Комментарий к Шмот 7:22

בלטיהם SECRET ARTS — magic formulas which they utter secretly and in a whisper. Our Rabbis stated that בלטיהם refers to the work of demons, בלהטיהם to witchcraft (Sanhedrin 67b; Exodus Rabbah 9:11).

ויעשו כן חרטומי מצרים, The Egyptian sorcerers did likewise, etc. If we follow the sages in Shemot Rabbah 9,11 according to whom all the waters in Egypt were struck, where did the Egyptian sorcerers practice their art and convert water into blood? Perhaps only visible sources of water had been turned into blood, whereas subterranean water had remained in its original state. This would explain why the Torah described the Egyptians as digging for water in verse 24.

ויעשו כן חרטומי מצרים, “the sorcerers of Egypt did likewise.” From where did these sorcerers take the water to duplicate Aaron’s turning the water into blood? They must have either used water that the Egyptians had dug up surrounding the areas that contained water, or they must have taken water in possession of the Israelites. Some commentators claim that the waters that Aaron had turned into blood reverted to being water in short order, so that there was no shortage of water anywhere. This would account for the fact that Pharaoh failed to be impressed with this miracle. This is why Moses and Aaron were not called in to reverse the plague, (as they were on the next occasion).

בלטיהם refers to works of demons. . . This is because demons walk בלט (with stealth). In Sanhedrin 67b it says: R. Aiba bar Nagari said in the name of R. Chiya bar Abba, בלטיהם is works of demons; בלהטיהם is witchcraft. And so it says (Bereishis 3:24), “The להט of the sword. . .” Rashi (Sanhedrin, ibid.) explains בלטיהן as in (Shoftim 4:21): “And she went to him בלאט (with stealth).”

ויעשו כן, “and the sorcerers of Pharaoh did something similar (with the aid of their witchcraft)” Where did they take water from to duplicate such a feat? Either they brought the water from outside Egypt, or they must have dug for it. Also, the fact that the Egyptians are reported to have dug for water, something reported in verse 24 also seems out of place. We do not apply the principle of the Torah reversing historical sequences within the same paragraph.

ויחזק לב פרעה AND PHARAOH’S HEART WAS HARDENED so that he said: You are doing this by witchcraft: “You are bringing straw to Afarayim”— a city that is full of straw; thus you bring sorcery to Egypt, a land that is full of sorcery (Menachot 85a; Exodus Rabbah 9:6-7).

It is also possible that the sorcerers used the water which the Israelites had sold to the Egyptians according to Shemot Rabbah 9,10. Although we have explained that the average Egyptian had already realised that the miracle performed by Moses and Aaron was real, Pharaoh's attitude remained obstinate and he refused to see a qualitative difference between the magic of his own magicians and that of Moses and Aaron. This is why he did not examine if what his magicians had done was more than make-believe.