Why does the Torah write "ka'Es Machar" - "at this time, tomorrow" (Gur Aryeh - Rather than just 'Machar,' as it did by Makas Dever - see 9:5)?
Rashi: Moshe made a niche in the wall, 1 and said to Pharaoh that the following day, when the sun reaches that niche, the hail will begin to fall. 2
Oznayim la'Torah: Which it was possible to do, seeing as Makas Barad occurred by day. But it would be impossible to do this by Makas Bechoros, since it occurred by night - and Moshe was therefore forced to say "ka'Chatzos ha'Laylah" instead of 'ba'Chatzos.' Refer to 11:4:1:2.
See Sifsei Chachamim. If the hail began to fall in all of Egypt at that moment, the sky should have been full of clouds. It is an added wonder that the sun was shining. (PF)
What are the implications of the term "Kaved Me'od"?
Oznayim la'Torah: If the hail would merely have destroyed the trees, the term "Kaved" would have been applicable. Now that it contained fire which burned the broken pieces, it became "Kaved Me'od."
Why does the Torah add "b'Mitzrayim" - both here and in 9:24?
Ramban: This suggests that there were plagues of hail that were just as heavy as this one, 1 and it is only in Egypt, where it never rains, and where hail was a mind-boggling phenomenon, that the plague was unique. 2
Ramban: Such as that in Yehoshua 10:11; and that of Sedom, where it rained sulfur, salt and fire (as described in Devarim 29:22).
The Ramban queries the Midrash which states that there was never a plague like this one, neither in Egypt nor in the entire world.
Why is it emphasized that this plague of hail would be unprecedent in the history of Egypt?
Gur Aryeh (to 9:14): The four plagues in this set, Be'achav, were meant to teach that there is none like Hashem, that Hashem, Who brought the Makah, must also be without equal. 1
The current Pesukim relate what Hashem instructed Moshe to tell Pharaoh. Why does the Torah not inform us that Moshe passed on the message?
Ramban: The Torah often does this; it tells one half of the story, and takes the other half for granted. 1
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "'Ka'Es, Machar' - Moshe drew a notch on the wall...." Why in fact didn't Moshe set an exact time for other Makos (e.g. the Makah of Dever)?
Gur Aryeh: There would have been no point. The animals died out in the fields, 1 and Pharaoh would not see that they died at the precise moment that had been designated.
Maharal (Gevuros Hashem Ch. 33, p. 125): Hail can also come as a natural phenomenon. To demonstrate that it would be a miracle, Moshe had to show that he knew the exact moment of its arrival. The plagues of Arov, Dever and Arbeh, 2 on the other hand, are further away from being natural; it would suffice to predict what day they would arrive. 3
According to Rashi (to 9:10), the plague of Dever was limited to the animals in the fields, whereas those in the houses were spared. Refer to 9:3:1:1 and 9:10:1.1:1.
Gur Aryeh contrasts Barad only to Dever; but in Gevuros Hashem he contrasts it to all the other Makos that say "Machar" - namely Arov (8:19), Dever (9:5), and Arbeh (10:4).
By extension, any Makah which Moshe warned about, but did not even set a date for (i.e. Dam, Tzefarde'a), must have been so un-natural and obviously miraculous, that Moshe did not even have to predict the day it would arrive. (EK)
