Commentaire sur L’Exode 2:13

שני אנשים עברים TWO MEN OF THE HEBREWS — viz., Dathan and Abiram (Nedarim 64b); it was they, too, who left over some of the manna (Exodus Rabbah 1:29).

ויאמר לרשע, seeing that each one of them was one of his brethren he did not act as avenger but intervened with words rebuking the aggressor.

?ויאמר לרשע למה חכה רעך He said to the wicked one: "why are you about to strike your companion?" Moses addressed the one of the two who was clearly wicked. He referred to the victim as "your companion," because if the victim were as wicked as the attacker why would the attacker want to strike him, seeing they were birds of a feather. Alternatively, Moses recognised that he dealt with one righteous and one wicked Israelite. This is why he challenged the attacker saying: "why are you about to strike a righteous person, someone who has not done you any harm?" He called the righteous person רעך, i.e. he relates to you like a friend. Although the Torah described the two as apparently on the same moral level when it says שני אנשים נצים, "two quarrelling people," it will be found that one of them started the fight because he was wicked, whereas the other continued the quarrel without compelling cause.

Dosson and Avirom. [Rashi knows it was them] because the verse here states “Two אנשים (men),” similar to what is written there [about Dosson and Avirom]: “Move away from the tents of these evil אנשים (men)” (Bamidbar 16:26).

V. 13. .מַצָה.נצים Streit. נצה, verwandt mit נשה. נשה: sich freiwillig, jedenfalls widerstandslos in die Macht des andern begeben, ihm von seinem Vermögen in die Hände gegeben, und somit an ihn zu fordern haben. נצה: der Unterordnung unter den andern Widerstand entgegensetzen, daraus naturgemäß: Streit. Hat einer der Streitenden das Ziel erreicht, so wird aus נצח :נצה, der Streit ist zur Ruhe gekommen, wie gewöhnlich der ח-Laut ausdrückt. Daher auch נסה: auf friedlichem Wege jemandes Widerstands- und Überwindungskräfte hervorlocken, ihn auf die Probe stellen, prüfen. Dieser soziale Vorgang auf chemisches Gebiet versetzt, wird: מצה. Der chemische Prozess der Gährung ist nichts als ein in gegenseitigen Kampf geraten der Bestandteile eines Stoffes. Hat dieser Kampf begonnen, wird jedoch vor der Beendigung unterdrückt, so entsteht מצה: festgehaltener Streit. Daher der Satz: .דברים הבאים לידי חימוץ אדם יוצא בהן ידי חובתו במצה (Pessachim 35a)

נצים means quarelling.

Though he had not yet struck him. [Rashi knows this] because the verse should have said למה אתה מכה (“why are you beating,” in the present tense), as it did above: מכה איש עברי מאחיו (beating one of his Hebrew brethren). Thus, למה תכה (“why will you beat,” in the future tense) means “why do you wish to strike your friend?”

למה תכה lit., WHEREFORE WILT THOU SMITE — Although he had not yet smitten him he is termed here רשע wicked, because he had merely raised his hand against him (Sanhedrin 58b).

He is as wicked as you. Rashi is answering the question: why did Moshe call him רעך (your friend), if one was wicked and the other not? Therefore Rashi explains that also his friend was wicked (Maharshal).

רעך THY FELLOW (the word denotes one who is the equal of another) — who is as wicked as yourself (Exodus Rabbah 1:29).