Page 40 - haggadah_2017.pub

Why Ten? ‐ Evan Shepetofsky (10th grade)

Why did G-d need ten plagues? Couldn't he just have made one? Why ten? According to Malkie Janowski, the
10 plagues “corresponded with the various elements that G‐d created in the world and affirm G-d’s omnipo-
tence.” The first plague, blood, shows that G-d rules over water. The second plague, frogs, shows that G-d rules
over all physical man-made creations. The third plague, lice, shows that G-d rules over the dust of the land. The
fourth plague, wild animals, shows that G-d rules over all of the animals of the land. The fifth plague, pesti-
lence, shows that G-d controls the air we breathe. The sixth plague, boils, shows that G-d can cause any living
person or animal to suffer or to be healed. The seventh plague, hail, shows that G-d controls the element of fire.
The eighth plague, locust, shows that G-d rules over the earth’s vegetation. In the ninth plague, darkness, G-d
demonstrated that only He can change that which is found in the sky. And finally, the tenth plague, death of the
firstborn, shows that G-d rules over the angels and the spiritual worlds. In short the ten plagues were done to
teach us that G-d rules everything and is sovereign over the entire universe.

Hodaya Vaknin—4th grade

Did All of the Egyptians Deserve to be Punished with the 10 Plagues? ‐

Esther Gerlitz (10th Grade)

In Shemot Perek אPasuk ,טwhen Pharaoh says that the Jewish nation is becoming too strong, the Egyptians do
not retaliate. The response in Pasuk איproves that, “They appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with
their burdens.” The Egyptians did not stop Pharaoh so it doesn't seem like they believed they were doing any-
thing wrong. This is similar to when Moshe was told by G-d to save the Jews but Moshe didn't think he could
make a difference. When Moshe warned the Egyptians about the plagues, it is not stated in the Torah that the
Egyptians wanted to change their ways. If the Egyptians stood up for the Jews, history might have been differ-
ent. Shadal teaches us that the Egyptians did deserve to be punished with the 10 plagues because they did not try
to stop Pharoah from killing the Jewish nation and enslaving them. Moshe stood up for the Jews and was the
"Egyptian" who made the difference between slavery and freedom. We can learn from this that everybody can
make a difference and we should all stand up for what we believe is right.