(כו) וְהָיָ֕ה כִּֽי־יֹאמְר֥וּ אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם בְּנֵיכֶ֑ם מָ֛ה הָעֲבֹדָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את לָכֶֽם׃ (כז) וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֡ם זֶֽבַח־פֶּ֨סַח ה֜וּא לַֽיהֹוָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר פָּ֠סַ֠ח עַל־בָּתֵּ֤י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם בְּנׇגְפּ֥וֹ אֶת־מִצְרַ֖יִם וְאֶת־בָּתֵּ֣ינוּ הִצִּ֑יל וַיִּקֹּ֥ד הָעָ֖ם וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֽוּ׃
(26) And when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this rite?’ (27) you shall say, ‘It is the passover sacrifice to יהוה, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when smiting the Egyptians, but saved our houses.’ Those assembled then bowed low in homage.
(ח) וְהִגַּדְתָּ֣ לְבִנְךָ֔ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֖וּא לֵאמֹ֑ר בַּעֲב֣וּר זֶ֗ה עָשָׂ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ לִ֔י בְּצֵאתִ֖י מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃
(8) And you shall explain to your child on that day, ‘It is because of what יהוה did for me when I went free from Egypt.’
(יד) וְהָיָ֞ה כִּֽי־יִשְׁאָלְךָ֥ בִנְךָ֛ מָחָ֖ר לֵאמֹ֣ר מַה־זֹּ֑את וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֔יו בְּחֹ֣זֶק יָ֗ד הוֹצִיאָ֧נוּ יְהֹוָ֛ה מִמִּצְרַ֖יִם מִבֵּ֥ית עֲבָדִֽים׃
(14) And when, in time to come, a child of yours asks you, saying, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall reply, ‘It was with a mighty hand that יהוה brought us out from Egypt, the house of bondage.
(כ) כִּֽי־יִשְׁאָלְךָ֥ בִנְךָ֛ מָחָ֖ר לֵאמֹ֑ר מָ֣ה הָעֵדֹ֗ת וְהַֽחֻקִּים֙ וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוָּ֛ה יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ אֶתְכֶֽם׃ (כא) וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ לְבִנְךָ֔ עֲבָדִ֛ים הָיִ֥ינוּ לְפַרְעֹ֖ה בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם וַיֹּצִיאֵ֧נוּ יְהֹוָ֛ה מִמִּצְרַ֖יִם בְּיָ֥ד חֲזָקָֽה׃
(20) When, in time to come, your children ask you, “What mean the decrees, laws, and rules that our God יהוה has enjoined upon you?”*you Septuagint and rabbinic quotations read “us.” (21) you shall say to your children, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and יהוה freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand.
(כט) וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בַּחֲצִ֣י הַלַּ֗יְלָה וַֽיהֹוָה֮ הִכָּ֣ה כׇל־בְּכוֹר֮ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֒יִם֒ מִבְּכֹ֤ר פַּרְעֹה֙ הַיֹּשֵׁ֣ב עַל־כִּסְא֔וֹ עַ֚ד בְּכ֣וֹר הַשְּׁבִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּבֵ֣ית הַבּ֑וֹר וְכֹ֖ל בְּכ֥וֹר בְּהֵמָֽה׃ (ל) וַיָּ֨קׇם פַּרְעֹ֜ה לַ֗יְלָה ה֤וּא וְכׇל־עֲבָדָיו֙ וְכׇל־מִצְרַ֔יִם וַתְּהִ֛י צְעָקָ֥ה גְדֹלָ֖ה בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם כִּֽי־אֵ֣ין בַּ֔יִת אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵֽין־שָׁ֖ם מֵֽת׃
(29) In the middle of the night יהוה struck down all the [male] first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on the throne to the first-born of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of the cattle. (30) And Pharaoh arose in the night, with all his courtiers and all the Egyptians—because there was a loud cry in Egypt; for there was no house where there was not someone dead.
Alicia Jo Rabins, Kveller.com
As a new mom, I can hardly bear to think about the magnitude of this loss, even for the cruelest Egyptian parents. And worse, wouldn’t a few of these Egyptian families have been sympathetic to the Israelites, maybe even risking their own lives to help protect them? Yet their firstborn were not spared.
So what are we mothers supposed to do with this story?
עד בכור השבי. שֶׁהָיוּ שְׂמֵחִין לְאֵידָם שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל...
עד בכור השבי UNTO THE FIRSTBORN OF THE CAPTIVE — because they rejoiced at the misfortune of the Israelites (Midrash Tanchuma, Bo 7)...
בחצי הלילה וה׳ הכה כל בכור ובמקום אחר הוא אומר ביום הכותי כל בכור, א״ר יוחנן אעפ״י שהכה אותם בחצי הלילה היתה נפשם מפרכסת בתוכם עד הבוקר, כדי שידעו ישראל באיזה מכה מתו שונאיהם.וה׳ הכה כל בכור רבי אלעזר בן פדת אומר כל מקום שנאמר וה', הוא ובית דינו וסנקלטין שלו, מלמד שב״ד של מעלה ישבו וגזרו שינגפו בכורי מצרים.
Rabbi Eleazar ben Pedot, commenting on the same verse said: whenever a verse or phrase in the Torah commences with the word: 'וה, it refers to Hashem accompanied by His counselors. This teaches that prior to carrying out this punishment the heavenly Court (presided over by Hashem, of course) debated the merits of it. The decree was issued by the entire Court.
וה' הכה כל בכור בארץ מצרים, “and God slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, etc.” God 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...
Seeing they entertained plans of killing the Israelites who have been described as God’s firstborn (4,22), G’d punished them by killing their firstborn instead.
(כב) וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֑ה כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה בְּנִ֥י בְכֹרִ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (כג) וָאֹמַ֣ר אֵלֶ֗יךָ שַׁלַּ֤ח אֶת־בְּנִי֙ וְיַֽעַבְדֵ֔נִי וַתְּמָאֵ֖ן לְשַׁלְּח֑וֹ הִנֵּה֙ אָנֹכִ֣י הֹרֵ֔ג אֶת־בִּנְךָ֖ בְּכֹרֶֽךָ׃
(22) Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says יהוה: Israel is My first-born son. (23) I have said to you, “Let My son go, that he may worship Me,” yet you refuse to let him go. Now I will slay your first-born son.’”
"וְאַתֶּם לֹא תֵצְאוּ אִישׁ מִפֶּתַח בֵּיתוֹ עַד בֹּקֶר." מַגִּיד, מִשֶּׁנִּתְּנָה רְשׁוּת לַמַּלְאָךְ לְחַבֵּל, אֵינוֹ מַבְחִין בֵּין צַדִּיק לָרָשָׁע...
"and you shall not go out, a man from the door of his house: We are hereby taught that once permission has been given to "the destroyer" to destroy, he does not distinguish between the righteous and the wicked...
Rabbi Neal Schuster, ReformJudaism.org
[quotes the above Midrash from Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Pischa 11:15]
According to our commentaries, this is why the Children of Israel were admonished on the eve of the devastating and disturbing final plague that "none of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning" (Exodus 12:22). Inside of their blood-smeared doorposts they were safe; if they stepped outside in the hour of destruction they stepped into peril.
But there are many kinds of peril. There is the obvious danger of being struck down by the indiscriminate hand of "the destroyer." But there also is a darker danger that we might join the destroyer in his slaughter; that we might use an enemy's evil as license to slake our thirst for justice from a cup of vengeance and indignation. There is the danger that we ourselves may become the wanton destroyers who fail to distinguish between the righteous and the wicked. Perhaps the Children of Israel were warned to stay inside not only for their physical protection, but also for their spiritual protection.
Rabbi Aaron Moss, Chabad.org
However there are some words we don’t want to ingest. The Ten Plagues, describing the affliction of the Egyptians, represent negative energy that we would rather not bring into our system. So after reading each plague we spill wine from the cup, banishing the forces of punishment and its curses, and leaving the cup with only blessings. The spilled wine should then be discarded, for drinking it would be drinking in the plagues