ON THE FRINGE—AL TZITZIT: Parashat Sh’mot, 5774/Jan. 2014 edition

Basics here.

Links to my previous Sh’mot posts here

כח וַיֹּאמֶר-לוֹ פַרְעֹה, לֵךְ מֵעָלָי; הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ, אַל-תֹּסֶף רְאוֹת פָּנַי--כִּי בְּיוֹם רְאֹתְךָ פָנַי, תָּמוּת.	28 And Pharaoh said unto him: 'Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in the day thou seest my face thou shalt die.'
כט וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה, כֵּן דִּבַּרְתָּ: לֹא-אֹסִף עוֹד, רְאוֹת פָּנֶיךָ. {פ}	29 And Moses said: 'Thou hast spoken well; I will see thy face again no more.' {P}

Exodus Chapter11 שְׁמוֹת

[Copying mostly the English, to avoid taking G-d’s Hebrew name in vain.]

1 And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence; when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.

2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let them ask every man of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.'

3 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. {S}

10 And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land. {S}

Parshat Bo, 5772 (Jan. 2012)

Monday, January 30, 2012 update:

In Sh'mot/Exodus chapter 10, verse 29, Moshe tells Par'oh that Par'oh will not see his face again. Yet, in chapter 11, Moshe first tells the Hebrews to raid the Egyptians (for booty or back pay, depending on whose opinion you follow), which they do, and then he warns Par'oh about the death of the firstborn. Clearly, he's left Par'oh's presence and later returned. Either Moshe changed his mind about Par'oh not seeing his face again, or else this is a case of Documentary Hypothesis.

Exodus Chapter12 שְׁמוֹת

ג דַּבְּרוּ, אֶל-כָּל-עֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר, בֶּעָשֹׂר, לַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה: וְיִקְחוּ לָהֶם, אִישׁ שֶׂה לְבֵית-אָבֹת--שֶׂה לַבָּיִת.

3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying: In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household;

Is this the first time that B’nei Yisrael, the Children of Israel, are called Adat Yisrael, the Congregation of Israel?

ט אַל-תֹּאכְלוּ מִמֶּנּוּ נָא, וּבָשֵׁל מְבֻשָּׁל בַּמָּיִם: כִּי אִם-צְלִי-אֵשׁ, רֹאשׁוֹ עַל-כְּרָעָיו וְעַל-קִרְבּוֹ.

9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; its head with its legs and with the inwards thereof.

They had to eat the kishkes (organs)?! Sorry, but aside from chopped liver (and, occasionally, broiled liver), my family never touched the stuff. Some families have different traditions, of course.

12 For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD

What did the poor animals do to deserve this?

יג וְהָיָה הַדָּם לָכֶם לְאֹת, עַל הַבָּתִּים אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם שָׁם, וְרָאִיתִי אֶת-הַדָּם, וּפָסַחְתִּי עֲלֵכֶם; וְלֹא-יִהְיֶה בָכֶם נֶגֶף לְמַשְׁחִית, בְּהַכֹּתִי בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.

13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and there shall no plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

Quick thought on Parshat Bo:"Coming out" as Jews

“Nowhere in the above text does it say that HaShem/G-d needed to see the blood on the doorposts to know where the B'nai Yisrael/Children of Israel were located. In my opinion, what was important to HaShem was knowing who among our ancestors were willing to identify themselves publicly as Hebrews.”

כב וּלְקַחְתֶּם אֲגֻדַּת אֵזוֹב, וּטְבַלְתֶּם בַּדָּם אֲשֶׁר-בַּסַּף, וְהִגַּעְתֶּם אֶל-הַמַּשְׁקוֹף וְאֶל-שְׁתֵּי הַמְּזוּזֹת, מִן-הַדָּם אֲשֶׁר בַּסָּף; וְאַתֶּם, לֹא תֵצְאוּ אִישׁ מִפֶּתַח-בֵּיתוֹ--עַד-בֹּקֶר.

22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.

Already, we have the Oral Law. :) Moshe adds an herb (hyssop) to G-d’s command.

I think the rabbis borrowed large chunks of Chapter 12 (and Chapter 13) when they wrote the Haggadah shel Pesach/Passover Haggadah (for the seder).

לה וּבְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל עָשׂוּ, כִּדְבַר מֹשֶׁה; וַיִּשְׁאֲלוּ, מִמִּצְרַיִם, כְּלֵי-כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי זָהָב, וּשְׂמָלֹת.

35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment.

In my opinion, this is where the text regarding the Hebrews ask the neighbors for "payment" belongs!

מח וְכִי-יָגוּר אִתְּךָ גֵּר, וְעָשָׂה פֶסַח לַיהוָה--הִמּוֹל לוֹ כָל-זָכָר וְאָז יִקְרַב לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ, וְהָיָה כְּאֶזְרַח הָאָרֶץ; וְכָל-עָרֵל, לֹא-יֹאכַל בּוֹ.	48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
מט תּוֹרָה אַחַת, יִהְיֶה לָאֶזְרָח, וְלַגֵּר, הַגָּר בְּתוֹכְכֶם.	49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.'