct in its narrative than on other occasions. Midrash Shemot Rabbah 13,4 quotes G’d as having told Moses about the forthcoming plague by the hint that it would be something that would be talked about for many generations. The Midrash quotes Joel 1,3 which discusses another plague of locust, this time in Israel, as something that made an equally lasting impression.

את אשר התעללתי, “how I have made a mockery.” According to the plain meaning of the text the words mean “I have toyed with them when I performed great acts of retribution.” The expression is similar to the one used by David in Psalms 2,4: יושב בשמים ישחק, אד-ני ילעג למו, “The One who resides in heaven laughs; the Lord mocks at them.”

V. 2. באזני, nicht bloßes Erzählen, sondern hinein reden, etwas jemandem so ins Bewusstsein bringen, dass es durchs Ohr ins Herz dringe. — עולל ,עלל: das in Entwicklung begriffene Kind, woher עלילה, nicht eine einfache Tat, und עולל, nicht ein einzelnes Tun, sondern eine Entwicklungsreihe von Taten oder Tätigkeiten, und עולל: etwas durch eine solche fortgesetzte Reihe von Tätigkeiten bewirken. התעלל: sich in einer fortgesetzten Reihe von Tätigkeiten zeigen, ב־: an jemandem, d. i. jemanden bloß als Stoff behandeln, an dem man in fortgesetzten Tätigkeiten seine Kraft usw. zeigt. Daher in der Regel vom Menschen an Menschen: Mutwillen üben, wo man die Menschenwürde des andern nicht achtet. Hier von Gott: "Wie ich in einer fortgesetzten Reihe von Taten mich, d. h. meine Macht, meine Größe usw. in Mizrajim gezeigt." עול Joch hieße demgemäß nicht also als drückende Last, sondern als angestrengte Tätigkeit erzwingendes Mittel. — וידעתם wenn auch Mizrajim nichts daraus gelernt hat, für euch zunächst waren sie geübt, eure Gotteserkenntnis damit zu begründen.

התעללתי, any expression of this type, when it commences with the letter ת describes some kind of mockery or ridicule on the part of the subject vis a vis his opponent. When the same word appears without the prefix ת, the element of ridicule is absent. (Compare Rashi)

I believe that first and foremost G'd wanted to make it plain that it was not His purpose to bring on the plague as an act of revenge on Pharaoh. Rather, the miracle was designed to strengthen Israel's faith in G'd so that they would remember these miracles forever. This could be achieved only if G'd not only performed the miracle without hurting any Israelite by it but that Pharaoh himself would be so impressed by the miracle that it would also impress G'd's power on the minds of the Israelites in an unforgettable manner. The psychology of the aforesaid is demonstrated in the halachah of the בן פקועה in Chulin 75. This concerns a fetus found alive [if the pregnancy was incomplete, or dead if the pregnancy was complete. Ed.] inside an animal after the mother-animal has been ritually slaughtered. The question is if the ritual slaughter of the mother-animal made the fetus fit for consumption by Jews without further ado. The Talmud discusses whether such an animal may be eaten without it being slaughtered seeing that the onlooker may suspect the person eating it of committing a sin; it concludes that when this animal has been different in at least two exceptional ways such as that it does not have a cloven hoof, everyone will remember what its origin has been and one will not suspect someone eating it without having performed ritual slaughter as having committed a sin. Although G'd had demonstrated miracles which clearly proved His power, this would not have sufficed to make a lasting impression on the Israelites unless He had at the same time proven that He distinguished miraculously between the guilty and the innocent, i.e. between the Israelites and the Egyptians and that the miracles had hurt only the guilty parties. When G'd said: "in order that you will tell your children and your children's children, etc." He meant that this would be assured only if He performed the miracles in such a way that only the Egyptians were seen to be hurt by them. The first impression would be created by אשר התעללתי במצרים, "How I wrought the plagues on Egypt;" the second and more lasting impression would occur when the Israelites realised את אותותי אשר שמתי בם, that what occurred was an outstanding miracle even if the Egyptians had not been a factor at all. These combined experiences would prompt the Israelites to tell their children about what they had seen. The purpose of telling their children was "so that you will know beyond doubt that I am the Eternal G'd."