G‑d
reveals Himself to Moses. Employing the “four expressions of redemption,” He promises to
take out the Children of Israel from Egypt,
deliver them from their enslavement,
redeem them, and
acquire them as His own chosen people at Mount Sinai; He will then bring them to the land He promised to the Patriarchs as their eternal heritage.
Moses and Aaron repeatedly come before Pharaoh to demand in the name of G‑d, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness.” Pharaoh repeatedly refuses. Aaron’s
staff turns into a
snake and swallows the magic sticks of the Egyptian sorcerers. G‑d then sends a series of
plagues upon the Egyptians.
The waters of the Nile turn to
blood; swarms of frogs overrun the land;
lice infest all men and beasts. Hordes of
wild animals invade the cities; a
pestilence kills the domestic animals; painful
boils afflict the Egyptians. For the seventh plague, fire and ice combine to descend from the skies as a devastating
hail. Still, “the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and he would not let the children of Israel go, as G‑d had said to Moses.”
