CHASSIDIC PEARLS BY RABBI LAZER BRODY PARSHAS VAEIRA

"And the frogs ascended upon the land of Egypt" (Shmot 8:1).

Each of the ten plagues, like everything else Hashem does, conveys its own unique message and an intrinsic lesson in life; the frogs are no different.

People usually don't attach significance to a frog. They usually consider it a small ugly creature, an object of disdain or repulsion. At best, folks are willing to tolerate the frogs as long as they limit their croaking to the faraway woods and wetlands.

Jewish tradition looks at frogs in a totally different light. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov wrote an entire discourse elaborating on the inner meaning of the frog (see Likutei Moharan I:3). He says they allude to scholars of Torah, the princes of humanity with enlightened spiritual cognizance.