Pesikta de-Rav Kahana Reader

"And they shall take to you a red heifer" (Numbers 19:2). Lulianus bar Tiberis in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak Katriko, and Rabbi Azaryah said it in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak and Rabbi Yose bar Chanina: The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Moses, to you I reveal the reason of the heifer, but for others it is a decree." For Rabbi Chuna said: "When I take the appointed time, I will judge with fairness" (Psalms 75:3). "And it shall come to pass on that day, there shall not be light, but heaviness and congealing" (Zechariah 14:6) - it is written "they shall congeal" [the matters now hidden shall thicken and become clear]. Things that are concealed from you in this world are destined to be clear to you, like this clear crystal. This is what is written: "And I will lead the blind in a way they did not know, in paths" (Isaiah 42:16). It is not written "the things I will do," but rather "these I have done and have not forsaken them" (ibid.) - I have already done them for Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues. For Rabbi Acha said: Matters that were not revealed to Moses at Sinai were revealed to Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues, as it is written, "and his eye has seen every precious thing" (Job 28:10) - this is Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Yose bar Chanina said: He hinted to him that all the heifers would be voided, but yours would endure. Rabbi Acha in the name of Rabbi Yose bar Chanina: When Moses ascended to the heights of heaven he heard the voice of the Holy One, blessed be He, sitting and engaging with the portion of the heifer and saying a teaching in the name of one who taught it. Rabbi Eliezer says: a calf in its first year and a heifer of two years. Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He, "Master of the worlds, the upper and lower worlds are in Your domain, and You sit and say a teaching in the name of flesh and blood?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Moses, a righteous man is destined to arise in My world who will one day open with the portion of the heifer first - Rabbi Eliezer says: a calf in its first year and a heifer of two years." Moses said before Him, "Master of the worlds, may it be Your will that he come from my loins." He said to him, "By your life, he is from your loins!" This is what is written: "and the name of the one was Eliezer" (Exodus 18:4) - and the name of that singular one [is hinted as] Eliezer. There we learned: Abba Shaul says, the ramp of the heifer the high priests made from their own funds, and not one of them would bring out his heifer on the ramp of his fellow, but would tear it down and rebuild it from his own. Rabbi Acha in the name of Rabbi Chanina: more than sixty myriads of talents of gold were spent on it, and all of them were proud of it. But did not the teaching say: Shimon the Righteous made two heifers, and it was not on the ramp by which he brought out the first that he brought out the second - can you say of that righteous one that he was proud? Rabbi Avun in the name of Rabbi Lazar: It was out of honor [literally esteem] for the heifer. A certain gentile asked Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, saying to him, "These things you do appear like sorcery: you bring a heifer, slaughter it, burn it, pound it, take its ashes, and when one of you is defiled by a corpse they sprinkle on him two or three drops and say to him, you are purified!" He said to him, "Has a restless spirit never entered that man?" He said to him, "No." He said to him, "And have you not seen someone after a restless spirit entered him?" He said to him, "Yes." He said to him, "And what do you do?" He said to him, "We bring roots and make smoke beneath him and pour water upon it, and the spirit flees." He said to him, "Do your ears not hear what your mouth speaks? So too this spirit is a spirit of impurity, as it is written, 'and also the prophets and the spirit of impurity' (Zechariah 13:2)." When the gentile left, his disciples said to him, "Our master, this one you pushed off with a reed - what do you answer to us?" He said to them, "By your lives, it is not the corpse that defiles nor the water that purifies, but it is a decree of the Holy One, blessed be He. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, I have engraved a statute, I have decreed a decree, and you are not permitted to transgress My decree: 'This is the statute of the Torah' (Numbers 19:2)."

Why do all the offerings come as males, while this one comes as a female? Rabbi Aibo said: It is like the son of a maidservant who soiled the king's palace. The king said, "Let his mother come and wipe away the filth with her bosom." So too the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Let the heifer come and atone for the deed of the calf."

"A heifer" (Numbers 19:2) - this is Egypt, "Egypt is a very fair heifer" (Jeremiah 46:20). "Red" (ibid.) - this is Babylon, "you are the head of gold" (Daniel 2:38). "Unblemished" [perfect] (ibid.) - this is Media. Rabbi Chiya bar Abba said: The kings of Media were perfect; the Holy One, blessed be He, has nothing against them except the idolatry they received from their fathers alone. "In which there is no blemish" (ibid.) - this is Greece. When Alexander of Macedon would see Shimon the Righteous, he would rise to his feet and say, "Blessed be the God of Shimon the Righteous." The members of his palace said to him, "You rise before a Jew?" He said to them, "When I go down to battle, I see his likeness, and I am victorious." "Upon which no yoke has come" (ibid.) - this is wicked Edom, which did not accept upon itself the yoke of the Holy One, blessed be He. Not only did it not accept the yoke, but it reviles and blasphemes and says, "Whom have I in heaven?" (Psalms 73:25). "And you shall give it to Elazar the priest" (Numbers 19:3) - to the God who helps [a play on the name Elazar, El-ozer, "God helps"], the priest. "And he shall bring it outside the camp" (ibid.) - for He is destined to thrust the adversary [Seir/Esau] from His enclosure. "And he shall slaughter it before him" (ibid.) - "for the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah" (Isaiah 34:6). Rabbi Berekhya said: "a great slaughter in the land of Edom" (ibid.). "And he shall burn the heifer before his eyes" (Numbers 19:5) - "and it was given to the burning of the fire" (Daniel 7:11). "Its hide and its flesh and its blood with its dung he shall burn" (ibid.) - it and its dukes and its governors and its generals: "your wealth and your wares, your merchandise" (Ezekiel 27:27). Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak said: Even those who are from My assembly and came and joined your assembly - they too shall fall in the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall (ibid.).

Another interpretation: "A heifer" (Numbers 19:2) - this is Israel, as it is written, "for like a stubborn heifer Israel was stubborn" (Hosea 4:16). "Red" (ibid.) - this is Israel, as it is written, "they were ruddier in body than rubies" (Lamentations 4:7). "Perfect" (ibid.) - this is Israel, as it is written, "one is my dove, my perfect one" (Song of Songs 6:9). "In which there is no blemish" (ibid.) - this is Israel, as it is written, "you are wholly beautiful, my love, and there is no blemish in you" (Song of Songs 4:7). "Upon which no yoke has come" (ibid.) - this is the generation of Jeremiah, who did not accept upon themselves the yoke of the Holy One, blessed be He. "And you shall give it to Elazar the priest" (Numbers 19:3) - this is Jeremiah, "of the priests who were in Anathoth" (Jeremiah 1:1). "And he shall bring it outside the camp" (ibid.) - "and he exiled its people to Babylon" (Ezra 5:12). "And he shall slaughter it before him" (ibid.) - "and they slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes" (II Kings 25:7). "And he shall burn the heifer before his eyes" (Numbers 19:5) - "and he burned the house of the LORD and the house of the king" (II Kings 25:9). "Its hide and its flesh" (Numbers 19:5) - "and all the houses of Jerusalem and every great house he burned with fire" (II Kings 25:9). And why does it call it "the great house"? Rather, this is the study house of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, where they would recount the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He. "And he shall take" (ibid.) - this is wicked Nebuchadnezzar. "Cedar wood and hyssop and crimson wool" (ibid.) - these are Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. "And he shall cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer" (ibid.) - "the flame of the fire slew those men" (Daniel 3:22). "And he shall gather" (Numbers 19:9) - this is the Holy One, blessed be He, "and He shall raise a banner for the nations and gather the dispersed of Israel" (Isaiah 11:12). "A man" (ibid.) - this is the Holy One, blessed be He, of whom it is written, "the LORD is a man of war" (Exodus 15:3). "Pure" (ibid.) - this is the Holy One, blessed be He, of whom it is written, "pure of eyes, too pure to behold evil" (Habakkuk 1:13). "The ashes of the heifer" (ibid.) - these are the exiles of Israel. "And he shall place outside the camp in a pure place" (ibid.) - this is Jerusalem, which is pure. "And it shall be for the congregation of the children of Israel as a charge" (ibid.) - because in this world they are declared impure and pure by the mouth of a priest, but in the future to come the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to purify them, as it is written, "and I will sprinkle pure water upon you" (Ezekiel 36:25). The portion is ended.

"This month" [shall be for you]. "He made the moon for appointed times; the sun knows its setting" (Psalms 104:19). Rabbi Yochanan said: Only the orb of the sun was created to give light, for "let there be lights" (Genesis 1:14) is written defectively, as "a curse" [meorot spelled like meerat]. If so, why was the moon created? Only to sanctify by it the beginnings of months and the beginnings of years. Rabbi Shila of Kefar Temarta in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: Even so, "the sun knows its setting" (ibid.) - from here we learn that we do not count by the moon unless the sun has set. Yusta his colleague in the name of Rabbi Berekhya: "And they journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day" (Numbers 33:3). If you count by the moon, until now there are only fourteen days complete - from here we learn that we do not count by the moon unless the sun has set. Rabbi Zeira in the name of Rabbi Chanina: Only the orb of the sun was created to give light, for "let there be lights" is written defectively. If so, why was the moon created? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that the nations of the world were destined to arise and make them into gods, and He said, "If when they are two and contradict one another the nations of the world make them into gods, how much more so if there were only one!" Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Simon: Both were created to give light, "let there be lights" (ibid.), "and they shall be for lights" (ibid. 15), "and God set them in the firmament of the heavens" (ibid. 17). "And they shall be for signs and for appointed times" (ibid. 14) - "for signs," these are the Sabbaths, as it is written, "for it is a sign between Me and you" (Exodus 31:13); "and for appointed times," these are the festivals; "and for days" (Genesis ibid.), these are the beginnings of months; "and years" (ibid.), these are the beginnings of years - so that the nations of the world would count by the sun and Israel by the moon. "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2).

"Many things have You done, O LORD my God, Your wonders and Your thoughts toward us" (Psalms 40:6). Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa said two things. All the wonders and thoughts that You devised were so that our father Abraham would accept the kingdoms [foreign dominations]. "Toward us" (ibid.) - for our sake, so that we would endure in the world. Shimon bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: Four things the Holy One, blessed be He, showed our father Abraham - Torah, offerings, Gehinnom, and the kingdoms. Torah: "and a torch of fire" (Genesis 15:17). Offerings: "and He said to him, take for Me a three-year-old heifer" (ibid. 15:9). Gehinnom: "a smoking oven" (ibid. 15:17). The kingdoms: "and behold, a dread, a great darkness" (ibid. 15:12). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to our father Abraham: As long as your children occupy themselves with two things, they are saved from two things. As long as your children occupy themselves with Torah and offerings, they are saved from Gehinnom and from the kingdoms. But the Temple is destined to be destroyed and the offerings to cease - by which do you want your children to descend, by Gehinnom or by the kingdoms? Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa said: Abraham chose the kingdoms. What is the reason? "Unless their Rock had sold them and the LORD had delivered them up" (Deuteronomy 32:30), and "their Rock" is none other than Abraham, as it says, "look to the rock from which you were hewn" (Isaiah 51:1); "and the LORD delivered them up" (Deuteronomy ibid.) - that the Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with him. Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Levi: All that day Abraham sat and wondered in his heart, saying, "Which of these shall I choose, Gehinnom or the kingdoms? This one is harder than that one." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Abraham, how long will you sit and wonder in your heart? Cut off these kingdoms from your heart." This is what is written: "On that day the LORD cut [made] a covenant with Abram, saying [le'mor]" (Genesis 15:18). What is "saying"? Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa said: Abraham chose the kingdoms. We come to the dispute of Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Idi. Rabbi Chama bar Chanina said in the name of a certain elder who said it in the name of Rabbi: The Holy One, blessed be He, chose the kingdoms for him. This is what is written: "You have caused men to ride over our heads, we went through fire and through water" (Psalms 66:12) - as if we went through fire and through water. Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa said another matter. Rabbi Chanina said: All the wonders and thoughts that You devised were so that a man would be drawn to his household. What is the reason? "And Adam knew his wife again" (Genesis 4:25). What is "again"? That desire was added to his desire. In the past, if a man did not see, he did not desire; but now, whether he sees or does not see, he desires. Rabbi Abba bar Yudan in the name of Rabbi Acha: A hint to merchants and seafarers, that they would remember and come home. Rabbi Simon said: All the wonders and thoughts that You devised were so that the nations of the world would not accept Your Torah. But was it not already revealed and known before You that the nations of the world would not accept Your Torah? Then why did You appear as one who circles back to them? In order to double our reward. For Rabbi Simon said: "In Your reckonings toward us" - that all those two thousand four hundred and forty-eight years before Israel went out from Egypt, the Holy One, blessed be He, sat and reckoned reckonings and intercalated leap years and sanctified the years and renewed the months; and when Israel went out from Egypt He handed them over to them. This is what is written: "And the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying" (Exodus 12:1). What is "saying"? He said to them, "From here onward they are handed over to you: this month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2).

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life" (Proverbs 13:12). Rabbi Chiya bar Ba opened: "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" - this is one who betroths a woman and takes her only after a long time. "But a desire fulfilled is a tree of life" (ibid.) - this is one who betroths a woman and takes her immediately. Another interpretation: "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" - this is David, who was anointed and ruled only after two years. "But a desire fulfilled is a tree of life" - this is Saul, who was anointed and ruled immediately. By what merit? By the merit of good deeds that were in his hand: that he was humble and lowly of spirit, that he ate even ordinary food in purity, that he spent his own money to spare the money of Israel, and that he weighed the honor of his servant as his own honor. Yehudah bar Nachman in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: that he was a man of Torah, "by me princes rule" (Proverbs 8:16), "by me kings reign" (ibid. 8:15). Rabbi Yishmael taught: Before a person sins, awe and fear of him are given; but once he sins, awe and fear of others are placed upon him. So too, before Adam sinned he heard the divine voice as something pleasant; once he sinned he heard the voice as something fearful. Before Adam sinned he heard the voice and stood on his feet; "and they heard the voice of God walking in the garden" (Genesis 3:8); but once he sinned he heard the voice and hid: "and the man and his wife hid" (ibid.). Rabbi Aibo said: At that hour the stature of Adam shrank and became one hundred cubits. Before Israel sinned, what is written? "And the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel" (Exodus 24:17). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Seven partitions of fire were consuming one another, and Israel saw and did not fear and did not tremble; but once they sinned, they could not even gaze at the face of the intermediary, as it is written, "and Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses" and feared (Exodus 34:30). Rabbi Pinchas bar Avun in the name of Rabbi Chanin: even the intermediary felt the sin. "Kings of armies flee, they flee" (Psalms 68:13). Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Aibo said: It is not written "angels of armies" but "kings of armies" - the kings of the angels: even Michael, even Gabriel, could not gaze at the face of Moses; yet once Israel sinned, Moses could not even gaze at the faces of the lowest soldiers [angels], "for I was afraid of the anger and the wrath" (Deuteronomy 9:19). Before that incident befell David, what is written? "To David: the LORD is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" (Psalms 27:1); and once that incident befell David, what is written of him? "And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak of hands" (II Samuel 17:2). Before Solomon sinned he ruled over demons and she-demons, as it is written, "I made for myself singers and songstresses and the delights of the sons of men, a demon and demons" [shidah veshidot] (Ecclesiastes 2:8). What is "shidah veshidot"? That he ruled over male demons and female demons; but once he sinned he brought sixty mighty men to guard his bed, as it is written, "behold, the bed of Solomon, sixty mighty men around it, all of them holding swords, trained in war" (Song of Songs 3:7-8). Before Saul sinned, what is written of him? "And Saul took the kingship over Israel" (I Samuel 14:47), what is "he condemned" [yarshia] - he was victorious; and once he sinned, what is written of him? "And Saul saw the camp of the Philistines and was afraid" (ibid. 28:5). Another interpretation: "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Proverbs 13:12). Rabbi Chiya bar Abba said: These are Israel before they were redeemed. You find that when Moses came to Israel and said to them, "The Holy One, blessed be He, said to me, Go and say to Israel, I have surely remembered you" (Exodus 3:16), they said to him, "Our master Moses, still only a remembering? 'What is my strength that I should wait, and what is my end that I should prolong my soul? Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?'" (Job 6:11-12) - is our strength the strength of stones, is our flesh of bronze? But once he said to them, "This month you are to be redeemed," they said, "This is a good sign, a desire fulfilled is a tree of life" (Proverbs ibid.), "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2).

Yehudah bar Nachman in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish opened: "Send Your light and Your truth; they shall lead me, they shall bring me to Your holy mountain and to Your dwelling places" (Psalms 43:3). "Send Your light" - this is Moses, "and Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone" (Exodus 34:29). "And Your truth" - this is Aaron, "a Torah of truth was in his mouth" (Malachi 2:6), "Your Tummim and Your Urim belong to Your pious one" (Deuteronomy 33:8). And some reverse it: "Send Your light" - this is Aaron, "Your Tummim and Your Urim belong to Your pious one"; "and Your truth" - this is Moses, "not so My servant Moses, in all My house he is faithful" (Numbers 12:7). Rabbi Yitzchak said: From the sea Moses foresaw that he would not enter the land of Israel - "she watches the ways of her household" (Proverbs 31:27). It is not written "You shall bring him and plant him," but rather "You shall bring them and plant them" (Exodus 15:17). But is it not written here "they shall bring me to Your holy mountain and to Your dwelling places" (Psalms 43:3)? Rather, these are the scholars of the land of Israel, who are holy like the land of Israel. Another interpretation: "Send Your light and Your truth" (Psalms ibid.) - these are Moses and Aaron, through whom the Holy One, blessed be He, sent light to Israel to redeem them from Egypt. When? In this month: "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2).

Rabbi Levi opened: "You shall be holy to Me" and so forth (Leviticus 20:26). Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Hama bar Hanina, and Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Abbahu taught: had it said "and I will separate the nations of the world from you," the nations of the world would have had no standing. Rather it says "and I have separated you from the peoples to be Mine" (ibid.). This is like one who picks out the good from amid the bad: he picks and goes back and picks again. But when one picks out the bad from amid the good, he picks once and does not pick again. Rabbi Levi said: in all their deeds Israel are distinguished from the nations of the world: in their plowing, in their sowing, in their reaping, in their gathering of sheaves, in their threshing, in their granaries and winepresses, and in their counting and reckoning. In their plowing, "You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together" (Deuteronomy 22:10). In their sowing, "You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed" (ibid. 22:9). In their reaping, "You shall not gather the gleaning of your harvest" (Leviticus 19:9). In their gathering of sheaves, "And you forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back" and so forth (Deuteronomy 24:19). In their threshing, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it threshes" (ibid. 25:4). In their granaries and winepresses, "You shall surely furnish him out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress" (ibid. 15:14). And in their counting and reckoning, that the nations of the world count by the sun and Israel by the moon, "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2).

[6] "I sleep, but my heart is awake; the voice of my beloved knocks: Open to me," etc. (Song of Songs 5:2). The Assembly of Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the worlds, I sleep, away from the Temple, but my heart is awake in the synagogues and in the houses of study. I sleep, away from the sacrifices, but my heart is awake for commandments and acts of charity. I sleep, away from the commandments, but my heart is awake to perform them. I sleep, away from the End, but my heart is awake for the redemption. I sleep, away from the redemption, but the heart of the Holy One, blessed be He, is awake to redeem us. Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said: From where do we find that the Holy One is called the heart of Israel? From that which is written: "The rock of my heart and my portion is God forever" (Psalms 73:26). "The voice of my beloved knocks" (Song of Songs there) -- this is Moses: "And Moses said: Thus says the LORD: About midnight I will go out," etc. (Exodus 11:4). "Open to me" (Song of Songs there) -- Rabbi Yassa said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Open for Me an opening like the eye of a needle, and I will open for you an opening through which tents and fortifications can enter. "My sister" (there) -- My sister in Egypt, for they joined themselves to Me through two commandments, with the blood of the Passover offering and with the blood of circumcision. "My beloved" (there) -- My beloved at the sea, for they showed Me affection at the sea and said: "The LORD will reign forever and ever" (Exodus 15:18). "My dove" (Song of Songs there) -- My dove at Marah, for they distinguished themselves before Me like a dove in the commandments. "My perfect one" (there) -- My perfect one at Sinai, for they made themselves wholehearted before Me at Sinai and said: "All that the LORD has spoken we will do and we will hear" (Exodus 24:7). Rabbi Yannai says: My twin -- I am not greater than her, and she is not greater than Me. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Just as with twins, if one of them has an ache in his head, his fellow feels it, so the Holy One, blessed be He, said: "I am with him in trouble" (Psalms 91:15). "For My head is filled with dew" (Song of Songs there) -- "The heavens also dropped" (Judges 5:4). "My locks with the drops of the night" (Song of Songs there) -- "the clouds also dropped water" (Judges there). When? "In this month" -- "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2).

"The voice of my beloved! Here he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills" (Song of Songs 2:8). Rabbi Judah, Rabbi Nehemiah, and the rabbis interpreted this. Rabbi Judah said: "The voice of my beloved, here he comes" - this is Moses. When Moses came and said to Israel, "In this month you are to be redeemed," they said to him, "Our teacher Moses, how can we be redeemed? Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, say to our father Abraham, 'and they shall enslave them and oppress them four hundred years' (Genesis 15:13), and we hold only two hundred and ten?" He said to them: since He desires your redemption, He does not look at your reckonings; rather, "leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills" (Song of Songs ibid.) - leaping over the appointed end-times, the reckonings, and the intercalations, and in this month you are to be redeemed, "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2). Rabbi Nehemiah said: "The voice of my beloved, here he comes" - this is Moses. When he came and said to Israel, "In this month you are to be redeemed," they said to him, "Our teacher Moses, how can we be redeemed when the land of Egypt is full of the filth of our idolatry?" He said to them: since He desires your redemption, He does not look at your idolatry; rather, "leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills." And "mountains" means nothing other than houses of idolatry, as it says, "They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills" (Hosea 4:13). And the rabbis said: "The voice of my beloved, here he comes" - this is Moses. When he came and said to Israel, "In this month you are to be redeemed," they said to him, "Our teacher Moses, how can we be redeemed when we have no good deeds in our hands?" He said to them: since He desires your redemption, He does not look at your evil deeds. And at whom does He look? At the righteous among you, such as Amram and his court. And "mountains and hills" mean nothing other than courts of law, as it says, "Let me go and go down upon the mountains" (Judges 11:37). Rabbi Yudan said: servitude and being strangers in a land not theirs, "and they shall enslave them and oppress them four hundred years" (Genesis 15:13), even in their hospital. Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yose the Galilean, and Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov: "The voice of my beloved, here he comes" - this is the King Messiah. When he comes and says to Israel, "In this month you are to be redeemed," they will say to him, "Our teacher, King Messiah, how can we be redeemed? Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, say that He would subject us to seventy nations?" And he answers them with two answers and says to them: if even one of you were exiled to Barbaria and one of you to Sarmatia, it would be as though you were all exiled. And more than that, this wicked kingdom drafts conscripts from every single nation; let one Cuthean come and subjugate, it is as though he subjugated his whole nation; let one Ethiopian come and subjugate, it is as though he subjugated his whole nation. And in this month you are to be redeemed, "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2).

"My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag" and so forth (Song of Songs 2:9). "My beloved is like a gazelle" - Rabbi Yitzhak said: you say to us, "Come, come to us," if you would come to us first. Rabbi Yitzhak said: just as this gazelle leaps and bounds from tree to tree, from booth to booth, from fence to fence, so the Holy One, blessed be He, leaps from Egypt to the sea, and from the sea to Sinai. In Egypt they saw Him, "and I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night" (Exodus 12:12). At the sea they saw Him, "and Israel saw the great hand" (Exodus 14:31). At Sinai they saw Him, "and he said, the LORD came from Sinai and shone forth from Seir to them" (Deuteronomy 33:2). "Or a young stag" (Song of Songs 2:9) - Rabbi Yose son of Rabbi Hanina said: like the young of a hind. "Behold, he stands behind our wall" (ibid.) - "for on the third day the LORD will come down before the eyes of all the people" and so forth (Exodus 19:11). "Looking through the windows" (Song of Songs ibid.) - "and the LORD came down" and so forth (Exodus 19:20). "Peering through the lattices" (ibid.) - at the moment He said, "I am the LORD your God" (Exodus 20:2). "My beloved answered and said to me" (Song of Songs 2:10) - what did He say to me? "I am the LORD your God" (Exodus ibid.). Another interpretation: "My beloved is like a gazelle" (Song of Songs 2:9). Rabbi Yitzhak said: just as this gazelle leaps over the mountains and bounds from tree to tree, from booth to booth, from fence to fence, so the Holy One, blessed be He, leaps from this synagogue to that synagogue, from this house of study to that house of study. For what purpose? In order to bless Israel. By whose merit? By the merit of the one who sat in the oaks of Mamre, as it is written, "and the LORD appeared to him in the oaks of Mamre" and so forth (Genesis 18:1). Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Levi: it is written "sitting" [the spelling reads yoshev]. When the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to him, our father Abraham sought to stand. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Sit," and our father Abraham sat. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Abraham, whenever your children enter synagogues and houses of study they will sit while My glory stands." And what is the reason? "God stands in the assembly of God" (Psalms 82:1). Rabbi Haggai in the name of Rabbi Yitzhak: it does not say "God stands" but "God stations Himself," ready. Rabbi Shemuel bar Hiyya bar Yehudah in the name of Rabbi Hanina: every single praise that Israel offers to the Holy One, blessed be He, His glory sits among them. And what is the reason? "And You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel" (Psalms 22:4). "Or a young stag" (Song of Songs ibid.) - Rabbi Yose son of Rabbi Hanina said: like the young of a hind. "Behold, he stands behind our wall" (ibid.) - behind the walls of synagogues and houses of study. "Looking through the windows" (ibid.) - from between the shoulders of the priests. "Peering through the lattices" (ibid.) - from between the fingers of the priests. "My beloved answered and said to me" (ibid.) - what did He say to me? "May the LORD bless you and keep you" (Numbers 6:24). Another interpretation: "My beloved is like a gazelle" (Song of Songs 2:9). Rabbi Yitzhak said: just as this gazelle is seen and then hides again, so the first redeemer was revealed to them and then hid from them. How long did he hide from them? Rabbi Judah son of Rabbi said three months, as it is written, "and they met Moses and Aaron standing to meet them" and so forth (Exodus 5:20). "Or a young stag" (Song of Songs ibid.) - Rabbi Yose son of Rabbi Hanina said: like the young of a hind. "Behold, he stands behind our wall" (ibid.) - behind the Western Wall of the Temple, which will never be destroyed. "Looking through the windows" (ibid.) - by the merit of the fathers. "Peering through the lattices" (ibid.) - by the merit of the mothers, to teach you that just as there is a difference between a window and a lattice, so there is a difference between the merit of the fathers and the merit of the mothers. Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Levi: as the first redeemer, so the last redeemer. Just as the first redeemer was revealed to them and then hid from them, so the last redeemer will be revealed to them and then hide from them. How long will he hide from them? Rabbi Tanhuma in the name of Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hoshaya, and Rabbi Menahem in the name of Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina, said forty-five days, as it is written, "and from the time the continual offering is removed and the desolating abomination set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Happy is the one who waits and reaches the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days" (Daniel 12:11-12). What are these extra days here? They are the forty-five days during which the Messiah will be revealed to them and then hide from them. To where will he lead them? Some say to the wilderness of Judah, and some say to the wilderness of Sihon and Og, as it is written, "therefore behold, I will entice her and lead her into the wilderness" and so forth (Hosea 2:16). Whoever believes in him will eat saltwort and the roots of broom shrubs and live, as it is written, "who pluck saltwort beside the bushes, and the roots of the broom for their food" (Job 30:4). And whoever does not believe in him and goes off to the nations of the world, they will kill him. Rabbi Yitzhak bar Maryon said: at the end of forty-five days the Holy One, blessed be He, will be revealed to them and bring down the manna for them. Why? Because "there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). And what is the reason? "And I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; I will again make you dwell in tents as in the days of the appointed time" (Hosea 12:10).

"My beloved answered and said to me" (Song of Songs 2:10). Rabbi Azariah said: the answering is not the same as the saying; rather, He answered me through Moses and said to me through Aaron. What did He say to me? "Arise" (ibid.) - gird yourself. "My love" [ra'yati] (ibid.) - daughter of Abraham who shepherded [ri'ah] Me in My world. "My fair one" [yafati] (ibid.) - daughter of Isaac who beautified [yipah] Me in My world when his father bound him upon the altar. "And come away" [u-lekhi lakh] (ibid.) - daughter of Jacob who obeyed his father and his mother, "and Jacob obeyed his father and his mother" and so forth (Genesis 28:7). "For behold, the winter is past" (Song of Songs 2:11) - these are the four hundred years decreed upon our fathers in Egypt. "The rain is over and gone" (ibid.) - these are the two hundred and ten. Another interpretation: "For behold, the winter is past" - these are the two hundred and ten; "the rain is over and gone" - this is the servitude. The rain and the winter are not the same. Rabbi Tanhuma said: the heart of the hardship is the rain; the servitude of Israel was only eighty-six years, from the time Miriam was born. And why is she called Miriam? Rabbi Yitzhak said: an expression of bitterness [meror], as it says, "and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar" (Exodus 1:14). "The blossoms appear on the earth" (Song of Songs 2:12) - this is Moses and Aaron. "The time of pruning has come" (ibid.) - the time has come for the foreskin to be cut, the time has come for the Egyptians to be cut down, the time has come for their idolatry to be uprooted from the world, "and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments, I am the LORD" (Exodus 12:12); the time has come for the sea to be split, "and the waters were split" (ibid. 14:21); the time has come for the song to be sung, "then Moses sang" and so forth (ibid. 15:1); the time has come for the Torah to be given. "And the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land" (Song of Songs ibid.) - Rabbi Yohanan said: the voice of the good guide [tayar] is heard in our land, this is Moses, "and Moses said, thus says the LORD, about midnight" and so forth (Exodus 11:4). "The fig tree ripens its early figs" (Song of Songs 2:13) - these are the three days of darkness in which the wicked of Israel perished. "And the vines in blossom give fragrance" (ibid.) - these are those who remained, who repented and were accepted. Moses said to them: all this good fragrance is in you, and you sit here? "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away" (ibid.). Another interpretation: "My beloved answered and said to me" (Song of Songs 2:10). Rabbi Azariah said: He answered me through Joshua and said to me through Elazar. "For behold, the winter is past" (ibid. 2:11) - these are the forty years Israel spent in the wilderness. "The rain is over and gone" (ibid.) - these are the thirty-eight years of anger against Israel. "The blossoms appear" - these are the spies. "The time of pruning has come" - the time has come for the Canaanites to be cut down, the time has come for the land of Israel to be apportioned, "to these the land shall be divided" and so forth (Numbers 26:53). "And the voice of the turtledove" - the voice of the good guide, this is Joshua. "The fig tree ripens its early figs" - these are the baskets of first fruits. "And the vines in blossom give fragrance" - these are the drink offerings. Another interpretation: He answered me through Daniel and said to me through Ezra. "For behold, the winter is past" - these are the seventy years of the kingdom of Babylon. "The rain is over and gone" - these are the fifty-two years of the kingdom of Media. "The blossoms appear" - such as Daniel and his company, Mordecai and his company, Ezra and his company. "The voice of the turtledove" - this is Cyrus, "thus says Cyrus king of Persia, all the kingdoms of the earth" and so forth (Ezra 1:2). Another interpretation: He answered me through Elijah and said through the King Messiah. "For behold, the winter is past" - Rabbi Azariah said this is the wicked kingdom that misleads people. "The rain is over and gone" - this is the servitude. "The blossoms appear in the land" - Rabbi Yitzhak said it is written, "and the LORD showed me four craftsmen" (Zechariah 2:3), and these are they: Elijah, and the King Messiah, and Melchizedek, and the Priest of War. "The time of pruning has come" - the time has come for the wicked kingdom to be uprooted from the world, the time has come for the kingdom of Heaven to be revealed, "and the LORD shall be king over all the earth" and so forth (Zechariah 14:9). "The voice of the turtledove" - this is the King Messiah, "how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the herald" (Isaiah 52:7). "The fig tree ripens its early figs" - Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said, near the days of the Messiah a great pestilence will come and the wicked will be consumed by it. "And the vines in blossom give fragrance" - these are those who remain, "and it shall be that he who remains in Zion and he who is left in Jerusalem shall be called holy" (Isaiah 4:3). And the rabbis said concerning the seven-year period in which the son of David comes: in the first year, "and I will send rain on one city" and so forth (Amos 4:7). In the second, arrows of famine are sent. In the third, a great famine, and men, women, and children die, and the Torah is forgotten from Israel. In the fourth, plenty that is not plenty. In the fifth, great abundance, and they eat and drink and rejoice, and the Torah returns to its freshness. In the sixth, voices. And in the seventh, wars. At the close of the seventh, the son of David comes. Rabbi Abaye said: how many such seven-year periods there have been like this one, and yet he has not come. Rather, it is as Rabbi Yohanan said: the generation in which the son of David comes, the scholars die, and the eyes of those who remain fail with grief and groaning, and many evil troubles come upon the community, and harsh decrees are renewed; before the first has passed it brings another joined to it. Rabbi Abun said: the generation in which the son of David comes, the meeting house will become a brothel, the Galilee will be laid waste, the Gablan will be desolate, and the people of the Galilee will wander from city to city and find no favor; the people of truth are gathered up and truth is taken away. To where does it go? The house of Rabbi Yannai said: it goes and dwells in flocks upon flocks in the wilderness, as it says, "and truth is taken away" and so forth (Isaiah 59:15). Rabbi Nehorai said: the generation in which the son of David comes, the young will shame the faces of the old, and the old will rise before the young; a daughter rises against her mother, a bride against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house; a son will not be ashamed before his father; the wisdom of the scribes will rot, and the vine will give its fruit but the wine will be costly. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: the son of David comes only in a generation deserving of destruction. Rabbi Yannai said: the son of David comes only in a generation whose face is like a dog's. Rabbi Levi said: if you see one generation after another blaspheming, look for the footsteps of the King Messiah, and what is the reason? "With which Your enemies have taunted, O LORD, with which they have taunted the footsteps of Your anointed" (Psalms 89:52), and what is written after it? "Blessed be the LORD forever, amen and amen" (ibid. 53).

Rabbi Yonah opened: "And I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer of barley" (Hosea 3:2). Rabbi Yohanan said: "and I bought her" - I betrothed her. "For fifteen pieces of silver" - that is fifteen. "And a homer of barley" - that is thirty [a homer being thirty se'ah, here counted as fifteen]. "And a lethech of barley" (ibid.) - that is sixty. These are the sixty commandments that Moses wrote for us in the Torah, as Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai: Moses wrote three portions for us in the Torah, and each one of them contains sixty commandments, and these are they: the portion of the Passover offerings, the portion of damages, and the portion of the holy ones. Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Shila of Kefar Tamarta said: seventy each. Rabbi Tanhuma said: they do not disagree. The one who reckoned the Passover portion at seventy included with it the portion of phylacteries. The one who reckoned the portion of damages at seventy included with it the portion of the sabbatical year. The one who reckoned the portion of the holy ones at seventy included with it the portion of the fruit of the fourth year. Another interpretation: "and I bought her for fifteen pieces of silver" (ibid.) - this is the fifteenth of Nisan. When? "In this month," "This month shall be for you the beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2).

"This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2). Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Yudan son of Rabbi Shimon: the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, "My children, you have a renewal of redemption now, and so in the time to come. In the past I did not redeem a nation from the midst of a nation, but now I am redeeming a nation from the midst of a nation," as it is written, "or has God ever tried to come and take for Himself" and so forth (Deuteronomy 4:34). Rabbi Yehoshua son of Rabbi Nehemiah in the name of Rabbi Yohanan bar Pazi: it does not say here "a nation from the midst of a people" or "a people from the midst of a nation," but "a nation from the midst of a nation" (ibid.), for these were uncircumcised and these were uncircumcised, these grew a lock of hair and these grew a lock of hair. If so, the attribute of justice would not have allowed Israel ever to be redeemed from Egypt. Rabbi Shemuel bar Nahman said: had the Holy One, blessed be He, not bound Himself by an oath, Israel would never have been redeemed from Egypt. And what is the reason? "Therefore say to the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out" and so forth (Exodus 6:6), and "therefore" [lakhen] means nothing other than an oath, as it says, "and therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli" (1 Samuel 3:14). Rabbi Berekhiah said: "You redeemed Your people with an arm" (Psalms 77:16) - by force. Rabbi Yudan said: from "to come and take for Himself a nation" (Deuteronomy 4:34) until "great terrors" (ibid.) there are seventy-two letters. And if a person says to you there are seventy-five, say to him: subtract the second "nation," which is not part of the count. Rabbi Avin said: He redeemed them by His name, for the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, has seventy-two letters. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: it is like a king whose son was taken captive, and vengeance clothed the king, and he went and ransomed his son, and said, "Let them count by the era of my son's redemption." So the Holy One said, "Let them count by the era of the exodus from Egypt." Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina said: it is like a king who married many wives and wrote them neither a marriage gift nor a marriage contract, but when he married a woman of good family and noble lineage he wrote her a marriage gift and a contract. So of all the women Ahasuerus married he wrote neither gift nor contract, but when he married Esther, of good family and noble lineage, he wrote her a marriage gift and a contract. He wrote her the gift, "in the tenth month, which is the month of Tevet" (Esther 2:16), and he wrote her the contract, "in the seventh year of his reign" (ibid.).

Rabbi Berekhiah said: "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2) - it is a sign for you. "Like the moon it shall be established forever" (Psalms 89:38), like this moon that is full and then waning: if you are meritorious, behold you count toward its fullness, and if not, behold you count toward its waning. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David, Solomon - "and Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king" (1 Chronicles 29:23): behold, the moon at its fullness. Behold, you count toward its waning: Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Zedekiah - "and they put out the eyes of Zedekiah" (2 Kings 25:7): behold, the moon at its waning.

"This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2) - it is handed over to you. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: it is like a king who had a timepiece, and when his son came of age he handed over to him his timepiece. Rabbi Yose son of Rabbi Hanina said: like a king who had a watchtower, and when his son came of age he handed over to him his watchtower. Rabbi Aha said: like a king who had a signet ring, and when his son came of age he handed over to him his ring. Rabbi Yitzhak said: like a king who had many treasuries and a key for each one, and when his son came of age he handed over to him the keys. Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said: like a craftsman who had tools of his trade, and when his son came of age he handed over to him his tools. And the rabbis said: like a physician who had a case of remedies, and when his son came of age he handed over to him his case. Rabbi Hoshaya taught: the court below decreed and said, "Today is the New Year," and the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the ministering angels, "Set up the platform, let the advocates stand and let the scribes stand, for the court below has decreed and said, today is the New Year." If the witnesses were delayed in coming, or the court decided to intercalate the year to the next day, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the ministering angels, "Remove the platform, let the advocates be removed and let the scribes be removed, for the court below has decreed and said, tomorrow is the New Year." And what is the reason? "For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob" (Psalms 81:5) - if it is not a statute for Israel, then, as it were, it is not an ordinance of the God of Jacob. Rabbi Pinhas and Rabbi Hezekiah in the name of Rabbi Simon: all the ministering angels gather before the Holy One, blessed be He, and say before Him, "Master of the worlds, when is the New Year?" And He says, "You ask Me? I and you, let us ask the court below." And what is the reason? "For what great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call upon Him" (Deuteronomy 4:7), and "our calling" means nothing other than the festivals, as it says, "these are the appointed times of the LORD, holy convocations" (Leviticus 23:4). Rabbi Crispa in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: in the past, "the appointed times of the LORD" (ibid.); from here onward, "which you shall proclaim" (ibid.) - He said to them, if you have proclaimed them, they are My appointed times, and if not, they are not My appointed times.

"This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2): you count by it, and the nations of the world do not count by it. Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Yose bar Le'ai said: it is the way of the world that the great reckons by the great and the small by the small. Esau, who is great, reckons by the sun, which is great; and Jacob, who is small, reckons by the moon, which is small. Rabbi Nachman said: and this is a good sign. Just as the great one rules by day and does not rule by night, so the wicked Esau rules in this world and does not rule in the world to come. Just as the small one rules by day and by night, so Jacob rules in this world and in the world to come. Rabbi Nachman said: so long as the light of the great one shines in the world, the light of the small one is not noticed; once the light of the great one sets, the light of the small one becomes known. So long as the light of the wicked Esau shines in the world, the light of Jacob is not noticed; once the light of the wicked Esau sets, the light of Jacob becomes known, "Arise, shine, for your light has come" (Isaiah 60:1). Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai taught: in three matters Moses had difficulty, and the Holy One, blessed be He, showed him as if with a finger: the menorah, the creeping things, and the new moon. The menorah, "And this is the work of the menorah" (Numbers 8:4). The creeping things, "And these are unclean for you" (Leviticus 11:29). The new moon, "This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2).

Rabbi Simlai, and it is also taught in the name of Rabbi Shmuel: any new moon that is not born before six hours [of the day], the eye has no power to see it that evening. Rabbi Shmuel bar Yeva said, Rabbi Acha said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Nachman: in the year that Israel went out [of Egypt], the months of the calendar year and the months of the solar season were equal. Rabbi Chiyya bar Ba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: the Holy One, blessed be He, wrapped Himself in a tallit fringed with tzitzit, and set Moses on one side and Aaron on the other, and called to Michael and Gabriel and made them like witnesses who come to testify about the new moon, and said to them: in what manner did you see the moon? Before the sun or after the sun? To its north or to its south? How high was it, and which way did it incline? How wide was the crescent? He said to them: in the same order that you see it, so shall My children sanctify the leap year below, by means of an elder, and by means of witnesses, and by means of a fringed tallit.

Rabbi Nachman and Rabbi Eleazar bar Rabbi Yose and Rabbi Acha. One said: the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: My children, you have a renewal of redemption destined for the time to come. And the other said: the renewal that is destined for the time to come, you have it here already. Just as in the time to come, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened" (Isaiah 35:5), so here too, "And all the people saw the thunderings" (Exodus 20:15). Just as in the time to come, "And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped" (Isaiah 35:5), so here too, "And they said, all that the LORD has spoken we will do and we will hear" (Exodus 24:7). Just as in the time to come, "Then shall the lame man leap as a deer" (Isaiah 35:6), so here too, "And Moses brought forth the people to meet [God]" (Exodus 19:17). Just as in the time to come, "And the tongue of the mute shall sing" (Isaiah 35:6), so here too, "And all the people answered together and said" (Exodus 19:8).

"Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, on the tenth of this month [each shall take a lamb]" (Exodus 12:3). Rabbi Yochanan said: but is it not finer only when freshly taken from its pen? Yet you say from the tenth! Rather, this teaches that the lambs were tied to the legs of the beds of Israel from the tenth, and the Egyptians would come in and see them, and their souls flew out of them. Rabbi Chiyya son of Rabbi Adda of Jaffa said: "Draw out and take for yourselves a lamb according to your families, and slaughter the Passover offering" (Exodus 12:21), that each one of you should drag the god of the Egyptian and slaughter it before him, and [the Egyptian] could only mutter about it. Rabbi Chelbo said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: here you say "on the tenth of this month" (Exodus 12:3), and there it says "and the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth" (Joshua 4:19). Rabbi Chiyya said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: its taking up stood by them at the Jordan, and its eating stood by them in the days of the manna. "And they shall eat the flesh on that night" (Exodus 12:8) — "on that night the king's sleep fled" (Esther 6:1). Rabbi Berekhiah said in the name of Rabbi Abahu: Nachum of the academy expounded in Tarsus, "and they shall take for themselves, each man" (Exodus 12:3), this is the Holy One, blessed be He, of whom it is written "the LORD is a man of war" (Exodus 15:3). By what do you take Him? By the two daily offerings, "a lamb for a father's house, a lamb for a house" (Exodus 12:3). Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Simon: never did a person spend the night in Jerusalem with sin in his hand. How so? The morning daily offering would atone for sins done in the night, and the daily offering of twilight would atone for sins done in the day, so that no person ever spent the night in Jerusalem with sin in his hand. And what is the reason? "Righteousness lodged in her" (Isaiah 1:21).

Rabbi Berekhiah said in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak: "the month [ha-chodesh]" (Exodus 12:2) — renew [chadshu] your deeds, for there is still a head [rosh] and a first one [rishon] to come. "Head [rosh]" — this is the wicked Nebuchadnezzar, of whom it is written, "you are the head of gold" (Daniel 2:38). "First [rishon]" — this is the wicked Esau, of whom it is written, "and the first came out ruddy" (Genesis 25:25). Who exacts punishment for you from the head and the first? "I, the LORD, am first, and with the last I am He" (Isaiah 41:4). Who exacts punishment for you from Media? "On the tenth [be-asor]" (Exodus 12:3). Rabbi Avin said: the tenth came, "hang Haman and his ten sons" — who exacts punishment for you from them? Two officials, Mordecai and Esther, Mordecai from outside and Esther from inside. Who exacts punishment for you from Greece? The Hasmoneans, who offered up two daily offerings every day. Who exacts punishment for you from Edom? Watchfulness: "and it shall be a watch for you until the fourteenth day of the month" (Exodus 12:6). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: his father called him great, "and he called Esau his great son" (Genesis 27:1), and his mother called him great, "and Rebecca took the garments of Esau her great son" (Genesis 27:15), and I call him small, "behold, I have made you small among the nations" (Obadiah 1:2). Since they call him great, "for the ox to the slaughter" — "for the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom" (Isaiah 34:6). Rabbi Berekhiah said: a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

"Do not eat any of it raw [na]" (Exodus 12:9) — do not demand it half-cooked. "Nor boiled at all in water, but roasted with fire, its head with its legs and its inner parts" (Exodus 12:9) — it [Egypt] and its dukes and its governors and its commanders, "your wealth and your wares, your merchandise, your mariners and your pilots, those who repair your breaches and the dealers in your merchandise, and all your men of war who are in you, and all your assembly that is in your midst, shall fall into the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall" (Ezekiel 27:27). Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzchak said: even those who are from my assembly and came and attached themselves to your assembly, they too shall fall into the heart of the seas on the day of your downfall. "And thus shall you eat it, your loins girded" (Exodus 12:11). Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: because in this world "you shall eat it in haste" (Exodus 12:11), but in the time to come, what is written? "For you shall not go out in haste, nor go in flight, for the LORD goes before you, and the God of Israel is your rear guard" (Isaiah 52:12).

"My offering, My bread" (Numbers 28:2). "If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine and its fullness" (Psalms 50:12). Rabbi Simon said: thirteen attributes of mercy are written of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, "And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, the LORD, the LORD, God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth, keeping kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and cleansing" (Exodus 34:6-7). And is there a merciful one who would hand his food over to a cruel one? Therefore, "If I were hungry I would not tell you." Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: the Holy One, blessed be He, said, ten clean animals I handed to you, three in your domain and seven not in your domain. Those in your domain: "the ox, the sheep of the flock, and the goat" (Deuteronomy 14:4). Those not in your domain: "the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep" (Deuteronomy 14:5). Did I trouble you to chase over hills and mountains to bring Me an offering from those not in your domain? I asked only from what is in your domain and raised at your stall. Therefore, "If I were hungry I would not tell you." Rabbi Yitzchak said: it is written, "My offering, My bread for My fires" (Numbers 28:2). Is there eating and drinking before Me? If you say there is eating and drinking before Me, learn from My angels, learn from My ministers: "He makes His angels winds, His ministers a flaming fire" (Psalms 104:4). From what are they nourished? They are nourished from the radiance of the Divine Presence, as it is written, "in the light of the King's face is life" (Proverbs 16:15). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: it is written, "a continual burnt offering, made at Mount Sinai for a pleasing aroma, an offering to the LORD" (Numbers 28:6). Is there eating and drinking before Me? Learn from Moses, of whom it is written, "and he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread and drank no water" (Exodus 34:28). And these matters are an a fortiori argument: if Moses, who went on My errand forty days, ate no bread and drank no water, is there eating and drinking before Me? Therefore, "If I were hungry I would not tell you." Rabbi Chiyya the Elder said: My creatures do not need My creatures, and I do not need My creatures. Have you ever heard one say, give this vine wine to drink so it will make much wine, give this olive oil to drink so it will make much oil? My creatures do not need My creatures, and I do not need My creatures. One animal I handed you and you could not manage it. Which is this? This is the Behemoth on a thousand hills (Psalms 50:10). Rabbi Yochanan said: one animal lies upon a thousand hills, and the thousand hills grow food for it and it eats. What is the reason? "For the hills bring it produce" (Job 40:20). And Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: one animal lies upon a thousand hills, and the thousand hills grow all kinds of food for the meal of the righteous in the time to come. And from where does it drink? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi taught: whatever the Jordan gathers in six months, it makes into one gulp. Rabbi Tanchum said: great are the works of our God, how wondrous are the works of the Holy One, blessed be He. Taught Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai: "a river goes out from Eden" (Genesis 2:10), and its name is Yuval, and from there it drinks, as it is written, "and by the stream it sends out its roots" (Jeremiah 17:8). One king I handed you and you could not manage him. Which is this? This is Solomon son of David. "And Solomon's bread for one day was thirty kor of fine flour and sixty kor of meal" (1 Kings 5:2). Rabbi Yudah son of Rabbi Zevida said: Solomon had a thousand wives, and each one would prepare a meal like this, each thinking perhaps he would dine with her. Therefore, "If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine." It is taught: one does not bring the incense-pan except after the meal. Do the guests benefit from it except by the aroma? So said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel: My children, of all the offerings you bring before Me, do I benefit from you in anything except the aroma? "A pleasing aroma you shall keep to offer to Me in its appointed time" (Numbers 28:2).

"The righteous eats to the satisfaction of his soul" (Proverbs 13:25) — this is Eliezer, the servant of our father Abraham, who said, "Let me sip a little water from your jar" (Genesis 24:17), one swallow. "But the belly of the wicked shall want" (Proverbs 13:25) — this is the wicked Esau, who said to our father Jacob, "Let me gulp down some of that red, red stuff, for I am weary" (Genesis 25:30). Rabbi Yitzchak son of Rabbi Ze'ira said: that wicked one opened his mouth like a camel and said, I will open my mouth and you keep pouring in, as we learned: one does not feed the camel by measure but stuffs it. Another interpretation: "the righteous eats to the satisfaction of his soul" — this is Ruth the Moabite, of whom it is written, "and she ate and was satisfied and had some left over" (Ruth 2:14). Rabbi Yitzchak said: you learn two things from this. Either a blessing rested in the hand of the righteous one [Boaz], or a blessing rested in the innards of the righteous woman. From what is written, "and she ate and was satisfied and had some left over," it appears the blessing rested in the innards of the righteous woman. "But the belly of the wicked shall want" — these are the nations. Rabbi Meir said: Dostai of Kokhava asked me, what is "the belly of the wicked shall want"? I told him: a certain gentile in our town made a feast for all the elders of the town and invited me with them, and he set before us everything the Holy One, blessed be He, created in the six days of creation, and his table lacked nothing but soft-shelled nuts. What did he do? He took the tray from before us, worth six talents of silver, and broke it. I said to him, why did you do this? He said to me, Rabbi, you say this world is ours and the world to come is yours; if we do not eat now, when shall we eat? And he applied to himself, "the belly of the wicked shall want." Another interpretation: "the righteous eats to the satisfaction of his soul" — this is Hezekiah king of Judah. They said of Hezekiah king of Judah that two bunches of vegetables and one litra of meat were brought before him each day, and Israel grumbled after him and said, this is a king? "And rejoices in Rezin and the son of Remaliah" (Isaiah 8:6), his kingship is fit for Rezin and the son of Remaliah. "Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently [le'at]" (Isaiah 8:6). What is "le'at"? Bar Kappara said: we searched all of Scripture and found no place named Le'at, rather this is Hezekiah king of Judah, who would purify Israel in a ritual bath of forty se'ah; what is the source for "le'at"? The Holy One said to them: you grumble; therefore, "behold, the LORD brings up against them the waters of the River" (Isaiah 8:7). "But the belly of the wicked shall want" — this is Mesha, "and Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-breeder [noked]" (2 Kings 3:4). What is "noked"? A shepherd, "and he rendered to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand wool rams" (2 Kings 3:4). Another interpretation: "the righteous eats to the satisfaction of his soul" — this is the Holy One, blessed be He. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: My children, of all the offerings you bring before Me, do I benefit from you in anything except the aroma? "My pleasing aroma you shall keep to offer to Me in its appointed time" (Numbers 28:2).

"You have ordained Your precepts" (Psalms 119:4). And where did He ordain them? In the Book of Numbers. What did He ordain? "To keep diligently" (ibid.), "you shall take care to offer to Me at its appointed time" (Numbers 28:2). The passage stated there is the passage stated here. And why does He say it and repeat it? Rabbi Yudah, Rabbi Nehemiah, and the Rabbis. Rabbi Yudah said: Because Israel was saying, in the past the journeys were in force and the daily offerings were in force; now the journeys have ceased, the daily offerings have ceased. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Go tell Israel that they should keep the daily offerings in practice. Rabbi Nehemiah said: Because Israel was making light of the daily offerings, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Go tell Israel that they should not make light of the daily offerings. And the Rabbis said: It is stated there for the sake of study and likewise for practice. Rabbi Aha in the name of Rabbi Hanina bar Pappa: So that Israel should not say, in the past we used to bring offerings and occupy ourselves with them, and now that we do not bring offerings, is there any point in occupying ourselves with them? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: Since you occupy yourselves with them, it is as if you are offering them. Rabbi Huna said two things. Rabbi Huna said: None of these exiles will be gathered in except by the merit of studying the mishnayot. And what is the reason? "Though they recite them among the nations, now I will gather them" (Hosea 8:10). Rabbi Huna said another: "For from the rising of the sun to its setting My name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure offering" (Malachi 1:11). But is there a pure offering in Babylonia? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Since you occupy yourselves with it, it is as if you are offering it. Samuel said: "And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the form of the House and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, and all its forms" (Ezekiel 43:11). But is there a form of the House now? Rather, the Holy One said: Since you occupy yourselves with it, it is as if you are building it. Rabbi Yose said: Why do we begin teaching little children with Leviticus [the law of the priests]? If so, let them begin with Genesis! Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Just as the offerings are pure and the children are pure, let the pure come and occupy themselves with the pure. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana and Rabbi Hanin, both in the name of Rabbi Azariah of Kfar Hittaya: It is like a king who had two cooks. The first cooked him a dish and he ate it and it was pleasing to him; the second cooked him a dish and he ate it and it was pleasing to him. And we do not know which of them was more pleasing to him, except from the one whom he commands, saying, "Make me a dish like that one." From that we know that the second one's was more pleasing to him. So too, Noah brought an offering and it was pleasing to the Holy One, blessed be He: "And the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma" (Genesis 8:21); Israel brought an offering and it was pleasing to the Holy One, blessed be He. And we do not know which of them was more pleasing to Him, except from the fact that He commands Israel, saying to them, "My pleasing aroma you shall take care to offer to Me at its appointed time" (Numbers 28:2). From that we know that Israel's was more pleasing to Him. Rabbi Avin said two things. Rabbi Avin said: It is like a king reclining on his couch, and they brought him the first dish and he ate it and it was pleasing to him, and they brought him the second dish and he ate it and it was pleasing to him, and he began to wipe the bowl clean. Thus, "I will offer You fatlings" (Psalms 66:15) [reading: fatlings wiped clean] like one who wipes the bowl clean. Rabbi Avin said another: It is like a king who was traveling on the road and reached the first watchtower and ate and drank there, and reached the second watchtower and ate and drank there and lodged there. So too here, why does Scripture repeat: "upon the burnt offering" (Leviticus 3:5), "it is the burnt offering" (Leviticus 6:2), "this is the law of the burnt offering" (ibid.)? Rather, it teaches that the burnt offering is entirely consumed by the altar fires.

"Lambs [kevasim]" (Numbers 28:3). The House of Shammai and the House of Hillel. The House of Shammai says: "kevasim" [reading as kovshim], because they suppress [kovshim] the sins of Israel, as it is said, "He will again have compassion on us, He will suppress our iniquities" (Micah 7:19). And the House of Hillel says: "kevasim" [reading as kovsim], because they launder [kovsin] the sins of Israel, as it is said, "Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18). Ben Azzai says: "lambs in their first year" (Numbers 28:3), because they launder the sins of Israel and make them like an infant in its first year. "Two each day" (ibid.) on account of the day. "Two each day" an advocate for that day, "And they shall be Mine, says the LORD of hosts, on the day that I make My treasured possession" (Malachi 3:17). "Two each day" (Numbers ibid.), that they should be slaughtered facing the day. "Two each day" (ibid.), that one should know which is slaughtered in the morning and which is slaughtered at twilight. "A continual burnt offering" (Numbers 28:6). Rabbi Yudah son of Rabbi Simon said: Never did a person spend the night in Jerusalem with sin in his hand. How so? The morning daily offering would atone for transgressions committed during the night, and the twilight offering would atone for transgressions committed during the day. In any case no person would spend the night in Jerusalem with sin in his hand. And what is the reason? "Righteousness lodged in her" (Isaiah 1:21). Rabbi Yudah son of Rabbi Simon in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: Three things Moses heard from the mouth of the Almighty and was alarmed and recoiled backward. When He said, "Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them" (Exodus 25:8), Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the worlds, it is written, "Behold, the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain You" (1 Kings 8:27), and You say, "Let them make Me a sanctuary" (Exodus ibid.)? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Not as you think [text uncertain]. The end of the matter, as it is set down in the portion of Ki Tissa, that there "each shall give a ransom for his soul to the LORD" (Exodus 30:12) is the consequence, and here, second, "My pleasing aroma" is the consequence here. End of the chapter.

"And it came to pass at midnight" (Exodus 12:29). Rabbi Tanchum of Jaffa in the name of Rabbi Nunya of Caesarea opened: "When I sought to know this, it was too wearisome in my eyes" (Psalms 73:16). David said: No creature is able to fix the exact midpoint of the night except the Holy One, blessed be He; but as for me, it is too wearisome in my eyes. And since no creature is able to fix the exact midpoint of the night except Him, therefore it says, "And it came to pass at midnight" (Exodus 12:29).

Rabbi Aha opened: "I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images" (Isaiah 42:8). "I am the LORD, that is My name." Rabbi Aha said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "I am the LORD, that is My name" it is My name that the first man called Me; it is My name that I stipulated between Myself and Myself; it is My name that I stipulated between Myself and the ministering angels. "And My glory I will not give to another" Rabbi Menahema said in the name of Rabbi Avin: these are the demons. Rabbi Nehemyah in the name of Rabbi Mina said: No creature is able to distinguish between the drop of a firstborn and one that is not a firstborn except the Holy One, blessed be He; but as for Me, it is toil in My eyes. And because no creature is able to stand precisely upon midnight except Him, therefore "And it came to pass at midnight" (Exodus 12:29).

[2] Rabbi Aha opened: "I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images" (Isaiah 42:8). "I am the LORD, that is My name" — Rabbi Aha said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "I am the LORD, that is My name": it is My name that the first man called Me; it is My name that I stipulated between Myself and Myself; it is My name that I stipulated between Myself and the ministering angels. "And My glory I will not give to another" (ibid.) — Rabbi Menahma said in the name of Rabbi Avin: these are the demons. Rabbi Nehemiah in the name of Rabbi Mina said: No creature is able to distinguish between a drop that is of a firstborn and one that is not of a firstborn, except the Holy One, blessed be He; but as for Me, it is labor in My eyes. And because no creature is able to discern the exact middle of the night except Him, therefore "and it came to pass at midnight" (Exodus 12:29).

[3] "He confirms the word of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers; who says of Jerusalem, 'It shall be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They shall be rebuilt, and I will raise up its ruins'" (Isaiah 44:26). Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Levi: He who confirms the word of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, do we not know that He says of Jerusalem, "It shall be inhabited," and of the cities of Judah, "They shall be rebuilt"? Rather, one angel was revealed to our father Jacob and said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel" (Genesis 32:28, 29). The Holy One, blessed be He, was revealed to our father Jacob to confirm the decree of that angel, and God said to him, "Your name is Jacob," and so forth (there, 35:9, 10). Jerusalem, concerning which all the prophets prophesy that it will be rebuilt, all the more so. Another interpretation: "He confirms the word of His servant" (Isaiah, there), this is Moses, "Not so My servant Moses" (Numbers 12:7). "And fulfills the counsel of His messengers" (Isaiah, there), this is Moses, "And He sent a messenger and brought us out of Egypt" (Numbers 20:16). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Go, say to them, to Israel, "And I will pass through the land of Egypt on this night" (Exodus 12:12). Moses went and said to Israel, "Thus says the LORD: About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt" (there, 11:4). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I have already assured Moses and said to him, "Not so My servant Moses; in all My house he is faithful" (Numbers 12:7); shall My servant Moses be as a liar? Rather, just as Moses said "about midnight," so too I will act about midnight. Therefore, "And it came to pass at midnight" (Exodus 12:29).

[4] "At midnight I rise to give thanks to You for Your righteous judgments" (Psalms 119:62). Rabbi Pinhas in the name of Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Menahem: What did David do? He would take a harp and a lyre and place them at his head, and rise at midnight and play upon them; and the sages of Israel would hear his voice and say, "If David the king occupies himself with Torah, we all the more so," and it would turn out that all Israel was occupied with Torah. Rabbi Levi said: There was a window over David's bed that opened to the north, and the lyre was hung opposite it, and the north wind would come forth at midnight and blow upon it, and the lyre would play of itself. This is the meaning of what is written, "And it came to pass, as the musician played" (2 Kings 3:16); "as one plays upon an instrument" is not said, but rather "as the musician played"; the lyre played of itself. And all Israel would hear his voice and say, "If David the king does so, we all the more so," and it would turn out that all Israel was occupied with Torah. This is what David said, "Awake, my glory; awake, O harp and lyre; I will awaken the dawn" (Psalms 57:9); awake, my honor, before the honor of my Creator; my honor is reckoned as nothing before the honor of my Creator. "I will awaken the dawn" (there), I awaken the dawn, and the dawn does not awaken me. And his evil inclination would provoke him and say to him: David, it is the way of kings that the dawn awakens them, and you say, "I will awaken the dawn"; it is the way of kings to sleep until the third hour, and you say, "At midnight I rise to give thanks to You" (there, 119:62). And what is "for Your righteous judgments" (there)? For the judgments You brought upon Pharaoh the wicked and the righteousness You did with Sarah my grandmother, as it is written, "And the LORD afflicted Pharaoh with great plagues," and so forth (Genesis 12:17). Another interpretation: "for Your righteous judgments" (Psalms, there), for the judgments You brought upon the nations of the world, and for the righteousness You did with my grandfather and with my grandmother; for had she let slip down to her a single curse from below, from where would I have been standing? Rather, You placed in his heart a blessing: "Blessed are you to the LORD, my daughter" (Ruth 3:10). Another interpretation: "for Your righteous judgments" (Psalms, there), for the judgments You brought upon the Egyptians in Egypt, and for the righteousness You did with our fathers in Egypt; for they had no commandments in their hands by which to be redeemed except two commandments, the blood of the Passover offering and the blood of circumcision, as it is written, "And I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, and I said to you, 'In your blood, live'" (Ezekiel 16:6); "in your blood," the blood of the Passover offering and the blood of circumcision.

Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai taught: Moses did not know the precise hours, the moments, or the times of the night; therefore he said "about midnight" (Exodus 11:4). But the Holy One, blessed be He, knows the hours, the moments, and the times of the night; therefore He enters into it as precisely as a hair's breadth. And who divided it? Rabbi Benjamin bar Yefet said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: The night divided itself. Our Rabbis said: Its Creator divided it. Here you say, "And it came to pass at midnight" (Exodus 12:29), and there you say, "and he divided himself against them by night" (Genesis 14:15). Rabbi Tanhuma said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Your father went forth with Me at midnight, and I shall go forth with his children at midnight. And the Rabbis said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Your father went forth with Me from the evening until midnight, and I shall go forth with his children from midnight until the morning. Rabbi Yohanan said: The guardian angel of Egypt falls only by day. And what is the reason? "At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her" (Ezekiel 30:18). And it says, "In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan" (Isaiah 19:18). And these are the five cities. Rabbi Hilkiah said in the name of Rabbi Simon: No (Thebes), and Noph (Memphis), and Tahpanhes, and the City of Destruction, and the City of the Sun. No is Alexandria, and Noph is Memphis, Tahpanhes is Daphnae, and the City of Destruction is Heracleopolis, and the City of the Sun is Heliopolis. Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai said: We find that the day and the night are together called "day," as it is written, "And there was evening and there was morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5). Rabbi Joshua son of Rabbi Nehemiah learned it from this: "Even the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee" (Psalms 139:12). The darkness is light before Me, and the night is for the activities of creatures. Thus, on that very day the firstborn of Egypt died. How so? They were struck with the blow of death from the evening and writhed all through the night and died by day. And what is the reason? It is not written here "We are all dead men," but "We are all dead men" [read in the present participle, "we are all dying"] (Exodus 12:33), that is, they were dying and continuing to die. This is what is written, "on the day that I smote all the firstborn" (Numbers 3:13), and there you say, "on the day that I sanctified unto me all the firstborn" (see Numbers 8:17). Say therefore from now on: On the day that the firstborn of Egypt died, on that very day I sanctified unto Myself all the firstborn.

[6] "And the LORD smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 12:29). "Firstborn" -- "every firstborn": the firstborn of a man, the firstborn of a woman, the firstborn of a male, the firstborn of a female. How is this? One man came to ten women, and they bore ten sons; they are all found to be firstborn of women. Ten men came to one woman, and she bore ten sons; they are all found to be firstborn of men. Consider for yourself: a house in which there was no firstborn, neither of a man nor of a woman, how do I uphold "for there was no house where there was not one dead" (ibid., verse 30)? Rabbi Abba bar Aha said: the steward of the house would die, as in what is said, "Shemariah the chief, for he was not the firstborn, but his father made him chief" (1 Chronicles 26:10). It is taught in the name of Rabbi Nathan: on the day that the firstborn of one of them died, he had carved his likeness within his house, and on that day it was struck off and ground down and scattered, and it was as hard for him as if on that day he had buried him. Rabbi Yudan said: because the Egyptians would bury within their houses, the dogs would enter through the burial niches and drag off the firstborn from among the dead and toy with them, and it was as hard for them as if on that day they had buried them.

"From the firstborn of Pharaoh" (Exodus 12:29) from here we learn that Pharaoh was a firstborn. All the firstborn gathered before their fathers and said to them: Because Moses said, "And every firstborn shall die" (Exodus 11:5) everything that he has said about this people has come upon them. So bring out these Hebrews from among you, for if not, this people will die. They said: Let ten sons belong to one of us, let one of them die, but we will not rise up against these Hebrews. They said: The whole essence of the matter let us go to Pharaoh, who is a firstborn; perhaps he will have pity on himself and bring these Hebrews out from among us. They went to Pharaoh and said to him: Because Moses said, "And every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die," and everything that he has said about this people has come upon them, so rise and bring out these Hebrews from among us, for if not, this people will die. He said: Go out and break their legs! Shall I give up my own life or the lives of these Hebrews, and you say such a thing? Immediately the firstborn went out and killed sixty myriads of their fathers. This is the meaning of "To Him who struck Egypt through their firstborn" (Psalms 136:10). It is not written here "who struck Egypt among the Egyptians," but rather "who struck Egypt through their firstborn" the firstborn killed sixty myriads of their fathers. Rabbi Avun in the name of Rabbi Yehudah ben Pazi said: Bityah daughter of Pharaoh was a firstborn, and by what merit was she saved? By the prayer of Moses, as it is written, "She perceives that her merchandise is good; her lamp is not extinguished at night" (Proverbs 31:18) it is written "night," as it is said, "It is a night of watching for the LORD" (Exodus 12:42).

"And to the firstborn of the maidservant" (Exodus 11:5). Rav Huna and Rabbi Aha in the name of Rabbi Eleazar son of Rabbi Yose the Galilean: Even the maidservants chained to the millstones used to say, We desire our enslavement of Israel, and Israel in their enslavement. Rabbi Yudah ben Pazi said: It is a tradition of aggadah that when Serah went down to Egypt she was chained to the millstones. [The reference to Serah is preserved in the manuscript tradition though its full sense is uncertain.]

"And every firstborn of the animals" (Exodus 11:5). If a person sinned, what sin did the animal commit? Rather, the Egyptians worshiped lambs so that the Egyptians should not say, "Our deity brought the punishment upon us; our deity is mighty, for it stood firm for itself," or "Our deity is mighty, for the punishment did not have power over it."

Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yehoshua bar Avin, the son-in-law of Rabbi Levi, in the name of Rabbi Levi: The Master of Mercy does not touch lives first. From whom do you learn this? From Job, "And a messenger came to Job and said, The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them" (Job 1:14). What is "and the donkeys feeding beside them"? Rabbi Hama said: A sample of the World to Come was made for him, as it is said, "The plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed" (Amos 9:13). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: They went out from the village of Krinos and passed through all the meadows, and when they reached the tower of the dyers they died there. Rabbi Hama said: "only" (Job 1:16) is a limiting term he too was broken and stricken. Rabbi Yudan said: From "alone" until "to tell you" (ibid.) he too, as soon as he told his news, immediately died, as it is written, "While this one was still speaking, another came" (Job 1:18). When Job heard this, he began mustering his troops against them for war, as it is written, "For I dreaded the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence and did not go out the door" (Job 31:34). Job said: A nation despised among all the nations, "Behold the land of the Chaldeans this is the people that was not" (Isaiah 23:13), and would that it were not so it intends to put its terror upon me. As soon as they said to him, "The fire of God fell from heaven" (Job 1:16), he said: If it is from heaven, what can I do? Immediately, "I did not go out the door" (Job 31:34). And afterward, "He took for himself a potsherd to scrape himself" (Job 2:8). So too with Mahlon and Khilyon: first their horses and camels and donkeys died, and afterward he himself died, as it is said, "And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died" (Ruth 1:3), and afterward his two sons died, "And they also both died, Mahlon and Khilyon" (ibid. 1:5), and afterward she herself [was bereaved]. And so too with the plagues that come upon a person: first it begins with his house if he repents, the stones must be removed, "And they shall remove the stones" (Leviticus 14:40); if he does not repent, it must be torn down, "And he shall tear down the house" (ibid. 14:45). And afterward it begins with his garments if he repents, they must be torn, "And he shall tear it out of the garment or the leather or the warp or the woof" (Leviticus 13:56); if he does not repent, they must be burned, "And he shall burn the garment" (ibid. 13:52). And afterward it begins with his body if he repents, he goes out and recovers, and if he does not repent, "He shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp" (Leviticus 13:46). And in Egypt it was so: first the attribute of judgment touched their property, "He struck their vines and their fig trees" (Psalms 105:33), "He gave over their cattle to the hail and their livestock to the bolts of lightning" (Psalms 78:48), and afterward, "He struck every firstborn in Egypt" (Psalms 78:51).

Rabbi Levi bar Zechariah in the name of Rabbi Berechiah: He came upon them with the strategy of kings. First He dammed up their water channels, and afterward He brought upon them clamoring creatures, and afterward He shot arrows at them, and afterward He brought legions upon them, and afterward He brought upon them squadrons, and afterward He hurled naphtha at them, and afterward He cast upon them ballista stones, and afterward He set besiegers over them, and afterward He bound them in fetters, and afterward He brought out the greatest among them and killed him. First He dammed up their water channels, "He turned their rivers to blood" (Psalms 78:44). And afterward He brought upon them clamoring creatures, the frogs Rabbi Yose bar Hanina said their croaking was harder for them than the frogs themselves. And afterward He shot arrows at them, the lice. And afterward He brought legions upon them, the swarms of wild beasts. And afterward He gave them squadrons, the pestilence, "a very severe plague" (Exodus 9:3). And afterward He hurled naphtha at them, the boils. And afterward He cast upon them ballista stones, the hail. And afterward He set besiegers over them, the locusts. And afterward He bound them in fetters, the darkness. And afterward He brought out the greatest among them and killed him, the plague of the firstborn. Rabbi Levi, the son-in-law of Rabbi Zechariah, in the name of Rabbi Berechiah said: "As when the report concerning Egypt, so they shall be in anguish at the report of Tyre" (Isaiah 23:5). Rabbi Eliezer said: Every "Tzor" spelled full in Scripture speaks of the city of Tyre, and every "Tzar" spelled defective in Scripture speaks of wicked Rome. Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina: He who exacted punishment from the first ones will exact punishment from the last ones. Just as Egypt had blood, so too Edom, "I will set wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke" (Joel 3:3). Just as Egypt had frogs, so too Edom, "A sound of uproar from the city, a sound from the Temple, the sound of the LORD repaying recompense to His enemies" (Isaiah 66:6). Just as Egypt had lice, so too Edom has lice, "Its streams shall be turned into pitch and its dust into brimstone, and its land shall become burning pitch" (Isaiah 34:9), "and strike the dust of the earth" (Exodus 8:12). Just as Egypt had wild beasts, so too Edom, "The pelican and the hedgehog shall possess it" (Isaiah 34:11). Just as Egypt had pestilence, so too Edom, "I will enter into judgment with him with pestilence and with blood" (Ezekiel 38:22). Just as Egypt had boils, so too Edom, "And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike" (Zechariah 14:12). Just as Egypt had hail, so too Edom, "flooding rain and hailstones" (Ezekiel 38:22). Just as Egypt had locusts, so too Edom, "And you, son of man, thus says the LORD to the birds of every wing, You shall eat flesh and drink blood; you shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink blood and eat fat to satiety and drink blood" (Ezekiel 39:17-19). Just as Egypt had darkness, so too Edom, "He shall stretch over it the line of formlessness and the stones of emptiness" (Isaiah 34:11). Just as Egypt had the greatest among them killed, so too Edom, "And wild oxen shall come down with them, and bullocks" (see Isaiah 34:7). Rabbi Meir said: And Romans shall come down with them.

"For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples, but upon you the LORD will shine, and His glory will be seen upon you" (Isaiah 60:2). Rabbi Aha bar Kahana said: Darkness and gloom served in the land of Egypt for three days. And what is the reason? "And there was darkness, thick darkness" (Exodus 10:22). But formlessness and emptiness [tohu va-vohu] have not served in this world. And where are they destined to serve? In the great city of Rome, "He shall stretch over it the line of formlessness and the stones of emptiness" (Isaiah 34:11). The Rabbis said: Concerning the nations of the world, who did not accept the Torah that was given out of the darkness, He says, "For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples" (Isaiah 60:2); but concerning Israel, who accepted it out of the darkness, He says, "But upon you the LORD will shine, and His glory will be seen upon you" (ibid.).