The Plague Described in the Torah

1. There are about 8,000 species of locusts, but only around 12 of them can become swarms, gather as one group, and begin a collective food-seeking journey. During this journey, they travel thousands of kilometers in a few days, leaping over obstacles and crossing rivers. In the past, there was even a report of a swarm crossing the Suez Canal.

2. When solitary locusts swarm, they change their nature and appearance, and vice versa. From solitary, nocturnal, green-brown, individualistic, and harmless creatures, they become a massive swarm of yellow-black locusts that attack during daylight and cause destruction wherever they land. The difference between them was so pronounced that for a time zoologists considered them two separate insect species, and it was only in 1921 that it became clear they were the same species. This is the power of social influence...

3. How are groups of locusts transformed into a swarm? It turns out it's through stimulation of the hind legs. This stimulation happens in crowded places, such as when food sources diminish, forcing locusts to cluster around limited food resources, thus rubbing against each other. Against their will, they become a ravenous community sharing a common fate.

4. Locusts aren't picky and eat almost anything, but they do not consume olive or date trees.

5. Locusts are first mentioned in the Torah during the plagues of Egypt. The plague of locusts was the eighth plague the Egyptians suffered due to Pharaoh's refusal to release Israel. Additionally, in the Book of Deuteronomy, locusts are described as a punishment for sins.

6. Kosher or not? In Leviticus, chapter 11, it says: "Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that walks on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet, to leap on the ground. These of them, you may eat: the locust after its kind, the bald locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind." According to the Torah's signs, locusts are kosher, but most communities (especially Ashkenazi communities) do not have a tradition of eating them, meaning the practice wasn't passed down from generation to generation.

7. However, in certain North African communities, particularly in Yemenite communities, this tradition was preserved as locusts were prevalent in these areas. They used to eat locusts for long periods until the ruling of Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar (1696-1743) from the city of Salé in Morocco, who prohibited his community from consuming locusts. This ruling led to significant debate among supporters and opponents. Ultimately, this ruling was only partially accepted by some communities. The Tunisian community accepted it entirely, the Yemenite community maintained the tradition of eating locusts, while in Morocco there wasn't a unanimous decision. Southern Moroccan communities closer to the Sahara continued the practice, while northern urban communities, where locusts were less common, discontinued it due to the loss of tradition. Some Moroccan communities had mixed practices, with some members continuing and others abstaining.

8. The Bible mentions ten different types of locusts: arbeh, gib, gazam, chagav, chanamal, chasil, chargole, yelek, salham, tzartzar. Although it is possible these are different names for the same species.

9. It's not the first time locusts attacked the State of Israel. Past attacks have been documented. In 1827, famine was described in the Land of Israel due to a locust plague; this happened also in 1865 and 1866, year after year! In 1915, in addition to World War I, residents suffered from a locust plague. Authorities found an ingenious way to deal with piles of carcasses—they required every resident over the age of 15 to collect 16 kg of locusts or pay a large fine. Before the establishment of the state, in 1945, a locust swarm attacked settlements in the Jordan Valley fields and reached Sha'ar HaGolan, and in November 1955 another swarm specifically targeted settlements in western Negev. In 2004, a few locusts crossed the border from Eilat.

10. One of the incredible stories of the 1955 locust plague involves the ultra-Orthodox moshav Kommemiyut. That year was a Shmita year, and against all logic, the moshav residents decided to observe this commandment and not plant any crops. The crops left for their sustenance were those sown before the seventh year and permitted for consumption during the seventh year (with sanctity of the seventh year). This year saw one of the largest migrating locust attacks, primarily focused on western Negev settlements, including Kommemiyut. Astonishingly, the locust swarm bypassed the fields of Kommemiyut. Aryeh Moskovitz, now a resident of Nov, remembers the event clearly. He was a child back then, living in Moshav Yad Natan, whose fields lined up next to Kommemiyut's fields, and he recounts: "The locusts attacked our moshav, and my father called me to help chase them away. There were no pesticides back then, and the common way was to make noise—banging on metal sheets and wooden boards to scare them off. We went to the field and started banging while I looked at the neighboring fields of Moshav Kommemiyut. There, not a single locust was found. I remember asking my father, 'Why do we have locusts, and the neighbors do not?' He couldn't answer. Later, when I grew stronger in faith, I encountered the story in a book of the Chazon Ish, which mentioned testimonies from Kommemiyut residents about the Shmita year and the locust plague that skipped over their moshav, and then I realized my eyes had literally witnessed a clear miracle."