The Seventh Plague: Hail  מכת ברד
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וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, נְטֵה אֶת-יָדְךָ עַל-הַשָּׁמַיִם, וִיהִי בָרָד, בְּכָל-אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם:  עַל-הָאָדָם וְעַל-הַבְּהֵמָה, וְעַל כָּל-עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה--בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. וַיֵּט מֹשֶׁה אֶת-מַטֵּהוּ, עַל-הַשָּׁמַיִם, וַיהוָה נָתַן קֹלֹת וּבָרָד, וַתִּהֲלַךְ אֵשׁ אָרְצָה; וַיַּמְטֵר יְהוָה בָּרָד, עַל-אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. וַיְהִי בָרָד--וְאֵשׁ, מִתְלַקַּחַת בְּתוֹךְ הַבָּרָד:  כָּבֵד מְאֹד--אֲשֶׁר לֹא-הָיָה כָמֹהוּ בְּכָל-אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, מֵאָז הָיְתָה לְגוֹי. וַיַּךְ הַבָּרָד בְּכָל-אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, אֵת כָּל-אֲשֶׁר בַּשָּׂדֶה, מֵאָדָם, וְעַד-בְּהֵמָה; וְאֵת כָּל-עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה הִכָּה הַבָּרָד, וְאֶת-כָּל-עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה שִׁבֵּר. רַק בְּאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן, אֲשֶׁר-שָׁם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל--לֹא הָיָה, בָּרָד.
       שמות ט: כ"ב-כ"ו --   

And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Stretch forth thy hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven; and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down unto the earth; and the LORD caused to hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire flashing up amidst the hail, very grievous, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
-- Exodus 9:22-26

The Plague:
The seventh plague that God brought upon the Egyptians was Barad or Hail. Moses was commanded by God to raise his staff towards the sky to initiate this plague. This was an extremely destructive storm combining fire and ice that rained down on Egypt. This plague created an all encompassing devastation, involving people, livestock, and crops. This storm did not touch the land of Goshen where the Jews lived.

The biblical text refers to this plague has “all my plagues,” thus equating it to all the others combined. There are differing rabbinical explanations trying to clarify the reason for this. One commentator, the Ohr Hachayim explains that up until this plague the Egyptian magicians believed that Moses and Aaron were magicians who were able to bring forth the plagues utilizing either black magic or demon work. The reason that they were able to create what others couldn’t was due to their superior abilities and advanced knowledge. The plague of Barad convinced both Pharaoh and the magicians that it was God’s hand since the phenomenon could not be achieved by mortal magicians. Since it was the same God who came to him previously, Pharaoh had to accept that all the plagues were God created.

Why hail?
This plague was the most awesome and most devastating to hit Egypt. It also displayed God's power and superiority to any deity worshipped by the Egyptians, one of which was the god of the sky, "Nut." The power of God was magnified given that the hail consisted of fire and ice, a surreal happening, as fire and ice, which normally do no coexist, worked hand in hand to wreak havoc.

Additionally, we see a "Measure for Measure" - as the Egyptians now suffered the abuse of hail and fire coming at them; retribution of abusing and physically harming the Jewish people.

Pharaoh asked Moses to have God remove this plague, vowing that he would allow the Israelites to leave and worship their God. However, once the hail stopped, Pharaoh broke his promise. Again.

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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• The Ten Plagues of Egypt
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