The Ninth Plague: Darkness  מכת חושך
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וַיֵּט מֹשֶׁה אֶת-יָדוֹ, עַל-הַשָּׁמָיִם; וַיְהִי חֹשֶׁךְ-אֲפֵלָה בְּכָל-אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים. לֹא-רָאוּ אִישׁ אֶת-אָחִיו, וְלֹא-קָמוּ אִישׁ מִתַּחְתָּיו--שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים; וּלְכָל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיָה אוֹר, בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָם 
       שמות י: כ"ט-כ"ג --   

And it came to pass at midnight, that the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the first-born of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said: 'Rise up, get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. -- Exodus 12:29-31

The Plague:
In the ninth plague, the plague of darkness, God commands Moses to raise his hands up to the sky, to bring darkness upon Egypt. It was a heavy darkness, some say it was tangible. For three days the darkness prevailed, during which the Egyptians could not see a thing. So dark it was, people stayed where they were, not daring to move.  The midrash says that heavy moisture in the air prevented candles from burning and giving light. Yet there was light in the homes of the Israelites.

Why Darkness?
This plague was an attack aimed directly at Pharaoh's deity Ra, the powerful Egyptian sun god. By introducing the plague of darkness, the futility of faith in Egyptian gods was made evident.

Additionally, we see a "Measure for Measure" - as now the Egyptians are engulfed in darkness, a retribution for psychological darkness they imposed on the Jewish population of Egypt, depriving them of dignity, depriving them of hope.

he Pharaoh relented, promised to let the Israelites leave. But then,  Pharaoh's heart hardened one more time and he reneged on his promise.

The Ten Plagues of Egypt: Information and more
   ▪ Ten Plagues of Egypt, an Overview
   ▪  Plague of Blood (דָם): Ex. 7:14–25
   ▪ Plague of Frogs (צְּפַרְדֵּעַ): Ex. 7:25–8:11
   ▪ Plague of Lice (כינים): : Ex. 8:16–19
   ▪ Plague of Wild Animals / Swarm of Flies (עָרוֹב): Ex. 8:20–32
   ▪  Plague of Livestock Death (דֶּבֶר): Ex. 9:1–7
   ▪ Plague of Boils (שְׁחִין): Ex. 9:8–12
   ▪ Plague of Hail (בָּרָד): Ex. 9:13–35
   ▪ Plague of Locusts (אַרְבֶּה): Ex. 10:1–20
   ▪ Plague of Darkness (חוֹשֶך): Ex. 10:21–29
   ▪ Death of the Firstborn (מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת): Ex. 11:1–12:36

The Ten Plagues of Egypt - a Passover (Pesach) brings you much more about the holiday, its meaning and its traditions... See the links below.

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