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In this week’s Parasha, Pharaoh is punished by the first plague, the blood plague of blood. Apparently, the blood plague would have sufficed. If Moses had said to Pharaoh "I will not stop the plague until you free Bnei Yisrael" (instead of relying on false promises), there is no doubt that, in the end, Pharaoh would have given in. That being the case, what was the necessity of ten plagues?
According to the simple ("pshat") explanation, even during the blood plague there was water that was not necessarily in the Nile River.
"And all the Egyptians dug about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river" (Exodus ch. 7, 24 – see Eben Ezra there). Although, even in such a situation, one cannot survive for long, being that the Nile River is the main water source in Egypt.
Furthermore, according to the drasha of our sages (based on the pasuk in Exodus 7, 19) everything in Egypt turned into blood, including water that was in the Egyptian’s homes "In all of the land of Egypt- even in the public bath houses and in the private bathrooms of people’s homes" (Rashi, ch. 7, 19). In this case, we return to our primary question, why were the rest of the plagues necessary?
It seems that the answer to this is that there was an independent significance to the rest of the plagues, aside from enabling Bnei Yisrael to be released from slavery. If we carefully and closely read the Psukim, we can see that the Torah repetitively mentions some sentences, such as "to the end that thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth" (Exodus 8, 18).
The purpose of the plagues, in this case, was to show G-d’s providence on earth. The plagues were inflicted, not solely to punish the Egyptians, nor solely to free Bnei Yisrael, but rather to also reveal G-d’s great name and existence in the world.
There may be an additional objective to the plagues, which we will be able to understand by exploring another question. The Torah describes how Hashem stiffens Pharaoh’s heart. If so, if his heart was stiffened, then how could it be possible that he was punished?
These two questions above can actually be integrated. It could be assumed that Hashem did not directly do anything to stiffen Pharaoh’s heart, but rather made Pharaoh be convinced that he could resist Hashem’s will. Throughout the infliction of the plagues this feeling became firmly entrenched in Pharaoh’s heart. Hashem punished Egypt with the blood plague. As a result, Pharaoh promises to release Bnei Yisrael from slavery, and following his promise the plague is withdrawn. So now, Pharaoh breaks his promise again, and his sense that he can mock Hashem by making promises and then breaking them, while concomitantly bringing the end of the plague, is strengthened.
In other words, stiffening Pharaoh’s heart was actually an action designed to give Pharaoh the feeling that it is he who is controlling the situation. Thus the reason for the ten plagues. Punishing Pharaoh was not problematic because Hashem did not stiffen his heart but rather created a situation in which Pharaoh could feel as if he were mocking and manipulating Hashem.
In reality, we too do not always clearly see Hashem’s supervision, eye to eye. If, in reality, we were to clearly see how, for every sin we are punished and for every good deed we are rewarded, we would not have free will, and thereby would automatically be fulfilling G-d’s will. However, we do have free will and Hashem gives us the opportunity to act as we wish, but it is up to us to be cautious and not to stiffen our own hearts, and not to feel as if we are free to do whatever we please. In essence, we are granted free will in order to recognize that true freedom is to fulfill Hashem’s will.
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.