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The one plague seldom represented in cinematic depictions of the Exodus story is the fourth – Arov – the plague of wild beasts unleashed upon Egypt, as it says, “Send out My people that they may serve Me. For if you do not send out My people, behold, I shall incite against you, your servants, your people, and your houses, the swarm of wild beasts; and the houses of Egypt shall be filled with the swarm, and even the ground upon which they are” (Shemot 8:17). For some reason, this particular plague seems the most difficult to imagine – ferocious animals, vicious birds of prey, poisonous insects and reptiles wreaking havoc upon the land of Egypt, attacking people and invading homes – it’s all too horrible to contemplate! And yet, the unimaginable plague of Arov may have been the one plague Pharaoh could understand most concretely.
In his sefer HaKtav v’HaKabbalah, Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenberg makes the following observation: When Moshe tells Pharaoh of the impending fourth plague, he describes it as “the swarm of wild beasts.” Why does Moshe say “the swarm,” something very specific, as opposed to “a swarm of wild beasts”? Says Rabbi Mecklenberg, “this is because Moshe is showing Pharaoh something he can see with his own eyes and discern for himself. For on the walls of Pharaoh’s throne room were depictions of all kinds of animals, insects and reptiles. These animals were worshipped by the Egyptians as gods. Therefore, Moshe, pointing to the animal pictures on the wall, said to Pharaoh, “Look! This swarm that you see, these insects and creatures you have chosen to worship, they will come upon your land and devastate it.” Why does Moshe have to point to animal pictures on the wall to show Pharaoh what the next plague will look like? Is Pharaoh so dense that he needs concrete visual aids?
One of the ways Pharaoh was able to deceive himself into thinking he could outmaneuver God was by taking solace in the words, spells and signs of his diviners, court magicians and cult priests. When they could imitate certain wonders and plagues, they did so to prove to Pharaoh that their gods could match the might of the God of Israel. Thus, Moshe goes to Pharaoh and shows him the pictures of the very gods he has faith in, and he says, “These beasts you worship, these beasts you pray to, these beasts you think can rival the power of God will themselves turn on you and your land at God’s command. There is no force or authority in this world greater than God, and you will learn that the gods you revere are nothing more than pictures on a wall.” The fourth plague effectively took away any impression Pharaoh had of Egyptian spiritual superiority as both he and all of his people would be terrorized by the personifications of their deities come to life in aggressively horrible fashion. After the fourth plague, which Egyptian could even think to pray for help from the gods they believed ravaged their communities, homes and properties?
While the plague of Arov may get less screen time than the others in modern representations, its import and impact was profound, and changed the way Pharaoh and his courtiers would consider the veracity of their own truth claims. The plague of Arov showed Pharaoh that the beasts he thought of as gods were squarely in God’s control, and that there is no other spiritual authority to appeal to except God. Moshe showed Pharaoh pictures, Pharaoh saw his gods, and all of Egypt saw the truth of God’s awesome power unleash itself upon the land – a truth that would take six more plagues to come to fully terms with.
Shabbat Shalom!
-Rabbi Dan
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