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Why did G-d Grant the Magicians of Pharoah a small amount of power?

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edu:
In the first 2 plagues of the ten plagues, the magicians of power were able on a very limited scale to reproduce the plagues through their own methods.
Only at the 3rd plague did they admit that it was the finger of the L-rd and not magic, since they had no ability to make this plague in any way.
Rashi hints at an answer, why G-d gave them this power for the first 2 plagues, but I'd like to hear your answers.

muman613:
So that they could understand that the plagues were the finger of Hashem..

muman613:
http://www.torah.org/learning/parsha-insights/5764/vaera.html

The Source and Sorcerers
By: Rabbi Yisroel Ciner


Some people just don't get it... They fixate on the details along the way without realizing where things are headed...

In this week's parsha, Va'era, the plagues, and the essential messages they contained about Hashem and His interaction with the world, are brought upon Paroah and Egypt. The message of the first three plagues was, as the passuk {verse} states: "With this you will know that I am Hashem. [7:17]"

Blood and frogs, the first two plagues, attacked the Nile River that the Egyptians revered and worshiped. The Nile was viewed as their very life- source as it provided drinking and bathing water, irrigation for their crops and a steady supply of fish. By transforming this Nile-god into a malodorous bloodbath and then into the generator of frog-induced pain and suffering, Hashem was clearly showing that He, and only He, is the true G-d and source of power.

The third plague, lice, also proved this same point but in a different way. Whereas the Egyptian sorcerers were able to duplicate the first two plagues, their inability to produce lice led them to openly proclaim: "This is the finger of G-d." Once again, "that I am Hashem."

At first glance, the Egyptian sorcerers turning water to blood and then bringing out frogs seems to present a difficulty. Why would Hashem make a miracle/plague that could so easily be imitated? Wouldn't it be better to inflict upon them plagues that couldn't be parroted?

Imagine someone taking a hard punch to the face. He then stands up and belligerently taunts his attacker: "You think you're so strong? You think you can hit hard? I'll show you a real hard punch!" and then proceeds to hit himself even harder in the face...

The plagues were not a competition of wizardry. They came to teach enduring lessons to the world. The first two plagues taught that those entities through which we receive blessings are not sources, but rather, conduits. Though we must appreciate them for the blessings that flow through them, we cannot allow them to distract us from acknowledging the true source. If they obscure that acknowledgment then they will be degraded.

The sorcerers got a bit fixated on the details along the way . . . They also turned the water into blood. They also brought forth the frogs. But they didn't realize that they were simply hitting themselves in the face. They too were clearly showing that the Nile was not a power source and could therefore be degraded. Their acts didn't diminish, but rather, strengthened the plague.

It's easy to mock the sorcerers but we too fixate on the details along the way without realizing where things are headed...

The parable is given of a person moving to Israel who will be stopping in Spain for a few days in transit. In preparation for this momentous move, he spends months learning the language and acquainting himself with the geography and customs of . . . Spain.

Each individual, on their life-long path toward the recognition "that I am Hashem. [7:17]," must be careful not to get too fixated on the details along the way.

Good Shabbos,

Yisroel Ciner

Kahane-Was-Right BT:
Good question, edu.

I should think about this more (and I don't remember the rashi there), but I think it would have something to do with showing everyone (Jews and Egyptians included - although a much more difficult belief for the Egyptians to swallow) that all powers, even the magic that Egyptian magicians were performing, ultimately comes from Hashem.  He created the world with a certain natural mechanism through which nature can be manipulated ("magic" or whatever other means - today it's genetic engineering and such), and He is also able to manipulate it Himself outside of nature.   The subsequent plagues which magicians cannot replicate drive that point home to show that ultimately all the plagues had the same Source.    This is a powerful teaching about how to relate to nature to always see it as manifestation of Hashem's will.

The Egyptian society was steeped in idol worship and magical craft was considered some kind of expert discipline.   It would be most difficult for them to accept that those magicians have no special powers, and this point is illustrated to them with the plagues.

It is still difficult to understand precisely what the 'magic' was, just how effective it was (or what kind of actual "power" it had), given the Rambam's assertion that there is no such thing as magic!   I'm not completely sure how he understood these verses.  

muman613:

--- Quote from: Kahane-Was-Right BT on December 28, 2010, 04:24:30 PM ---Good question, edu.

I should think about this more (and I don't remember the rashi there), but I think it would have something to do with showing everyone (Jews and Egyptians included - although a much more difficult belief for the Egyptians to swallow) that all powers, even the magic that Egyptian magicians were performing, ultimately comes from Hashem.  He created the world with a certain natural mechanism through which nature can be manipulated ("magic" or whatever other means - today it's genetic engineering and such), and He is also able to manipulate it Himself outside of nature.   The subsequent plagues which magicians cannot replicate drive that point home to show that ultimately all the plagues had the same Source.    This is a powerful teaching about how to relate to nature to always see it as manifestation of Hashem's will.

The Egyptian society was steeped in idol worship and magical craft was considered some kind of expert discipline.   It would be most difficult for them to accept that those magicians have no special powers, and this point is illustrated to them with the plagues.

It is still difficult to understand precisely what the 'magic' was, just how effective it was (or what kind of actual "power" it had), given the Rambam's assertion that there is no such thing as magic!   I'm not completely sure how he understood these verses.  

--- End quote ---

This is what I said when I posted above that the sorcerers were able to duplicate the 1st two plagues so that the Egyptians could see that it was the finger of Hashem...

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