(22) Moses held out his arm toward the sky and thick darkness descended upon all the land of Egypt for three days. (23) People could not see one another, and for three days no one could get up from where he was; but all the Israelites enjoyed light in their dwellings.
ויהי חשך אפלה … שלשת ימים — there was darkness of gloom when no man saw another during those three days, and there was moreover another period of three days’ darkness twice as thick as this when no man rose from his place: one who happened to be sitting when this second period of darkness began was unable to rise, and one who was then standing was unable to sit down. (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Bo 1; Exodus Rabbah 14:3).
"Watch out now, take care
beware the thoughts that linger
winding up inside your head -
The hopelessness around you
in the dead of night
Beware of sadness"
This last quote, which sounds as if it could have been a direct warning from Gd directly to Pharaoh, comes from a song written by George Harrison called "Beware of Darkness".
The song appeared on his triple album masterpiece "All Things Must Pass" - which most people (including critics) hold as being the finest release from any of the four solo Beatles and will celebrate its golden anniversary at the end of November.
What is it about the plague of darkness that distinguishes it from its predecessors and why darkness of all things?
To date, we've seen the decimation of Egypt - the first couple of plagues were more of an irritant than a serious threat.
Blood, frogs and lice were not exactly pleasant, but at least they didn't result in too much damage to humans or animals.
The wild animals were ferocious and deadly but you could avoid them if you stayed indoors.
Plague number 5 decimated the cattle, so as bad things were, at least the Egyptian vegetarians weren't too bothered and no doubt, there were many more after the end the plague!
Even boils, painful as they were didn't present a mortal threat.
Things however started changing with the hailstones. They were deadly - both in human cost and the impact on the economy, with the crops being destroyed as a result of impact - both carnivores and omnivores amongst the Egyptians were now disadvantaged.
The locusts gave the "coup de grace" by mopping up any remnants of food with their unrelenting attack on any food that might have remained:
So by the time we get to Plague Number 9, you have a population that is both battered, bruised and most important, hungry. The skin has properties to heal from most conditions, not least boils, but hunger cannot be eradicated so easily.
Which brings us to the plague of darkness.
A strange follow-on from the dramatic events described in Plague number 8.
Notwithstanding Rashi's vivid description of the "viscosity" as it were, of darkness as though it had been turned into a thick broth of air, that turned Egyptians into living versions of the Pompeii statues - frozen in their respective stance - whether standing or sitting. It can't have been pleasant but certainly not life-threatening.
(the Midrash does tell us though, that during this plague, four fifths of the Israelites who didn't merit to leave Egypt were killed by Gd, but that is another sermon).
What was Gd trying to teach the Egyptians by punishing them with a plague of the night?
"Beware of darkness!"
A few weeks ago, Stephnie and I visited the Saatchi Gallery to see the remarkable exhibition on Tutankhamun. It really is worth visiting before it disappears in May.
There were many elements that we found fascinating, not least the descriptions of how the Egyptians relied on magic and their obsession with the dead - whilst as the same reading the Torah's narrative regarding the way in which the magicians were able to replicate a number of the early plagues and we are later warned (in the Book of Devarim) to stay away from those who speak to the dead.
The central figure in Egyptian religious belief was the sun god Ra. They thought that he ruled all parts of the created world, the sky, the earth and from the point of view of the Book of the Dead, which the Egyptians venerated - the underworld.
In short, he was the god of the sun, the order of the world (maat), kings and even the sky.
This was made abundantly clear in the exhibition and featured heavily in the reasons why the body of Tutankhamun, the boy king was surrounded by so many artefacts.
Even the kings named themselves after this gd - Rameses - means "born of Ra".
If you recall, last week, I drew your attention to another little known view of the rationale for the Exodus. By foisting the plagues on the Egyptians, Gd is sending a clear message to Pharaoh, that there is only one Gd and it ain't the man with the statue!
It also isn't Ra - the sun god. So after everything that Gd has brought upon the Egyptians, in term of material and physical pain, there has to be a plague set aside to attack the very core of their belief - remove the sun from their lives. Bring darkness - Gd has destroyed the god the Nile - he has mocked the idea that different gods control fire and ice - with the plague of hailstones (fire inside ice) - now, the coup de grace is to show the Egyptians that Gd has mastery over the belief that rules everything else - Gd removes Ra from the Egyptian vista - it's simply a masterstroke.
George Harrison probably didn't realise it, but by calling one of his songs "Beware of Darkness", he was striking a very ancient anvil. Gd's message to the Egyptians and to Pharaoh was to beware of darkness, because the entitities that they worshipped were as shallow as the delta that the Israelites inhabited.
Yes, appreciate the gifts that nature provides - the Nile, the luscious crops - Egypt, the breadbasket of the known world - but never forget that a Pharaoh, whatever he might call himself - is a man, not a god.
There is only one Gd and he will take the Israelites out of Egypt, when he chooses and the manner in which he does so and if it takes nine plagues to get the message across, then so be it.
That Pharaoh did not choose the heed the warning and for a final time, Gd hardened the heart that Pharaoh did not have the willingness to open.
Which meant that only one last plague could change his mind and it would hit him so hard - the death of his own first born son - that he would finally acknowledge the mastery of Gd as the only ruler of the universe.
Many suns have risen and set since the darkness that enveloped Egypt stopped the Magicians in their tracks and the ordinary Egyptians in their frozen stances.
Tutankhamun's secrets, hidden beneath the myriad layers of sand for three millennia were finally revealed almost 100 years ago. That they highlight a culture steeped in the artificial sunlight of Ra and the forbidding darkness of the underworld attests to their falability yet - the fascinating parallel descriptions in our Torah, at the same time, attests to the Majesty of Gd and His miraculous rescue of our people over 3,300 years ago.
Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu. Hashem Echad.
Shabbat Shalom.