• Table For Five

Why did God bring the plague of locusts?

Table for Five: Bo

Edited by Nina Litvak & Salvador Litvak, the Accidental Talmudist

Locusts invaded all the land of Egypt and settled within all the territory of Egypt in a thick mass; never before had there been so many, nor will there ever be so many again.   

Ex. 10:14

Nili Isenberg, Pressman Academy Judaics Faculty

There’s a reason why disasters like the LA fires have been described as being of “biblical proportions.”  At times like this we are forced to consider Divine providence.  The Talmud (Brakhot 5a) advises, “If a person is suffering, he should examine his actions.”  In the wake of the plague of locusts, Pharaoh himself admitted (Exodus 10:16), “I have sinned to God.”

The silver screen has always had a morbid fascination with disasters of biblical proportions.  But did you know that DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments” did not include locusts as one of the plagues because the filmmakers couldn’t figure out how to depict them?  The 1937 film adaptation of Pearl S. Buck’s novel “The Good Earth” was an early film that successfully depicted this plague by capturing footage of an actual locust swarm in Utah for the scene.

Buck’s 1931 novel recounts: “There came out of the south one day a small slight cloud. The men of the village watched it, and fear hung over them. Some said, ‘Heaven has ordained that this year we shall starve.’  Then the sky grew black, and the air was filled with the deep still roar of many wings beating, and upon the land the locusts fell.”

And if you really want to know the fear of God (or Science?), jump to the 2020 depiction of giant prehistoric locusts in Jurassic World Dominion.  At the end of the day, the film warns us that some of our worst problems are those of our own making.

Rabbi Eva Robbins, Co-Rabbi, Nvay Shalom & Faculty, AJRCA

As we begin to recover from a modern plague in our times, uncontrollable fire, there is a deeper empathic sense of the impact of the plagues in Egypt. When nature turned into a consuming monster, fear for the Egyptians must have been profound. After losing life-sustaining water, the animals that provided dairy and meat, suffering personal indignation and pain from lice and boils, and then massive and powerful balls of hail, we meet the eighth plague, locusts, which are grasshoppers run amuck. Most often following a drought and then rapid vegetation, serotonin in their brains causes them to breed abundantly, becoming gregarious, stripping fields and damaging crops. Feeling traumatized, the Egyptians now faced impending death. Every source of nurturance was stripped away making us wonder why the last two plagues are even necessary. But the goal was not just to punish and bring just retribution to the people who had enforced Pharaoh’s commands but also make them suffer psychologically and spiritually by minimizing the power of their gods through each of the ten constructs targeted by Adonai, diminishing them in comparison to the Gd of the Israelites. Seth, associated with their nurturing fields and grains, was destroyed before the people and Pharaoh as well. The plagues were an unending attack on all they believed and depended on. Breaking their spirits and Pharaoh’s self-complacent arrogance was the goal. In some way we understand what this feels like, humbled and aware of our impact on climate change and the earth’s future.

Alissa Thomas-Newborn, BCC/Rabbanit/Congregation Netivot Shalom and NewYork-Presbyterian

Our rabbis discuss whether the locusts in Egypt were truly unparalleled, when locusts are also mentioned in Sefer Yoel. Possible answers include there being one kind of locust in Egypt and many species during the time of Yoel, distinguishing the two (with Yoel’s being worse). Or that our verse is the only time a prophet predicts such a plague, rather than describing it unfold. But another explanation actually connects (rather than differentiates) these two biblical plagues of locusts. While a plague of locusts could happen naturally on the east wind, Moshe and Yoel’s locusts are explicitly described as distinct from any other natural locust infestation because they are Divine punishments. There is potential for broad, timeless comfort in this qualifier. Nature always holds the potential for creation and destruction. We learn from our verse that we should not read existential spiritual judgement into such natural disasters– that only happened in Egypt and in Yoel. Rather, in times of disaster, our Jewish tradition teaches us to focus on how we can support each other. When I was a child, my family lost our home in the Malibu fires. As I watched the recent wildfires with horror, I am in awe of the chesed the LA community has embodied. Seeing beloved places and homes disappear, I am reminded that amid disaster– hope, humanity, and belonging are revealed through natural human kindness, care, and service. May all Angelenos be surrounded with safety, support, the embrace of community, and Divine protection.

Rabbi Brett Kopin, The Six11 Project, Base LA

When I lived in Tzfat I learned with a rabbi who took a special interest in the plague of locusts. Specifically, he appreciated word plays he noticed throughout the Torah and saw a particular one between the Hebrew word bo–the name of the parasha– and the Hebrew word for locusts: arbeh. The word arbeh flips the positions of the letters alef (1) and bet (2) from their order in the word bo. His explanation: locusts represent the Oneness of God overturning the duality of Egypt, the land of many gods. But why send locusts to demonstrate this point? The locusts eat all the crops and produce remaining from the hail. These crops symbolize Israelite enslavement. After all, straw, the byproduct of crop, is withheld from the Israelites after Moses returns to Egypt, while the brick quota remains unchanged, crushing their spirits with such intensity that they are unable to even hear the call of redemption. In a classic move of “measure for measure” divine justice, just as the Egyptians take away the straw, God takes away the crop itself. The locusts eat everything, rendering the Israelite task of brickmaking impossible, releasing them from their burdens, and reducing the mighty Egyptian empire to a wasteland. The Israelites could finally look up from the mud pits and witness the many miracles displayed by the God of their forebears–never would there be so many again. In order to become free, for Oneness to overcome duality, a person must be willing to strip away all the chaff and begin again.

Rabbi Jonathan Leener, Prospect Heights Shul

Why did Hashem bring the plague of locusts? The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 13:6) explains that because the Egyptians forced the Israelites to sow wheat and barley, God sent the locusts to destroy those fields. In His infinite justice, Hashem determined that slavery should yield nothing—no sustenance, no benefit. The fruits of oppression cannot be consumed, for to reap from the soil of slavery is to violate the sanctity of the land that God has created. In fact, the Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah 429) further teaches that “one should not attach his money, to other money that is gained through theft, violence, exploitation, or any corrupt means. Such wealth is intertwined with the elements of idol worship, which defile and corrupt the soul.” As partners with Hashem in creating a more just world, where every human being is seen as unique, equal, and of infinite value, we too must ensure that nothing is gained through the desecration of another. In a world rife with the exploitation of the most vulnerable members of society, we must be prepared to raise our voices in moral courage. To stay silent is a form of acceptance. To partake in food born of oppression is to partake in the oppression itself.

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