דברים, פרק כ״ח, פסוק כ״ח

When disaster strikes, the deepest wounds are often not physical, but mental and emotional. The curses detailed at this point focus on a severe breakdown of clear thought and willpower [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The primary approach among commentators is that the three specific plagues mentioned are not bodily diseases. Rather, they are mental and intellectual strikes that take place entirely within the human heart and mind [אבן עזרא].

The first affliction is madness, defined as a loss of sense, mental confusion, and a state where a person's ideas completely depart from common sense [רלב״ג, ביאור יש״ר]. This is not merely an isolated flaw. It alters a person so deeply that their entire lifestyle and daily behavior become driven by this mental chaos [בעל הטורים]. Following this is blindness, which does not refer to a loss of physical sight, but rather to an intellectual blindness of the mind's eye [רלב״ג]. In this state, the power of the intellect is damaged, and the person loses the ability to properly grasp and understand reality as it truly is [ביאור יש״ר].

The final mental affliction is a deep confusion of the heart. This describes a dullness and closing of the mind [רש״י], resulting in a total lack of clarity in both thought and emotion [רש״ר הירש]. A person in this state lives in constant shock and helplessness. They become entirely unable to tell right from wrong or to form a plan of action. Their thoughts remain unfocused, leaving them to grope in confusion without knowing what to do [רלב״ג, ביאור יש״ר].

In contrast to the approach that views these conditions as internal struggles within a single individual, another perspective applies them to three distinct groups of people during a time of national crisis [העמק דבר]. According to this view, the first group will be struck with madness, losing their sanity and failing to figure out how to protect themselves from their enemies. A second group will suffer from blindness; although they will keep their sanity, they will completely fail to notice the terrible danger approaching them. The third group will experience a paralyzed heart. They will see and fully understand the threat, but an overwhelming emotional dullness will leave them paralyzed like stone, unable to take any action to save themselves.