Warning at the palace
Brought by Moshe
Lasted seven days
The locust covered all of Egypt darkening the land.
Moshe prayed very hard to get rid of the locust entirely.
Paroh’s heart is hardened despite wish to concede, making a mockery of Egypt.
WARNING FOR PLAGUE #8
When Moshe warns Paroh of Plague #8, he tries a new tactic: "There will be a plague of locust that will consume the remains of the crop. They will darken the sky and enter all your homes. Such a phenomenon was never witnessed before by your great-grandparents." (Shmos 10:14)
Moshe then abruptly leaves the presence of Paroh. (Let the message sink in: total agricultural destruction!) Paroh's servants urge him to call Moshe back: "Can't you see Egypt is lost?"
Moshe returns, and Paroh demands: "Who exactly do you want to go to the desert for 3 days?" (Years earlier, when Joseph and his brothers went to bury their father Jacob, they left behind their families and livestock, so Paroh would be sure they returned.) Proclaimed Moshe: "With our youth and with our elders!"
In Judaism, there is no generation gap. We all serve the same G-d. Paroh wanted the youth, the future of the people. (Like in Soviet Russia where they allowed only old men to attend the synagogues.) "With our sons and our daughters, with our sheep and our cattle" (Shmos10:9)
Paroh's reaction? He called security and had Moshe escorted to the door.
PLAGUE #8 – Q&A
Moshe spread his staff over Egypt and an easterly wind blew all day and night, delivering a swarm of locusts that covered every inch of Egypt. Never before or after had such a scene been witnessed.
Question: But the biblical book of Yoel makes the same claim that locusts would swarm over the entire land!?
Answer: The Plague of Yoel used many species of locusts, while the Plague of Moshe used only one. (Rashi)
Question: So why was G-d stingy in providing Moshe with just one species?
Answer: It wasn't necessary to have more than one, because most of the crop was already destroyed by the hail.
As the plague intensified, Paroh hurries to summon Moshe, confesses his guilt, and begs him to quickly remove "just this death." (Shmos 10:17)
Question: Why the rush? The locusts had already finished their feast!
Answer: Paroh was afraid the locusts might lay eggs and he would have a locust problem every year. The Egyptians, seeing they had no food, decided to feast on the locusts (a local delicacy). They froze, dried, pickled, and stored as many locusts as they could catch. They dined on locust pie, stuffed locust, and the best restaurants served locust delight and on Shabbos (you guessed it!) locust kugel! (Rashi)
But when the westerly wind blew away the locusts, "not one locust remained in the entire land of Egypt" (Shmos 10:19) - including all the locust they had stored up. G-d had meted out a punishment measure-for-measure: The Egyptians forced the Jews to tend their crops, so they now lost everything.
