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In our parasha (ibid. 7:9-10), Moshe and Aharon were told to perform the miracle of the staff before Pharaoh as well. They did so, and the Torah said that the staff turned into a tannin. This overlapping of stories indicates a connection between the snake and the tannin, one that exists in several places in Tanach. (A tannin can mean a snake, or it can mean an alligator, or, in some contexts, it can refer to a whale).
One such occurrence is in the story of creation, where it says that Hashem created the big tanninim (Bereishit 1:21). Rashi picks up on a missing letter in tanninim and says that it is referring to the Leviatan. The issue is that would it have reproduced, it would have destroyed the world, and, therefore, Hashem took away the female. Thus, the forces of evil and destruction, which are called tanninim in the first biblical narrative, find expression as the snake in the story of Adam and Chava.
The question that has troubled man from time immemorial is: who rules over evil in the world. Bnei Yisrael went into exile, specifically to Egypt, the society which reached the 49th level of impurity, and being in the "house of slavery," they were in the most vulnerable place within it. Our liberation from the house of slavery in Egypt shows that Hashem is everywhere, and no evil can keep Him out. Even Pharaoh, who thought he was an unstoppable leader, was far from that. In fact, the tannin represents Pharaoh metaphorically, as Yechezkel (29:3-4) says: "So says Hashem: I am upon you, Pharaoh the King of Egypt, the great tanim who lies within his rivers and says: ‘The rivers are mine and I made myself.’"
Turning the staff into a snake and back convinced Bnei Yisrael that there is an ultimate power in the world, a power which Pharaoh cannot overcome. To convince Pharaoh of the same, much more work was needed, as he was not ready to admit any limitations to his power. Only after a long process, ending with the Exodus and, soon thereafter, the splitting of the sea, was the stubborn leader left with no choice in the matter.
Rabbis in Midrash
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
P'ninat Mishpat A Non-Contractor in Changing Times – part I
(based on ruling 85128 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)
Moreshet Shaul Our King on Rosh Hashana, Our Father on Yom Kippur.
Based on Aroch Siach, p. 221 (Rav Shaul Yisraeli)
