In last week’s Parsha, the purpose of the plagues had a distinct quality to it. It was a harsh education for Egypt. But the plagues weren’t just there to have devastating physical effects upon Egypt, they were also there to teach them something; that there was a one God, a Creator, Master of all these various different forces in nature. It all came down to one God. The plagues, in short, were for the phrase, “v’yad’u Mitzraim ki-ani HaShem,” ‘and Egypt shall know that I am God’ and, vicariously, through Egypt, the World. All of that changes in this week’s Parsha. – See more at: www.alephbeta.org Short summary: Rabbi Fohrman discusses deep Torah insights about the ten plagues in Egypt (Mitzrayim)…Were that really so necessary? He explores the 7th plague, the transitional one, and argues that God played off of Pharaoh’s ego to show Pharaoh, the people of Egypt and the people of Israel, that only God is all-powerful.