In one of their initial encounters with Pharaoh, Aaron performs a supernatural feat to prove that he and Moses are genuine messengers of G‑d: he casts his staff to the ground and it miraculously turns into a serpent. Not to be outdone, Pharaoh summons his “wise men and the magicians,” who are able to replicate the stunt. Subsequently, however, Aaron’s staff swallows the magicians’ staff.1

Pharaoh’s magicians also reportedly replicated the plagues of blood and frogs. But when it came to the plague of lice, they were thwarted: “And the necromancers did likewise with their secret rites to bring out the lice, but they could not.”2

The plain reading of the verse implies that genuine magic was indeed used. Was this really the case? And if so, why were the lice immune to their incantations?

1. Magic Does Not Exist

Some—most famously Maimonides—are of the opinion that sorcery and witchcraft do not exist.3 In Mishneh Torah, after describing the various prohibitions regarding witchcraft, Maimonides writes:

All the above matters are falsehood and lies with which the original idolaters deceived the gentile nations in order to lead them after them. It is not fitting for the Jews who are wise sages to be drawn into such emptiness, nor to consider that they have any value … Whoever believes in [occult arts] of this nature and, in his heart, thinks that they are true and words of wisdom, but are forbidden by the Torah, is foolish and feebleminded … The masters of wisdom and those of perfect knowledge know with clear proof that all these crafts which the Torah forbade are not reflections of wisdom, but rather, emptiness and vanity which attracted the feebleminded and caused them to abandon all the paths of truth. For these reasons, when the Torah warned against all these empty matters, it advised [Deuteronomy 18:13]: “Be of perfect faith with God, your Lord.”4

Clearly, Maimonides believes sorcery does not exist. If indeed this is the case, what does the verse refer to in our context?

2. It Was Sleight of Hand

This view is articulated by Saadia Gaon, who explained that the Egyptians were skilled in trickery and conjuring,5 which is what they used to produce the serpents.

The Malbim provides an elaborate description as to how this could have been achieved:

The method of their deceit is further clarified in the verse: “And the sorcerers of Egypt also did the same.” This implies they used the skins of dead serpents. The sorcerers concealed themselves under the skins, moving underneath them in a way that made it appear as though they were live, writhing creatures. The phrase “and they did” refers to the wise men and sorcerers who made themselves appear as snakes by wrapping themselves in serpent skins. When they threw their staffs, the sorcerers quickly exchanged them for the serpent skins, using their speed and sleight of hand to create the illusion that they had turned into living creatures.

The Ralbag adds that the magicians were unable to use sleight of hand to conjure lice because lice are too minute for such tricks.6

These approaches, however, are in the minority view. As we shall soon see, most of the classical commentators agree that the Egyptians did indeed possess magical powers, as this seems to be quite evident from a cursory reading of the text and the Talmud. For more on this (and how Maimonides’ approach can be squared with the plain reading of the texts), see Do Jews Believe in Magic?

3. Magic Is Very Real

On the other end of the spectrum is Nachmanides, who argues that magic is a very real phenomenon. He comments on this episode that he will expand on the topic later, possibly a reference to his treatment of this subject in Deuteronomy:

And now, understand and comprehend the matter of sorcery. The Creator, blessed be His name, when He created everything from nothing, established the higher realms to govern those beneath them. He endowed the earth and all that is upon it with powers derived from the stars and constellations, according to their influence and alignment, as demonstrated in the science of astrology.

This is the secret of sorcery and its power, as our sages stated (Chullin 7b): Sorcery contradicts the heavenly host. That is, sorcery opposes the natural powers and thereby conflicts with the heavenly host in a certain way. For this reason, the Torah forbids sorcery, so the world may follow its natural order, which reflects the will of its Creator, blessed be He.

Many pious individuals dismiss sorcery entirely, claiming it is false—asking, “Who informs a raven or a stork of what is to come?” But we cannot deny phenomena that are widely observed. Even our sages acknowledged such matters. For instance, the Midrash7 interprets the verse, “The bird of the heavens shall carry the voice,”8 as referring to the raven and the wisdom of those skilled in interpreting birds.9

To explain why these magical forces were not powerful enough to replicate the plague of lice, Nachmanides suggests that G‑d intervened to show Pharaoh’s magicians that there was a Greater Power at play.10

4. They Utilized Demons

Several commentators, including Rashi11 and Nachmanides,12 quote the Talmud, which states that (at least some of) the sorcery was engineered by demons. A demon does not have power over an entity smaller than the size of a barley grain. Since the lice were too small for the demons to work with, the necromancers realized that this must be the Hand of G‑d.

5. It Was No Big Deal

The Rebbe tackles this from a different angle. Following Rashi and the Talmud, he takes for granted that this kind of sorcery was widely practiced in Egypt. He therefore wonders what purpose this sign engineered by G‑d served. Would it be impressive for Moses and Aaron to perform a commonplace trick?

The Rebbe suggests that the main novelty here was the fact that Aaron’s staff consumed their staffs after it itself had turned back into a staff.13 This explains why Rashi does not mention here—as he does in the case of the hail, which contained fire and ice—that it was a “miracle within a miracle.” In the case of the hail, the miracle was twofold—the fact that the fire did not consume the water and that the water did not extinguish the fire. However, the fact that a staff turned into a serpent and back did not seem like a novelty in Egypt. Hence, the miracle was the fact that a staff swallowed the staffs of the sorcerers, which seems to have been an impressive feat even in Egypt.

Taking a lesson from this episode, the Rebbe explains that a serpent represents something that sows fear and causes damage. In spiritual parlance, this represents the need to negate negative influences. There are times when we need to overcome ideas or individuals that pose a challenge to the observance of Torah and mitzvahs. However, it is paramount that this be done in the spirit of Aaron, “who loves peace, pursues peace, loves G‑d’s creatures and draws them close to Torah.”14 In other words, when constructive criticism is called for, it’s important to do so in a way that causes the least amount of damage, remaining cognizant that you are working for the ultimate good of the individual.

This idea is symbolized by Aaron’s staff swallowing the other staffs. Even when it is necessary to override or correct someone who is not behaving appropriately, it should not be done like a serpent. The rebuke should not be with anger or sharpness in a way that can cause damage. Rather, it should be done once the serpent has already figuratively changed back into a staff.

Any rebuke should be done in the way of the “staff of Aaron” in a loving and caring manner.15