Locusts, darkness and death of the first born. The plagues, Makot, literally meaning “strikes”, strike against Pharoah’s enslavement of the Hebrews having intensified from the waters to the land to the sky, the realm of Higher Being. The intensity of the liberation movement is reaching a climax. We experience the last three Makot in Parshat Bo. The Makah of the Locusts further devastates the economy. The Makah of Darkness is a metaphor for confusion and a blindness of mind, heart and purpose plaguing the Pharoah and the Egyptian oppressors. It is during these Makot that the Israelites more fully buy into the struggle for their liberation. They now see the light and begin to emerge from their own darkness to transcend their physical suffering and weak hearts.
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