“The sound of my beloved! Behold, he approaches, he leaps over the mountains and bounds over the hills” (Song of Songs 2:8). “The sound of my beloved! Behold, he approaches,” Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, and the Rabbis.
Rabbi Yehuda says: “The sound of my beloved! Behold, he approaches,” this is Moses at the moment when he came and said to Israel: ‘During this month you will be redeemed.’ They said to him: ‘Moses our master, how will we be redeemed? Did the Holy One blessed be He not say to Abraham: “They will enslave them and afflict them four hundred years” (Genesis 15:13)?
But we have only two hundred and ten years.’ He said to them: ‘Since He desires your redemption, He does not look at your calculations, but rather “he leaps over the mountains.” The mountains and hills mentioned here are nothing other than terminuses and intercalations. He leaps over calculations and over terminuses and intercalations, and during this month you will be redeemed, as it is stated: “This month is for you the beginning of the months” (Exodus 12:2).’
Rabbi Neḥemya said: “The sound of my beloved! Behold he approaches,” this is Moses at the moment that he came and said to Israel: ‘During this month you will be redeemed.’ They said to him: ‘Moses our master, how will we be redeemed? We do not have to our credit any good deeds.’
He said to them: ‘Since He desires your redemption, He does not look at your evil deeds. At whom does He look? At the righteous in your midst, and their actions, such as Amram and his court.’