Parshat Va’eira: Where did Pharoah’s sorcerers find water

Since Aharon had already turned the waters of Egypt into blood, it has to be explained where Pharaoh’s sorcerers found the water with which they performed their own tricks. Answers include:

• Aharon only turned the waters that were above the ground into blood. The Torah reports that the Egyptians dug up subterranean water to drink and it was this that the sorcerers used. (Ibn Ezra, Hizquni, Ralbag)
• The water in the rivers and lakes only remained as blood for a short time and the reason it was undrinkable afterwards is because the water life died and rotted, rendering it poisonous. There was thus plenty of (albeit undrinkable) water available for the sorcerers to use. (Hizquni)
• The waters of Egypt did not all turn to blood at once. Aharon turned the Nile to blood, which then flowed into the other rivers, or, alternatively, he first struck the Nile with his staff and then raised it to the sky to transform the other bodies of water. While this process was ongoing, Pharaoh’s sorcerers took water that was in the process of turning into blood and merely pretended that they were responsible through conjuring tricks. (Rabbeinu Bahya)
• The plague did not affect Goshen where the Children of Israel lived, so the sorcerers got water from there (Pseudo Targum Yonatan).

For more on parshat Va’eira, see Haggadah Berurah, the Haggadah that helps you tell the story of yetziat mitzrayim.