פרשת בא תש"ב - פסח

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;

דברו אל כל עדת SPEAK UNTO ALL THE CONGREGATION — But did Aaron speak? Has it not already been stated, (Exodus 7:2) “You (Moses) shall speak etc.”. But the explanation is: they paid respect one to the other, saying to each other, “Instruct me what to say”. and the divine communication in question issued from both of them, so that it was as though they were both speaking (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:3:2).

דברו אל כל עדת ישראל לאמר בעשר לחדש i. e. SPEAK to-day — on the first of the month — THAT ON THE TENTH OF THE MONTH they should take it (the lamb) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:3:3). הזה [ON THE TENTH OF] THIS [MONTH] — As regards the paschal lamb sacrificed in Egypt it had to be taken from the flock on the tenth, but this did not apply to the paschal-lamb offered by future generations (Pesachim 96a).

שה לבית אבות A LAMB FOR THE HOUSE OF THEIR FATHERS — i. e. a lamb for one family (“family” here means the larger unit comprising the father or grandfather with his married sons and their families). Consequently, if they (the members of such a family) were numerous, one might think that they may take one lamb for all of them (irrespective of whether this would suffice to provide a piece as large as an olive, the minimum quantity, for each person)! Therefore Scripture states: שה לבית A LAMB FOR EACH HOUSEHOLD (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:3:7).

שה לבית אבות A LAMB FOR THE HOUSE OF THEIR FATHERS — i. e. a lamb for one family (“family” here means the larger unit comprising the father or grandfather with his married sons and their families). Consequently, if they (the members of such a family) were numerous, one might think that they may take one lamb for all of them (irrespective of whether this would suffice to provide a piece as large as an olive, the minimum quantity, for each person)! Therefore Scripture states: שה לבית A LAMB FOR EACH HOUSEHOLD (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:3:7).

And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it.

כל בכור בארץ מצרים ALL THE FIRSTBORN IN THE LAND OF EGYPT — also the first-born of other nations who happened then to be in Egypt. And whence may we deduce that the first-born of the Egyptians who happened to be in other countries also died? From what Scripture states: (Psalms 136:10) “To Him that smote the Egyptians in their first-born” (an unqualified statement) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:12:2).

מישראל [THAT SOUL SHALL BE CUT OFF] FROM ISRAEL — I might understand from this that he shall be cut off from Israel and that he will be able to betake himself to another nation! Scripture therefore states in another passage, (Leviticus 22:3) “[that soul shall be cut off] from my presence” — in every place that is My territory (i. e. everywhere) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:15:5).

עד יום האחד ועשרים UNTIL THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY — Why is this stated? Has it not already been stated, (v. 15) “Seven days [shall ye eat unleavened bread]” (beginning on the fifteenth day, as Rashi shows in his comment on v. 14 and therefore terminating on the twenty-first)? The answer is: Since it is said in that verse, “[seven] days [shalt thou eat unleavened bread]”, we may ask whence do we derive that the prohibition of eating unleavened bread extends also to the nights of these seven days? Scripture therefore states here, “[Ye shall eat unleavened bread] until the twenty-first-day in the evening” (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:18).

and ye shall keep it unto the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at dusk.

והיה לכם למשמרת AND IT SHALL BE IN YOUR KEEPING (or watching) — This expresses the idea of examining, and the text therefore implies that it requires examination against any blemish during the four days before slaughter (Pesachim 96a). And why did He order that it should be taken from the flock four days before its slaughter, something which He did not command in respect to the paschal-lamb that was offered by succeeding generations? Rabbi Mathia, the son of Cheresh, said, in answer: Behold, it (Scripture) says, (Ezekiel 16:8) “And I passed over thee (an allusion to God’s passing over the Israelites in Egypt) and looked upon thee, and behold, thy time was the time of love” — there had arrived the time to fulfil the oath which I had sworn to Abraham to redeem his children. They, however, possessed no divine commands in which to engage in order that they should merit to be redeemed — as it is said (Ezekiel 16:7) “thou wast naked and bare” (i. e. bare of all merit earned through the fulfilment of God’s commands). He therefore gave them two commands, relating respectively to the blood of the paschal-lamb and the blood of the circumcision — for that night they circumcised themselves, as it is said (Ezekiel 16:6) “[When I passed over thee] I saw thee wallowing in thy bloods (בְּדָמַיִךְ is plural)” i. e. in two kinds of blood. Further it states, (Zechariah 9:11) “As for thee, also, because of the blood of the covenant I released thy prisoners out of the pit wherin there is no water”. And yet another reply to this question is, that because they were sunk in idolatry and had no merit gained by the practice of a divine command, He said unto them, (v. 21) משכו “Draw” — withdraw your hands from idols; וקחו לכם צאן “and take unto yourselves a lamb” to fulfil a divine command (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:2:1).

In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.

כי אם צלי אש BUT ROAST WITH FIRE — Above (in the preceding verse) Scripture promulgates the law regarding this in the form of an affirmative command; here it adds to that a negative command: Do not eat of it … except roasted by fire. (Consequently one who eats of it in in any manner except roasted by fire is liable to the punishment laid down for transgressing a negative command as well as to that for the infringement of a positive command) (Pesachim 41b).

ובכל אלהי מצרים AND AGAINST ALL THE GODS OF EGYPT [WILL I EXECUTE JUDGEMENTS] — An idol of wood rotted, and one of metal melted and was poured out on the ground (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:12:3)).

וראיתי את הדם AND WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD — But surely everything is manifest to Him and He therefore did not need to look whether the blood had been put on the door-posts? But the meaning is: God says, I will set My eye (my attention) to take notice of the fact that you are engaged in the performance of My commands — then will I pass over you (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:13:1).

הנפש ההיא [FOR WHOSOEVER EATETH ANYTHING LEAVENED..] THAT SOUL [SHALL BE CUT OFF] — if it eats unleavened bread when it is in its will (נפש) and with its full consciousness — this would exclude one who does so being under some external compulsion (force majeure) (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:15:5).

תורה אחת וגו׳ ONE LAW etc. — This is stated in addition to the similar text in v. 48 in order to declare that the proselyte is equal to the native also in respect to all other commands of the Torah (i. e. the preceding text has reference only to the Paschal offering whilst this is a general statement) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:49).

And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: It is because of that which the LORD did for me when I came forth out of Egypt.

Because of this Hashem did this for me. This should be understood: “For the sake of this service—i.e. the eating of the matzoh and the refraining from leaven bread, which were the first commandments that B’nei Yisrael received—Hashem performed for us miracles and took us out of Egypt.” In other words, Hashem only took B’nei Yisrael out of Egypt in order that they should serve Him, in keeping with the verse, “When you bring the people out of Egypt—you will serve Elohim on this mountain” (Shemos 3:12).

משארתם (from the root שאר “to be left over”) denotes the leavings (what was left) of the unleavened bread and bitter herbs (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:34).