The Lord said to Moshe: "Come to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order that I may place, אותותי אלה — these signs of Mine in his midst." (שמות י א)
In stark contrast with all the other plagues, G-d is not reported as having first described the nature of the ensuing plague of ארבה — Locusts. He simply states 'these signs' without details.
The emphasis on אלה — 'these' non-descriptive signs, seems superfluous. It could have just as well stated, "that I may place signs of mine in his midst."
The Yalkut Reuveini on this verse records a mystical teaching.
Pharoah knew the Name of G-d, מי, as Pharoah retorted to Moshe's requesting of him in the name of G-d to free his people," מי — Who is Hashem, that I should heed his voice?... (שם ה א), but the name of אלה he did not know. For this reason, the verse now states, "that I may place, אותותי אלה — these signs of Mine in his midst."
The Chasam Sofer in his book of homilies quotes this and writes the following:
Although these are mysteries beyond our ken, I will attempt to explain it in simple terms.
The Name of אל-הים is equal to the word הטבע — Nature (86). It also shares the letters of the phrase מי אלה — Who are these? When G-d conceals His presence and permits the world to function on apparent happenstance, He is termed מי — Who, since He is hidden and limiting our ability to know Who he is. But when he operates in the realm of miracles, manipulating nature as when He splits the sea, when we observe Him 'Eye to Eye' as the One standing and supervising us, then He is termed אלה — 'These', intimating an ability to clearly identify Him.
The Chasam Sofer goes on to explain that we accomplish the goal of coupling אלה to מי, thereby creating the full Name of אל-הים, by our clearly asserting that despite lack of visual awareness of G-d's presence, we ask not 'Who?' but affirm 'These' camouflaged events are evidence of G-d orchestrating them from on high.
The non-believers claim that G-d has abandoned man and is merely a מי, an uninvolved entity that is irrelevant whom they refer to cynically as 'Who?!'.
To this G-d instructs that His next אותות — 'signs' will awaken them to אלה, a G-d who will reveal His presence through 'These' very apparent manifestations of His absolute sovereignty.
But in what way was this plague greater than the preceding ones that would be more successful in conveying this reality?
More than any other plague, Pharoah was intentionally taunted throughout its onslaught as the verse clearly states that G-d's intention was for future generations to look back and see how התעללתי — "I made mockery of Egypt". (שם שם ב)
The Torah describes how after the plague of the violent hail destroys the crops, miraculously the stalks of wheat and the spelt remain standing. To all appearances G-d lacked the ability to strike at their entire food source. Empowered with this discovery Pharoah obtains a newly gained confidence in this 'realization'. Pharaoh once again takes back his words refusing to let them go. After all he knows better. Then suddenly, the rug is pulled out from beneath him. The next plague of locusts decimates whatever was left in the fields.
The locusts attack with ferocity, yet despite their decimating the remaining crops, are scooped up by the Egyptians and used as food and a wonderful source of protein.
Once again, Pharaoh descends into delusionary confidence and refuses to give in, empowered by his skewed perception. Outwitting the laughable Pharaoh, G-d sweeps away the marauding locust with a powerful western wind carrying away them all, including those salted and stored away.
The lack of this ability to give up one’s notion of reality was the downfall of Pharaoh.
When we gauge and draw our understanding of whatever we face solely from the source of all knowledge we can truly laugh at the folly of man, confident that our awareness is rooted in true reality. This is our most treasured weapon to healthily endure the many tests we face.
The strength to submit to an awareness of "I am Hashem", in every facet of life, is the key to the survival of our people.
The Chasam Sofer conjectures that the reason there was no assertion of the plague of Locusts prior to dispatching Moshe to speak to Pharoah, was because G-d permitted Moshe to devise on his own the nature of the plague. (תורת משה בא)
This became the first moment in the history of the Oral Law when Moshe through his own understanding of the Torah of G-d would decree and become reality.
The Torah and especially the Oral Law is the prism through which we see the real world. Without it we wander aimlessly through the delusion of a material world and its lure in mimicking Pharoah in thinking we control our lives independently from the directive of G-d.
With the Torah as our lens to reality, we approach every מי moment with the clarity of אלה, applying its lessons to direct us by G-d's intellect, not our own.
It is this message we must convey for all future generations in providing them the tools to navigate life and its challenges by the light of Torah, never fooling ourselves into thinking we can engage in any endeavor independent of its guidance.
And so that you may relate in the ears of your son and your son's son that I made a mockery of Egypt… that you may know that I am Hashem.
באהבה,
צבי יהודה טייכמאן
