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Why did Aharon strike the water and earth in the first three plagues instead of Moshe? The shiur reveals that Aharon was delivering Hashem (ה׳)'s direct nevuah—not acting as Moshe's agent—while Moshe's role fundamentally transformed from passive messenger in Shemos to active principal in Va'eira, charged with developing Klal Yisrael's managerial capacity for freedom.
Rabbi Zweig addresses fundamental questions about the roles of Moshe and Aharon in bringing the plagues and leading the Exodus. The central difficulty is why Aharon had to strike the water and earth for the first three plagues. The standard explanation—that Moshe owed hakaras hatov to the Nile and earth—seems insufficient, since telling someone else to strike still involves ingratitude. Moreover, if Hashem (ה׳) commanded Moshe to do it, wouldn't that override any concern for hakaras hatov? Through careful textual analysis of the pesukim describing the plagues, Rabbi Zweig demonstrates that Moshe was not telling Aharon what to do as a shaliach. Rather, Moshe was serving as a navi, delivering Hashem's direct nevuah to Aharon. The language "emor el Aharon kach matcha" represents Hashem's words to Aharon through Moshe's mouth, not Moshe's instructions. Aharon was acting entirely as Hashem's agent, not Moshe's. This is fundamentally different from the other plagues, where the Torah (תורה) states "vaya'as Hashem kidvar Moshe"—Hashem did according to Moshe's word—indicating that Moshe was the principal.
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