ויאמר ה' אל משה ואל אהרן. “G’d spoke to Moses and Aaron.” Even though it appears from the wording of the verse that G’d’s words were addressed to both Moses and Aaron, Moses was the principal recipient of G’d’s words. When the Torah writes in Exodus 20,12: “honor your father and your mother,” the father is the principal subject in that commandment. Seeing that Aaron was involved in performing the miracles the Torah included his name amongst those addressed.

בארץ מצרים, “in the land of Egypt.” Outside the metropolis, seeing the city was full of abominations preventing a revelation of G’d’s word there. When the Torah has in mind the metropolis, it often adds the word עיר, such as when Moses told Pharaoh that he would leave the עיר, prior to praying to G’d (9,29). In order to reconcile this with the oft quoted statement by our sages that the Shechinah dwelled in Egypt, our sages explained that as long as the land of Israel had not been chosen as the exclusive domain for the Shechinah, all countries were potentially equally fit to receive a communication from G’d by word of mouth (Mechilta 85). After the land of Israel was chosen, all other countries were no longer suited for G’d to address people there. As long as the Temple had not been erected in Jerusalem, the whole city of Jerusalem was fit to receive such communication from G’d. After the Temple had been built even the city itself was no longer a vehicle for such communication by G’d. Only the holy precincts of the Temple qualified for this as we know from Psalms 132,14: “This is My resting-place for all time; here I will dwell, for I desire it.” By the same token, as long as Aaron had not been chosen to be a priest every Israelite was potentially fit to become a priest. As long as David had not been crowned king, any Israelite could have qualified as king as we know from Exodus 19,6: “you shall be for Me a Kingdom of priests, etc.” After the appointment of David as king, all other Israelites were automatically excluded from qualifying for that position. Even while G’d’s word was communicated outside the borders of Israel this occurred only in a place which was pure or situated on a river. This is based on Daniel 8,2: ”and here I was beside the Ulai river.” We have a similar statement by Ezekiel 1,1 who described himself as on the banks of the river Chidekel when receiving a communication from G’d. In Daniel 10,4, Daniel describes himself as on the banks of the river Tigris when receiving a vision by an angel who addressed him.

Shemot Rabbah 15,5 quotes Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish as saying that Israel was on a very high level if G’d agreed to manifest Himself in a place full of impurity and abominations for the sake of this people. He explained this phenomenon by means of a parable. A priest had been given some Terumah, a tithe which is holy and not accessible to laymen. This Terumah had fallen into a graveyard (a place inaccessible to a priest by law). The priest pondered his problem saying that he was certainly not permitted to defile himself by entering the cemetery. On the other hand, he was desperately dependent on that Terumah so that he could not forego it. He decided that it was preferable for him to temporarily defile himself and subsequently to purify himself than to die from starvation by foregoing this Terumah. The Jewish people are G’d’s Terumah (compare Jeremiah 2,3): “Israel is holy, the first of G’d’s harvest.” The Jewish people’s present situation was that they were in a vast cemetery (compare 12,30: “there was not a single house which did not contain a dead body”). If G’d would not contaminate Himself briefly in order to salvage the Jewish people, He would have to forego their existence permanently. Hence He decided to temporarily relax His rule and reveal Himself in a place not normally suitable for such a revelation in order to secure the continued existence of His Terumah, i.e. the Jewish people. After G’d had taken the Israelites out of Egypt, He said to Aaron: “please perform rites of purification for Me.” This is the meaning of Leviticus 16,33 and 16,16: “he shall provide atonement for the Sanctuary,” or “he shall provide atonement upon the Tent of Meeting and the altar.”

החודש הזה לכם ראש חדשים, “this month shall be for you the beginning of the months, etc.” It is significant that at this juncture G’d did not instruct Moses and Aaron to relay the content of this message to the Jewish people. Surely the word לכם, “for you,” implied that the fixing of the new moon was a commandment applicable to each and every Israelite! Failure of G’d to issue the customary instruction: “say to all the Israelites, etc.,” therefore indicated that the determining of the new moon was something reserved for the elders of the people, a court of experts, and was not something incumbent on the individual Jew. This is why these instructions were addressed to both Moses and Aaron in their capacity as the experts at the time. The word לכם, in this instance means: “to the likes of you, to trained experts.” The word החודש הזה is a reference to the month of Nissan. The Torah calls it ראשון, “the first,” both here and again in verse 18. Seeing that the month of Tishrei is the first month in the compilation of years [something we have in common with the rest of mankind, Ed.] the Torah had to add the word לכם, “for you,” to show that Nissan is unique to the Jewish people as the first in our list of months. The implication is that we count these months as a symbol of the month in which we attained our freedom as a nation. It follows that wherever mention is made of the month of Tishrei, the Torah refers to it as the seventh month. This means it is the seventh following Nissan. Incidentally, this is the reason that the Torah has no names for the various months, but refers to them as a ordinal numbers, i.e. “second,” “third,” etc. By doing so the memory of the redemption from Egypt is constantly invoked when we read about any of the festivals which occur during certain months of the year. The names of the months such as Nissan, Iyar, Sivan, etc., have been introduced only after the Jewish people were exiled in Babylon (Talmud Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 1,2). The reason the Jewish people adopted this change was that we have a prophetic announcement (Jeremiah 16,14-15) “assuredly, a time is coming —declares the Lord — when it shall no longer be said: ‘as the Lord lives Who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt,’ but rather, ‘as the Lord lives Who brought the Israelites out of the northland, and out of all the lands to which He had banished them.’” This verse caused the Jews to adopt the names of Babylonian months after they were redeemed from there. Again, you find that the names of the months provide us with a memory of redemption, albeit a partial redemption unlike that from the land of Egypt. We learn from all this that the Torah itself did not give specific names to the months just as it did not assign specific names to the days of the week as is customary amongst the Gentile nations. We refer to the days of the week by their proximity or otherwise to the Sabbath, i.e. “the first day after Sabbath,” “the second day after Sabbath,” etc. We do this in order to maintain the centrality of the Sabbath in our calendar. This is the plain meaning of Exodus 20,8: “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” The Torah demands that we remember the Sabbath on a daily basis.

When the Torah writes here: “this month shall be for you the head of the months,” the meaning is not that we must watch carefully if the new moon is clearly visible and that we are to establish the new moon or extend the last month according to the sighting of the new moon. Determining the need for an extra month does not depend on the sighting of the moon but on calculations.

Rabbeinu Chananel also states clearly [Torah Shlemah by Rabbi M. Kasher pages 46-48] that we base our calendar on astronomical calculations rather than the sighting of the moon. For proof of this, consider the fact that during the Israelites’ wanderings in the desert for 40 years when their encampment was totally enveloped by the ענני הכבוד, G’d’s clouds of distinction, neither the people nor their leaders were able to sight the moon. They did not even see the sun by day either but depended totally on the pillar of cloud or fire to light the way for them. This is confirmed by Nechemyah 9,19: “You in Your abundant compassion did not abandon them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud did not depart from them to lead them on the way by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to give them light. in the way where to go.” How would the Israelites have been able to fix the date of the new moon unless they had based themselves on their astronomical calculations? Clearly, the principal method of determining the new moon is based on calculations.

We have an old-standing tradition that 5 of the 12 months of the year always have 30 days whereas 5 other months always have 29 days. The remaining 2 months fluctuate between 29 and 30 days respectively. In some years both of these months have 30 days, in some years both have 29 days, and in some years one of them has 29 days whereas the other month has 30 days. The two months which are subject to these variations are Cheshvan and Kislev. We have another tradition that the first day of Tishrei is New Year’s day, and that according to a ruling handed down by Moses from Sinai each “month” (lunar orbit) consists of 29 days, 12 hours and 793 parts [the hour is divided into 1080 equal parts] (Rosh Hashanah 25). All this is based on Chronicles I 12,33: “of the Issacharites, men who knew how to interpret the signs of the times to determine how Israel should act; their chiefs were two hundred, and all their kinsmen followed them.” No other matter requires as much knowledge and insight as determining the times of the calendar, the dates of the festivals based on comparison with the seasons determined by the solar calendar. Of course, if the new moon has been sighted everybody knows that a new month has begun, etc. It is easy then to calculate the tenth of the month to determine the day of Yom Kippur and the 15th of the month to determine the first day of Sukkot, etc.

The sages needed to know what calculations are required in order to inform the people ahead of time what to expect and in order to check whether sightings of the new moon which had been claimed were in fact possible according to their charts. It is this aspect which the verse from Chronicles dealing with the Issacharites deals with.

You will note that already during the time of David and Yonathan calculations formed the basis of the determination of the new moon as David said to Yonathan (Samuel I 20,5) “tomorrow, on the new moon I will sit beside the king, etc.” If the new moon had been determined merely by sighting, how did David know it would be observed on the morrow? Perhaps there would not be a sighting of the new moon by then? It is clear then that the date was determined by calculation if sightings failed to confirm these calculations. In fact, from that episode in Samuel I it is clear that already at that time the sages arranged for two consecutive days of new moon being observed seeing that we read in verses 24-27 of the same chapter: “The new moon came and the king sat down to partake of the meal...but David’s place remained vacant....That day however Saul said nothing....But on the day after the new moon, the second day, David’s place was vacant again, etc.” It is clearly impossible to say that the day described as “the second day” refers to another new moon the following month and that this is why they called it החודש השני. Saul asked Yonathan (verse 27) “why did not the son of Yishai come to the meal yesterday or the day before?” The story goes on: “Yonathan rose from his seat angrily and he did not eat on the second day of the new moon.” Clearly the date of the new moon was determined by means of calculations. This system was in effect for 1100 years from the time of Moses until the time of Antignos from Socho who, together with Shimon Hatzadik, was the leader of the Jewish people around the time Ezra and his colleagues came to Eretz Yisrael from Babylon. (Moses died in 2488 after the creation of Adam whereas Antignos lived around 3460 years after the creation of Adam.) Two of Antignos’ students, Tzadok and Beissus, were the ones who misunderstood their teacher’s meaning when he exhorted his students not to serve G’d like a servant who serves a human master for the sake of a reward, feeling entitled to it. Antignos urged his students to relate to the service of G’d as does a servant who volunteers to serve his master out of love and not out of a desire for reward. These two students thought that there was no system of reward and punishment in Judaism as a result of which they forsook the path of Torah. A by-product of their heresy was that they raised questions against the system of determining the time of the new moon, claiming that the principal mitzvah in observing the commandment of sanctifying the new moon was the sighting of it, not the calculations on paper. Such a new thesis forced the leading rabbis of that time to respond and to prove to these heretics that their calculations were accurate and more reliable than sightings so that Rabban Gamliel came out publicly saying not to be too concerned about whether an actual sighting had taken place. He claimed to have had a tradition from his grandfather that the month (lunar orbit) is never shorter than 29 days 12 hours and 793 parts.

These words of Rabban Gamliel prove that he did not base his calendar on sightings but on astronomical calculations. We have an explicit Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 25) which states that “if both the elders of the court and the entire nation had clearly seen the new moon but it became night while the elders examined witnesses who testified to the sighting of the new moon before the elders were able to pronounce the new moon on the day just concluded, they would declare the month to have had 30 days.” This proves that the elders did not rely principally on the sighting. Had they done so, how could they have added another day to the month seeing not only the witnesses but they themselves had sighted the new moon on the previous night? Clearly, if they decided to make that month one of thirty days in spite of the sighting, they must have based themselves on their calculations. I can bring you even more compelling evidence. The Mishnah at the end of the second chapter in Rosh Hashanah records that two witnesses appeared claiming to have sighted the new moon at its appropriate time, i.e. the night between the 29th and the 30th of the month. They also claimed that on the following night, i.e. the night of the 31st, the moon had not appeared in the sky. Rabban Gamliel accepted their testimony. If Rabban Gamliel and his colleagues had been basing their declarations of the new moon only on sightings, how could he have accepted such testimony which contradicts all we know about the behaviour of the moon? Surely, the fact that the moon did not appear on the following night meant that the witnesses had lied in the first place! Clearly, Rabban Gamliel relied on his calculations in the first instance and when these proved that the new moon had been due to appear when it did he accepted the visual evidence that it had indeed been sighted on the appropriate night. As to the statement of the sages (folio 24) that Rabban Gamliel had a reproduction of the sky on the wall of his study which he employed to instruct laymen, the meaning is that he wanted to convince the supporters of Tzadok and Beissus of his absolute competence in astronomical matters from month to month. He wanted to show them beforehand in which manner and at what angle sightings of the moon after the end of the present month would occur. When these students noticed that Rabban Gamliel had correctly predicted where and when in the sky sightings of the new moon would occur, he managed to discredit Tzadok ad Beissus who had tried to undermine the authority of the Jewish Supreme Court. As a result, the allegations against the calendar calculations of the leading elders of the Jewish people ceased. Nonetheless, the practice of encouraging people to come forward as witnesses to new-moon sightings continued but primarily as a reminder of an established custom, not as something of halachic necessity. It is unanimously agreed that the authority to determine calendar adjustments is vested in the hands of the Jewish Supreme Court or its equivalent as something handed down from the time of Moses, provided such court is composed of the most knowledgeable and G’d-fearing people of their generation This is the law which G’d commanded to Moses in our verse here. The words החודש הזה לכם, may therefore be translated as “you have authority to delegate the adjustments which may have to be made to this month.” Thus far the commentary of Rabbeinu Chananel. This authority delegated by G’d to the Rabbinical authorities is of such fundamental significance that we read in Sanhedrin 42 that if the Jewish people had not been granted the opportunity to perform any other commandment except to recite the benediction over the new moon once a month and to thereby welcome the eternal presence of the Shechinah, this would be deemed sufficient for them. They base this on the wording החודש הזה, here and זה אלי ואנוהו, “this is my G’d and I wish to exalt Him” in Exodus 15,2.

What this Midrash is trying to tell us is that the verse here is an explanation of the peculiarly worded text of the benediction recited when blessing the new moon. It is an allusion to כנסת ישראל, the Jewish people as a spiritual concept, so called as it is a crown, sanctified and the exclusive property of the people of Israel, who are referred to as עמוסי בטן, (Isaiah 46,3) “transported by G’d on His arms ever since their inception” (in the house of Lavan). Seeing that he who utters this benediction finds himself in the presence of the Shechinah, he must recite it while standing (not while seated). This ensures that he is conscious of the necessary awe when in the presence of G’d.

Reciting the benediction over the new moon is equivalent to testifying to the fact that G’d created the universe and all that is in it. This is the principal pillar of our religious faith. Seeing the moon renews itself month after month makes it easy to understand that G’d created one universe after another. Some unidentified sages have said that the black colour we observe on part of the moon serves as a reminder of the Israelites who are in exile and who count their months based on the lunar orbits. Concerning this phenomenon Solomon said (Song of Songs 6,10) יפה כלבנה, ברה כחמה, ”beautiful as the moon, brilliant as the sun.” G’d granted beauty to the moon and brilliance to the sun. The reason is that the moon resembles woman’s lower physiognomy in that it is activated by the male. The moon similarly receives its input from the sun. This is also the meaning of the statement in Ketuvot 59: “woman exists for the sake of beauty” [rather than for the performance of menial labour. Ed.]. Speaking of the sun, however, Solomon used the term ברה, as its light is clear, distinct. Seeing that Solomon used different adjectives in describing moon and sun it is clear that the moon lacks brilliance. You need not be surprised at the choice of metaphors by Solomon as the Shechinah which accompanies the Jewish people in their exile and which reflects the strength of the moon is also feeling the pain of the Jewish people in their troubles. We know this from Isaiah 63,9: “In all their troubles He was troubled.”

Shemot Rabbah 15,26 approaches our verse from a different angle saying that the words: “this month is yours, etc.,” describe G’d’s promise to the Jewish people even before He took them out of Egypt that Jewish sovereignty would not exceed thirty generations corresponding to the number of days in a month. I have already written on this subject when I commented on Genesis 38,30: “he called his name Zerach.”

Another part of that same Midrash understands the opening words of the verse as meaning that in this world the Jewish people would count according to the moon, i.e. that the moon is given to the Jewish people as a gift in order that they can count their months by means of it. The moon is considered as superior to the sun as it is visible by day and by night, suggesting that the Jewish people have an existence both in this world and in the world to come. The descendants of Esau, however, count in this world by means of the orbits of the sun which has been described in the Torah (Genesis 1,16) as “the great luminary.” In the future, however, this great luminary will be made subservient to those who will be called “small,” by G’d, (compare Jeremiah 49,15) “For I will make you smallest among nations, etc.” [The prophet addresses Edom, the spiritual descendant of Esau]. At that time the (previously) small luminary, i.e. the Jewish people, will become big, the nation whom G’d calls big as we read in Deuteronomy 4,8 “and which is a great nation such as this, etc.” The descendants of those who count according to the sun’s orbits will eventually be judged by means of the sun, i.e. they will be burned by the fiery heat of the sun as we know from Malachi 3,19. The entire matter can be understood by means of a parable. A king got engaged to a lady and wrote her a marriage settlement in which he gave her a few relatively minor gifts. Once the marriage was consummated, he wrote her a contract bequeathing to her very large gifts. The relationship between G’d and the Jewish people is somewhat similar. In this world G’d got “engaged” to the Jewish people as we know from Hoseah 2,21: “I will espouse you forever.” At that stage of our relationship with G’d He gave us only the moon, as we read in our verse “this moon is for you.” However, in the days of the messiah there will occur the consummation of our relationship with G’d. We know this from Isaiah 54,5 “for He who is your mate is the One Who has made you. The Lord G’d of Hosts is His name.” When that time arrives G’d will hand over to Israel all that is spelled out in the second marital agreement. According to Shemot Rabbah end of chapter 15, this is the meaning of Daniel 12,3 “and the knowledgeable will be radiant like the brightness of the expanse of the sky.” We find an interesting halachah in Tractate Sofrim 19,10 as well as in the Jerusalem Talmud (Berachot 9,2) that one does not recite the benediction over the new moon except on the night following the Sabbath when one is still in a state of “fragrance,” i.e. surrounded by the joyful aura of the Sabbath and wearing Sabbath garments. When reciting this benediction one is to stand at attention facing the moon and to jump up and down three times reciting the formula: “blessed be your Creator, blessed be the One Who sanctifies you. Just as I jump in your direction without being able to touch you (with harmful intent) so those who wish to harm me may jump without achieving their aim. May fear and trepidation overcome all those; since Your arm is mighty may they be struck dumb as stone” (Exodus 15,15).

בעשור לחדש הזה ויקחו להם, “on the tenth of this month they shall take for themselves, etc.” The instruction was that the lamb should be taken or purchased on the tenth to be sacrificed on the fourteenth. Our verse teaches that a sacrificial animal be checked for blemishes for four days prior to being offered as a sacrifice. This is why it had to be “taken” i.e. set aside four days earlier.

שה לבית אבות שה לבית, “one lamb per family”, or if the family comprised many people “one lamb per household.”

ואם ימעט הבית מהיות משה, “but if the household is too small for one lamb,” i.e. if there would be leftovers from that lamb due to an insufficient number of people sharing it.

ולקח הוא ושכנו, “then an individual and his neighbour shall take” (a lamb between them). The Torah is concerned with each Israelite’s financial resources. This concern is expressed on four separate occasions, the first one being the Passover legislation. Seeing that leftovers of this lamb had to be burned (could not be saved for the next day), the Torah demonstrated its concern for each Israelite’s financial position even before legislating (verse 10) what was to be done with the leftovers, by allowing two biologically unrelated Israelites to share such a lamb. The second instance in which the Torah displays similar concern for our pocketbooks is in Leviticus 7,24 where it states that the fat of an animal which had died (of natural causes) and the fat of an animal that had been torn to death may be put to any use (other than your eating it). A third such instance is found in Deut. 14,21 where the carcass of an animal which died by a cause other than by ritual slaughter may be sold to Gentiles or given as a gift to resident non-Jewish strangers. The fourth instance of legislation designed to ease the financial burden on Israelites is found in Leviticus 14,36 and deals with the contents of a house about to be declared ritually impure. Although it was clear that the priest would condemn the house to be torn down and its contents to be destroyed, as long as the priest has not made his declaration the Torah permits the owner to remove such contents to save them from being destroyed.

ולקחו מן הדם, “they are to take from its blood,” Nachmanides, in exploring the rationale of this legislation, writes that seeing the zodiac sign of the lamb is at the peak of its power during the month of Nissan as it is the sign symbolising growing vegetation, G’d ordered the lamb to be slaughtered during this month to demonstrate that this animal that they considered their symbol of success could not even protect itself, much less those who worshipped it. Moreover, the death of the lambs proved that the Exodus of the Jewish people did not occur thanks to the mazzal of the lamb (whom the Israelites had served also) but that it had been orchestrated by a higher power, by Hashem.

צלי אש ומצות, “roasted on the fire together with unleavened bread.” The expression צלי אש used by the Torah here can mean either that the meat is roasted over coals inside a stove or that it is barbecued with a rotating spit over an open fire. The Torah excluded a kind of “roasting” which involved water. Boiling the meat in the ordinary fashion was most certainly out of the question. This is why the verse specifically tells us that even the kind of roasting involving water was not permissible (verse 9). The repetition of the words כי אם צלי אש meant that it was not to be roasted in a pot. This was exceptional as other meat-offerings were allowed to be prepared for eating in such pots (Zevachim 91). When the sages (Chulin 132) said that the sections of an animal sacrifice given to the priest may be consumed after they have been roasted (apparently excluding boiling), this is based on the word למשחה, “for a distinction,” in Numbers 18,8 and means that seeing kings prefer this method of preparing meat, the priests are allowed to prepare it in that way. However, if they prefer to boil the meat they are at liberty to do so. This appears to raise the problem of Deut. 16, 6-7 where the Torah writes: “there you will slaughter the Passover in the evening when the sun sets on the date (anniversary) you left Egypt. You will boil it and eat it in a place that the Lord your G’d will choose, etc.” There appears to be a contradiction here. Our sages dispose of this by saying that in Deut. the Torah does not refer to “boiling” involving water but “boiling it on actual fire” similar to what we find in connection with the famous Passover celebration during the reign of King Yoshiyahu. Chronicles II 35,13 reports: ויבשלו הפסח באש כמשפט, “they roasted the Passover on fire according to law.” This is clear evidence that the expression בשל, normally translated as “boiling,” need not refer to preparation of food in a pot with water, but is simply a description of making food fit to be eaten. Sometimes this means using different kinds of pots such as are mentioned in that same verse in Chronicles we have quoted; other times it means preparation involving only fire. The author quotes the Spanish word sazonas to describe the meaning of Genesis 40,10 in which the Torah speaks of grapes which had ripened. “Ripening” is a form of “boiling” or “cooking,” i.e. becoming fit to eat. When the Torah emphasises here צלי אש, it excludes the use of a container for preparing this meat.

A Midrashic approach (Shemot Rabbah 15,13): the symbolic significance of insisting that the Passover be prepared over the fire was to remind the people that G’d had saved Avraham from the fire of Nimrod’s furnace. The symbolic meaning of the unleavened bread to be consumed simultaneously with the meat of the Passover was a reminder of the three cakes of unleavened dough that Sarah baked for the three angels who visited Avraham and told him on that date that Sarah would give birth to Yitzchak within a year. The symbolic meaning of the bitter herbs to be consumed as part of that meal is to remind us that just as the descendants of Avraham had been persecuted in Egypt, so they in turn would persecute the descendants of Esau. The symbolic meaning of the command not to leave over any part of the edible meat until morning is a reminder that not a single soul of the Egyptian firstborns survived that memorable night. The symbolic meaning of “with girded loins and your shoes on your feet” (verse 11), was to depict people who are eager to be on their way to a new destination.

It is a fact that as far as the substance of the Passover is concerned the legislation recorded here was to remain in effect for all future generations also, but the details such as girded loins and smearing blood on the doorpost were only required during the Exodus in Egypt.

ועברתי בארץ מצרים, “and I will go through the land of Egypt, etc.” This whole paragraph is meant to be something that Moses and Aaron were to tell the Israelites. We would therefore have expected the Torah to write at this point ועבר בארץ מצרים, “and He will go through the land of Egypt,” rather than “and I will go through the land of Egypt.” The unusual change in syntax here prompted our sages the Haggadah shel Pessach to say that the emphasis on the ending תי, after the ועבר which we would have expected teaches that G’d meant that He personally and not any agent of His would execute all the firstborns. They phrase it as אני ולא מלאך, אני ולא שרף, אני ולא השליח, אני ה', “I and not an angel; I and not a category of agent known as Saraph; I and not someone whom I usually delegate such a task to; I, all by Myself.” When G’d killed an army of 185,000 Assyrians (Kings II 19,35) many hundreds of years later on the anniversary of that date, He employed an angel to carry out His decree. This time He did not delegate the task. והכתי כל בכור, “I will smite every firstborn;” again we have the emphasis on “I, not a saraph.” Not only the dying but the smiting, the plague resulting in death will be inflicted by Me personally. I will not act like a king who delegates unpleasant duties to be performed by underlings. The “saraph” mentioned by our sages are the kind of angels that burned the soldiers sent to capture Elijah and whom he commanded to be burned (compare Kings II 1,10). ובכל אלוהי מצרים אעשה שפטים, “and against all the deities of Egypt I will carry out judgments.” Again G’d employs the pronoun “I” to emphasise that He would not employ any delegate such as the angel Mattatron who normally is in charge of matters pertaining to the terrestrial part of the universe. The meaning of the word “Mattaron” transliterated is מורה דרך, someone teaching the way. A messenger is called Mentor in Greek. 'אני ה', “I the Eternal.” I and no one but I. G’d emphasizes His uniqueness, indicating that the reason He will do all this by Himself is to remind us that there is No On like Him. Nachmanides writes that the emphasis on the words אני ה' is that inasmuch as G’d is supreme and unique there is no one who could interfere with what He sets out to do. Nachmanides wants to explain that had G’d employed any assistants in this plague then the plague would have occurred as an extension of His “intensified,” מתוחה, attribute of Justice. If this had been the case His delegates would not have been able to distinguish between Jewish and Egyptian firstborns seeing that from the vantage point of that attribute they had not deserved to be saved. This is why G’d had no choice but to carry out this plague unassisted without delegates. The aspect of G’d which carried out this plague was the Shechinah which is comprised of a mixture of the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice. This is the meaning of what the sages referred to as “not by means of a messenger.” In other words, G’d performed the plague all by Himself. This is reflected in the use of the word אנכי for the name of G’d in connection with this plague. That term is an allusion to the Shechinah. We refer, of course, to the warning: הנה אנכי הורג את בכורך (Exodus 4,23) “Here I am going to kill your firstborn.” G’d used the same attribute describing Himself there as He had with Yaakov in Genesis 46,4 when He told him that He (His Shechinah) would accompany him down to Egypt and would also accompany him on the way back from there. G’d had already used that name אנכי describing Himself in Genesis 15,14 when He told Avraham about the distant future when his descendants would be enslaved prior to their redemption. It meant already at that time that the attribute which would exact retribution from the nation enslaving Avraham’s descendants would be the one known as אנכי. This is also what is meant in 12,27 “when He smote the Egyptians and He saved our houses.”

Rashi, quoting Mechilta, explains the meaning of “on all the deities of Egypt I shall execute judgments” as that if these idols were made of wood, the wood would rot, whereas if they had been made of metal the metal would melt” [seeing that one cannot kill what has never been alive, the Mechilta wanted to illustrate what the words “judgments” when applied to idols could possibly mean. Ed.] When the Torah gets around to reporting the carrying out of this plague in verse 29, the killing of the firstborn humans and animals is mentioned whereas there is no mention of the destruction of the idols. The reason is that the Egyptians had been alerted to the dying of the firstborn during that night and they therefore found out about it during the night seeing they were checking if this disaster was actually happening. They did not find out about the destruction of their idols until the morning when they visited their temples. We find that something similar occurred after the Philistines had captured the Holy Ark (Samuel I 5,3). We read there: ”Early the next day, the people of Ashdod found Dagon lying face down on the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord.” In the following verse we are told: “after they had picked up Dagon and put him back in his place the next morning they again found him lying prone on the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord. The head and both hands of Dagon had been cut off, lying on the threshold. Only Dagon’s trunk was left intact.” This is when it dawned on the Philistines that the plague inflicted on them as well as on their deities had been caused by the G’d of heaven. This is what the prophet Jeremiah 10,11 had in mind when he said: “Thus shall you say to them: ‘Let the gods, who did not make heaven and earth, perish from the earth and from under the heaven.’”

וראיתי את הדם ופסחתי עליכם, “when I see the blood I shall pass over you.” It was not the blood itself which would keep the plague away; nor was it the absence of the blood which would cause the plague to strike. He who had complete faith in the Lord and no longer feared Pharaoh and his decrees and had demonstrated this by publicly slaughtering an Egyptian deity and smearing its blood on his door posts and lintel had thereby demonstrated that he was a righteous individual and deserved to be spared.

Mechilta Parshat 7, commenting on this verse, asks why the Torah should write that G‘d had “to see” the blood seeing that He sees everything even in the dark without having to pass over these houses. We have at least two verses in Scripture testifying to this, i.e. Daniel 2,22: “He knows all that goes on in the dark;” and Psalms 139,12: “darkness is not dark for You.” In view of this what news does the Torah tell us when it writes: “it will be when I see, etc.?” They answer that G’d’s memory of the blood of the binding of Yitzchak will be “triggered” by the sight. At that time (after Avraham had sacrificed the ram Genesis 22,14) he had called that site: “The eternal G’d will see.”

שבעת ימים מצות תאכלו, “you will eat unleavened bread for seven days.” The Torah commanded that unleavened bread be eaten for the seven days of the Matzot festival and that the first and last day be observed as “holy convocations,’ i.e. that on those days there is a work prohibition. The first day is holy as it commemorates the beginning of the redemption, the last day as it represents its conclusion. You are aware already that the seven days symbolise the six directions plus G’d all of whom partake in G’d’s and Israel’s joy. The involvement of G’d and His emanations in this joy is the reason we have been warned in Nechemyah concerning the need to rejoice on a festival viz.: “Go eat choice foods and drink sweet drinks and send portions to whoever has nothing prepared, for the day is holy to our Lord. Do not be sad for the rejoicing in the Lord is the source of your strength.”

ושמרתם את המצות, “guard the unleavened bread (flour) from the time it is being harvested (against it becoming moist).” You are to watch it again at the time of kneading the dough so that it will not become chametz (leavened). Our sages (Mechilta 9) read the word המצות as if it had both been spelled with the vowel patach under the letter מ, and had again been spelled with the vowel chirik under the letter מ. The message is that just as one does not let a commandment (mitzvah) become soured through procrastinating in its performance, so one must not allow the dough for the unleavened bread to stand around too long for the same reason.

משכו וקחו לכם, “draw forth or purchase for yourselves.” A Midrash writes that “as a result of your drawing forth the lamb to perform My commandment, I (G’d) in turn will draw forth your enemies to the Sea of Reeds and drown them therein. The same merit will also result (eventually) in My drowning the army of Siserah in the river Kishon by drawing them forth to their destruction.” (Judges 4,7). An alternate approach: Seeing that the descent of your forefathers to Egypt was set in motion by משיכה, i.e. (Genesis 37,28) “they (the Midianites) drew forth and pulled up Joseph from the pit” and it has been said concerning them (Isaiah 5,18) “ah, those who haul sins with cords of falsehood,” the punishment when it comes was described by using the same verb, i.e. (Isaiah, Nechemyah 9,30) ותמשוך עליהם שנים רבות....ותתנם ביד עמי הארצות, “You dragged on within them (bore with them) for many years.....so You delivered them into the hands of the peoples of the land.” On the one hand, Israel has been called עם ממושך וממורט, “a people thrust forth and away” when they are sinful, (Isaiah 18,2) whereas when they return in penitence they are described as משכני אחריך נרוצה, ”draw me after You, let us run” (Song of Songs 1,4). We find the verb משך applied to the Jewish people also in Hoseah 11,4: בחבלי אדם אמשכם בעבותות אהבה, “I drew them with human ties, with cords of love.”

למשפחותיכם, “according to your families.” This wording teaches that one is obligated to assemble one’s relatives around him in order to celebrate festivals together. Similarly, G’d has assured us that when the redemption will occur there will be a mutual drawing together of family members as the prophet (Jeremiah 30,25) has said: “at that time — declares the Lord — I will be G’d to all the clans of Israel, and they shall all be My people.”

וראה את הדם על המשקוף ועל שתי המזוזות, and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two upright door-posts, etc.” Seeing that Israel was the vehicle by means of which G’d’s greatness was demonstrated at the time of the Exodus, they were commanded to perform a number of very visible acts in connection with this commandment. All the acts in question were designed to discredit the wicked king and the faulty religious orientation of the Egyptians. The public nature of this commandment was to instill in the Egyptians a belief in G’d when they would see how their deity had been debased. The Israelites were ordered to slaughter (publicly) the lamb, (Egyptian deity) to roast it openly on the fire (not conceal it in a pot). Even passers-by would not only observe the preparation of this meat but if they were too far away to see it they would smell its fragrance. The lamb’s blood was to be displayed openly on the door of every Jewish dwelling. This was a warning that the attribute of Justice had been extended fully against the Egyptians. This has been spelled out in Amos 9,1: “strike the capitals so that the thresholds quake and make an end of the first of them all.” This is the plain meaning of our verse.

A Kabbalistic approach to our verse: This verse comprises an allusion to the letters in the Holy Name of G’d and it has been mentioned earlier in reverse order (the order in which one builds) i.e. “the two upright doorposts and the lintel” (verse 7). Here the final stage of a building, the roof, or in this instance the lintel, has been mentioned first. This affords you an opportunity to understand the mystical dimension of Proverbs 8,34: “happy is the man who listens to Me; who comes to My gates early daily; waiting at the doorposts of My gates.” It also affords us an opportunity to understand what Rav Chisda said in Berachot 8 that a person should make a point of entering through two doors to the Synagogue. The Talmud finds it difficult to accept this at face value and concludes that what Rav Chisda meant was that one should step sufficiently far inside the Synagogue before commencing one’s prayer so that one could have walked through at least two doors. If one is framed between two doors and the two doors in their appearance resemble the letters in the name of G’d then G’d views Himself as it were and will not harm the individual who by his presence helps make up His name. The word אות, or לאות in verse 23 must be understood as “letter,” or “letters.” The mystical meaning both here and in the statement of Rav Chisda is that if one surrounds oneself with the appropriate symbols portraying G’d’s Holy Name this acts as protection against the attribute of Justice [the lintel is considered as a ו and the two upright posts as two letters ה , respectively]. ופסח ה' על הפתח, “and G’d will skip that entrance” ולא יתן למשחית לבא and will not allow the destroyer to enter through it, seeing he has sealed it with His seal. According to the aforesaid there were four altars corresponding to the four letters in the tetragrammaton. This corresponds to what we have been taught in Mechilta Pisscha section 6 that our forefathers in Egypt had 4 altars. They were: the lintel, the two upright posts and the threshold. The threshold was considered a “small and round vessel.” The four cups of wine we drink at the Seder celebration symbolise these four altars. The first cup, the one drunk during kiddush symbolised the letter י which is holy. The second cup is drunk as a memento of the haggadah, the story of all the miracles, and symbolises the letter ה from which all the miracles emanated. The third cup is drunk in connection with grace corresponding to the letter ו which is reminiscent of השמים, heaven, in the verse ואתה תשמע השמים, “and You are listening in heaven” (Kings I 8,32). This is the source of all our food. as G’d said in Exodus 16,4: “here I will make bread rain down for you from heaven.” The fourth cup over which we recite the verse שפוך חמתך אל הגויים, “pour out Your wrath against the nations which refuse to acknowledge you, etc.,” symbolises the last letter ה in the tetragrammaton which is a clear reference to the attribute of Justice.

It is also possible to simply view blood as something symbolising either life or death in our verse. It spelled death for our enemies, i.e. the Egyptian firstborn, and life, i.e. survival for the Israelites. We know from Leviticus 17,11 that blood is the life-blood of man and beast. Seeing that for the Egyptians it had become a symbol of death, i.e. that they would be deprived of that vital blood, the Israelites had to symbolise that in their houses blood would be a symbol of life rather than death. The Torah therefore said that where the symbol of such blood was visible the angel of death here called המשחית, “the destroyer,” would have no access. We must not understand the משחית here in the usual sense, seeing that G’d personally performed the killing of the Egyptian firstborn as we explained at length. Moreover, the Torah wrote ופסח ה', that G’d personally would “pass over” the houses of the Jewish people displaying the blood of the Passover lamb. At that hour, G’d would not permit the angel of death to enter the פתח, entrance of any Jewish home even to carry out its normal duties unrelated to the firstborn. The matter can be compared to Samuel II 24,16 where we are told that G’d stayed the hand of the angel of death (while He made a pestilence rage) saying to him: “enough! Stay your hand.” The message of our verse is that although G’d personally carried out the slaying of the firstborn the angel of death was in attendance together with its variegated powers. All of its powers are derived from the attribute of Justice. It is similar to a king moving from one place to another taking vengeance of his enemies. The king does not travel unattended but has his entourage which is schooled in this task with him. This entourage was not allowed to do anything on its own on that fateful night even to people who had previously been slated to be their victims on that night. G’d personally denied them their usual function on that night. On that night G’d wanted to carry out His vengeance on all the Egyptian firstborn personally. This is why the angel of death was not allowed to kill anyone else amongst the Egyptians on that night either. On the other hand, no decree had been issued to the angel of death not to kill any Jew, seeing that G’d was not going to do it and it would not have interfered with G’d’s plans. The Jewish firstborn therefore were not in danger from G’d but they were in danger from the angel of death. Had these Jews not displayed the sign of the blood they could have fallen victim to destructive forces activated by the angel of death. It was therefore necessary that they display the blood not because G’d needed to see it but so that the angel of death who had not received a blanket prohibition not to be active on that night would see it and respect it. This is the meaning of the words אל בתיכם, “into your houses.”

וה' הכה כל בכור בארץ מצרים, “and G’d slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, etc.” G’d carried out His retribution on the Egyptians according to the principle of מדה כנגד מדה, tit for tat, the punishment being fitted to the crime committed. This is why the 10 plagues were summed up in the abbreviated form of דצ'ך עד'ש באח'ב. The Egyptians’ principal source of faith was the dependability of the river Nile as their water supply, as the lifeline. It irrigated all their fields and they had made the Israelites slave in order to draw the water from the river. G’d therefore turned the river into blood. Seeing that the Egyptians used to awaken their Jewish slaves in the middle of the night and impose most onerous duties on them, the river was told to produce frogs in swarms which would invade the Egyptian houses and cause misery and revulsion for the Egyptians. The frogs even invaded the entrails of the Egyptians causing them distress (Shemot Rabbah 10,6). Seeing that the Egyptians had prevented the Israelites from bathing and washing themselves, the third plague, כנים, lice, was meant to demonstrate to the Egyptians what it means to be denied water to wash yourself and for one’s body to be infested with lice and other insects The Egyptians would demand from their Jewish slaves to go out into the forest and hunt wild animals for them, a dangerous undertaking. They experienced what it means to be surrounded by wild animals who do not respect civilization when G’d let loose the fourth plague, the invasion of their cities by wild beasts. The Egyptians had forced the Israelites to look after their livestock. G’d therefore afflicted the livestock with pestilence so that they would realize they had had no right to force the Israelites to perform such duties. The Egyptians had made the Israelites carry hot water for them to their bath houses. In retaliation, G’d made their skin break out in boils to remind them that they had not had the right to impose these kinds of duties on the Israelites. In retaliation for the Egyptians stoning Israelites, G’d brought on the plague of hailstones. In retribution for the Egyptians having forced the Israelites to work their vineyards, G’d made the locust ruin the vineyards. Seeing the Egyptians frequently put innocent Israelites in dark prisons G’d brought on the plague of darkness. Seeing they entertained plans of killing the Israelites who have been described as G’d’s firstborn (4,22), G’d punished them by killing their firstborn instead. [The various accusations leveled against the Egyptians by our author are all supported by Midrashim. Ed.]

Tanchuma Bo 4 writes: “praised be the Lord, the King of Kings, who brought all these plagues on Pharaoh and his army in a manner similar to human kings when they go to war. Kings first try to deny their opponents their water supply. G’d similarly commenced His judgments by denying Pharaoh and his people the use of their source of water. Many Egyptians started dying from thirst during those seven days. This is the true meaning of (Exodus 7,24) “for they were unable to drink from the waters of the river.” Kings usually follow up by creating deafening noises to frighten their opponents as described in Nachum 3,2: “galloping steed and bounding chariot”. These sounds frighten those who are exposed to them. G’d did this when He orchestrated the plague of frogs which were very vociferous whistling, etc. Next a king usually employs archers who shoot their arrows at the enemy. G’d used the lice to have a similar effect on the Egyptians bitten by them.” The Midrash continues to describe how the various plagues corresponded to what occurs in warfare between armies on earth. All the plagues G’d brought upon the Egyptians in Egypt He will bring upon the Edomites at the time the final redemption is at hand. We base this on Isaiah 23,5: “When the Egyptians heard it they quailed as when they heard about Tyre.” Every time the word צור is spelled defectively in Scripture such as here (צר) it is a reference to the kingdom of Edom and not to Tyre. There was blood in Egypt; there will be blood when G’d smites Edom (Yoel 3,3). [The author continues quoting the Tanchuma on this subject. Ed.]

ותחזק מצרים על העם, “Egypt imposed itself strongly on the people, etc.” After they had been struck by ten plagues they were forced to dismiss them against their will. Not only that, but the Israelites also took all the Egyptians’ money. This is the meaning of verse 36: “they emptied out Egypt.” This has been confirmed by Midrash Mishley (27,2). When Solomon speaks (Proverbs 27,17) about “as iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the wit of his friend,” the words “iron sharpens iron” refer to Moses the righteous and Pharaoh the wicked respectively. They were opposing each other with words. When Moses entered Pharaoh’s palace, Pharaoh asked him: “who has sent you?” Moses answered: “the G’d of the Hebrews has sent me to you.” Pharaoh countered: “what did he tell you to say?” Moses: “let go of My people so that they will serve Me.” Pharaoh: “Is there then a deity in the world whom I did not know? By all that’s holy, all the deities in the world have sent me letters but your God has not sent me any letter at all.” Seeing that he did not find the name of the G’d of the Hebrews recorded anywhere, he continued: “did I not tell you that I do not know of such a god?” He then sent for his wise men and asked them if they had ever heard the name of a god of the Hebrews. His sages answered that they had indeed heard that once there was a such a god descended from primeval wise kings as referred to in Isaiah 19,11: “utter fools are the nobles of Tzoan, the sages of Pharaoh have made absurd predictions.” Thereupon Pharaoh said to his wise men: “you are the fools. You call yourselves wise and me the son of the wise! I will dispose of your so-called wisdom.” Pharaoh based himself on Isaiah 29,14 “and the wisdom of its wise men shall fail.” Moses countered: “you claim that you do not know the god of the Hebrews. In the end you will get to know Him. You said that you will not dismiss the Israelites. In the end you will most certainly dismiss them against your will instead of willingly.” Let me illustrate what happened by means of a parable. The present situation is comparable to a king who had said to his servant; “go and bring me a certain fish from the market.” The servant went and brought back a smelly fish. Thereupon the king decreed a choice of either of three penalties on this negligent servant. 1) He suggested that the servant himself eat that fish. 2) If he did not like this he could be whipped with a hundred lashes. 3) As a third alternative he was willing to accept 100 silver pieces as payment of a financial fine. The servant started to eat the fish. Before he had finished eating it (forcing himself) he said that he would rather submit to 100 lashes of the whip. By the time he had absorbed 50 lashes he volunteered to pay the fine instead of being whipped some more. This is precisely what G’d did to the Egyptians. They absorbed the plagues, then they did let the Israelites go, and on top of it all they paid the financial penalty when the Israelites took their money. What caused them to suffer all these degradations? Their obstinacy in refusing to acknowledge the existence of G’d. Pharaoh’s obstinacy was countered by Moses’ obstinacy. This is what Solomon had in mind when he spoke of iron sharpening iron.

טרם יחמץ, “before it could become leavened.” Something similar will occur in the future. This is what Hoseah 7,4 meant when he said: “who desists from the kneading of the dough to its leavening.”

משארותם, their kneading bowls.” This is a reference to the leftovers of the previous night’s meal of unleaveneed bread and bitter herbs.(Rashi). Others say it refers to the leftovers of the passover lamb. The Torah had instructed: “do not leave over from it until the morning.”

על שכמם, “on their shoulder.” They had many animals (which could have served as beasts of burden) as the Torah wrote in verse 38 “and much livestock.” They carried the dough personally to demonstrate their love for the fulfillment of G’d’s commandment.

כלי כסף וכלי זהב ושמלות, “silver trinkets, gold trinkets and garments.” What is mentioned later is more valuable. Gold is mentioned after silver as it is more valuable. The garments were mentioned last as they were the most valuable items, [if only because they were of immediate use. Ed.] (based on Mechilta). We have a parallel in Genesis 12,1 where G’d tells Avraham to leave 1) your country, 2) your birthplace, 3) your parental home. The last-mentioned one was closest to him, hence the most valuable association.

כשש מאות אלף רגלי הגברים, “approximately six hundred thousand men on foot.” The wording indicates that there were not quite 600,000 such men seeing the Torah does not give a precise count of how many there were or by how many the number was short of 600,000. It would appear that they were only one man short of that number. The Torah did not want to spell out the number 600,000 when in fact they were short by one.

I have found this explanation in Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer chapter 39. According to the wording there “when G’d realized that they were short by only a single man to make up the required number, He took the place of the missing man thus completing the required quorum. In this manner G’d fulfilled what He said to Yaakov in Genesis 46,4 “I am also going to bring you up out of there.”

וגם צדה לא עשו להם, “nor had they made provisions for themselves.” The verse is a compliment to the Jewish people who believed in G’d and Moses His servant (14,31). They did not ask how they could be expected to move into the great and terrible desert without even having made provisions for themselves.

This was the ultimate expression of faith in G’d. G’d praised them for this act of faith still over 800 years later when Jeremiah publicly recited G’d’s appreciation of that act by the Israelites in Jeremiah 2,2, when he was told to say in G’d’s name: “I accounted to you as a favor the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me into the wilderness, into a land not sown.”

ומושב בני ישראל אשר ישבו במצרים, “and the habitation of the Children of Israel during which they dwelled in Egypt, etc.” We find three separate sets of numbers for the ending of the exile and subsequent departure from Egypt. They are either 400 years, 430 years, or 210 years. The 400 years are calculated from the time Avraham’s descendants became strangers and experienced various problems either within the land of Canaan or outside of it. This was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Genesis 15,13: “they will serve them or even oppress them for 400 years.” These 400 years include both periods of being strangers and periods of being slaves. The 430 years are calculated since the birth of Yitzchack. [This is hard to understand though it appears in various manuscripts. Ed.] The 210 years refer to the length of the Jews’ stay in Egypt proper. You will note that the Bible also gives three dates for the ending of the exile in the future (Daniel). The dates mentioned there are 1150 (years) 1290 (years) 1335 (years). We read in Daniel 8,13-14: “Then I heard a holy being speaking, and another holy being said to whoever it was who was speaking, ‘how long will what was seen in the vision last, the regular offerings be forsaken because of transgression, the sanctuary be surrendered and the heavenly host be trampled?’ He answered me: ‘for twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.’” The days and nights were calculated separately so that the number corresponds to the number 1150 mentioned earlier. “Days and nights” are years. We also have a verse (Daniel 12,11) “from the time the regular offering is abolished, and an appalling abomination is set up, it will be a thousand and two hundred and ninety days.” Immediately afterwards it is written: “happy the man who waits and reaches one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.” The reason G’d mentioned three different “ends” of the exile in Egypt all of which corresponded to he truth was to make it easier for us to bear the long exile we find ourselves in nowadays. We must believe that the three separate dates given in the Book of Daniel are also all true, though we have not yet figured out precisely how to understand each number. We may be certain of one thing. If we deserve it the redemption will occur on the earliest of the three dates mentioned, if not on the middle one or the last one. It is impossible for the redemption to occur later than the last date described in Daniel. Thus wrote Rabbeinu Chananel.

וכל ערל לא יאכל בו, “and no uncircumcised male must eat of it” (the Passover lamb). This verse proves that Moses circumcised all the Israelites before they left Egypt. Concerning this circumcision our sages (Mechilta 8) state that G’d gave the Jewish people two commandments by the merit of which they were redeemed. They were the blood of circumcision and the blood of the Passover. Ezekiel immortalised this when he wrote: ואעבור עליך ואראך מתבוססת בדמיך ואמר לך בדמיך חיי, ואומר לך בדמיך חיי, “then I saw you wallowing in your blood; I said to you: “live because of your blood!” I said to you: “live through your blood!” (Ezekiel 16,6) This is why the Torah writes immediately after the prohibition of uncircumcised males participating in the eating of the Passover that “all the Israelites did as Hashem had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did” (verse 50). Earlier, in verse 28 when the Torah had also stated that the Israelites did what they had been commanded by Moses and Aaron, the word “all” could not be written as many of them at the time were ritually unclean and could not have eaten the Passover on that account. We have further evidence that the Israelites who participated in the Exodus had all been circumcised in Joshua 5,5 “for all the Israelites who left Egypt had been circumcised.”