Ilana Kushan comments on the similarities between the curses in the parashah and the Plagues of Egypt, in particular, as asked by Rabbi Yose that “…you will be afflicted with madness, blindness, and dismay. You will grip at noon as a blind man gropes in the dark…”. Why is it necessary to specify that the blind man is [again] in the dark? She cites Megillah 24b, wherein the rabbis question whether a blind person may lead the congregation in the Shema. Read the article