## Tur HaArokh, Exodus

###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:1:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:1:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/11:1:1)

**עוד נגע אחד אביא על פרעה.**בעמדו לפני פרעה נאמר לו זה. ור' אברהם כתב שבמדין נאמר לו הנה אנכי הורג את בנך בכורך ופי' ויאמר וכבר נאמר לו. וגם בכאן קיצר הכתוב בספור כי השם אמר לו נגע אחד אביא והודיעו הנגע ואמר לו בחצות הלילה אני יוצא בתוך מצרים אלא שלא רצה להאריך וסמך על מה שאמר משה לפרעה כה אמר ה' כחצות הלילה אני יוצא:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
עוד נגע אחד אביא על פרעה, “I shall bring one more plague upon Pharaoh.” Moses received this message from G’d while still standing in the presence of Pharaoh. Ibn Ezra writes that Moses was given this instruction while in Midian, when G’d told him to tell Pharaoh that he would kill his firstborn son (Exodus) The meaning of the word ויאמר in our verse is simply that G’d had already told this to Moses some time ago. Here too the Torah engages in an abbreviation. The Torah relies on the details of this plague having been announced in verses 4-10.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:2:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:2:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/11:2:1)

**כלי כסף וכלי זהב.**תימא למה לא אמר שמלות והרי בפרשה של מעלה הזכיר גם שמלות וכן בעשיי' הזכיר שמלות. וי"מ הטעם לפי שהי' קשה בעיניהם ליקח שמלות מפני כובד המשא אמר הקב"ה איני מבקש מהם אלא כלי כסף וזהב והם אמרו נקיים כל דבריו ונקח גם שמלות:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
כלי כסף וכלי זהב, “vessels made of silver and vessels made of gold.” Why did Moses not include a reference to garments, as the Torah had done 3,22? This reference to garments surfaces again when the Torah describes that the Israelites “borrowed” these from their neighbours immediately prior to their departure (12,35). Some commentators say that the reason was that “shlepping” along all kinds of garments was more of a handicap for the people on their impending journey, so that G’d omitted reference to the garments, to indicate that this was entirely voluntary; they did not have to ask for clothing. The Israelites, when it came to the departure, decided to fulfill G’d’s commandment in its entirety, hence they also asked and received fancy garments.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:3:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:3:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/11:3:1)

**ויתן ה' את חן העם בעיני מצרים.**אע"פ שלקו בשבילם לא הוסיפו בהם שנאה אלא אדרבא אהבום ואמרו שהם הרשעים ועושים להם חמס וראוי הוא שיחונן אותם האלהים אבל אין לפרש ויתן ה' את חן העם על ההשאלה שעתה בשעת ההבטחה לא הי' לו לומר ויתן אלא ואני אתן את חן העם ולמטה בשעת המעשה אומר וה' נתן את חן העם:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויתן ה' את חן העם בעיני מצרים, “G’d granted the people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians.” In spite of the fact that the Egyptians experienced all these plagues orchestrated by the messenger of this Jewish G’d, they no longer related to the Israelites with hostility; on the contrary, they had belatedly realized that not the Israelites but they themselves had been the sinners all along by using brute force in their relations with them. It was therefore no more than fair that G’d recompensed them by endowing them. We must not translate the words ויתן ה' את חן העם בעיני במצרים, as a reference to the “borrowing” the Israelites were about to do, as, at the time when the Israelites had not yet received these items the expression ויתן would be premature when all they had as yet was a promise by G’d. Here G’d could only have said “I will give the people favour, etc.” In chapter 12,36 G’d is reported (in the past tense) of having given the people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians as the reason why they handed over all these valuables.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:3:2
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:3:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/11:3:2)

**גם האיש משה.**המביא עליהם המכות:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
גם האיש משה, “moreover, the man Moses,” he enjoyed such an image because he had orchestrated the plagues.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:3:3
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:3:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/11:3:3)

**גדול מאוד בעיני עבדי פרעה.**אנשי ריביו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
גדול מאד בעיני עבדי פרעה, “enjoyed great stature in the eyes of Pharaoh’s servants.” This is a reference to the servants who had challenged Pharaoh’s policy.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:3:4
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:3:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/11:3:4)

**ובעיני העם.**ישראל אחרי שאמרו ירא ה' וישפוט ולא שמעו אל משה חזרו לגדלו. וי"מ בעיני העם עם מצרים ולא אמר בעיני פרעה ובעיני עבדיו כי השם אימץ לבו ודבר כנגדו שלא כהוגן כדי שיצטרך לבוא ולבקש מלפניו על נפשו שימחול לו והכל כדי להרבות גדולה למשה. ור' אברהם כתב ויתן ה' את חן העם על ההשאלה שהשאילום וגם האיש משה גדול מאוד ובשביל כבודו השאילום:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ובעיני העם, “and in the eyes of the people.” This refers to the Jewish people. Seeing that the people, after Moses’ failed intervention on their behalf, had challenged him to a דין תורה with G’d, protesting his mixing in their affairs (Exodus 5,21). The Torah now reports that the minds of the people had undergone a change of heart *vis a vis* Moses, even though they were still enslaved in Egypt.
 Other commentators understand the words ובעיני העם as referring to the Egyptian people. The reason that the Torah did not report Pharaoh and his pliant ministers as sharing this high regard for Moses, was because G’d had toughened his heart so that he spoke to Moses in a disparaging manner [something he had not done previously. Ed.]. G’d had created this scenario in order to eventually force Pharaoh to come to Moses and plead that the Israelites leave, the sooner the better. In this manner, Moses’ stature would be enhanced still further if the “mighty” Pharaoh came begging to him in the middle of the night.
 Ibn Ezra writes that the words ויתן ה' את חן העם בעיני מצרים are to be understood both as relating to the Egyptians lending their valuables to the Israelites, and to the esteem that they held Moses in by that time.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:4:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:4:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/11:4:1)

**בחצות הלילה.**פירש"י ולא אמר בחצות שלא יטעו איצטגניני פרעה. ור' אברהם כתב יש מדקדקים שאומרים כחצות שם הפועל ופי' כאשר יהי' חצי הליל' בשוה וכאלו אמר בחצי הליל' ולפי דעתי אין צריך לכל זה כי פי' כחצות הליל' בעבור חצות הליל' הראשון והכה כל בכור בחצי הליל' הנשאר. כתב הרמב"ן שאמר לו כחצות הליל' ולא פי' לו איזה לילה כי הדבור הזה והאמירה אל פרעה קודם ראש חודש ניסן הי' ולא ידעו באיזה ליל' תהי' המכה ובפרש' שניה פירש לישראל הליל' ועברתי בארץ מצרים בליל' הזה ובפרש' שלישית אומר ויהי בחצי הליל' הנזכר שעשו בו הפסח:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
כחצות הלילה, “around midnight.” *Rashi* says that the reason that Moses did not refer toבחצות הלילה , ”precisely at midnight,” as the Torah reports the slaying of the firstborn having occurred at, was because he did not want to take a chance of being called a liar in the event that the astronomers’ clocks in Egypt were not accurate. 
 Ibn Ezra writes that according to some experts in grammar, the word כחצות is a form of the verb when it becomes converted into a noun. The meaning is: “at the point of time known as midnight, etc.” In other words, the meaning is no different than if the Torah had written בחצי הלילה. 
 Personally, I do not think there is a need for all this, as the meaning of the words כחצי הלילה is “the moment the stroke of midnight is over, etc.” At that moment the second half of the night commences.
 Nachmanides writes that G’d had never said to Moses that this would take precisely at midnight of a certain date, but that the words reflect that Moses had been informed that on some midnight this plague would become effective. The precise date when this would occur was revealed to the Israelites only in the second paragraph dealing with it. (12,23) The third paragraph dealing with this plague reports on what happened and to whom. (12,29)


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:5:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:5:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/11:5:1)

**עד בכור השפחה אשר אחר הרחיים.**ובשעת מעשה כתיב עד בכור השבי אשר בבית הבור לפי שבשעת התראה הי' יום והיו בני השפחות במלאכתן טוחנין ברחיים ובשעת המכה הי' לילה היו בני השבויים שהם בני השפחות שמורים בבית הבור כדי שלא יברחו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
עד בכור השפחה אשר אחר הרחיים, ‘to the firstborn of the maidservant who is behind the millstone.” When the Torah reports about the actual plague happening, it uses a different example when describing the woman at the lowest rung of the social order, namely “the firstborn of the prisoner in jail.” Actually, the Torah refers to the same person each time. When the warning was issued it was daylight, so that the prisoner was at work moving millstones. When the plague occurred it was midnight, a time when all the prisoners are in their cells to prevent them from escaping.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:7:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:7:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/11:7:1)

**ולכל בני ישראל לא יחרץ כלב לשונו.**אע"פ שהעיר מלא' נבלות ודרך הכלבים לנבוח על הנבלות וגם דרך כשהולכים בני אדם בלילות הכלבים מנבחים וכ"ש שהי' הדבר בעיר ואמרינן כלבים צועקים מלאך המות בא לעיר אעפ"כ לא יחרץ כלב לשונו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ולכל בני ישראל לא יחרץ כלב לשונו, “but against all the Children of Israel not a dog will whet its tongue.” (in preparation to giving the alarm) even though the city was full of corpses and it is the custom of the dogs to howl in the presence of corpses, as well as when they hear people walking at night; in fact there is a popular proverb according to which howling of dogs without visible reason, signifies that the angel of death is about. In spite of all this, on this night in Egypt the dogs kept mum.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:8:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:8:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/11:8:1)

**וירדו כל עבדיך אלה אלי.**פירש"י שחלק כבוד למלכות. אע"ג דדרשינן ויצא מעם פרע' בחרי אף מלמ' שסטרו וא"כ איה כבודו י"ל ריש לקיש הוא שדורש הכי בזבחים פרק טבול יום ואיהו לטעמי' דקאמר' נמי התם שלא נצטו' לכבדו דדריש ונצבת לקראתו רשע הוא והעיז לו פנים. וי"מ שפרעה סטר למשה והיינו רושם שהי' חרון אף:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
וירדו כל עבדיך אלה אלי, “and all these servants of yours will be coming down to me, etc.” According to *Rashi,* this is a form of courtesy to Pharaoh, as the King. Moses had in mind that Pharaoh would come down to where he lived, but he used a euphemism in order not to sound as if he meant to insult him. Although the Torah had described Moses’ as leaving Pharaoh for the last time in a state of “burning fury”, meaning that he had slapped Pharaoh so that at that point Moses certainly did not treat Pharaoh deferentially, we may accept the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish who says that instead of replying to Pharaoh’s insolent refusal, he slapped Pharaoh. [there are numerous explanations as to what Resh Lakish meant with his statement. Ed.] Others say that Pharaoh had slapped Moses prior to his leaving. [the basic problem is that the Talmud feels that every expression of anger must have a tangible symbol, and here none such has been spelled out. Ed.]


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:9:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:9:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/11:9:1)

**למען רבות מופתי.**פירש"י מכת בכורות וקריעת ים סוף ולנער את מצרים. והקשה הרמב"ן שזה אי אפשר שהרי כתיב אחריו ולא שלח את בני ישראל מארצו ופי' הוא בעבור שהי' ראוי שיפחד פרעה ממכת בכורות יותר מכל המכות על כן הודיעו השם שהוא מחזק את לבו כדי שירב' בו מופתיו במכת בכורות באדם ובבהמ' ושפטים באלהיהם:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
למען רבות מופתי, “in order to increase the number of My miracles.” Seeing that there was only one plague left to be performed in Egypt, *Rashi* understands the plural mode *moftay”* as applying to both the killing of the firstborn and the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, and the Egyptians being poured into that sea and drowning.
 Nachmanides claims that this could not be the meaning here, seeing the Torah concludes by “and he did not release the Israelites from his land.” He explains the meaning of מופתי as meaning that although the plague of the killing of the firstborn was the plague most feared by Pharaoh, and we would have expected him to humiliate himself rather than to maintain his posture, G’d explains that Pharaoh’s attitude was only due to His having strengthened his heart, giving him this unbelievable fortitude. G’d explains to Moses that this will provide Him with the justification to orchestrate more miracles. The plural mode is justified because the plague of killing the firstborn also resulted in the Egyptian deities being destroyed and their livestock similarly experiencing the death of the firstborn.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:10:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 11:10:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/11:10:1)

**ומשה ואהרן עשו את כל המופתים האלה.**הם המופתים הנזכרים למעל' וכתב זה כאן בעבור שהשלים כל המעשים כי מכת בכורות התרו בה לפרעה ואין למשה ולאהרן בה שום מעשה. ור' אברהם כתב ויאמר ה' אל משה לא ישמע אליכם פרעה וכבר אמר ה' אל משה דבר זה בתחלת דיבורו וכן היה שמשה ואהרן עשו את כל המופתים אפילו הכי חיזק לבו ולא שלח את בני ישראל עד בוא מכה העשירית והי' ראוי לסמוך לפרשה זו מיד ויהי בחצי הליל' אלא הפסיק בפרש' פסח שעל ידו ניצולו בכורות ישראל:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ומשה ואהרן עשו את כל המופתים האלה, “and Moses and Aaron performed all these miracles. This verse refers to the miracles which have already been described in detail. The reason this is mentioned here is because Moses and Aaron had completed the task of warning the Egyptians of what would befall them if they did not heed the warnings.
 Ibn Ezra writes that in light of the fact that G’d had told Moses at the outset that Pharaoh would not respond to warnings or plagues until the last one, and this stage had now been reached, seeing that he had received all the warnings he would ever receive, the Torah reports that Moses and Aaron had carried out all the instructions they had received. If not for the need to write the Passover legislation prior to the Israelites performing those rites, the Torah would have continued with reporting the killing of the firstborn and the departure of the Israelites immediately.