Remember This Day and Tell Your Child of the Exodus

"And Moses said to the people: Remember this day" (Exodus 13:3). This is taught because it says, "And it shall be when your child asks you tomorrow, saying..." (Exodus 13:14). One might think: if your child asks you, you tell him, but if he does not ask you, you do not tell him. Scripture therefore teaches, "And you shall tell your child" (Exodus 13:8) — even though he did not ask you. I know this applies only when one has a son. When a man is by himself, and when he is among others, how do I know he must still tell it? Scripture therefore says, "And Moses said to the people: Remember this day on which you went out of Egypt." "From the house of bondage" (Exodus 13:3). Rabbi Judah says: one might think we were slaves to slaves. Scripture therefore says "from the house of bondage [literally, house of slaves]" — we were slaves to them, but we were not slaves to their slaves. Rabbi Nehemiah says: is it any shame to us that we were slaves to the slaves of the Egyptians? Surely that would be a great honor! Rather, this teaches that they were made to do household work and field work, the work of men and the work of women. "For by strength of hand the LORD brought you out" (Exodus 13:3) — these are the ten plagues. "From this" — this teaches that the plague of the firstborn was weighed as equal to all of them together. "And no leaven shall be eaten this day" (Exodus 13:3) — even for dogs; this comes to forbid deriving any benefit from it. Rabbi Yose the Galilean says: how do we know that leaven in Egypt was forbidden for only one day? Scripture says, "And no leaven shall be eaten this day."