The ninth of the Ten Plagues to be visited on Egypt was the plague of
Darkness: “No person could see his brother, nor could any person rise from
his place, for three days; but for the children of Israel, there was light in
all their dwellings" (Exodus 10:23).
The physical plague of darkness had its root in a spiritual darkness, which
can be defined as the absence of G-d’s revealed presence. In discussing the
spiritual origin of this plague the Midrash cites two opinions: Rabbi Nechemia
taught that the darkness originated in the regions of geheinom
(purgatory); Rabbi Yehudah taught that it originated in the celestial
spheres.1
The Chassidic masters explain the difference between these two forms of
darkness:
1) The classic dark, associated with geheinom, acts as a curtain.
When a curtain is drawn across a window it obstructs the sunlight and leaves
the room thoroughly in the dark. This is the darkness of geheinom,
where G-d’s presence is entirely concealed.2
2) The celestial dark is primordial; it predates all light. G-d’s essence
is beyond revelation. When he chose to reveal himself he radiated outwards so
that his light would become visible, but beyond the light there was still
dark. That dark is the domain of his essence and the essence doesn’t require
light. Comfortably ensconced within itself, it doesn’t lack luminescence but
transcends it.3
In other words, the classic dark conceals G-d’s light, whereas the celestial
dark reveals G-d’s essence, which transcends all light.
Projected On the Human Level
These two forms of spiritual dark, when experienced on the human level,
elicit two very different reactions. The classic dark is the concealment of
light. Left in the spiritual dark, the human yearns for G-dliness because his
condition craves light.
Celestial dark, on a human level, has a negative spiritual affect. Celestial
dark is transcendence of light. Because the human does not transcend light he
experiences such transcendence as contentment with dark. If subjected to such
contentment for a prolonged period of time he may completely forget the virtue
of G-dliness.
Sightlessness and Immobility
The physical darkness affected Egyptians in two ways. The first was that "no
person could see his brother" and the second was that "no person could rise from
his place." The Midrash teaches that this plague lasted for six days. For the
first three days the Egyptians were unable to see each other but they were still
able to rise and move about. During the last three days the darkness intensified
to the point that it paralyzed even simple movement. They could no longer even
rise from their place.4
These two 3-day period in the Plague of Darkness can be seen as corresponding
to the two types of darkness discussed above. During the first 3-day period, the
Egyptians experienced the classic spiritual darkness in which one feels deprived
of light and pines for it. During this time they could not see their brother.
In this sense, their brother is a metaphor for G-d's light. They wanted
to behold his light, but the dark prevented them from doing so. During the
second 3-day period the darkness was of the celestial form. They grew content
with the dark: no longer did they pine for their 'brother,' but rather they
could not rise from their place. 'Their place' is a metaphor for their
contentment with the dark; they couldn’t rise out of this contentment to
appreciate the value of G-d’s light.
The Two Antidotes
What were the Children of Israel doing while the Egyptians languished in the
darkness?
The Midrash cites two purposes that the plague of darkness served:
1) Many Jews didn’t want to leave Egypt, so G-d decreed that they would die
there. Egyptians remained unaware of this shameful fact because these Jews
died and were buried during the period of darkness.
2) The darkness provided an opportunity for Jews to circulate in Egyptian
homes to determine the location of the valuables that they would later borrow.
When Jews later asked to borrow these items, Egyptians could not deny owning
them because the Jews would unerringly point to where they were
hidden.5
According to one of the commentaries,6
both reasons are true. During the first three days of the plague the Jews buried their dead and
during the second three days they explored Egyptian homes.
On a metaphoric level these two pursuits constitute antidotal activities to
the two forms of darkness described above.
1) The antidote to darkness that conceals light is to tear away the
concealing 'curtain' and step into the pool of light. During the first three
days, while Egyptians pined for the light the Jews stepped into it. The Jews
clearly distinguished dark from light and the wicked from the righteous. They
understood why their brothers died and quickly buried them to remove traces of
wickedness from among them.
2) The antidote to a darkness that is content with being dark is to peer
into the dark and identify its divine root; to recognize that the fact that
man is content to be without light is a reflection of the fact that his
creator transcends light. During the second three days, while Egyptians
remained trapped in the 'place' of contented darkness, the Jews peered into
dark hidden places and discovered 'gold' and 'silver' treasures. In the
language of Kabbalah, gold and silver represent love for G-d. The Jews peered
into the darkness and discovered their love for its hidden divine roots.
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