וְלֹֽא־יָכְל֣וּ הַֽחַרְטֻמִּ֗ים לַעֲמֹ֛ד לִפְנֵ֥י מֹשֶׁ֖ה מִפְּנֵ֣י הַשְּׁחִ֑ין כִּֽי־הָיָ֣ה הַשְּׁחִ֔ין בַּֽחֲרְטֻמִּ֖ם וּבְכָל־מִצְרָֽיִם׃
און די חַרטומים האָבן ניט געקענט שטײן פֿאַר משהן פֿון װעגן דעם גרינד, װאָרום דער גרינד איז געװען אױף די חַרטומים אַזױ װי אױף גאַנץ מִצרַיִם.
Rambam
But the ten miracles that were performed for our ancestors in Egypt are their salvation from the ten plagues and that each of the ten plagues were specifically on the Egyptians and not on Israel. And these are miracles without a doubt. And the language of the Torah in each and every plague is that the Holy One, blessed be He, brought it [only] on the Egyptians. Except for the plague of lice - as [there] it did not make this clear, but it is known that He did not punish Israel. Rather [the lice] were found with [the Israelites as well], but they did not distress them. And so did the sages elucidate. But with the other plagues, the matter was clarified [in the text]. It stated about the blood (Exodus 7:21), "and the Egyptians could not drink water from the river" - a proof that that the damage reached them alone. And it stated with the frogs (Exodus 7:28), "and they will come into your house and into your bedrooms, etc." And it stated with the mixture of animals (Exodus 8:18), "And I will distinguish on that day the Land of Goshen, etc." And it stated about the pestilence (Exodus 9:6), "but of the livestock of the Israelites not one died." And it sated about the boils (Exodus 9:11), "as the boils were upon the magicians and and upon all of Egypt." And it stated with the hail (Exodus 9:26), "Only in the Land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail." And it stated with the locusts (Exodus 10:14), "And locusts went up upon all the Land of Egypt." And it stated with darkness (Exodus 10:23), "and for all the children of Israel, there was light in their dwellings." But the ten miracles that were at the Sea is a received tradition. The first is the splitting of the water like the simple understanding of the verse, "and the water split" (Exodus 14:21). The second is that after the sea split, it became like a tent until it turned into a type of roof - and not of beams and not slanted - and the path was as if there was a hole in the water and the water was on the right and on the left and on top. It is [like] the statement of Habakuk 3:14, "You have pierced with his rods, the head of his rulers." The third is that its ground became hard and solid, as it states (Exodus 14:29), "walked on dry land" - and there did not remain any clay and mud like in other rivers. The fourth is that the paths of the Egyptians were in quicksand, and that is its stating (Habakuk 3:14), "the clay of great waters." The fifth is that it split into twelve paths like the number of tribes like a curved bow, as per this drawing. And that is its stating (Psalms 136:13), "To tear the Reed Sea into pieces." The sixth is that the water congealed and became as hard as boulders. And about this, it stated (Psalms 74:13), "you broke the head of the 'sea monsters' upon the waters" - meaning to say that the waters hardened to the point that they went back in such a way that heads would break on them. And the seventh is that it did not congeal like the solidifying of other waters that congeal - meaning to say [into] one piece, but rather [into] many pieces, as if they were [building] stones and they were arranged some on top of others. And that is its stating (Psalms 74:13), "You crumbled the sea with Your power." The eighth is that it congealed like glass or onyx - meaning to say, it was clear to the point that some of [the tribes] would see each other in their crossing it. And this is its stating (Psalms 18:12), "the darkness of the waters, the clouds of the sky," which is to say that the gathering of waters was 'like the essence of the sky in purity' - which is clear. The ninth - that sweet water would flow from it and they would drink it. The tenth is that it would congeal at the time that it flowed, after they took what they drank from it - to the point that it would not fall to the ground. And that is its stating (Exodus 15:8), "they stood up like a flowing stack" - meaning to say the thing that was flowing congealed in the heart of the sea. And in the tradition we found that more plagues came upon the Egyptians at the Sea than the plagues that came upon them in Egypt. And the hint to this is in its stating (I Samuel 4:8), "He is the same God who struck the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness" - meaning to say in the Wilderness of the Reed Sea. But the ten trials that our ancestors tested the Omnipresent are all words of Scripture. The first is at the Sea in their saying "Are there no graves in Egypt" (Exodus 14:11). And the second is at Marah - that is its stating (Exodus 15:24), "And they complained about Moshe, saying, 'What will we drink?'" And the third is in the Wilderness of Sin when they asked for the manna. And that is its stating (Exodus 16:3), "And who will give that our death be at the hand of God, etc." And the fourth is their leaving manna over until the morning. And that is its stating (Exodus 16:20), "and men left over from it until the morning." And the fifth is their rebellion in seeking manna on the Shabbat day, as it is stated (Exodus 16:27), "And it was on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather." And the sixth is their rebellion at Refidim, also over water. And the seventh is at Chorev with the story of the [golden] calf. And the eighth is at Taverah when they become doubtful at that place with the speaking of the grumblers. And that is its saying (Numbers 11:1), "And the people were like grumblers." And the ninth is at Kivrot HaTaavah (the graves of desire), when they asked for meat - its saying (Numbers 11:4), "And the mixed multitude that was within them desired a desire." And the tenth is in the Wilderness of Paran with the matter of the spies. And there it stated (Numbers 14:22), "and they have tried Me these ten times and they did not listen to My voice."
Or HaChaim
The sixth plague, painful boils on the skin, also did not move Pharaoh to prayer as it was not a life-threatening situation although for the first time even his magicians did not remain immune.
Maaseh Nissim
Rabbi Yehudah abbreviated the plagues with their initials: What purpose is served in grouping the plagues together in this fashion and abbreviating them?
Organizing and abbreviating the plagues in this fashion is a way of showing the overall order of the plagues. The plagues are grouped into three subsets of three plagues each with the final plague a climax to the all of them. Each subset follows a pattern of two plagues with warnings and the third without any warning at all. Each subset of plagues was meant to teach the people a lesson unique to that group of plagues. The lesson is not complete and obvious until the third plague in each grouping of plagues.
D’ztach - Blood, Frogs, and Lice: The first group of plagues was meant to teach the people that God punishes those who transgress the will of God. The Egyptians were warned twice and only in the third plague do the magicians and the people of Egypt acknowledge God’s great power when they say of the plagues, “It is the finger of God!” (Exodus8:15) Only with the third plague do they realize that one can’t defy the will of God.
Adash – Wild beasts, Pestilence, and Boils: The second group of plagues is singled out because we are told that they struck the Egyptians but not the Israelites. (Exodus 8:18) The magicians of Egypt could only protect themselves from these plagues until we reach the sixth plague.” The Magicians were unable to confront Moses because of the inflammation…” (Exodus 9:11)
Ba’achav – Hail, Locusts, Darkness, the Death of the First Born: The final group of plagues taught the Egyptians that these plagues were not merely chance or a product of the astrological signs (Mazel ), but the actual hand of God. First, these plagues are so extraordinary and out of the normal course of nature that they must be a product of divine. And second, the plague of darkness proves that it is not simply bad astrological signs changing the luck of the Israelites and the Egyptians. The final plague drives home this lesson. Lest one think that this is the work of an angel or some type of supernatural being, the final plague proves this is not so. Only God has the power to differentiate between the “sperm” of the firstborn and all others.
Organizing and abbreviating the plagues in this fashion is a way of showing the overall order of the plagues. The plagues are grouped into three subsets of three plagues each with the final plague a climax to the all of them. Each subset follows a pattern of two plagues with warnings and the third without any warning at all. Each subset of plagues was meant to teach the people a lesson unique to that group of plagues. The lesson is not complete and obvious until the third plague in each grouping of plagues.
D’ztach - Blood, Frogs, and Lice: The first group of plagues was meant to teach the people that God punishes those who transgress the will of God. The Egyptians were warned twice and only in the third plague do the magicians and the people of Egypt acknowledge God’s great power when they say of the plagues, “It is the finger of God!” (Exodus8:15) Only with the third plague do they realize that one can’t defy the will of God.
Adash – Wild beasts, Pestilence, and Boils: The second group of plagues is singled out because we are told that they struck the Egyptians but not the Israelites. (Exodus 8:18) The magicians of Egypt could only protect themselves from these plagues until we reach the sixth plague.” The Magicians were unable to confront Moses because of the inflammation…” (Exodus 9:11)
Ba’achav – Hail, Locusts, Darkness, the Death of the First Born: The final group of plagues taught the Egyptians that these plagues were not merely chance or a product of the astrological signs (Mazel ), but the actual hand of God. First, these plagues are so extraordinary and out of the normal course of nature that they must be a product of divine. And second, the plague of darkness proves that it is not simply bad astrological signs changing the luck of the Israelites and the Egyptians. The final plague drives home this lesson. Lest one think that this is the work of an angel or some type of supernatural being, the final plague proves this is not so. Only God has the power to differentiate between the “sperm” of the firstborn and all others.