(כא) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה נְטֵ֤ה יָֽדְךָ֙ עַל־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וִ֥יהִי חֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־אֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם וְיָמֵ֖שׁ חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ (כב) וַיֵּ֥ט מֹשֶׁ֛ה אֶת־יָד֖וֹ עַל־הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם וַיְהִ֧י חֹֽשֶׁךְ־אֲפֵלָ֛ה בְּכׇל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרַ֖יִם שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת יָמִֽים׃ (כג) לֹֽא־רָא֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־אָחִ֗יו וְלֹא־קָ֛מוּ אִ֥ישׁ מִתַּחְתָּ֖יו שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֑ים וּֽלְכׇל־בְּנֵ֧י יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל הָ֥יָה א֖וֹר בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָֽם׃
(21) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Hold out your arm toward the sky that there may be darkness upon the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be touched.” (22) Moses held out his arm toward the sky and thick darkness descended upon all the land of Egypt for three days. (23) People could not see one another, and for three days no one could get up from where he was; but all the Israelites enjoyed light in their dwellings.
וימש חשך. וְיַחֲשִׁיךְ עֲלֵיהֶם חֹשֶׁךְ יוֹתֵר מֵחֶשְׁכּוֹ שֶׁל לַיְלָה, חֹשֶׁךְ שֶׁל לַיְלָה יַאֲמִישׁ וְיַחֲשִׁיךְ עוֹד:
וימש חשך signifies and it (the darkness mentioned in the preceding phrase, ויהי חשך) shall darken for them the natural darkness to a higher degree than the darkness of night: i. e. the darkness of night shall become even more black and dark.
ויהי חשך אפלה: שלשת ימים. חֹשֶׁךְ שֶׁל אֹפֶל, שֶׁלֹּא רָאוּ אִישׁ אֶת אָחִיו אוֹתָן ג' יָמִים. וְעוֹד שְׁלוֹשֶׁת יָמִים אֲחֵרִים חֹשֶׁךְ מֻכְפָּל עַל זֶה, שֶׁלֹּא קָמוּ אִישׁ מִתַּחְתָּיו – יוֹשֵׁב אֵין יָכוֹל לַעֲמֹד, וְעוֹמֵד אֵין יָכוֹל לֵישֵׁב; וְלָמָּה הֵבִיא עֲלֵיהֶם חֹשֶׁךְ? שֶׁהָיוּ בְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאוֹתוֹ הַדּוֹר רְשָׁעִים וְלֹא הָיוּ רוֹצִים לָצֵאת, וּמֵתוּ בִשְׁלוֹשֶׁת יְמֵי אֲפֵלָה, כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יִרְאוּ מִצְרִיִּים בְּמַפַּלְתָּם וְיֹאמְרוּ, אַף הֵם לוֹקִים כָּמוֹנוּ. וְעוֹד, שֶׁחִפְּשׂוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְרָאוּ אֶת כְּלֵיהֶם, וּכְשֶׁיָּצְאוּ וְהָיוּ שׁוֹאֲלִים מֵהֶן וְהָיוּ אוֹמְרִים אֵין בְּיָדֵנוּ כְלוּם, אוֹמֵר לוֹ, אֲנִי רְאִיתִיו בְּבֵיתְךָ, וּבְמָקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי הוּא (שמות רבה):
ויהי חשך אפלה … שלשת ימים — there was darkness of gloom when no man saw another during those three days, and there was moreover another period of three days’ darkness twice as thick as this when no man rose from his place: one who happened to be sitting when this second period of darkness began was unable to rise, and one who was then standing was unable to sit down. And why did He bring darkness upon them? Because there were wicked people amongst the Israelites of that generation who had no desire to leave Egypt, and these died during the three days of darkness so that the Egyptians might not see their destruction and say, “These, (the Israelites) too have been stricken as we have”. And a further reason is that the Israelites searched (the darkness came just in order that they might do this) and saw their (the Egyptians’) jewels, and when they were leaving Egypt and asked them for their jewels, and they replied, “We have none at all in our possession”, they answered them, “I have seen it in your house and it is in such and such a place” (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Bo 1; Exodus Rabbah 14:3).
חשך אפלה - חשך גדול.
חשך אפלה, a combination of regular darkness (absence of sunlight), plus added deep darkness.
מתחתיו - מביתו לפי פשוטו, שלא ידעו היכן ילכו.
מתחתיו, according to the plain meaning: “from his house.” The reason was that they did not know where they would be headed.
ויט. ולא ידעו שהיו ג' ימים אלא על פי ישראל שהיה להם אור. והנה בים אוקינום יבא חשך עב שלא יוכל אדם להפריש בין יום ובין לילה ויעמוד זה לפעמים חמשה ימים ואני הייתי שם פעמים רבות:
AND MOSES STRETCHED FORTH. The Egyptians had no way of knowing that three days passed except through the Israelites, who had light. Now there are times when a thick darkness comes over the Atlantic Ocean during which time it is impossible for a person to distinguish between day and night. The aforementioned occasionally lasts for as long as five days. I myself have been there many times.
ולא קמו איש מתחתיו. מביתו. כמו שבו איש תחתיו. כי אנה ילכו בלא אור:
NEITHER ROSE ANY FROM HIS PLACE. From his house, as in abide ye every man in his place (Ex. 16:29). For where could they go without light?
וטעם לא ראו איש את אחיו ולא קמו איש מתחתיו כי לא היה החשך הזה אפיסת אור השמש שבא שמשם והיה כמו לילה, אבל היה חשך אפלה, כלומר איד עב מאד שירד מן השמים, כי על כן אמר (שמות י׳:כ״א) נטה את ידך על השמים, להוריד משם חשכה גדולה נופלת עליהם. והיתה מכבה כל נר, כאשר בכל החפירות העמוקות ובכל מקומות החשך העצום לא יתקיים הנר, וכן העוברים בהרי חשך לא יעמד להם שם הנר ולא האש כלל, ועל כן לא ראו איש את אחיו ולא קמו איש מתחתיו, ואלמלא כן היו משתמשין בנרות, וזהו שאמר הכתוב שלח חושך ויחשך (תהלים קה כח), כי היה שלוח חשך, לא אפיסת אור היום בלבד ויתכן שהיה איד עב מאד מורגש שהיה בו כמו ממש, כדברי רבותינו (שמו''ר יד א), כאשר הוא בים אוקינוס כעדות ר''א:
THEY SAW NOT ONE ANOTHER, NEITHER ROSE ANY FROM HIS PLACE. The meaning thereof is that this darkness was not a mere absence of sunlight where the sun set and it was like night. Rather, it was a thick darkness. That is to say, it was a very thick cloud that came down from heaven. It is for this reason that He said, “Stretch out thy hand toward heaven to bring down from there a great darkness which would descend upon them and which would extinguish every light, just as in all deep caverns and in all extremely dark places where light cannot last [as it is swallowed up in the density of the thick darkness].” Similarly, people who pass through the Mountains of Darkness find that no candle or fire can continue to burn at all. It is for this reason that they saw not one another, neither rose any from his place, for otherwise they would have used the light of fire. This is the intent of the verse, He sent darkness, and it became dark. It was not the usual absence of daylight above but an extraordinary darkness as well. It is possible that it was such a very thick cloud that there was something tangible in it, as our Rabbis have said, and as indeed it happens on the Atlantic Ocean, as Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra testified.
ויהי חשך אפלה פרש״י שראו ישראל את כליהם והיו אומרים אינו בידינו. חז״ק דהא כתיב וה׳ נתן את חן העם בעיני מצרים וישאילום.
ויהי חשך אפלה, “there was a thick darkness;” Rashi comments that the Israelites were able to see as usual and could find where the Egyptians kept their valuables, so that when the time came to ask for them they could know if they lied when claiming they did not possess certain items an Israelite had requested. This is the deeper meaning of Exodus 12,36: וה' נת! את חן העם בעיני מצרים וישאילום, and the Lord had disposed the Egyptians favourably towards the people and they lent them willingly.
היה אור במושבתם בארץ גשן אין כתיב כאן כמו במכות אחרות הוא שאמרו רבותינו שונה מכה זו מכל האחרות שאפילו כשהיה ישראל בבית המצרי במצרים היה אור עמו.
היה אור במושבותם, “there was light in their dwellings.” It is noteworthy that the Torah here does not refer to the province of Goshen as it had done during other plagues, but implies that Israelites living in other parts of Egypt were also not affected by this plague. Our sages claim that when an Israelite entered the house of an Egyptian he was able to see normally in that house also. (Sh’mot Rabbah 14,3)