“Stretch forth your hand over the land of Egypt …” (10:12)
Several exceptional facts occur by the plague of locust that doesn’t appear by any other plague. Hashem told Moshe that he will send upon the Egyptians a plague that the Jews will relate to their children and grandchildren. He also says that it is a plague that the Egyptians fathers and grandfathers never saw. Hashem doesn’t identify the plague. Moshe on his own somehow knows to send the locust. Why do these anomalies exist by this particular plague?
When Hashem eventually charges Moshe to rally the Arbeh (locust), the Pasuk says “Netei Yodcha…Ba’arbeh – Raise your arm… with locust.” Grammatically, this doesn’t make much sense. It should have said, “Raise your hand and afflict the land with locusts.” It is also of interest that the plague of locusts is followed by Choshech (the plague of darkness). Following Choshech was Makkos Bechoros (death of the firstborn). What is the significance of the sequence?
I heard from Rav Yitzchok Fingerer shlita, that perhaps the answer is as follows: The Egyptians were severe ingrates. They had no thankfulness for all that the Jews did for them in warding off the famine. They should have related to their descendants all the good that the Jews did – but they didn’t. Hashem paid them back Mida Keneged Mida (measure for measure). He had the locusts come and destroy everything to bring on utter famine – which they would relate to their descendants! This will cause them to also remember the previous famine that they were spared from because of the Jews. This way it emphasized the multi-generations specifically by this plague.
The next difficulty “Netei Yodcha Ba’arbeh” is answered because Ba’arbeh (the locusts) is the Gematria (numerical value) of 210. It was coming on account of the 210 years that the Egyptians embittered the Jew’s lives, instead of recognizing their kindness.
Choshech (darkness) is the same letters of Shochach which means to forget. This was to again remind the Egyptians that they forgot all the goodness they experienced. Next, the plague of Bechoros (death of firstborn) came, because the way Hashem has us show Hakaras Hatov, gratitude, is through bringing the firstborn, whether it is offering Bikkurim (first fruits) or through the Bechor, firstborn, of a person or animal. Therefore, Hashem demonstrated that because of their lack of gratitude – He will take their Bechoros. Now the pattern and sequence is very clear and makes perfect sense.
