The Torah tells us about the 10th plague, the death of the firstborn in Egypt, and the Exodus that followed. But the details… they’re fascinating.

Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai, a towering figure in Jewish mysticism, pointed out something intriguing. Moses, when warning Pharaoh, said the plague would strike "about midnight" (Exodus 11:4). Why "about"? Rabbi Shimon argues that Moses couldn't know the exact moment. But God, the Kadosh Baruch Hu (the Holy Blessed One), knew precisely when. Therefore, the plague occurred at the perfect, divinely appointed time – not a hair's breadth early or late.

So, who divided the hours of the night to ensure this perfect timing? This is where it gets even more interesting. Rabbi Benjamin bar Jafet, quoting Rabbi Yohanan, suggests "the night divided itself!" A mystical idea. Then, other Rabbis offer a more direct answer: the Creator divided it. We see evidence for this in scripture. Exodus 12:29 says, “And it came to pass at midnight,” while Genesis 14:15 states, “And he divided the night against them.”

Rabbi Tanchuma brings in a powerful image of divine promise. He says God declared, "Your father [Abraham] set out with Me at midnight, and I will set out with his children at midnight." It’s this beautiful symmetry, a divine echo across generations. The Rabbis expand on this, saying God essentially said, "Your father was with me from the previous night until midnight, and I will be with his children from midnight until morning."

Now, Rabbi Yonatan adds another layer, arguing that the angel guarding Egypt can only be defeated during the day. Why? He finds support in Ezekiel 30:18: “At Tehaphnehes also the day shall withdraw itself, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt…” This verse connects the breaking of Egypt's power with the daytime.

The text then veers into identifying five Egyptian cities mentioned in prophecy, based on Isaiah 19:18. Rabbi Hilkiah, in the name of Rabbi Simon, identifies them as Noa (Alexandria), Noph (Memphis), Tehaphnehes (Hophnias), the City of Destruction (Sharakani), and the City of the Sun (Heliopolis). Imagine these ancient metropolises, each playing a part in this divine drama!

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai offers a crucial insight into the very nature of "day." He says we find both night and day referred to as "day," citing Genesis 1:5: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” He's suggesting that God's perception of time might be different from ours.

Rabbi Joshua bar R. Nechamah echoes this idea, drawing from Psalm 139:12: “Even the darkness is not too dark for Thee, but the night shineth as the day; the darkness is even as the light.” For God, darkness is like lightness. Only humans differentiate between night and day. This reframes the death of the firstborn. It happened "on the day" even though it was midnight.

The Pesikta DeRav Kahana then offers a possible explanation: the Egyptians were afflicted in the evening, their bodies trembled all night, and they died in the daytime. This is supported by the phrasing in Exodus 12:33, "All of us are dying," suggesting a process spanning both night and day.

The passage concludes by linking the death of the firstborn with the sanctification of the Israelite firstborn. As Numbers 3:13 and 8:17 state, God struck down the Egyptian firstborn "on the day" that He sanctified the Israelite firstborn. The implication? That these two events occurred on the very same day, a day that stretched from midnight through the following morning, forever intertwined in the narrative of redemption.

So what does it all mean? Perhaps it's about understanding that God's timing is perfect, even when it seems mysterious to us. Maybe it's about recognizing that our human perception of time and reality is limited. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s an invitation to trust in the divine plan, even when we can only see "about midnight."