"So that you will retell it to your children...." Why is specifically this Makah of Arbeh introduced with this goal in mind?
Gur Aryeh: Why was the Makah of Arbeh even necessary; the Barad could have finished off the job! Locusts are the type of plague that is remembered and retold for generations; refer to 10:1:4.4:1. We see that the plague's goal from the outset, was to publicize Hashem's Name and His ability.
What is the meaning of "His'alalti"?
Rashi #2 (to Yeshayah 3:4): It means that Hashem put them to shame.
Targum Onkelos and Targum Yonasan: It means that Yisrael should recount to their children the miracles that He performed with the Egyptians.
Oznayim la'Torah: Hashem mocked the Egyptians by allowing the wheat and the spelt to remain standing, leading Pharaoh to believe that He (would not or) could not finish the job - thereby causing Pharaoh to harden his heart and say 'No!' He then sent the locusts to finish what the hail began.
Ramban: As the Pasuk says in Tehilim, "He sits in the Heaven and laughs, He mocks them" (Tehilim 2:4). Oznayim la'Torah - In that He hardened Pharaoh's heart, and then punished him. He did this 'Midah k'Neged Midah;' for mocking Moshe, promising him to set Yisrael free and then retracting (as Moshe specifically told him - see 8:25-26).
Rashi in Sefer ha'Pardes: Because they denied Me and hardened their hearts, I laughed at them, to smite and plague them and make them cry out, and I did not give them to understand that their shame would last for all generations.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "'His'alalti' - [I.e.,] 'I made fun of,' as in [the verse], 'Ki His'alalt Bi' (Bamidbar 22:29)... and it is not an expression of 'acts or deeds' (Ma'alalim) ...." Which Pasuk is Rashi explaining?
Gur Aryeh: Rashi is explaining our Pasuk, which we might have understood in one of two ways (i.e., 'tell your children how I made sport of Egypt,' or, '... what I did to Egypt'). The Pasuk which Rashi cites from Bamidbar, however, in which Bil'am responds to his donkey, clearly means 'you made sport of me.'
Rashi writes: 'His'alalti' - ... This is not an expression of 'acts' or 'deeds' (Po'al u'Ma'alalim)." Why does Rashi give two different terms?
Gur Aryeh: The term Po'al is neutral; it can mean any sort of act. The term Ma'alalim has the specific connotation of deeds that bring harm; as in the example Rashi brings from Eichah (1:22). [But nevertheless, neither term is what the word "His'alalti" means in our Pasuk; rather, it means "to make sport of."]
Rashi writes: "'His'alalti' - ... Had it been [an expression of 'acts or deeds' (Ma'alalim)], it should have written 'Olalti.'" Mizrachi asks - Why is this a proof? There are many verbs that keep the same meaning, no matter their form?
Gur Aryeh: Although other verbs might retain their basic meaning whether in Kal, Kaved, or Hispa'el form, 1 we see that when this verb (Ayin- Lamed-Lamed) takes Hispa'el form, the preposition which follows it is a Beis - " His'alalti b'Mitzrayim" (I made sport at them)." When it is in Kal form, it is followed by a Lamed - "Olal Li (He did to me)" (Eichah 1:22). This shows that they carry a different meaning.
Gur Aryeh: For example, "va'Yechezak" (8:15); "va'Yechazeik" (9:12), "va'Yischazeik" (Bereishis 48:2) respectively - which all mean 'to strengthen.'
