Darkness Gives Way To Light

When we read Parashat Bo(Ex.10:1-13:16), our attention is almost inevitably drawn to the drama of the Tenth Plague—the Death of the Firstborn. It is final, devastating, unmistakable. And yet, the fate of Egypt was sealed during the previous plague.

To understand why, we must look back to a moment that took place 430 years before the Exodus, at the very dawn of Israel’s destiny. At the “Covenant Between the Pieces”, God makes a brit with Avraham that defines Jewish history before it ever begins. The Torah describes the moment with striking precision:

“As the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Avraham; and behold—dread, great darkness fell upon him.” - Genesis 15:12

This occurred on the 15th day of Spring( Aviv), the very date when Israel would later leave Egypt—Avraham is enveloped in terror and thick darkness, as God speaks plainly to the patriarch that his descendants:

"... will be strangers in a land not their own; they will be enslaved and oppressed; but God will judge the nation that enslaves them, and afterward they will leave with great wealth. - Genesis 15:13-14

From the very beginning, redemption is framed as judgment. And judgment is framed in fast forward four centuries, we see dEgypt has withstood plague after plague. And still, Pharaoh refuses to yield. Then comes the ninth plague:

“There was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. They could not see one another, and no man rose from his place.” - Exodus 10:23

Egypt’s own historical monuments tell of a time when the gods were angry with Egypt. Texts speak of storms and darkness. Chaos ruled and even the gods were subject to punishment.

Years ago, during my first journey to Egypt to shoot footage for my documentary, Riddle of the Exodus, I visited a small museum in the town of Ismailia, near the Suez Canal. There I photographed a black granite naos (shrine) inscribed during the Ptolemaic period of Egypt when it was under the sway of Greece. The stone box-like carved stone was covered with hieroglyphs that recounted a dramatic saga that had gripped Egypt centuries prior to the arrival of the country’s Hellenist rulers. The little shrine, now known as the El Arish Stone, named for the location of its discovery, tells of great upheaval in the natural order, as well as a darkness so thick,

“….Neither the men nor the gods could see the faces of their next.”

This remarkable inscription also tells of a battle that breaks out between the Egyptian army and “evil doers” at a place called Pekarti, which sounds very much like a site, in the Book of Exodus known as Pi-Hakirot, the place where Israel camped before they crossed through the Reed Sea, followed by the drowning of the Egyptian forces.

The author standing behind the El Arish Stone as he talks to a museum guard.

When the Tenth and final Plague strikes Egypt’s first-born it is an unmistakable sign of God’s promise spoken 430 years earlier, at the Covenant Between the Pieces.

Darkness frames both the promise and its fulfillment.

On the 15th day of Spring (Aviv), Avraham was enveloped in deep darkness (a hint of the 9th Plague) when God tells him that his descendants would be oppressed—that God would judge the nation that enslaved them, and they would leave with great wealth. The Tenth Plague fulfills the ancient warning given to Avraham: “I will judge the nation that enslaves them.” (See Shemot Rabba 18:1)

"HaShem, Open my eyes, that I may see wonders in Your Torah.." - Psalm 119:18.