BO_EXODUS X:1-XIII:16

The stay of the Hebrew people in Egypt was not uniform. During Yosef’s lifetime, they were privileged guests of Pharaoh, who placed them in a productive sector of the Egyptian nation by the name of  Goshen. However, after Yosef’s death, his name and contribution were forgotten by the new Pharaoh who assumed command. Or perhaps it was the same Pharaoh who considered now that there was no reason to accord special treatment to the brothers of the late Yosef and their descendants.

Thus began the counting of the 210 years of slavery of the Hebrew people in Egypt. What was the reaction of the Hebrew people to the Egyptian yoke? They felt humiliated or perhaps bewildered because they did not understand the reason for the change of attitude on the part of their hosts. Perhaps we should inquire about their attitude towards Egyptian culture.

Could they differentiate between the teachings of the patriarchs and the social and cultural practices of the Egyptians? Which culture was superior in their eyes? It is very likely that a significant number of the Hebrew people admired Egyptian advances in the fields of agriculture and astronomy, and as a result, respected and even revered their practices in other areas, including the religious.

Perhaps, as a derivation of that admiration, they tried to integrate into Egyptian society, became contaminated by their idolatrous practice. The Midrash mentions that the heavenly angels came before God and questioned why the Egyptians were being punished to save the Hebrews, “when these are idolaters, and these are idolaters”. Even during the penultimate plague, which lasted 3 days, many Hebrews were punished; their death effectively occurred during this period of darkness so that the Egyptians would not rejoice at the punishment of the Hebrews. 

Why were they punished? There was a fear that they would interfere with the exodus. Not only was it feared that they would not participate in it, but they would hinder the departure of their brothers because they considered that slavery within an advanced civilization such as the Egyptian was preferable to any other social environment of the time.

According to the Midrash, if both the Egyptians and the Hebrews were idolaters, why did God save the Hebrew people from Egyptian slavery? It is very likely that, notwithstanding their admiration for Egypt, an important sector of the Hebrew people never forgot the teachings of the patriarchs. Just as in the case of Yosef when tempted by Potiphar’s wife, he remembered his elderly father Yaacov, whom he had not seen for17 years, but who remained registered in his soul. It was the patriarchal figure whose teachings were incompatible with adultery. Similarly, although many Hebrews were dazzled by the intellectual and technological advances of the Egyptians, they remembered the virtues and spiritual feats of the patriarchs who changed the world of faith forever. 

While the Hebrews did not have to make any preparation so as not to be punished by the fury of the plagues, they did have to do so in the case of the tenth and last plague, which consisted of the death of the firstborn. This time they made an offering and painted the lintels of their homes with the blood of this sacrifice. Blood was not necessary for the Supreme Being to recognize the homes of the Hebrews. The sacrifice was an individual demonstration of the Hebrews who placed their faith in God, who would rescue them from Egyptian slavery while defying the object of Egyptian worship: the sheep.

According to Jewish tradition, the Paschal sacrifice cannot be ingested by those who are uncircumcised. Therefore, the exegetes deduce that the Paschal sacrifice demanded that the Hebrews be circumcised first, following the example of patriarch Avraham. While the Paschal offering is made through the sacrifice of an animal, the Brit Milá, circumcision, demands the sacrifice of the individual, which emphasizes the personal contribution in every transcendental transaction, both in the relationship with God and in the relationship with a neighbor.

MITSVAH: TORAH ORDINANCE IN THIS PARASHAH

CONTAINS 9 POSITIVE MITZVOT AND 11 PROHIBITIONS

1. Exodus I2:2 Consecrating the months (includes calculating the years and calculating the Hebrew calendar)
2. Exodus I2:6 Ritual sacrifice of the Paschal offering
3. Exodus I2:8 Eating the flesh of the Paschal offering (on the night of the 15th of Nisan, first Passover Seder)
4. Exodus I2:9 Not to eat the Paschal offering when it is cooked or insufficiently roasted
5. Exodus I2:10 Not to allow the flesh of the Paschal offering until the morrow
6. Exodus I2:15 Remove from the house all Jaméts (leavened food)
7. Exodus I2:18 Eat Matsá  (unleavened bread) on the first night of Passover
8. Exodus I2:19 No jamets should be possessed during Passover
9. Exodus I2:20 Not to eat foodscontaining Jaméts during Passover
10. Exodus I2:43 Not to share the Passover offering with an apostate Jew
11. Exodus I2:45 Not to share the Passover offering with a partial convert or a Gentile resident, even if he has ceased to worship idols
12. Exodus I2:46 No meat from the Passover offering should be carried out of the house
13. Exodus I2:46 A bone of the Passover offering must not be broken
14. Exodus I2:48 Whoever is uncircumcised cannot eat of the Passover offering
15. Exodus I3:2 Sanctifying the Firstborn in the Land of Israel
16. Exodus I3:3 No Jaméts should be eaten on Passover
17. Exodus I3:7 No Jaméts should be seen inside Jewish property during Passover
18. Exodus I3:8 Narrating the Events of the Exodus from Egypt
19. Exodus I3:13 Redeem the first-born from a donkey
20. Exodus I3:13 Eliminate the first-born donkey if he was not redeemed