Shabbos HaGadol Drasha 2026/5786 - Makkas Choshech

In a profound and electrifying Shabbos HaGadol drasha, Rabbi Zev Cohen reveals a hidden spiritual dimension behind the plague of darkness in Makkas Choshech: it was not merely a physical phenomenon, but a divine test of money and materialism. Drawing from rare sources like the Shachal HaTorah and Rokeach, he argues that the Jews' refusal to take gold and silver from Egypt—despite having the right and the means—was the ultimate act of faith. Four-fifths of the Jewish people died during the plague not from the darkness itself, but because they failed the spiritual test of resisting the temptation of wealth, which blinded them to their true mission. The remaining one-fifth, who passed the test, were the ones who would build the Mishkan. Rabbi Cohen connects this to the story of Haman, who unknowingly used the very same gold and wood from the Mishkan to hang Mordechai—only to be hanged on the same tree. The episode culminates in a powerful call to action: in an age of unprecedented wealth and AI-driven distraction, we must choose between being consumed by money and technology or using them as tools to serve Hashem. The true miracle of Choshech was not the darkness, but the light of faith that allowed the Jews to walk through it unscathed.