Teshuva and the Plagues

Coming back to Judaism is a rewarding journey. But some of us come from so far away that it is the very turning point from a series of life setbacks, each more distressing than the last: a redemption from an individual, but very real, exile.
"In every generation, every man should see himself as if he personally went out of Egypt." (Pesach Haggadah, from the last chapter of Mishnah Pesachim.)
Although several months remain between us and Pesach, perhaps we can explore one approach to applying this verse, as our parasha relates the very events we are commanded to remember. For example, Parshat Bo goes through considerable length and detail to describe each of the "makot" (plagues). Looking into the essence of each plague yields a hidden side of Torah and its application to life.
Sefer Bereishit opens with Creation. As related in the Midrash, it hints that G-d developed the world through ten "statements," or emanations of distinct cosmic energies ("sefirot"), coded as, for example, "Let there be light," or, "…a separation between the waters below and the waters above," etc.
Likewise, Sefer Shemot opens with a parallel creation story: that of the Jewish People. The Midrash teaches that Hashem manipulated those same ten "statements" for a kind of inverted objective -- the ruin of Egypt -- as a precondition for the redemption of Israel. Further, "be fruitful and multiply" -- a population explosion -- happens after Creation, whereas "the Children of Israel were fruitful…and multiplied" happens before the Destruction of Egypt. There must have been something very special in this redemption that compelled Hashem to reverse his natural process.
I would like to suggest that Hashem coded within the makot a route to teshuva, personal redemption. (I did not arrive at this theoretically, but by listing the hardships I faced since my prior lifestyle started coming apart at the seams, and ending with my coming to yeshiva. When I compared my list to the makot, it largely corresponded, suggesting a case for a strong connection between each plague and its sefira; the modifications I needed to make to my personal list only served to better organize it.)
The following table summarizes the relationship between the makot and the sefirot. Each plague is followed by its corresponding stage in an individual's teshuva, an example of the plague's character, and its corresponding sefirah.
1) Blood initial perception you did wrong (babies thrown in water) Chochmah
2) Frogs problems develop strangely (one frog struck, multiplies) Binah
Par'oh's response to the first set: "Entreat Hashem…. Here the "yetzer hara" (evil urge) utilizes spirituality for its own ends (its response is delayed until second plague/setback due to strength, or "momentum," of the yetzer hara).
3) Gnats cannot be apprehended to be solved (magicians can't replicate) Da'at
4) Beasts distinctions blurred (boundaries of habitats nullified) Chesed
Par'oh's response to the second set: "Sacrifice to your G-d in the land." During the fourth plague, the yetzer hara begins to recognize cause and effect, and seeks to introduce spiritual activities ("Sacrifice to your G-d") without changing it's basic lifestyle ("the land").
5) Anthrax limits livelihood/practical activities (wipes out animals) Gevurah
6) Boils threatens health and beauty/balance ("could not stand") Tiferet
7) Hail values challenged (fire/passion ice/discipline) Netzach
Par'oh's response to third set: "Hashem is righteous". During the seventh plague, the yetzer hara begins to consider real teshuva.
8) Locusts tangible feeling of lack (locusts consume last of plants) Hod
9) Darkness loss of identity and meaning (cannot move) Yesod
10) Firstborn threat to what is dear (life purpose and hope for future) Malchut
The commentators divide the makot into three sets of three; the last plague is "the last straw" that sends us out. As seen above, Par'oh indeed pleads with Moshe and Aaron three times, once during each set. According to our teshuva model, in the first set our relationship to our past comes into our present; in the second set we are challenged by our environment; in the third set we are affected inwardly. I don't know if profound change in a person's life requires all of these trials, but if one hasn't done teshuva by the tenth, there appears to be a threat to what is dear to oneself: change will perhaps come of itself.
If this is true, how do we apply it? If you can truthfully discern sustained progress in an issue you are dealing with, perhaps you have already passed through your makot of that issue. Do they correspond? Or, if you are in the midst of trials, will the model help predict the character of the next ones? I sense it is not so simple, that it is more like a fractal pattern in which all ten may be discerned at any stage in a person's development, according to his evolving perspective, and his recognition of whether he even has an issue.
If anything, the model can help you see your lifepath in perspective, for the important thing is to get familiar with your own story. You will need it to go into Pesach with the proper kavanah, and that will be the time to share your story.
In any event, it sure is comforting to know that it is not random, that it leads to something, and that it is being orchestrated by a Master Composer of life, who programmed a common pattern between our little "issues" and the most glorious redemption in history.
May your plagues be small and few. May they be more enlightening than irritating. May you be blessed to ride them, inevitable as they are, to change for the good.