A Thought on Parshas Bo

"...choshech afeila...shloshes yamim...shloshes yamim..." "...intense darkness...for three days...three days..." (10:22-23) Our verses depict the six day duration of the plague of darkness. Earlier on (7:25) Rashi informed us that each of the ten plagues lasted "a quarter of a month" i.e. one week or seven days duration, based on the verse's clause "and it was a full seven days." The Gan poses the obvious question from our verses. If we read the words here, it seems clear that the darkness lasted a total of no more than six days. How can Rashi opine that "all" of the plagues endured for a week, if the darkness only occurred for six days? The Gan cites a discussion that he had with "HaRav Natronai, son of my uncle Rav Yaakov the sainted martyr (haKadosh zecher tzadik l'vracha) who told him that he found a midrash. Therein, Rav Levi asks "what happened to the seventh day?" The answer given was that although the darkness was formed for a seven day interval, the final day was put on hold until our fleeing nation reached the Yam Suf. In 14:2, which we will read next week iy"H, we learn that "there were clouds and darkness and light shining in the night" at the Sea. The Gan references the Targum on that verse which says "the people of Israel were given light to brighten the night and the Egyptians were enshrouded with thick darkness." That darkness at the Sea was none other than the residual choshech which had earlier cloaked the Egyptians, while the Jewish people were unaffected by that plague, and enjoyed the shining light which had filled all of their dwellings. Thus, each plague was created to be in effect for seven days. The last day of darkness, however, was introduced at a later point in time.(It occurs to me that this may fortify the words of the Pesach Hagadah which talks about the plagues of Egypt that proliferated at the Yam Suf. According to this midrashic thought shared by the Gan, the plague of darkness was introduced in Egypt and was later activated at the Sea). Wishing you all a good Shabbos. D Fox