Yossi says — G–d forbid that tzaddikim should be lax in

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Mekhilta Tractate Amalek 3:25

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 14, 2025

R. Yossi says: G–d forbid that tzaddik (a righteous person)im (the righteous) should be lax in circumcision for even a short while, but Moses expounded: Shall he circumcise (his son) and journey (to Egypt)—that would involve a risk of life (for the child.) Shall he wait and circumcise—the L–rd has said to him: "Go and take My people Israel out of Egypt." But (his lapse was that) he preoccupied himself with his lodging before circumcising, wherefore the L–rd sought to kill him, viz.: "And he was on the way in the lodging, etc." R. Shimon b. Gamliel says: The angel did not seek to kill Moses, but the child, viz. (Ibid. 25) "for you are a groom of blood to me." Who is called a "groom" (in this context), the child or Moses? The child.

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Moses Angels Covenant Holy Land

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