צְפַרְדֵּעַ אוֹמֶרֶת. בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלַם וָעֶד:
The Frog is saying, “Blessed is the Name of his resplendent Majesty in the Cosmos forever.”
Frogs of the 2nd Plague
(שמות ח, ב) ותעל הצפרדע ותכס את ארץ מצרים אמר ר' אלעזר צפרדע אחת היתה השריצה ומלאה כל ארץ מצרים כתנאי רבי עקיבא אומר צפרדע אחת היתה ומלאה כל ארץ מצרים אמר לו רבי אלעזר בן עזריה עקיבא מה לך אצל הגדה כלה מדברותיך ולך אצל נגעים ואהלות צפרדע אחת היתה שרקה להם והם באו:
It is stated with regard to the plagues of Egypt: “And the frog came up and covered the land of Egypt” (Exodus 8:2). Noting that the term “the frog” is written in the singular, Rabbi Elazar says: At first it was one frog; it spawned and filled the entire land of Egypt with frogs. The Gemara comments: This matter is subject to a dispute between tanna’im: Rabbi Akiva says: It was one frog, and it spawned and filled the entire land of Egypt with frogs. Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said to him: Akiva, what are you doing occupying yourself with the study of aggada? This is not your field of expertise. Take your statements to the tractates of Nega’im and Oholot. In other words, it is preferable that you teach the halakhot of the impurity of leprosy and the impurity imparted in a tent, which are among the most difficult areas of halakha and are within your field of expertise. Rather, the verse is to be understood as follows: It was one frog; it whistled to the other frogs, and they all came after it.
לא נשאר ארבה אחד. ולא מתו כמו הצפרדעים כדפרישית לעיל שלא נבראו עתה ברי' חדשה אלא רוח הקדים נשאם ממקומם ובסור המכה חזרו מה שאין כן בצפרדעים:
לא נשאר ארבה בגבולך, “not a single locust remained behind within the boundaries of your country.” The locusts, as opposed to the frogs at the time, did not die, the reason being that they had not come into existence for the purpose of this plague. They had merely been transported across a great distance, away from their natural habitat [this is all based on the opinion that the wordsותעל הצפרדע in 8,2 appears in the singular mode as opposed to the other occasions when this word appears in the plural mode. According to this view, a single frog became converted into millions of frogs for the sake of the plague, but after it had already left the river Nile. The frogs would therefore not have been able to “return” to their habitat, not having had a habitat in the first place. Ed.]
איבעיא להו תודוס איש רומי גברא רבה הוה או בעל אגרופין הוה תא שמע עוד זו דרש תודוס איש רומי מה ראו חנניה מישאל ועזריה שמסרו [עצמן] על קדושת השם לכבשן האש נשאו קל וחומר בעצמן מצפרדעים ומה צפרדעים שאין מצווין על קדושת השם כתיב בהו ובאו [ועלו] בביתך [וגו׳] ובתנוריך ובמשארותיך אימתי משארות מצויות אצל תנור הוי אומר בשעה שהתנור חם אנו שמצווין על קדושת השם על אחת כמה וכמה רבי יוסי בר אבין אמר מטיל מלאי לכיס של תלמידי חכמים היה דאמר רבי יוחנן כל המטיל מלאי לכיס תלמידי חכמים זוכה ויושב בישיבה של מעלה שנאמר כי בצל החכמה בצל הכסף:
A dilemma was raised before the Sages with regard to the above incident. Was Theodosius of Rome a great man in terms of his Torah scholarship, and the Sages refrained from ostracizing him in deference to the Torah that he studied? Or, was he a violent man who could not be punished due to his local influence? Come and hear: This was also taught by Theodosius of Rome: What did Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah see that led them to deliver themselves to the fiery furnace for sanctification of the name of God during the rule of Nebuchadnezzar rather than worship idols under duress? They drew an a fortiori inference on their own from the plague of frogs in Egypt. With regard to frogs, which are not commanded concerning the sanctification of the name of God, it is written: “And the river shall swarm with frogs, which shall go up and come into your house, and into your bedchamber, and onto your bed, and into the houses of your servants, and upon your people, and into their ovens and kneading bowls” (Exodus 7:28). When are kneading bowls found near the oven? You must say that it is when the oven is hot. If in fulfilling the command to harass the Egyptians, the frogs entered burning ovens, all the more so, we, who are commanded concerning the sanctification of the name of God, should deliver ourselves to be killed in the fiery furnace for that purpose. Apparently, Theodosius taught Torah in public, which indicates that he was a great man. Rabbi Yosei bar Avin said: Theodosius was one who cast the profits from merchandise into the purse of Torah scholars. He would lend them money and enter into partnership with them so they could open businesses, and that is praiseworthy, as Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Anyone who casts merchandise into the purse of Torah scholars is rewarded and sits in the heavenly academy, as it is stated: “For in the shadow of wisdom, is the shadow of money” (Ecclesiastes 7:12). One who provides Torah scholars with money will merit being with them in the shadow of wisdom.
צפרדע הא דאמר צפרדע לשון יחיד וכינם לשון רבים משום דהי' צפרדע אחת שמשריץ את כולם או שצפרדע קרא לכולם כדאי' בזה פלוגת' במדרש ר' אלעזר ור"ע ורמז לזה ותעל הצפרדע. או די"ל שבכיני' הי' הרבה מינים. אבל הצפרדע מין אחת הי'. וברבה פ' בא פרשה ט"ו ' הצפרדעים היו מחבלין גופיהם ומסרסין אותם שנ' בחדר משכבך ועל מטתך אמרו להם הצפרדעי' מוניטא של אלקיכם בטלה ושלכם קיימת לפיכך ותשחית' כשכתי' ושתת ארצה ומנין שהיו מדברים שנ' על דבר הצפרדעים עכ"ל. ש"ר פ"י בכה ובעמך אר"א שהי' פרעה שותה מים וטיפה אחת יורדת על לבו ונעשית צפרדע ונבקעת שם. ר' יוחנן אמר כל מקום שהי' שם עפר והי' טיפה של מים בו נעשה צפרדע עכ"ל בתנא דבי' אלי' פ"ז אי' דצפרדעים היו קורין לעופו' שיבואו לשתות מיאור ולא מתייראין. כ' הבחיי פ' בא שנשאר צפרדע אחד בנילוס מזיק בני אדם ונקרא א"ל תמס"ה עכ"ל:
Tzfardeah - Frogs: Tz’fardeah, frogs, is written in the singular while kinim, lice, is written in the plural because there was one giant frog that attacked Egypt; when the Egyptians struck it, it broke up into many small frogs. A simpler explanation is that the word tzfardeah, though written in the singular, it refers to many frogs. We find this disagreement between Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Akiva.217Exodus Rabbah 10:4 It is also possible that kinim, lice is written in the plural because it refers to many different species of lice but there was only one type of frog that attacked Egypt so it is written in the singular. The Midrash says much more about this plague. We learn that frogs were the most deadly plague since they found their way into the Egyptians beds, attacked them, and mocked the them by saying their gods were destroyed!218Ha, Ha! Not only giant but talking frogs! This explanation, though fanciful, is based on statements in the Torah and a passage interpreting them in Exodus Rabbah, 15:27. See Exodus 8:8. The plague of frogs - the word, d’var, ‘plague’ can also mean ‘word.’ And Genesis 38:9 The Torah says, “The frogs shall come among you and your people;”219Exodus &:29 literally this verse says, “in you and your people.” Rabbi Aha explained that Pharaoh drank a bit of water – it entered his heart and became a frog and burst forth there. Rabbi Yohanan said that where there was dust and water, it turned into a frog.220Exodus Rabbah 10:3 There are many other explanations as well.
Because they had said to the Israelites, "Go and catch fish for us," He brought frogs up against them, making them to swarm in their kneading-troughs and their bed-chambers and hop around croaking in their entrails. It was the severest of all the ten plagues.
The plague of the frogs God brought down upon the Egyptians, "because," He said, "the frogs, which sometimes inhabit the water, shall take vengeance upon the Egyptians for having desired to destroy the nation destined to be the bearers of the Torah, and the Torah is likened unto water."
Croakers of all Colours
ואמר רבה בר בר חנה לדידי חזיא לי ההיא אקרוקתא דהויא כי אקרא דהגרוניא ואקרא דהגרוניא כמה הויא שתין בתי אתא תנינא בלעה אתא פושקנצא ובלעה לתנינא וסליק יתיב באילנא תא חזי כמה נפיש חיליה דאילנא אמר רב פפא בר שמואל אי לא הואי התם לא הימני
And Rabba bar bar Ḥana said: I have seen a certain frog [akrokta] that was as large as the fort [akra] of Hagronya. And how large is the fort of Hagronya? It is as large as sixty houses. A snake came and swallowed the frog. A raven came and swallowed the snake, and flew up and sat in a tree. Come and see how great is the strength of the tree, which could bear the weight of that raven. Rav Pappa bar Shmuel said: If I had not been there and seen this, I would not believe it.
שמואל חזייה לההוא (קרוקיתא דעקרבא) יתיבא על אקרוקתא ועברה נהרא טרקא גברא ומיית קרי עליה למשפטיך עמדו היום
Shmuel saw a certain frog [kerokita], and also noticed that a scorpion was sitting upon the frog and the frog crossed the river. The scorpion stung a man on the other side of the river and the man died. Shmuel read and applied the verse to the dead man: “They stand this day according to Your judgments.” Even the frog and scorpion are servants and agents of God. The only way the scorpion could reach the man and kill him was by means of the frog taking it across the river.
The serpent, too, is other than it was at first. Before the fall of man it was the cleverest of all animals created, and in form it resembled man closely. It stood upright, and was of extraordinary size. Afterward, it lost the mental advantages it had possessed as compared with other animals, and it degenerated physically, too; it was deprived of its feet, so that it could not pursue other animals and kill them. The mole and the frog had to be made harmless in similar ways; the former has no eyes, else it were irresistible, and the frog has no teeth, else no animal in the water were sure of its life.
Besides study, the composition of psalms naturally claimed a goodly portion of his time. Pride filled his heart when he had completed the Psalter, and he exclaimed: "O Lord of the world, is there another creature in the universe who like me proclaims thy praise?" A frog came up to the king, and said: "Be not so proud; I have composed more psalms than thou, and, besides, every psalm my mouth has uttered I have accompanied with three thousand parables." And, truly, if David indulged in conceit, it was only for a moment. As a rule he was the exemplar of modesty. The coins which were stamped by him bore a shepherd's crook and pouch on the obverse, and on the reverse the Tower of David. In other respects, too, his bearing was humble, as though he were still the shepherd and not the king.
THE DESCENDANTS OF ADAM AND LILITH - When the wives of Lamech heard the decision of Adam, that they were to continue to live with their husband, they turned upon him, saying, "O physician, heal thine own lameness!" They were alluding to the fact that he himself had been living apart from his wife since the death of Abel, for he had said, "Why should I beget children, if it is but to expose them to death?" Though he avoided intercourse with Eve, he was visited in his sleep by female spirits, and from his union with them sprang shades and demons of various kinds, and they were endowed with peculiar gifts. Once upon a time there lived in Palestine a very rich and pious man, who had a son named Rabbi Hanina. He knew the whole of the Torah by heart. When he was at the point of death, he sent for his son, Rabbi Hanina, and bade him, as his last request, to study the Torah day and night, fulfil the commands of the law, and be a faithful friend to the poor. He also told him that he and his wife, the mother of Rabbi Hanina, would die on the selfsame day, and the seven days of mourning for the two would end on the eve of the Passover. He enjoined him not to grieve excessively, but to go to market on that day, and buy the first article offered to him, no matter how costly it might be. If it happened to be an edible, he was to prepare it and serve it with much ceremony. His expense and trouble would receive their recompense. All happened as foretold: the man and his wife died upon the same day, and the end of the week of mourning coincided with the eve of the Passover. The son in turn carried out his father's behest: he repaired to market, and there he met an old man who offered a silver dish for sale. Although the price asked was exorbitant, yet he bought it, as his father had bidden. The dish was set upon the Seder table, and when Rabbi Hanina opened it, he found a second dish within, and inside of this a live frog, jumping and hopping around gleefully. He gave the frog food and drink, and by the end of the festival he was grown so big that Rabbi Hanina made a cabinet for him, in which he ate and lived. In the course of time, the cabinet became too small, and the Rabbi built a chamber, put the frog within, and gave him abundant food and drink. All this he did that he might not violate his father's last wish. But the frog waxed and grew; he consumed all his host owned, until, finally, Rabbi Hanina was stripped bare of all his possessions. Then the frog opened his mouth and began to speak. "My dear Rabbi Hanina," he said, "do not worry! Seeing thou didst raise me and care for me, thou mayest ask of me whatever thy heart desireth, and it shall be granted thee." Rabbi Hanina made reply, "I desire naught but that thou shouldst teach me the whole of the Torah." The frog assented, and he did, indeed, teach him the whole of the Torah, and the seventy languages of men besides. His method was to write a few words upon a scrap of paper, which he had his pupil swallow. Thus he acquired not alone the Torah and the seventy tongues, but also the language of beasts and birds. Thereupon the frog spoke to the wife of Rabbi Hanina: "Thou didst tend me well, and I have given thee no recompense. But thy reward will be paid thee before I depart from you, only you must both accompany me to the woods. There you shall see what I shall do for you." Accordingly, they went to the woods with him. Arrived there, the frog began to cry aloud, and at the sound all sorts of beasts and birds assembled. These he commanded to produce precious stones, as many as they could carry. Also they were to bring herbs and roots for the wife of Rabbi Hanina, and he taught her how to use them as remedies for all varieties of disease. All this they were bidden to take home with them. When they were about to return, the frog addressed them thus: "May the Holy One, blessed be He, have mercy upon you, and requite you for all the trouble you took on my account, without so much as inquiring who I am. Now I shall make my origin known to you. I am the son of Adam, a son whom he begot during the hundred and thirty years of his separation from Eve. God has endowed me with the power of assuming any form or guise I desire." Rabbi Hanina and his wife departed for their home, and they became very rich, and enjoyed the respect and confidence of the king.