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We all know the part of the seder in which we talk about how many makot were part of an אצבע (10) and how many were part of a יד (50).

But wait a minute. The phrase אצבע אלוקים היא was not told at the end of the ten makot. It was used after only three makot. Worse, it was only told about the single most recent maka of kinim.

So why are we multiplying ten by five to get fifty plagues at the Red Sea? Shouldn't we have only five, or at best fifteen?

mevaqesh
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Daniel
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  • the kining is a proof for the previous and next makot – kouty Apr 13 '17 at 19:05
  • Welcome to Mi Yodeya Daniel! Thanks for sharing the question. IIRC this question was asked by great Rishonim. You are in good company! – mevaqesh Apr 13 '17 at 19:07
  • @kouty But at the time they used the phrase, they couldn't know in advance how many more makot there would be. What if God had stopped after just one or two more? Wouldn't all the calculations be different? – Daniel Apr 13 '17 at 19:13
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    @mevaqesh Thanks. Do you know which ones and where? I've been asking this question of my local rabbis for two decades and haven't gotten an answer. – Daniel Apr 13 '17 at 19:13
  • Ritva in his commentary to the Haggada for one. – mevaqesh Apr 13 '17 at 19:19
  • @Daniel welcome Daniel... "single most recent maka of kinim" why do you call it the most recent? "Shouldn't we have only five, or at best fifteen?" Why do you make that calculation? Please explain . :) – David Kenner Apr 13 '17 at 20:30
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    @DavidKenner In the Torah, "אצבע אלוקים היא" is used in reference to a single plague: kinim. The first two plagues were reproducible/explainable by Pharaoh's magicians, but not this third one. They admitted that this really was the "finger of God".

    The Hagada compares the "finger of God" in the context of the ten makot to the "hand of God" mentioned at the Red Sea. A hand has 5 fingers, so 10 plagues x 5 fingers = 50 Red Sea "plagues".

    But there had only been 3 makot so far when the "finger" phrase was used, and the phrase was referring to only 1 of those 3. So either 3x5=15 or 1x5=5.

     – Daniel Apr 13 '17 at 21:54

1 Answers1

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The magicians were acknowledging that the plages were a manifestation of Hashem's Power at the level of אצבע אלוקים היא. That is, the plagues as a general concept were a finger of Hashem, a small manifestation of His power. At the Yam Suf, the expression of the Power was that of a hand. It was a mightier manifestation of Hashem's control of nature and ability to overcome the laws of nature. Each of the plagues took an aspect of the natural world and showed that Hashem was able to manipulate it.

As an example, see Rav Hirsch explaining the meaning of each plague and how it fits into the three groups of punishment.

The miracles of the Yam Suf, showed a completely different level of control in that it was not just an intensification of an aspect of the natural world, but a symbolic repudiation of all the laws of nature. Thus it was a manifestation of Hashem's hand, the complete manipulation of nature in a single occurance.

sabbahillel
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    This is the answer I've heard most often, and it's the least compatible with the text of the hagada. If we're thinking only about the plagues as a general concept, how can you multiply that by five? If God was generally displaying what he could do with a finger, then why are we multiplying the entire ten plagues by five to get a hand? Why not just the first three, or the first eight, or the first nine, or the first fifteen? Who said ten is the exact number of plagues that a finger makes, and how could the chartumim have possibly known this after only three plagues had come? – Daniel Apr 14 '17 at 04:40