Rav Chaim Ibn Attar, the Ohr HaChaim
The Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh explains that the primary purpose of the makkos was not to take revenge upon or punish Paroh; rather, the pasuk testifies that their purpose was to instill emuna in the hearts of Bnei Yisrael in an eternal, unforgettable manner. The fact that these makkos occurred in the very heart of Egypt within Paroh’s kingdom would ensure that their memory would never fade.
The Ohr HaChaim bases this concept on a Maamar Chazal in Chullin 75b, where we learn about a ben pekua (an animal found in the uterus of its slaughtered mother and is considered one of her limbs and therefore does not need to be separately slaughtered). The ben pekua has two clear signs that ensure that everyone remembers where it comes from and why it does not need shechita, so that no one will suspect those who eat it of transgressing the prohibition of consuming non-kosher meat that was not properly schechted.
Similarly, here in Mitzrayim, the Ohr HaChaim posits that we required two wondrous events in order to instill emuna in Klal Yisrael so that they would never forget their faith and belief in Hashem. The first one is that the makkos occurred in such a way that all forms of creation: earth, air, fire, water and all the animals would be affected. However, this alone would not suffice. In addition, Hashem ensured that the makkos would strike Paroh, his regime and his nation in such a way that no nation had ever suffered such a miraculous, disastrous series of events. These two wondrous ingredients were essential to instill an enduring emuna, as the pasuk says, 'lemaan tesaper be’oznei bincha – in order that you retell (these events) to your son” to instill in the next generation the same rock-hard, never-ending faith and belief. Without these two wondrous points, the matter would never be permanently locked into our national memory.
The pasuk continues, counting the two points, “The fact that I [Hashem] punished Mitzrayim” – Hashem severely punished them in a supernatural manner through ten plagues, each of which was comprised of four or five elements, something unheard of in terms of suffering. But this wonder alone would not be enough to remember, and so the pasuk continues, “and My signs”, referring to the signs Hashem performed. This was the second wonder needed; together these two wonders would ensure our emuna that viydatem ki ani Hashem – “you will know that I am Hashem!”
In the sefer Me’or Chaim, Rav Moshe Franco quotes the Ohr HaChaim’s deroshos in Livorno (Leghorn Italy) and adds details to how Rav Chaim ben Attar explained how each of the makkos demonstrated Hashem’s mastery over a different element of nature: water was struck when the Nile was transformed into blood, the earth with a plague of lice, everyone saw the strength of Hashem in the hail (which was fiery ice) and when Hashem commanded the plague of locusts, He demonstrated His mastery over the wind and the air. The sun and moon were proven to be non-divine and powerless through the plague of darkness, in order that no one should worship the celestial bodies. [Above we mentioned mastery over the animals, demonstrated in the plagues of frogs, wild animals and cattle plague.] Finally, the death of the firstborn proves how only Hashem is master over people, knowing their most intimate secrets - who is truly the firstborn.
Praises for the Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh
Through the Study of Ohr HaChaim he Merited to be With the Ohr HaChaim Himself
Rav Nachum Mordechai From was one of the founders of the famed Yavneh shul in Tel Aviv. He writes that he once had a dream in which his father, Rav Boruch Menashe, appeared to him with complaints that he, Rav Nachum Mordechai, did not come to visit his tziun and daven there. When Rav Nachum protested that his father was buried in Skver, and he was in Tel Aviv, his father gave him an amazing answer: “You should know that in the merit of learning the holy sefer Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh on a daily basis, I now have a permanent place together in the Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh’s burial cave on Har HaZeisim.” The next day, when he awoke, Rav Nachum Mordechai went and davened at the tziun of the Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh on Har HaZeisim. (Imru Tzaddik, p. 306)
Moshiach Studies the Ohr HaChaim
The holy Ba’al Shem Tov said about the Ohr HaChaim: I saw him sitting on a chair in the heavenly palace of Moshiach, and he was studying his sefer, and his ways are close to our ways. (Rav Moshe Midner, cited by Ner HaMaaravi, p. 412)
A Different Yedid Nefesh
The Rebbe of Karlin-Pinsk guided his followers and Chassidim and instructed them to study together the Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh every Thursday night – Leil Shishi – explaining that this custom was received from Rav Yochonon of Karlin, whom he quoted as having said, “Az mi’lernt Ohr HaChaim HaKodosh donnershtig bai’nacht, hot der Yedid Nefesh be’mincha shel Shabbos a undere punim – If you study the Ohr HaChaim Thursday night, your Yedid Nefesh at Shabbos Mincha will be a totally different experience!” (cited in Ner HaMaaravi, p.452)
