Plate 16. Plagues

The design reflects Rabbi Akiva’s teaching that each plague in Egypt was actually five separate plagues. The colors reflect the nature of each plague: a band of reds for blood, greens for the frogs, pale colors for the lice, a mixed spectrum for the mixed horde of beasts, shades of brown for the cattle pestilence, yellows for the boils, blues for hail, progressively darker grays for locusts gradually covering the skies, blackened tones for darkness and reds again for the death of the first born. Burgundy and blue stippling around the plagues recalls the drops of wine removed from the cup. Eschewing the realism of many visual depictions of the plagues, this design parallels Rabbi Yehudah’s acronym: dtzach, adash, be’ahav—that is to say, avoiding the triumphant pronouncement of the plagues and sensitively abbreviating their role in the seder.