Commentaire sur L’Exode 13:11

והיה כי יביאך AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS WHEN [THE LORD] SHALL BRING THEE … [THOU SHALT SET APART etc.] — There are some of our Rabbis who learned from this statement that the firstborn who were born in the wilderness were not thus hallowed. He who says that these were thus hallowed explains this “coming” (i. e. this verse, which appears to make the hallowing of the firstborn dependent upon their arrival in the land) as follows: if you observe it (this command) in the wilderness, you will be privileged to enter the land and to observe it there (cf. Bekhorot 4b).

AND IT SHALL BE WHEN THE ETERNAL SHALL BRING THEE INTO THE LAND OF THE CANAANITES. This is stated because the law of that which “openeth the womb” [mentioned in Verse 12], applied only from the time they came to the Land of Israel.³⁹¹See my Hebrew commentary p. 344 for correctness of this reading as based on Ramban manuscript. It is also borne out by Ramban’s statement further on in this section: “But the commandment… did not apply to the firstborn in the wilderness.”
In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, the verse, Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn, [mentioned in Verse 2 above] means all the firstborn living at that time. Since He redeemed them from death when He smote in the land of Egypt, He commanded [in that verse above] that they be sanctified to Him to do the work of G-d, whatever He will command them to do. He did not command them at this time concerning the redemption of the firstborn, but only after He exchanged them for the Levites and He commanded the redemption of the firstborn that were over and above the number of the Levites.³⁹²Numbers 3:44-47. But the commandment [as expressed in the verse, Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn], did not apply to the firstborn in the wilderness. Now, [in the verse before us], He commanded that when they shall come into the Land of Israel, the law should apply to the firstborn of both man and beast³⁹³Verse 12. and the firstling of an ass,³⁹⁴Verse 13. and then He commanded the law of their redemption for the generations.³⁹⁴Verse 13.

והיה כי יביאך, "It will be when He will bring you, etc." The Torah underlines once more that it is G'd who will bring you to the Holy Land so that you should not forget about His commandments in the belief that you yourself have achieved all this, especially after your border will gradually extend further and further. Although this commandment is not applicable until after conquest of the land, it remains in force even if the land is lost as it is a commandment that involves the body and not the earth. Kidushin 36 teaches that all commandments which are performed by one's body apply throughout the ages and wherever a Jew resides.

והיה כי יביאך ה', “it will be when the Lord will bring you, etc.” The commandment to redeem the first born sons, and to sacrifice the first born male sheep, etc., do not become operative until you get to the Holy Land. Nachmanides writes that the instruction “sanctify for Me all the firstborn, etc.,” refers to all the ones fitting this definition who are now part of the Jewish community and their flocks. One of the reasons why the commandment may not have been practiced in the desert is that the boys in question had not even been circumcised. At any rate, the commandment, while in existence, remained in limbo, in common with many other commandments, until the people reached their destiny in their own land. The firstborn donkey was to be redeemed There is a dispute in the tractate Zevachim if the commandment did apply in the desert, but seeing that we cannot resolve it, it is not worth pursuing.

I will bring you to the land about which I raised My hand. . . Above, it is written that Hashem swore to your fathers (v. 5), while here it is written, “He swore to you.” This implies that Hashem swore twice, once to your fathers, and once to you. The oath that was to you is in the verse “I will bring you to the land about which I raised My Hand. . .” (6:8), for the beginning of that section deals with the oath to the fathers, and then concludes, “Therefore say to the B’nei Yisrael. . .” which Rashi explains as, “In accordance with that oath.” If so, why did it repeat, “To the land about which I raised My hand [as an oath]”? Thus we must say that the second oath was to the B’nei Yisrael. (Nachalas Yaakov) However, Re”m explains [differently]: “He swore to you” in this verse means that He swore for your sake. The oath was made to your fathers, but sometimes it is called the oath of the children since the oath was for their sake.

V. 11. והיה כי יביאך וגו׳. So lange Israel noch auf dem Zuge zu dem Lande seiner Selbständigkeit war, so lange waren die Adlerfittiche der göttlichen Vorsehung sichtbar, die allein sie durch Wüsteneien sicher und ungefährdet trugen, so lange hing die Existenz aller in gleicher Weise unmittelbar an der Kraft der göttlichen Allmacht, so lange dauerte noch eigentlich der Auszug aus Ägypten fort; sie waren noch mitten in der Erlösung begriffen, und es war weder das Bewusstsein der Zusammenhörigkeit, noch das der Gotteshörigkeit gefährdet. Erst wenn die letzte Spur des ägyptischen Verhängnisses verwischt, das Land ihnen geworden, das ihnen Selbständigkeit und Wohlstand versprach, und jeder sich mit den Seinen "unter dem eigenen Weinstock und dem eigenen Feigenbaum" befinden werde, erst da wird die Gefahr nahe liegen, dass die einzelnen Familiengruppen und Häuser sich ganz ins Sonderbewusstsein verlieren, das Bewusstsein der Zusammenhörigkeit in der einen gemeinsamen Gottesaufgabe einbüßen und Menschen und Güter in die Interessen des Hauses und der Familie aufgehen lassen könnten. Da wird vor allem die praktische Bedeutsamkeit der Institution der gottesdienstlichen Erstgeburtsweihe beginnen, und darum tritt auch hier diese Institution im Zusammenhange mit dem Eintritt und der Besitzergreifung des Landes auf. Nach ריש לקיש (Bechoroth 4b.) wären auch in der Tat nur die beim Auszuge aus Mizrajim vorhanden gewesenen Erstgeburten, sowie die im ersten Jahre in der Wüste geborenen nach dieser Institution zu weihen gewesen. Dann aber קדשו ופסקו, wäre bei allen ferner Geborenen die Erstgeburtsweihe bis zum wirklichen Eintritt ins Land sistiert gewesen. ר׳ יוחנן ist dort jedoch der Ansicht, es sei die Institution mit dem Auszuge in volle Kraft getreten und habe ununterbrochen fortgedauert, קדשו ולא פסקו, und wäre dann der Satz: .והיה כי יביאך וגו׳ והעברת וגו׳ ¬dahin zu verstehen: — wie dies auch von dem V. 5 hin sichtlich des Tefillingebotes (Kiduschin 37 b.) verstanden wird — עשה מצוה זו ישבשבילה תיכנס לארץ, d.i. erfülle dies Gebot, denn um seinetwillen kommst du ins Land! Wir glauben dies nicht also verstehen zu müssen, als ob hier die והיה כי יביאך ,ביאה, als Folge des והעברת וגו׳ aufgefasst würde, da ja offenbar in diesen Sätzen das והעברת als Folge des והיה כי יביאך erscheint. Es scheint vielmehr, dass bei Geboten, die nicht an den Landesbesitz geknüpft sind und selbst vor dem Besitz des Landes zur Erfüllung waren, wie בכור ,תפלין der Gedanke והיה כי יביאך וגו׳ nur die Wichtigkeit des Gebotes hervorheben sollte. Das Gebot ist so bedeutsam und wichtig, dass dessen Erfüllung wesentlich mit zu dem Zwecke der Verleihung des Landes gehört. Gott verleiht dir das Land, damit und weil du als Besitzer des Landes diese Mizwa erfüllen sollst und wirst. Ohne diese Mizwa wäre der Landesbesitz mangelhaft in seinem Zwecke, ja vielleicht verderblich für deine Bestimmung.

והיה כי יביאך, “it will be when He brings you, etc.” the reason this introductory line is repeated here is so that we should not think that only the firstborn that came out of Egypt needed to be sanctified. The Torah therefore makes it clear that this law continues to apply to children born as firstborn to their parents in the Hoy Land (and in the Diaspora in due course)

נשבע לך HE SWORE UNTO THEE — And where did He swear this unto thee? (Exodus 6:8) “And I will bring you unto the land concerning which I did lift up my hand etc.” (cf. Rashi on this verse where he explains that “lifting up the hand” denotes taking an oath) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 13:11:2).

AS HE SWORE UNTO THEE AND TO THY FATHERS. The meaning of it is that “He swore to your fathers to give it to you,” just as it is said above, which He swore unto thy fathers to give thee.³⁹⁵Verse 5. It may be that G-d’s word by itself is called “an oath,” for thus He said twice:³⁹⁶“And the repetition of an expression may be regarded as an oath” (Shebuoth 36 a, and see also Rashi to Genesis 8:21). And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land,³⁹⁷Above, 3:8. and again it says, And I will bring you in unto the land concerning which I lifted up My hand.³⁹⁸Ibid., 6:8.

כאשר נשבע לך ולאבותיך, “as He has sworn both to you and to your forefathers.” The meaning of this phrase is: “He has sworn to your forefathers to give it to you, the present generation.” Alternately, the Torah means that any word of G’d is equivalent to an oath, seeing that He has repeated the promise twice. He had said: (Exodus 3,8) “I will go down to save them from Egypt and to bring them up from there”, as well as: “I shall bring you to the land I swore to give to your forefathers.” Furthermore: “I will bring you to the land I swore to your forefathers.”

You should consider it as if He had given it to you on the same day. . . Rashi is answering the question: Is it not superfluous to say, “He will have given it to you”? Once He brings you to the land, surely He will have given it to you. Thus Rashi says: “You should consider it. . .”

אל ארץ הכנעני, “to the land of the Canaanite;” the reason why the Canaanites had a legal claim to that country was that the children of Chet, a friend of Avraham, honoured Abraham and when they heard that G-d had promised this land to our forefathers, they emigrated from that land to make it available to the descendants of Avraham. In appreciation of that, G-d rewarded them by this land becoming known as “the land of Canaan.” (Mechilta Pisscha, chapter 18.) [According to my version of the Mechilta, printed in the chumash with Malbim’s commentary, it was not one of the Hittites that was so “generous,” but Canaan the grandson of Noach, whom his grandfather had cursed. According to that version he was rewarded with being given a land in Africa superior to the land in which he had resided at the time. Canaan, a grandson of Noach may well have still been alive during the lifetime of Avraham. I do not know how this jives with Canaan having been condemned to be a slave to his brothers. Ed.]

ונתנה לך AND SHALL GIVE IT TO THEE Let it be in thine eyes (regard it) as though He had given it to thee on that same day (when on each occasion you carry out this command) and do not regard it as an inheritance from your ancestors (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 13:11:4).

כאשר נשבע לך, “as He has sworn to you.” The meaning of the line is: “you will receive it as an ancestral heritage as G-d had sworn to your forefathers.