The 10 Plagues

A key part of the Exodus story—they demonstrated G-d’s power and delivered justice to Egypt.

The 10 plagues of Egypt, from blood in the Nile to the death of the firstborn, were divine judgments to free the Israelites from Pharao's slavery.

Our job is to find the divine sparks hidden within each person, each object and each event, and let that shine.

See how much you know about the ten plagues with this fun quiz!

Expressing anger not only hurts others but destroys the person who is expressing anger.

Are thing supposed to be the way things are, or are things supposed to be the way things are supposed to be?

During the first three plagues the Jews were also affected. During the fourth the Jews were not affected. What was the difference?

If not for the frog, says the Midrash, how would the Almighty take retribution against Pharaoh? Why does the Midrash single out the frog when there were nine additional plagues?

All of creation may be divided into three categories: the good, the bad and the frogs

You're walking down the street when, suddenly, a hard object with sharp edges hits you smack in the middle of the forehead...

The purpose of the plagues was not only to punish the Egyptians, but to break their egos and false notions on G-d.

On the difference between Egypt and the Holy Land, and the inner significance of the Plague of Hail

Destructive Confidence, Cold Intimacy, Unhealthy Submission, Wild Ambition, Sly Compassion, Brutal Rejection, Frozen Love, Perverted Intelligence, a Locked Mind, and the Death of Identity...

When confronted with darkness, what do you do? fight it? peer more deeply into it? A dual lesson from the Plague of Darkness that afflicted the Egyptians

The Jewish people had light wherever they lived. Does it mean that the darkness did not affect the specific area where they dwelt? Or does it mean, more mysteriously that even in the Egyptian areas, there was light in the darkness?

Do you believe in G-d? That's not enough. Are you just a defender of the faith, or also a defender of the flock?

Obviously, the Egyptians did some really bad things, and something had to be done to free the children of Israel. But couldn’t G-d have found a more humane way to deal with the situation?

What was the purpose of the plagues?

How was Pharaoh punished for refusing to free the Israelites, if G‑d hardened his heart, making him immune to the plagues?

Our source of sustenance is neither regular nor predictable. It does not well up from a channel grooved in the earth, nor is it treaded up from a hole in the ground. Our eyes are forever trained upward, in hope and expectation, and in faith . . .

So this is the famous Torah portion where we read about the beginning of the end of the Egyptians. Why all the violence?

What lesson can we take from Pharaoh's promises to redeem the Jews and his subsequent reversals?

The ten plagues were not sent just to dismantle Egypt's infrastructure. They were powerful forces that provided the Jews with strategies for spiritual rehabilitation...

A similar global "recession" of sorts, is spoken about in the Torah, one that resulted in the emergence of a new world order that would forever change the course of history.

I stand in awe of my grandparents' generation, who fought two world wars and overcame a depression in the span of three short decades. But they had a solid work ethic and an unshakable confidence...

What of someone who awakens to the realization that he's allowed his evil inclination to assume control, and now wishes to reclaim the love for his G‑dly soul? How does one shake off a well-entrenched enemy?

Is there any significance to the number of plagues? Why the need for all 10?

Were the Egyptians somehow too powerful for G‑d to approach?