Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L

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The Jews Are Kicked Out of Egypt

At midnight, G-d and His court kill all of the firstborns in Egypt. Even if a firstborn wasn't a part of the Egyptian nation but was in Egypt at the time, he was killed. Even the first born slaves and captives were killed as well as the animals. The captives were hit with this plague as they rejoiced in the Israelites' misfortune. Also this way they would not mistakenly think that an Egyptian deity was avenging the Egyptians with this plague.

The one exception was Pharaoh who himself was a firstborn. G-d keeps him alive however so that he would witness the forthcoming miracles of G-d.

It is a king's way to sleep in until well into the morning, however Pharaoh rises on this occasion in the middle of the night and wakes up his servants as well. All of the Egyptians were awake and there was a great outcry in the land. Every Egyptian home had been stricken with this plague. If there was no firstborn there, the person who was of highest importance died. And in some homes, multiple people died as the women had not been faithful to their husbands and thus gave birth to many "firstborns" through the men they were with.

Pharaoh goes out door to door, searching for Moshe and Aaron and said that all the Israelites should leave, this time with no stipulations - meaning this time it would include the children as well as the animals for sacrifice. One thing however he demands, is that Moshe and Aaron pray for Pharaoh as he is a firstborn.

The Egyptians are now also all on board with the idea of getting rid of the Israelites. They do not realize that the reason why multiple people were dying in their homes was as a result of illicit relationships and just thought that everyone was dying.

The Egyptians kick the Israelites out before their bread has a chance to leaven (i.e it became matza), so the Israelites left like this. And although they had many animals with them, they carried any leftover matzah and bitter herbs they had on their own shoulders out of love for this mitzvah.

In accordance with Moshe's instructions, the Israelites borrow gold and silver vessels from the Egyptians, as well as garments (which they liked even more than the vessels). The Egyptians saw the Israelites in a favorable light and gave them even more vessels than they asked for. The Israelites emptied out the homes of the Egyptians.

The total number of Israelite men over the age of 20 leaving Egypt was 600,000. This is not counting the women, children and a mix of nations who chose to convert to Judaism (the "mixed multitude"). Additionally, they had many animals (livestock, cattle and flock). They traveled from Ramses to Sukkot at a distance of 120 mil*. Miraculously, the journey was instantaneous.

*Side note, a mil is considered to be 2000 amos. An amah is approximately 18-24 inches. So a mil is 3,000-4,000 feet. So this distance was about 6.8-8.7 miles in modern day measurements.

The Israelites bake the unleavened bread they had left with in their hurry. In not taking provisions with them for the way, they demonstrated strong faith in G-d that He would take care of them.

The total time the Israelites spent living in Egypt was 430 years:

On the 15 of Nissan, Avraham made the "covenant between the parts" (Breishis 15:10) and then 30 years later, on the 15th of Nissan, Yitzchak was born and then 400 years later, exactly on the 15th of Nissan, G-d released the Israelites from Egypt.

G-d had foretold to Avraham that this would be the night that the Israelites would be redeemed, and G-d had been anticipating this night the whole time and for future generations to come, this night shall always be a night when the Israelites will be guarded from harmful spirits.

On the 14th of Nissan, G-d instructed Moshe and Aaron regarding the Paschal sacrifice and who is and is not allowed to eat from it as well as other stipulations around it:

* A non Jew who is estranged from G-d may not eat from it.

* A wayward Jew may eat from it.

* If a Jew has a slave and the slave is circumcised, then the slave may eat from it.

* If a Jew has a slave and does not circumcise his slave, the Jew may still eat from it but the slave may not

* A righteous gentile may not eat from it.

* Even a gentile who is circumcised (i.e. a muslim) may not eat from it.

* It must be eaten together with the original group which sacrificed it.

* One must eat meat off of any bones that has a substantial (i.e olive sized) amount of meat on it

* Although in this first circumstance of the Paschal sacrifice the groups were made up of families, this won't necessarily be the case in the future, however there will still be groups which eat it.

* A covert to Judaism must eat it at the next occasion (i.e the first Passover that they are Jewish) - a convert has all the same obligations as a native born Jew.

* A Jew who did not get circumcised even if it was for health reasons (i.e. he had two brothers who previously died as a result of getting circumcised and thus he is not circumcised as long as it might be a danger to his life), even though he has a legitimate excuse for not being circumcised, may not eat of the sacrifice.

So the Israelites did everything that G-d had commanded Moshe and Aaron. And so it was that that day G-d took all of the Israelites and their troops out from Egypt.

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