About a year ago, I read Dual Discovery by Zecharya Hoffman. I heard about the book from Dena, my study partner from Partners In Torah.
The story takes place in ancient Egypt during the time of Moses and the ten plagues. The book's hero, whose Egyptian name is Kerma, doesn't know it at first, but he is really a Hebrew.
In the book, the reader gets to experience the plagues first-hand.
In The Little Midrash Says 2 Sh'mos/Exodus, I've read that the plagues didn't touch the Hebrews. For example, when the darkness came, the Hebrews could still see. The frogs moved out of their way. The wild beasts attacked the Egyptians, but let the Hebrews walk around safely. Water was water for the Hebrews, but always turned to blood as soon as an Egyptian touched it.
That's what happens in this book. As young Kerma sees the plagues pass over him, he wonders if he really is a Hebrew and is drawn to the Hebrews. He finds he wants to study with them and be around them. Eventually, he changes his name to Yitzchak. He leaves his comfortable and safe life (although the plagues have really devastated the Egyptians) and lives as a Hebrew.
No one, after reading this novel, will ever look at the plagues in the same way again. For me, reading this book, took me on a journey of my own. I found myself feeling a bit like I was Kerma-Yitzchak. Something keeps drawing me to wanting to learn more and more about Judaism and G-d.
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