Rashi explains that, like the plague of blood and frogs, Moshe could not catalyze this plague. Just as the water had protected him as an infant, the dust of the land protected him when he used it to conceal the Egyptian that he had killed. To smite the earth would have been an act of ingratitude on his part. This begs elucidation. The water saved Moshe – end of story. His basket was placed in the water and remained there until Bisyah, Pharaoh’s daughter, discovered it. The dust of the earth’s protection was short-lived, since it did not successfully hide…

Egypt is a country where rain is rare and hail is virtually a climate phenomenon that does not occur. Thus, the plague of barad, hail, was unusual in that it would be a first for Egypt. Moshe’s warning was unique, in that he told Pharaoh the exact time at which the plague would commence and warned him to inform his slaves to take cover in order to protect themselves and their property. The Torah commends those Egyptians who listened, referring to them as G-d-fearing. The plague of barad and the entire format of its descent onto the land of Egypt…