CHAMISHOH MI YODEI'A - FIVE QUESTIONS ON THE WEEKLY SEDRAH - PARSHAS VO'EIRO 5772 - BS"D
1) Ch. 8, v. 6: "Va'yo'meir l'mochor" - And he said "tomorrow" - Given that this plague was exceedingly difficult, why would Paroh not demand that it be removed immediately?
2) Ch. 8, v. 9: "Va'yomusu hatzfardim" - And the frogs died - Didn't Moshe say that they would leave, "v'SORU hatzfardim" (verse 4)?
3) Ch. 8, v. 25: "V'sor he'orove" - And the mixture of wild animals will leave - The M.R. 10:6 says that although the frogs died and remained in Egypt, the wild animals did not. Had they died their carcasses and hides could have been beneficial for the Egyptians. This is why they were removed from the country. What other explanation is there for this difference?
4) Ch. 9, v. 19: "Ho'eiz es mik'n'cho" - Gather in your livestock - Here by "borod" Moshe advised Paroh how to have damage control. Why didn't he do the same earlier by "devver?"
5) Ch. 9, v. 34,35: "Va'yosef lachato, V'lo shilach" - And he continued to sin, And he did not send out - Every time that Paroh agreed to send the bnei Yisroel free when requesting Moshe to pray to bring a plague to a stop, when the plague stopped he would immediately change his mind. If so, why does the Torah point out specifically here that he continued to sin?
ANSWERS:
#1
Rashi says that Paroh asked for a one day delay in the removal of the frogs because he thought that Moshe knew that they would of themselves leave today. By requesting a delay he hoped to expose Moshe as not being the agent of Hashem. The Tur brings that Paroh meant, "I wish that they will be removed as early as tomorrow, for I fear that they will be here for a long time." He also offers that "tomorrow" is a continuation of Paroh's agreeing to set the bnei Yisroel free, "vaashalchoh es ho'om" (verse 4). When? "L'mochor."
#2
The Tur answers that "v'soru hatzfardim" means the plague of frogs would leave.
#3
The Tur says that on a simple level we can say that the frogs that became a plague came into existence through a miraculous population explosion. Once the plague drew to a croaking end the excess died. There was no increase in wild animals. The miracle was that they came to Egypt in great numbers. Once the plague was over they returned to their original locations.
#4
The reason Moshe did not advise Paroh to do the same by the plague of pestilence is because here humans would also be struck by the hail, while pestilence only killed livestock. Had the Egyptians heeded Moshe's warning the plague would not have had any effect.(Chizkuni)
It seems obvious that Chizkuni is of the school of thought that bringing the livestock into buildings would have protected them (Rashi's opinion). However, according to those (Ramban, etc.) who posit that pestilence killed the livestock wherever they were, Chizkuni's question does not begin.
#5
This is because earlier he still wasn't convinced that Hashem was the Supreme Master, even over him. Now that he admitted that Hashem is the Righteous One and he and his people are the wicked ones (verse 27), he totally recognized Hashem's dominion. By not doing Hashem's bidding after this realization he is now an intentional sinner. (Rashbam)
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