Fire in the Ice: Reliving Egypt’s Plague of Hail

A Place to Run for Cover

Immediately after the plague of boils, even before the Egyptians’ sores began to scab over, Moses appeared before Pharaoh and warned him that if he did not send out the Children of Israel, he would be struck by a hailstorm the likes of which had never been seen. Pharaoh, whose heart Hashem had already hardened, refused to listen. The warning repeated itself for three weeks. On the final day, fed up with the warnings, Pharaoh decided to take a different route to the Nile so Moses wouldn’t meet him. But before he left the palace, he was stunned to see that Moses had beaten him to it and come straight to his house.

Moses said to him: If you still refuse to send out the Children of Israel, know that tomorrow, exactly at this time—when the sun reaches the mark I’m making for you here on the wall—Hashem will rain down on Egypt a hailstorm unlike anything ever seen. Moses added: Anyone who wants to be saved from the hail should go inside and bring in their livestock as well. Anything left outside will be destroyed and will die by the hail. Blessed is Hashem; His ways are not like those of flesh and blood. A person who seeks to bring calamity on another will try to keep it secret and pray his plan succeeds so the other falls. But Hashem is not like that—He gives warning and even advises how to be spared.

Hail and Fire!

The next day, exactly at the moment the sun reached the mark on the wall, Moses stretched out his hand heavenward, the staff of Hashem in his hand, and lightning flashed and thunder boomed, and the earth trembled. Heavy hailstones pounded the ground.

Until this plague, the Egyptians didn’t even know what rain was—and now hail was crashing down on their heads! And not ordinary hail made of tiny pellets of ice, but each chunk as big as a watermelon!! And inside the ice was fire—balls of fire from the sky! The mind couldn’t process it: water and fire fused together?! The greater wonder was that neither affected the other—the fire didn’t melt the ice, and the ice didn’t put out the fire. The laws of nature were completely suspended. Fire burned inside sealed ice without oxygen and, in fact, without any fuel at all!

Picture it: The Egyptians saw gigantic flashes of light in the sky—lightning! A chill ran through them; they had never seen anything like it. Then came a great rolling noise—an enormous thunderclap—the most terrifying sound they had ever heard. Their hearts melted from fear and panic. Before they could recover, more lightning flashed and thunder roared, the earth quaked beneath them, and then it came—hail!

What went through an Egyptian’s mind at that moment? Maybe he thought the world was returning to chaos, that heaven and earth were about to collapse. Whoever could crawled under the bed; others curled up like a shivering ball in a corner. Some squeezed their eyes shut and shoved their hands deep into their ears. Their tongues froze from sheer terror. Others broke into terrible screams! Their hair stood on end—some may even have gone white from fright. Mortal dread gripped everyone, and in overwhelming fear they waited for the end of the world. You used to terrify the Israelites with your voices—hurling curses and insults—now you’re the ones terrified by the sounds!

Roommates with the Livestock

The animals that had been brought indoors for safety panicked too at the chaos outside. They howled in fear, rampaged, and ran wild inside Egyptian homes. How can anyone live like that—sharing one house with frantic livestock? The smell of the animals spread through the rooms. Some Egyptians probably got sick of this forced cohabitation and drove their animals back outside to die under the hail. You forced the Children of Israel to live out in the fields with their animals for long months—now enjoy that ‘pleasure’ yourselves!

There were Egyptians who tried to be clever. They didn’t bring the animals into the house; instead, they plastered the cowshed with clay and put their servants and cattle inside. But you can’t outsmart Hashem. Hashem said to bring them into the houses, and any other scheme would not help! The fire stored inside the hail, sealed on all sides, strained to burst out, and as the internal heat grew and grew, there was a tremendous explosion, and the fire blasted forth like a cannon of immense power! Wooden fences shattered into splinters, and all died—people and animals—just as the word of Hashem through Moses His servant. Yet, astonishingly, in all this chaos the Israelites and their flocks were not harmed at all. They only heard the thunder, for thunder comes to straighten what is crooked in the heart—and at that time, Israel needed that very much.

Crops Laid Waste

The produce and vegetation suffered massive damage. The hail that smashed down shattered trees and crops and destroyed them at the root. After that, fire came out and burned them. But the tender growth—like wheat and spelt—was not harmed: it neither broke nor burned. Hashem brought the calamity on Egypt in a carefully measured way, leaving them the means to survive, so that He could multiply His signs in the land of Egypt.

The Hail Stops

After seven days, Pharaoh caved under the force of the plague, summoned Moses and Aaron, and told them: "I have sinned this time; Hashem is the Righteous One, and I and my people are the wicked!" He asked them to pray to Hashem to remove the plague immediately, without delay, and then he would send the Children of Israel. Moses said to him: You said this during previous plagues and you did not send them. Pharaoh replied: "I have sinned this time; I have sinned against Hashem your God and against you. Now I am sending them!" Moses said: Although I know you will not stand by your word, nevertheless I will go out of the city at once and pray that the hail cease, so that you may know there is none like Hashem in all the earth.

Moses left Pharaoh, and the road miraculously shortened for him so he was instantly outside the city. Moses prayed to Hashem, and immediately the hail stopped. Even the hail that was already in the air did not continue to fall. Hashem suspended that hail between heaven and earth for 41 years, until the days of Joshua.

"Pharaoh saw that the rain, the hail, and the sounds had stopped, and he continued to sin; he and his servants hardened their hearts." Pharaoh returned to his wickedness and refusal. Still, the plague left its mark: from then on Pharaoh began to esteem the Israelites and removed from them all labor entirely. In truth, he had no real benefit from keeping them in his land; the real reason he would not send them was his unwillingness to submit and humble himself before Hashem.