There are lots of children’s songs which center around the frogs that descended on Egypt during the course of the second of the ten plagues.
There is the fan favorite
Frogs Here, Frogs There, Frogs are Jumping Everywhere
“One morning when Pharaoh woke in his bed there were frogs on his head and frogs in his bed…”
Or the catchy, foot tapper
“Out of the river frogs did pour, jumped in the beds and ovens and floor…”
These charming ditties are the basis of the curriculum for the preschool set this week.
But if we believe the Torah is eternal and has relevant wisdom for every stage of life what lessons can we learn from our amphibian friends?
There is a core concept in Judaism which is called a “measure for a measure”.
This principle teaches that
“Gd repays people with consequences that directly match their actions, thoughts and words”
This means that a reward given by Gd will contain a mirror or kernel of the action that created merit.
Conversely, a punishment will reflect a quality or dimension that the sinner reflected.
A more nuanced version of the punishment fitting the crime.
The Egyptians perpetrated many heinous acts against the Jewish people. And when Gd punished the Egyptians, each plague and each punishment, was a response to the underlying crime committed by the Egyptians.
So let us look at the frogs and what their essence belied.
In a book called Bina BMikra, the author quotes an article by Prof Yehuda who explains this concept.
The frog was a goddess in ancient Egyptian lore. The talisman of the Egyptian midwives was this goddess and is depicted by a woman with a frog’s head. This is because frogs are known to multiply profusely and are therefore a good emblem of the wish for population explosion.
When the plague of frogs infested Eqypt they reminded every one of another situation where midwives were tasked not with bringing life into the world but rather snuffing it out.

The Hebrew midwives were also dealing with a population explosion, but Pharaoh decreed they should kill the newborn baby boys.
This infestation of frogs reminds the population that their goddess is being punished as the universal value of midwives birthing life was perverted when it came to the Jews.
So the frogs teach us the concept of measure for measure. Gd meted out punishment in way that is not only just but also instructive.
Frogs teach us about emotional regulation. Long before the children’s book Frank the Fiery Frog written by Eileen Barrett, the Torah teaches us the same concepts. In her book for children, Barrett who is a child and adolescent psychotherapist, uses her character Frank the Frog to teach young and old about anger management and emotional regulation.
I wonder if the august author studied this week’s Torah portion to help her choose the right protagonist!
The Sages teach us that beginning of the plague began with one big, loathsome toad which emerged from the Nile. The Egyptians wanted to get rid of it and began hitting it with sticks. Every time the frog was hit it multiplied and more and more frogs appeared.
This really sounds unhinged. After a few strikes, the populace should have stopped hitting because their actions were not solving the problem, only adding to it.
The Steipler Gaon, a world renowned Jewish leader of the past generation taught that this is an example of emotion overcoming intellect. The anger the Egyptians felt was so powerful and overwhelming it wiped away all rational thought.
This is unfortunately a concept that affects adults and children alike. When anger overcomes one, that little child who isn’t having its way and is stomping their feet and destroying their toys can sometimes reemerge in our adult selves.
The message of the frogs is to practice self control in the face of anger because lashing out, which may bring momentary pleasure, will probably make the situation immeasurably worse.
The final frog foresight for this feature is a surprising one.
It’s the concept of going above and beyond, going the extra mile.
If we reference our aforementioned children’s songs we are reminded that in the effort to make the Egyptians totally miserable, the frogs were commanded to go everywhere.
We therefore learn the lesson of doing whatever is necessary to sanctify Gd’s name. Some commentators ask how do we learn this from the frogs, they were commanded to go into the ovens and become fried frogs, there was no choice?
Some commentators answer that Gd gave a general direction to the frogs to overtake Egypt and find there way into every nook and cranny of life. So they could choose to go to the beds and wreak havoc there. No individual frog was actually commanded to go make themselves into frog flambé in an oven. The frog would have fulfilled his mission by jumping into Pharoah’s bed. But Pharoah’s bed was going to be a cushy landing, so some of the frogs thought, so to speak,if we all go to the beds and none to the ovens then Gd’s command will only be partially fulfilled, and Gd’s name will not be sanctified to the greatest degree. So some of the frogs “decided” to jump in the ovens. Interestingly the commentary concludes that those frogs who jumped into the ovens did not die, they survived.
This is a great metaphor for the choices we have to make every day. Are we just going to do what’s required of us or do something extra?
In his words on this idea Harry Rothenberg concludes that if it wasn’t for the people who want to go the extra mile we wouldn’t have the plethora of Jewish organizations that provide help in the most creative and nuanced ways. There is an endless list of Chessed or loving kindness organizations which were spawned by those who were not satisfied with merely fulfilling their obligations-they wanted to go the extra mile to offer support in a myriad of ways.
The lowly frog has been redeemed.
These are but a few insights we can glean from its role in the story of the Jewish people.
Because our tale is not the story of what happened to us - it’s an epic chronicle of what we make happen.
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!