The hail came down on Egypt, and smote every man, beast and herb in the field. Yet, in Chapter 9, verses 31 and 32, it says: The flax and the barley were smitten, for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bloom (they were grown up). But the wheat and the rye were not smitten because they were not grown up.

Rashi explains that since they were not grown up, they were tender and bent with the wind. The grown produce had hardened, and therefore could be broken and destroyed.

I find it interesting that these sentences are placed after Pharaoh tells Moses he has had enough.   And Moses stopped the hail. Why are sentences 31 and 32 separated from the main part of the hail story?

I think they are put separately to call attention to an important lesson.

When people are young, they are searching and looking for a way of life.  They may hear one idea and start to implement it. Then they hear another idea and investigate that one. Then they decide to go on one path and this becomes a hardened ideology.

The problem is, sometimes life presents us with new ideas and new realities. And human nature seems to stifle people in their ability to then bend to a new reality. They do not think through the new situation. Rather, they stick to their guns defending what they are doing. They are hardened. When they are that hard, they may be broken and swept away to make room for a new reality that provides better answers for the current situation.

This can be seen very clearly from the siege of the Second Temple.  Rav Yochanam Ben Zakai was smuggled out of Jerusalem so he could meet with the  Roman General Vespasian. Vespasian granted him one request. Rav Yochanan did not respond by asking Vespasian to spare Jerusalem. Instead he asked for the school of Yavneh. There is a disagreement among the sages of the Gemara as to whether he should have asked for Jerusalem. Rav Yochanan decided this was not the time to ask for something he might not get. What was the result? Jews are studying Judaism today. We do not know, given all the wars in the Middle East throughout the centuries, whether the temple would have survived. There is a good chance the Temple would have been destroyed after the Bar Kochba revolt 65 years later. Rav Yochanan  understood when to bend.

Another example is one many people experience. They may be in a profession for years. They are comfortable in their knowledge. But new technology requires them to change the way they operate. Not bending and learning can cost them their career. Or, they may be unhappy with their career. But, to change would require changing their income, their distance from work or other major variables. They may be hardened to any change, even if it would be more advantageous in the long run. They will not be as happy or fulfilled.

Let us learn from the wheat and the rye.

May we all have the wisdom to know whether it is time to stand our ground, or to bend.