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There is a correlation between the Ten Commandments and the Ten Plagues
- 04 April 2023
- 11:09 pm
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- 04 April 2023
- 11:09 pm
Scenes from Exodus. Full-page miniature, upper register: the tenth plague: the death of the first-born including Pharaoh’s son, lower regsiter: the Israelites leaving Egypt. From the Haggadah for Passover (the ‘Sister Haggadah’). (Image: British Library via Wikipedia)
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The mysterious order of the Pesach Seder and the diversity of the component parts of the Haggadah have fascinated commentators as well as everyday Jews for centuries. Here’s a question for your consideration: How many plagues were there?
Immediately after the stage in the Haggadah when the Ten Plagues are named comes the part where we find Rabbi Yossi the Galilean initiating the very strange topic of the number of plagues that the ancient Egyptians were punished with.
This part of the Haggadah immediately precedes the section where the joyous song Dayenu is found. The three quoted rabbis in this portion in the Haggadah lived over 1,800 years ago.
Rabbi Yossi explains that there were actually 60 plagues. Rabbi Eliezer is then quoted for his take on this that there were 240 plagues. Finally, Rabbi Akiva differs with his fellow rabbis and takes the view that there were 300 plagues.
What is going on here? It is made plain in the Torah that there are Ten Plagues. Why did this debate take place at all? What’s more, why was this strange discussion thought to be important enough to be included at all in the Haggadah? Doesn’t this whole topic seem extraneous?
One way to understand all of this is with a little math. First count these three punishments “Blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke,” then add the the Ten Plagues, and also include the 600 plagues as given by the three rabbis for a total of 613 plagues.
In Jewish tradition 613 is the number of mitzvot / commandments given to the Jewish People. Classic Torah commentators have long explained that there is a correlation between the Ten Commandments and the Ten Plagues. With that idea in mind the reason that there are 613 plagues present in the Haggadah is a sign to the Jewish People that if we observe the 613 commandments then G-d will have cause to punish our enemies with 613 plagues.
Another thought: The three rabbis were each seeking to calculate the highest number of plagues that they could in order to illustrate G-d’s love for the Jewish People, due to their view that each plague inflicted upon the ancient Egyptians was punishment and revenge for the horrific torture during our enslavement as well as the order to slaughter all newborn Jewish boys.
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There are deep, ancient connections between circumcision, boys, and the Seder.
Perhaps this is why the identical verse from Tanach is utilized as a message at both the Passover Seder and at the brit milah, ceremony of circumcision:
“I passed over you and saw you wallowing in your bloods, and I said to you ‘By your blood you shall live,’ and I said to you ‘By your blood you shall live!’ (Ezekiel 16:6)
It is explained by Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488–1575), in his masterwork on halakha titled “Shulchan Aruch” (known as “The Code of Jewish Law” in English) that the mitzvah of circumcision “is greater than any of the other positive commandments.”
Karet, the severe Torah punishment of spiritual excision, applies in only two instances involving positive mitzvot and those are the commandments of circumcision and the Passover offering. What’s more a man cannot partake of the Passover offering is he is not circumcised.
The Jewish People exist today due to our being rescued by G-d from destructive enslavement in ancient Egypt. We recall this fact every day at every prayer service and not just at the Passover seder. We were liberated by G-d because he loves the Jewish People.
We show our appreciation for that love through the observance of the mitzvot. The Haggadah can be used as a guide to bring this appreciation into our souls and continue it throughout the entire year.
Moshe Phillips is a commentator on Jewish affairs whose writings appear regularly in the American and Israeli press. He was a U.S. delegate to the 38th World Zionist Congress in 2020. His views are his own.
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Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.
We do news differently!
Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.
We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.
But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!
Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.
Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.
We thank you for your ongoing support.
Happy reading!
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