Purpose in Pause
The plague of hail was among the most awe-inspiring of the Ten Plagues. Fire and ice, natural opposites, fused together as hailstones rained down on Egypt, devastating the land yet sparing the Jewish people. When Moshe Rabbeinu prayed for the plague to cease, the hail immediately stopped — a reflection of his holiness. But what happened to the hailstones already mid-air? The Midrash teaches that their descent was miraculously arrested, leaving them suspended in the sky, held for a future purpose.
Forty-one years later, as Yehoshua battled the five Emori kings, Hashem struck the enemy with those very hailstones. The Midrash goes even further: thunder that had rocked Egypt during the plague was also paused, only to resurface centuries later during the reign of Yehoram ben Achav — the story of this week’s Haftorah. Terrified by the sudden sounds of thunder, the soldiers of Aram fled their camp, leaving behind food, silver, and gold — just as Elisha the prophet had foretold, providing salvation for the starving Jewish people.
The Midrash concludes that the remaining hailstones are destined to fall once more in the time of Moshiach, heralding the final victory of good over evil.
Hashem prepares every detail with layered purpose. The same hailstones and thunder that punished Egypt later saved the Jewish people in Yehoshua’s time, aided them in Yehoram’s day, and will yet serve again in the future. Knowing that even a suspended hailstone or a paused thunderclap is part of Hashem’s plan reminds us that we are never alone.
May we merit to see and hear those ancient hailstones once more, ushering in the days of redemption, speedily in our days.