A Stick that Turns into a Snake!
Isn’t that Elementary?
Hashem sends Moshe to Pharaoh with a stick, which he is to turn into a snake. He is well aware that this little trick is such a simple one that any five-year-old Egyptian who graduated from the kindergarten of any local magic academy is able to perform . Moshe and Aaron are made to look like absolute fools. Then, suddenly the snake turns back into a stick and gobbles up all the other snakes running around. Remarkable!
All Pharaoh’s wizards and magicians stand in awe of their great magical abilities. Moshe has a much better and updated version of their magical tricks. Certainly no proof of the existence of G-D. Wouldn’t it have been far more effective if Moshe would pull off a miracle that nobody else could do? Turn the stick into an elephant or a lion or some other animal, which they were unable to do. But why a snake? This was the required thesis to graduate from kindergarten in any Egyptian magic school. Can we say that the Egyptians were able to change their sticks into any animal they wished? Then why not instead change the stick into gold, the alchemist’s dream? I certainly doubt that this trick could be done by even the best of Pharaoh’s magicians. After all, he could have made himself a good bundle of money if he opened up a chain of department stores and sold golden sticks at discount prices. What could be the cost of manufacture? It’s hard to believe that Pharaoh’s magicians could have pulled off such a stunt! Certainly, Hashem could have made the stick turn into anything he desired. Why not pull off a good convincing one instead of the elementary version, for which he was met with such ridicule? In fact, we don’t find the magician believing any other of Moshe’s bag of tricks. It was only by the third mako of kinim that they finally were stumped and had to admit that “it was a finger of G-D.” He finally pulled one off against all the axioms of the magical rulebooks. It is a well-known axiom that magic is ineffective against such tiny objects as lice. It suddenly dawns upon them that this may not be just simple black magic. There are G-dly forces involved. Certainly Hashem could do anything He felt like. Why not show them from the very start who’s the real boss! Do something that they are powerless to imitate. Can you imagine a magician getting on stage at a New York magic show and doing a trick that everyone in the audience has seen dozens of times? The audience would boo him off the stage. Why couldn’t Hashem convince them by changing the stick into something that none of Pharaoh’s magicians could duplicate?
And now for another most obvious kasha. In fact, it is so blatant, that one wonders why every single child learning the Chumash for the very first time doesn’t simply jump out of his seat with this question immediately. When Moshe came to Pharaoh for the very first time, he came completely unequipped. He does absolutely no tricks. Pharaoh simply refutes him altogether. “Never heard of such a G-D,” he snorts. “Why don’t you stop wasting the people’s time with your nonsense?” Moshe takes all this hands down. He’s on the defensive. But wait a minute! Moshe already had the stick in his hand. He knew how to do the tricks. He had already shown this to the z’kainim. What was he waiting for? Why didn’t Hashem tell him to take it and throw it on the ground right there and then? Hashem doesn’t tell him to throw it down, so of course Moshe doesn’t throw it down. Why? He knew the trick quite well. Why didn’t Hashem tell him to do it now? Why was this trick shown first to Pharaoh on Moshe’s second visit?
One also wonders why when the stick was thrown down in front of the z’kainim it’s called a “snake”, but when it’s thrown down in front of Pharaoh it’s called a “Tanim” which Rashi says is also a snake. If both words mean the same thing, then why confuse people? Call it”snake”, and be done with it.
Perhaps we can answer these questions with the following Midrash im shemos perek 89 that says that “when Pharaoh saw the stick devour all the snakes, he became very frightened. If the stick had magical powers and could eat anything in it’s path, then what stops it from eating his throne? And what stops Moshe from commanding the stick to eat him? The stick had frightening powers. Yes G-D or no G-D. It was the great power of Moshe’s magical stick that he was afraid of. By the stick eating all the snakes it was making a very strong point. It’s not an ordinary stick. It is an amazing magical stick that has a phenomenal appetite and can eat anything in it’s path. Other snakes are only an entree. Imagine what it can eat for its main dish! Pharaoh stood in the greatest of awe before such an amazing magical stick. A magician never doubts the powers of other magicians. Moshe’s stick was indeed a very dangerous weapon that could be used to swallow all his enemies. He couldn’t dare grab or even touch it. He was even afraid to get close to it. The stick could go into action at the least provocation. He was not going to test it’s magical powers. He would take absolutely no chances. Therefore, this first trick put a great fear into Pharaoh as well as his servants. As long as Moshe or Aaron held the stick they would have to keep their distance. Nobody dared get close to it. Nobody dared block Moshe’s entrance into the palace. The stick gave him instant access to Pharaoh. No guard dared try getting in his way. They all were convinced that the stick could gobble them up instantly. They had either seen or heard of it’s fantastic magical powers. The Egyptians were great believers of magic. Word spread very quickly of the sticks’ magical power. This stick, therefore, afforded Moshe and Aaron great protection. As long as he held it in his hand, Pharaoh was absolutely powerless to touch him. He wouldn’t dare grab it away. He wouldn’t dare throw him into jail. If he would try to harm them, Moshe could simply release the stick and swallow Pharaoh alive. Pharaoh still wanted to live. No wonder Hashem had given Moshe a stick. He needed it to afford him access into the palace. He needed it as protection against being imprisoned. Egyptian dungeons were not as comfortable as American jails. We now understand why Moshe didn’t change the stick into a snake on his very first visit. It’s all quite simple!
When Moshe came to see Pharaoh the very first time he made no threats at all. He simply asked Pharaoh very nicely to please let the Yidden out. He made no mention of what would happen if he didn’t listen. Pharaoh, therefore, simply dismissed him, and told him to go his own merry way. He had no intention of letting the people go.
However, the second time Moshe came, he began his threats. Moshe was now (in Pharaoh’s eyes) using his great magical powers to destroy Egypt’s most important water supply. Any magician dareing to cause such havoc should have been thrown into jail at once. Now, of course, Moshe and Aaron needed some form of protection. They could have been thrown into a dungeon for their threats alone! Let alone for all the future troubles they were to cause. The stick put the fear into everybody. As long as they had it, they were untouchable. No policeman would dare arrest a person holding a stick that could swallow him up on command. Moshe and Aaron were well protected. They could come and go anywhere they wished. They had instant access into Pharaoh’s presence. As soon as the guards saw the stick they instantly stepped aside. They dared not challenge it’s power. They may not have believed in G-D, but they sure believed in magical sticks. They didn’t doubt it’s powers in the least.
When the stick was thrown down in front of the z’kainim it turned into an ordinary snake, which symbolizes the sin of loshon horah for which Moshe was being taken to task. When it was thrown down in front of Pharaoh it turned into a huge monstrous snake, called a “Sanin” This snake had the same characteristics as the fish named “sanin” which was a very large fish that could gobble up all the rest of the fish. No wonder that Hashem had killed the female species. Had it remained alive they would have multiplied and finished off all the other fish. (Note Birds, animals, or fish that share the same characteristics may have the same name. That’s why we have a sheretz named “Tinshemes” and a bird the same name (See Rashi Parshas Shemini) We also have a sea dog and a sea cat etc.)
Pharaoh, as we know was compared to a monstrous snake -(See Yecheschel 29) Perhaps it’s because he had swallowed up all the riches of the surrounding nations and was now trying to swallow up the Jews as well. The monstrous snake conveyed an important message. Pharaoh would be punished tit for tat- “midah k’neged midda” Just like he had tried to swallow all the others, he himself would eventually be swallowed up. Better take heed Pharaoh, was the stick’s subtle message. Do as you’re told, or the stick will be used to smite you for your stubborn refusal. We (Moshe and Aaron) are just acting as His messengers, in the same way the snake, or for that matter any other animal or even angel acts as G-D’s messenger. The King doesn’t always make a personal appearance.
As long as Moshe held the stick in his hand, Pharaoh was afraid to touch him or cause him any harm. He was fully aware of the stick’s great appetite, and he didn’t want to be it’s main course.
Learned from Rabbi Eli Teitelbaum