When it came to the Ten Plagues, one would have expected the plagues to have been just that, plagues that caused damage to the Egyptians. After all, they were the ones being punished for treating the Jews so harshly.
Which makes us wonder about the plague of darkness.
A- How bad could it have been? Every night it gets dark, so it was dark for three straight cycles of 24 hours. It was bad, but it was not destructive.
B- Why does the Torah have to point out that it did not affect the Jews? Why should we think that it would?
Therefore, we must come to the conclusion that there is a deeper message here.
On the surface, it might not have been so “painful” for the Egyptians. However, the Torah is telling us that the Jews were able to see, not only in their homes – that is obvious – but also in the homes of the Egyptians. They didn’t take anything at the time; they just looked and inquired of the Egyptians to know what kind of valuables they had so that when they would leave Egypt in a few days’ time, they could come back and ask for “payment” for all their years of slavery. For the Egyptians to sit there in the darkness and have the Jews snoop around was very painful.
This in and of itself begs the question, if the Jews already walked into the homes of the Egyptians, why didn’t they just ask the Egyptians for their payment on the spot? Just taking it would be stealing, so they would have to ask. Why come back at a later date?
From here we learn a fascinating lesson that applies to us today.
G-d wants us to do a Mitzvah through natural means.
If the Jews had taken their payment through a miraculous act, such as during the plague of darkness, then they would be fulfilling G-d’s prophecy to Abraham, that the Jews will leave with “great wealth” not through natural means, which in return would not last. However, when we do G-d’s will naturally, it also lasts.
This is why see throughout Jewish history stories over and over again that although G-d could have performed a miracle, He doesn’t and instead He gives us the opportunity to do the right thing in a natural way.
This way, it is real.