{"id":41614,"date":"2018-10-07T13:36:29","date_gmt":"2018-10-07T10:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=41614"},"modified":"2022-05-01T15:27:50","modified_gmt":"2022-05-01T12:27:50","slug":"exodus-12-a-night-to-remember","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/exodus-12-a-night-to-remember\/","title":{"rendered":"Exodus 12: A Night to Remember"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"41614","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":false,"related_cahpter":"62","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"A Night to Remember","content":"

Tonight it happens. The plague of the firstborn and the Exodus from Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Uniquely, in the same breath in which we’re told what’s happening in Egypt as if in real time, we’re taught how to remember this night for generations to come.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is happening in Egypt?<\/b><\/p>\n

The Passover offering (12:1-13 and 12:21-28), the plague of the firstborn (12:29-33) and the Exodus from Egypt (12:34-42).<\/span><\/p>\n

The Passover offering<\/b> – A family offering. On the tenth of Nisan (the first month) a lamb is set aside which is to be slaughtered on the 14th of Nisan at dusk. The blood of the sacrificial lamb is to be used to mark the doorposts and lintel of the house. This marking will distinguish the Israelites’ houses from the Egyptians’, protecting them from the slaughterer who will come to kill the Egyptians’ firstborn males.<\/span><\/p>\n

The sacrifice itself is to be eaten “with Matzot and bitter herbs” (12:8. Remind you of anything?) and in a unique milieu: “with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste” (12:11).<\/span><\/p>\n

The plague of the firstborn<\/b> – Just as Pharaoh was warned (we told you so…), “and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sits upon his throne to the firstborn of the handmaiden behind the grinding mill and all the firstborn of cattle… And there shall be a great cry throughout the land of Egypt” (12:29-30).<\/span><\/p>\n

The Exodus from Egypt<\/b> – Quickly. Everyone. Get out. With all your flocks and herds. With the vessels you borrowed from the Egyptians. And… with the dough that didn’t have time to rise, which was baked into Matzah.<\/span><\/p>\n

And the journey begins.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do we remember this for generations to come?<\/b><\/p>\n

In the next chapter (and in various other places in the Torah) we’ll encounter a variety of other mnemonic techniques. The first, which is found in this chapter, is <\/span>the Festival of the Matzot<\/b> – seven days. No leaven may be eaten (12:14-20). And the <\/span>Passover offering<\/b> – an annual sacrifice offered on the 14th of Nisan by circumcised males only (12:43-49).<\/span><\/p>\n

Points to Ponder:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The first of the months<\/b>. The Hebrew (Biblical) calendar is determined almost incidentally – “This month will be the first month of the year for you” (12:2). The Biblical year begins with the month of the Exodus.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. A sign of deliverance<\/b>. The distinction between the Egyptians and the Israelites was a recurring motif throughout the plagues. What’s new here is that in the plague of the firstborn this distinction isn’t automatic – the people had to do something. Slaughter a lamb. Mark their houses. By doing so, saying: I belong to this people. And being rescued from the plague.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. And I will pass over you<\/b>. This is the source and the meaning of the Passover offering – “and I will see the blood and I will pass over you and there will be no plague upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt” (12:13).<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. A night to remember<\/b>. The special night of the Exodus is called “a night to remember.” Who remembers? Both God and the Israelites: “The Lord’s night to remember taking them out of the land of Egypt… a night for all Israelites to remember throughout the generations” (12:42).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    5. <\/span>Matzah<\/b>. Planned or spontaneous (or just a baking accident)? There’s more than one answer in the chapter.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":86314,"id":86314,"title":"Points to ponder","filename":"Points-to-ponder.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/points-to-ponder-psalm-84\/points-to-ponder\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"points-to-ponder","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":86166,"date":"2021-01-09 20:56:58","modified":"2023-12-28 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