Hopping Mad

Rabbi Maury Grebenau

            The second plague visited upon the Egyptians was that of Tzfardea (traditionally translated as frogs). This plague took the form of Egypt being overrun by amphibians to the point of absurdity. As a child in Kindergarten, I recall the song lyrics, “frogs on their heads - frogs in their beds.” One might wonder exactly where all these frogs came from; did the Nile really have that many frogs? Rashi has a well known Midrashic comment as to the origin of the frogs.

 The verse expresses that the frog came out of the Nile in singular, implying that it was only one frog that came out. Rashi explains that when the plague first began there was actually only one very large frog which would split every time it was struck. The Midrash paints a picture of mass hysteria where Egyptians are scurrying about trying to smash these pests into oblivion only to have to deal with more and more frogs! While the picture is a vivid one, a simple question about the Egyptians’ behavior arises.

            After the first Egyptian hit the original large frog and saw it split into two before his eyes, one would imagine that he would realize that his approach was futile. He might even have informed other Egyptians of this mistake so that they wouldn’t make the same mistake. How is it that Egypt became overrun with frogs? What were the Egyptians thinking?

            This question is posed and dealt with by the Steipler Goan. He points out that it was a flaw in character that allowed Egypt to spiral into a plague of such massive proportions. When the Egyptians saw that hitting the frog just caused there to be more frogs they were so incensed that they simply continued to hit the frogs. Each time they hit the frogs and their efforts were not only ineffective but counterproductive they seethed with such a rage that they foolishly continued their ineffective strategy.

            The Maharal (the Rabbi of Prague in the early 17th century) explains the reason for anger’s destructive force. We are a combination of a physical side and a spiritual-intellectual side. It is a delicate balance with the intellect in the seat of control, utilizing the physical to serve Hashem. Anger is a very raw emotion which upsets this balance and knocks the intellect out of the seat of control. When we become angered, instead of the thinking clearly about the best reaction, we become slaves to our physical reactions. Once the Egyptians became frustrated and enraged at their inefficacy they were unable to see how counterproductive their actions were! They were only making things more difficult for themselves, but they were powerless to control themselves.

            The lesson for us all is clear. Anger is almost never productive. When we are faced with a difficult, upsetting, or frustrating situation it is a time when we need our full mental capacities and there is no place for anger. Anger will only serve to make a hard situation that much more difficult. As the Talmud (Kiddushin 40a) says so succinctly, “an angry person is only left with his anger.”