Parshah and the Moadim with Rabbi Aryeh Shulman

Pesach: Leaving Egypt with Makkos Bechoros

·47 min·4 clips

Why does the Haggadah use God killing the Egyptian firstborn as proof He personally freed the Jews, when those seem like two different events?

Rabbi Aryeh Shulman opens by presenting the Haggadah's proof text that God Himself, not an intermediary, took the Jews out of Egypt, citing the verse 'I passed through the land of Egypt... and I struck all the firstborn.' He questions how this proves the Exodus, since killing the firstborn seems distinct from the act of taking the Jews out. The host introduces the Mechilta, which teaches that the Exodus is separate from and equal in weight to all the miracles God performed, framing it as the elevation of the Jewish people to a chosen status. He explains that the plague of the firstborn was performed by God directly, unlike other plagues done by angels, making it a threat to all non-divine existence, including the Jews. To survive, the Jews had to be elevated to become an extension of God through complete servitude, which constituted their Exodus. The host references Rav Tzadok, who describes the plague as occurring through a great divine revelation that caused the Egyptian firstborn, representing Egypt's life source, to die when faced with God's absolute presence. For the Jews, this same revelation melted away their independent existence, transforming them into God's people. The episode touches on a Talmudic debate between Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah and Rabbi Akiva about when the Exodus happened—at midnight or by morning—linking it to the timing of eating the Passover meal. The host concludes that the Exodus and the plague of the firstborn are two sides of the same coin, both involving the divine revelation that elevated the Jews.

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