Questions on Parshas Va’eira to think about and discuss:

1. What is a good way of remembering how many plagues are found in which parsha?
2. The second plague was tzefardaia. What animal was this?
3. What famous thing happened from the actions of the tzefardaia?
4. How long was each plague for?
5. Where do some people find a Jewish source for a magic wand?
6. Which plague continued happening later in history?
7. What is the pattern in the ten plagues?
8. Chazal tell us that there are four expressions of redemption. But if you look in the pesukim you will actually find five expressions. Which four do chazal pick and why not also count the fifth one?
9. Moshe says that he is an ערל שפתים, “closed lips”, and therefore Paro will not listen to him and instead Moshe tells the instructions to Aaron who then says it over to Paro. Surely Moshe could be understood as he spoke to the Jews. Why then was speaking to Paro different?
10. Hashem’s says he will harden Paro’s heart. What about bechira, free choice? How could the pathway of teshuva be closed to Paro?
11. The pesukim say that Moshe did miracles and uses two descriptions: אות and מופת. What is the difference between them?
12. What lies behind the significance when Moshe and Aaron come before Paro and does the miracle of the Mata changing to a snake and eating up the other snakes of the magicians? Why not change it to another animal?
13. When Aaron threw the stick down to change into a snake, whose Mata was it? Was it Moshe’s Mata that he handed to Aaron or did Aaron have his own special Mata?
14. Is there really such a thing as magic?
15. Rashi (6:26) brings that it brings Aaron’s name before Moshe’s to teach us that the two were equal. How can we equate someone who received the Torah to a Kohen Godol?
16. Rashi (7:19) brings that Aaron performed the first few plagues since the water had protected Moshe. Water has no feeling so why then could Moshe not strike them?
17. Why is the first plague that of Blood?
18. Why was there the need for exactly ten makos? Why not just have one or a few?
19. What is the significance of the Jews being enslaved and leave the country of Mitzrayim more than any other country?
20. When the Torah wants to trace the ancestry of Moshe it starts from Reuven. Why not juts start from Sheivet Levi?
21. Why does the possuk (7:7) need to tell us that age of Moshe, Aaron and Miriam at the time of the plagues?
22. What is a pattern of the division of the ten plagues?
23. Why are the ten plagues split over two parshious? Why split them into seven and three when we know from the siman of דצ”ך עד”ש באח”ב that it splits the last group into four?
24. Why by the plague of blood did the fish also have to die? Why were the fish punished?
25. If the aim was to not allow the Egyptians to have water than this could have been achieved in other ways – e.g. dry up all the water. What then was the addition of there being water to the Jews but blood for the Egyptians?

Ideas for answers on the general parsha:

1. If you take the first two letters of the hebrew name of the parsha, וארא, it has the gematria of 7 alluding to the first seven plagues that appear in this parsha. The gematria of the Hebrew name of Parshas Bo, בא, is 3 alluding to the last three plagues that appear in it.
2. The common understanding is that it is frogs. However, Rabbeinu Chananel holds it is crocodiles.
3. The Gemora (Pesochim 53b) learns Chananya, Mishoel and Azarya learnt from the frogs’ actions of jumping into the ovens to be willing to be thrown into the furnace for carrying out the will of Hashem.
4. The Midrash brings two opinions – R’ Yehuda nad R’ Nechemia. They both agree that each plague lasted for one month. One holds that the first three weeks was the warning and then one week of the plague. The other holds the reverse – one week of warning followed by three weeks of plague.
5. Some see it from Moshe’s mata, his stick, since it was moved around before performing lots of miracles.
6. The plague of borod, hailstones. It had stopped in midair and continued to fall when Yehoshua was chasing the enemy who came to attack the Givoinim.
7. The Malbim says that the ten plagues are to be split into three groups of three while the tenth one of Makos Bechoiros is separate since with it the Jews were sent out. Each group had the first two plagues preceded with a warning with the third plague without any warning. The first plague’s warning was given in the morning and the second plague’s warning was given at midday.
8. The meforshim on the Haggoda Shel Pesach discuss this…
9. See Rashi (7:2) who adds that Aaron would have somehow spiced up the words. Perhaps meaning that Aaron was an eloquent speaker.
10. Rashi (7:3) brings that the first five times Paro himself hardened his heart. This means that any future repentance would be insincere although to people it would look sincere. Therefore people would later have complaints how despite the teshuva could Hashem punish him. To avoid this Hashem took away his bechira for teshuva (See Sifsei Chachomim). The Ramban brings that Paro’s wickedness led him to oppress the Jews for no good reason. It is therefore only correct to stop teshuva from such a person. (Cf. Rambam in Hilchos Teshuva 6:3)
11. Ramban (7:3) says that Ois means a sign of something that will later happen while Moifes is a change done now changing nature.
12. The Ibn Ezra (7:10) brings it was Moshe’s Mata while the Zohar brings it was Aaron’s own Mata.
13. There is an argument amongst the commentaries – see the Kli Yokor.
14. There is a big disagreement about the reality of magic. The Rambam (Hilchos Avoda Zora 11:16) holds that magic is not real only imaginary. However, the Ramban (Shoftim 18:9) and many others say that there is a power to magic.
15. The equating Moshe and Aaron means that each one was equal in totally fulfilling their potential in life with their own capabilities.
16. To water as the protector it made no difference if Moshe would strike it. But here it was from the perspective of Moshe, the receiver, that he should have Hakoras Hatov and recognize the benefit of something and not touch it is what we are being taught.
17. Rashi brings because the Egyptians were so reliant on the Nile they therefore treated it as a god and therefore their god was struck first.
18. Ten is a special number that is linked to the Ten Sefiros…
19. Egypt at that time was the superpower and therefore the Jews miraculous escape from there would reveal Hashem and the Jews as His Nation worldwide.
24. The fish ate the bodies of the Jewish baby boys thrown into it.
25. Like in all the plagues there was the idea of contrast – the superpower lowered in suffering while the Jews at the same time being raised up.