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In this week’s parsha, a reference is made--only the second one in the Torah, and one of three in all of Tanach--to the mysterious tzir’ah, which will attack Israel’s enemies and destroy them. The nature of the tzir’ah is somewhat unclear. Rashi describes a flying insect which attacks the eyes of its victims with poison, incapacitating them. Ramban (Exodus 23:25) seemingly concurs, saying that this insect is similar to a bee. This would then be a reference to a particularly vicious wasp or hornet, spurred miraculously into attacking the enemies of Israel. Ibn Ezra, by contrast, writes in our parsha that the word tzir’ah is a reference to a disease, similar to tzara’as. In any case, the reference is to a supernatural, devastating attack on those who wished to harm the Jewish people.
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