The Nile River was the key to the economic life of Egypt, an arid land of which 95% is desert. Waters from the Nile River were diverted to streams to irrigate the fertile soil and to provide a source of freshwater for drinking and for the livestock. Wheat and other crops were grown around the Nile River and its streams, providing food for the general population and for sale to neighboring countries. "And all the world came to Egypt" (Bereshis 41 :57), with the Nile River providing a convenient and efficient mode of transportation for goods and people. Wild game, such as water buffalos, attracted to the Nile River either were killed for food or were captured, tamed, and used to plough farm land (Wikipedia). As such, the Nile River was the life blood of Egypt Every morning the Egyptian populace would come to and prostate before the Nile River; it was worshipped, with babies cast into it (Shemos I :22) as an offering (Miller, 1992). Pharaoh viewed himself as the master, or god, over the Nile River. Thus, the Nile River was the initial target of the ten plagues.

Each plague had many components and the first plague, dam, consisted of the following events:

(a) the Nile River was changed to actual blood or to a blood-like substance;

(b) the fish die, leaving the Egyptians without their food staple;

(c) the Nile River becomes foul with an offensive odor;

(d) the Egyptians become weary trying to find drinkable water, either needing to purchase it from B 'nei Yisroel (Rashi) or to dig for underground water (Ibn Ezra).

Interestingly, there appear to be two distinct interpretations of dam. The most commonly accepted translation of dam is that it was actual blood (e.g., Targum Onkelos; Maharal; S'forno ). The Me Am Lo' ez stated the water of The Nile River turned into real blood, not just blood-colored water; it had the taste and smell of blood, as well as the same chemical and physical composition. A lesser known explanation is that dam was a red-colored substance similar in appearance to, but not actual, blood. Rav Sorotzkin (1993) cited the early commentator, R' Bachya (1263-1340), who noted that the water of the Nile River took on the appearance, taste, and smell of blood, but was not real blood. A similar point of view is taken by R' Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin (HaamekDavar) (1817-1893) (Shemos 7:19) and Rav Avigdor Miller. To quote Rav Miller, "It was not blood that could be used for transfusions or for fertilizing the land, but the resemblance was close enough to sicken the spectators. A revolting miasma came up from all the streams of Egypt, and the people (who were accustomed to eating and feasting always) lost their appetite, and instead vomited again and again at the sight and the odor of the revolting fluid. Normal life in Egypt came to a shocked standstill; and thirst, now the first time in their history, became the chief matter in the land. Everywhere, the infirm and aged lay dead; and the nation groaned in the depths of despair."

Whether the water of the Nile River turned to actual blood or a blood look -alike impacts upon why the fish died and what caused the befouling of the waters. Thus, according to Rav Z. Sorotzkin, if the Nile River turned to actual blood, then the waters were fouled due to the rotting blood. Subsequently, unable to live in blood, the fish died, with their stench adding to the malodorous emissions from the bacterial decompositions of the blood. The Malbim suggested that Nile River fish were cold water species and when the river was turned to blood, its elevated temperature lead to the death of the fish. Conversely, if the water of the Nile River only appeared as blood, but actually remained water, then the fish remained viable. Thus, as part of the overall plague, dam, an additional plague killed the fish and it was only the decomposing fish that befouled the Nile River.

On the phrase, 'For they conld not drink from the waters of the River" (Shemos 7:24), Rabbi E. Munk (1993) wrote that although the term "waters" indicates that the blood was drinkable, the Egyptians could not endure seven days without drinking real water. However, do people really drink blood? Apparently, yes; the phrase, human hematophagy, describes the habit of certain societies to drink blood and to manufacture food items with animal blood. The African Masai apparently drink a liquid composed of a mixture of cow blood and cow milk and blood sausage is eaten in many communities throughout the world. Ritual hematophagy, or the consumption of human blood, is also known. The Scythians, a nomadic Russian people, drank the blood of the first enemy killed in battle (Wikipedia, 2007) If the water of the Nile River was not changed to real blood, what possible natural mechanisms were available to HaShem to transform the Nile River to a blood-like  substance, eventually leading to the death of its aquatic ife and to the emanating stench, making it non-drinkable. As a preface, it is important to quote Rav Munk, "In the miracles recorded in the Torah, the supernatural if often interwoven with the natural and the plagues may be defined as miraculously intensified forms of the diseases and other natural occurrences encountered in Egypt" Rav Munk, suggesting that the plague of dam, and of the other plagues, had a basis in a natural phenomenon, mentions the possibility that due to the presence of certain vegetable matter, the color of the Nile River changed to a pale red. Secular scientists provide various theories for the Nile River turning red, including the following: (a) the fall of red meteorite dust from a comet, (b) volcanic ash fallout, (c) red silt, and (d) water contamination by the flageJiated protozoa, zooplankton, micro fungi, dinoflagellates, and/or cyanobacteria (Marr and Malloy, 1996;.Treviasanato, 2006).

It really does not matter whether the Nile River was transformed into actual blood or to a blood-like substance. The intent of this plague was to transform the god ofEgyptto a sinking, visibly abhorrent cesspool. Rav Miller cited the following passages, apparently referring to the first plague, from the Admonitions of lpuwer, an ancient Egyptian papyrus manuscript: "The river is blood .... Blood is everywhere .... Men shrink from tasting .... that is our water .... What shall we do? Everything is in ruination." 

References Marr, J.S. and C.D. Malloy, 1996, An epidemiologic analysis of the ten plagues of Egypt, Caduceus, 12:7-24.

Miller, A., 1992, Narrate to your Son, Yeshiva Gedolah Bais Yisroel, Brooklyn, NY

Munk, E., 1993, The Call of the Torah, Volume 2, Shemos, Mesorah Publ., Ltd., Brooklyn, NY.

Sorotzkin, Z., 1993, Insights in the Torah, Volume 2, Shemos, Mesorah Publ., Ltd., Brooklyn, NY.

Trevisanato, S.I., 2006, Treatments for burns in the London Medical Papyrus show the first seven biblical plagues of Egypt are coherent with Santorini's volcanic fallout, Med. Hypoth., 66:193-196.

Wikipedia, retrieved in 2007, http://en. wilipedia.org/wiki/