for they said — We are all dying" — They said — It is not as

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Mekhilta Tractate Pischa 13:27

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 21, 2025

"for they said: We are all dying": They said: It is not as Moses said (11:5) "and every first-born in the land of Egypt will die." They had thought that if one had four or five sons only the first-born among them would die—not realizing that their wives were profligate and that they could have borne the first-born of different men. They (their wives) wrought in secret, and the Holy One Blessed be He exposed them! Now does this not follow a fortiori, viz.: If in His lesser measure, that of punishment, one who acts in secret is exposed, how much more so will this hold for His greater measure, that of good, (that secret acts of goodness will be blazoned forth)!

Themes

Moses Divine justice Death Birth

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