עַל־כֵּ֤ן ׀ לֹא־יָקֻ֣מוּ רְ֭שָׁעִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗ים בַּעֲדַ֥ת צַדִּיקִֽים׃
Aussi les méchants n’ont-ils pas le dessus dans le jugement, ni les pécheurs dans l’assemblée des justes.
English Explanation of Mishnah Sanhedrin
The men of Sodom have no portion in the world to come, as it says, “And the men of Sodom were wicked and great sinners before the Lord” (Genesis 13:1: “wicked” in this world, and “sinners” in the world to come; Yet will they stand at judgment. R. Nehemiah says: “Neither [the generation of the flood nor the men of Sodom] will stand at judgment, as it says, “Therefore the wicked shall not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous” (Psalms 1:5) “Therefore the wicked shall not stand in judgment”, refers to the generation of the flood; “nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous”, refers to the men of Sodom. They [the Sages] said to him: “They will not stand in the congregation of the righteous, but they will stand in the congregation of the wicked.” The men of Sodom also do not have a place in the world to come. However, according to the Sages, they do have the opportunity to stand in judgement at the time of resurrection. Although they do not have a promised place in the world to come as do the righteous, they at least have the opportunity to stand in judgement. According to the Sages, this is also true of the generation of dispersion. According to Rabbi Nehemiah, they do not even have the opportunity to stand in judgement. He proves this opinion by using a proof text from the book of Psalms.
Peirush Hafla'ah
Rabbi Horowitz confronts one of the most difficult problems in theological thought in general and Jewish theology in particular. How does one reconcile God’s foreknowledge with free will? In Pirke Avot we find the statement, “Everything is foreseen but choice is given.” At first glance these two assumptions seem to contradict one another. If God can see everything before it actually happens, then I do not have freedom to choose. On the other hand if I truly have freedom then God cannot be All-knowing. Rabbi Horowitz offers a riff on these ideas as he confronts the question of what God knows and how free the Israelites were to choose while they were in Egypt. He suggests that God’s knowledge of sin cannot be absolute if repentance – one of the 613 commandments – is truly a choice that we can make. On the other hand, the possibility of sin must also be real if repentance is a choice that we make. Sin is real for the sages but it is not a necessity – we can always change our actions into merit through repentance.
God saw the Israelites and God knew: At first glance, this statement seems superfluous. What does it tell us that we don’t already know? According to the Midrash, the statements, “God saw” and “God knew” imply that God knew that Israel had performed repentance but the Israelites did not know this about one another. God could “see” them but they could not “see” each other because they had, “covered up,” their sins.
What does it mean to “cover up” ones sins? Two verses are found in Scripture: “Happy is one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered over,”105Psalms 32:1 and “One who covers his faults will not succeed!”106Proverbs 28:13 The second verse refers to one who tries to cover over a public sin – he cannot succeed – while the first verse refers to private sins. Since the Israelites were guilty of idolatry in Egypt, and did not see one another repent, it was necessary for them to atone through suffering in Egypt.
This verse raises the philosophical question of foreknowledge vs. free choice. If God knows that a person is going to sin, how can they be held responsible for what they did since it was foreseen? But if we have free will, then how can God have foreknowledge of what we are going to do? So when scripture says that God “saw and knew” that Israel would repent, does that mean God had foreknowledge of their sins (and therefore it was inevitable) or that Israel had a choice regarding these sins (in which case God couldn’t know what the Israelites would do)?
God’s knowledge of wrong doing does not make the wicked act inevitable. Evil actions are like falsehood. When one speaks falsely, God’s knowledge is tempered by the nature of the false statement and therefore it is not absolute – one always has the choice reverse one’s statement or actions. This is what scripture means, “Therefore the wicked shall not establish judgment nor will the sinner, in the assembly of the righteous.”107Psalms 1:5 This means, the wicked cannot claim that their wickedness is as inevitable and immutable as the righteousness of the just. Regarding the righteous we say, “For Adonai knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked is lost.”108Psalm 1:6 That is, God rewards the ways of the righteous but the ways of the wicked are lost because they can change. That is what the sages meant when they taught: “Great is repentance for through it even premeditated sins are counted as merits.”109Babylonian Talmud Yoma 86b It is written, “Turn back you rebellious children;”110Jeremiah 3:14 that is, they were rebellious at first but did not remain so!
Since repentance is one of the positive commandments in the Torah, and each person must be able to choose to observe it, it is necessary for God to allow us to sin so that we can choose repentance freely. It would be impossible for a person to repent if he did not sin, therefore sin must be one of the choices which God gives us. Also, the punishment could not be foreordained prior to the actual sin, since God never punishes before the person actually commits the sin. Therefore God allows us to turn our sins into merits – it was already revealed (to God) that while the sins were necessary while the Israelites were in Egypt, Israel would overcome them. God foresaw all of this – the existence of sin and the possibility of repentance.
The Ten Plagues
It is the custom to spill a drop of wine or sprinkle a drop with one’s finger as each plague is mentioned and then as each of the three mnemonics are recited. Some see this as a way of indicating our hope that evils such as these will not be visited upon us. Others interpret it to mean that we diminish our cup of joy because – no matter how necessary and deserved – we do not rejoice at the thought of suffering, pain and death.
So too the midrash teaches that when the angels wished to sing praises to God as the Egyptians drowned in the Sea, God told them to stop because “My creations are drowning in the sea and you would sing songs of praise?”
Of the ten plagues, the tenth is the most problematic. God struck down not only the first born of the Egyptians but even the first born of the captive who were born in prison. Rabbi Horowitz explains this seeming injustice by finding multiple reasonsfor the final plague. This plague was the ultimate sign of redemption for the people of Israel. Through it, Egypt and the nations of the world came to understand the power and justice of God. No one was innocent in Egypt – not the servants, nor the people, nor Pharaoh. Horowitz connects the revelation of God’s name with the four promises of redemption that are the basis of the four cups of wine.
He offers an interesting connection between these promises and the liturgical introduction to the Shema in the morning service.
I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night – I and not an angel: What does the Haggadah mean when it says, “I am Adonai - I and not another?” To answer this question one must understand that there are several reasons given for the plague of the first born.
The most obvious reason for the death of the firstborn is given by scripture, “Israel is my first born child; since you have refused to let him leave I will smite your first born child.”111Exodus 4:22-23
Another reason for this plague was to show the power of God. Only God was able to “distinguish the one who is a first born and the one who isn’t.”112Mekhilta; that is, no human being can really know if the other person is a first born or not. Only God is present in the moment of conception to distinguish the first born from other children. Horowitz goes on to explain why this is the case.
Punishing the first born was a way of punishing the gods of Egypt. Scripture states, “I will execute judgment on all the gods of Egypt.” 113Exodus 12:29 The first born were set apart for the service of false gods; therefore, by killing the first born, God executed judgment on the gods of Egypt.
The Torah says not only were the Egyptian first born struck down, but so were “the first born of the captives who were in the dungeon.”114Exodus 12:29 Rashi offers two reasons why the tenth plague affected everyone in Egypt even if they were not personally responsible for the subjugation of the Israelites. First, they rejoiced over the suffering of the Israelites. And second, lest they think that the final plague was caused by their false god rather than the God of Israel.115Also see the Mekhilta, Masekheta Pisha
Determining why some died during the tenth plague and others did not was a complicated matter. There was no way to know who was a first born and who wasn’t. Some of those serving their gods might not have been first born while there may have been others who didn’t think they were first born who actually were. For instance, a woman who had an illicit relationship with another man might have conceived the other man’s child without her husband’s knowledge. This child would have appeared to be her husband’s first born child but might not have been the birth father’s first born. Similarly, there might have been children who were the first born of the man with whom they were conceived but not the first born of the woman’s husband. So some non-first born might not have been serving in the Egyptian cultic rituals while other first born might not have been serving in this position at all.
Complicating the matter even more was that there were “the first born of the captives” - who were charged with leading the worship of the non-Egyptian gods. God threatened to execute judgment against the gods of Egypt but not other gods. So why were the first born of the foreigners condemned to death? If these first born did not die during the tenth plague they may have thought that their gods were responsible for this plague.
God, therefore, singled out all the first born but they may have died for different reasons: some because they were the first born who served the gods of Egypt, others because they rejoiced in Israel’s suffering, and still others because they were the first born of Egypt, and God had promised to punish all the first born of Egypt. Those who served the gods of the foreign people might have assumed that their gods were responsible for the tenth plague, so God struck their first born down as well.
We can now understand the expressions in this passage. The Haggadah says, “I executed judgment against all the gods of Egypt – I and not a messenger” because only God would have known who was an actual first born and who was not. And the passage‟, “I am Adonai – I and not another,” is a reference to the gods of the prisoners who were not Egyptians and who were worshipping the gods of other nations. It was the God and not “another” god who caused the tenth plague in Egypt – God made this clear by striking down the first born of the foreigners who served other gods besides the gods of the Egyptians.
The following verse alludes to God’s success in making His presence known in Egypt and beyond: “You brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, winning fame for Yourself to this very day.”116Daniel 9:15 By hardening Pharaoh’s heart, God’s renown was not revealed to the world until the moment of their redemption. At first Pharaoh said: “Who is Adonai that I should heed Him and let Israel go? I do not know Adonai, nor will I let Israel go!”117Exodus 5:2 God’s name was still unknown at this time.
God’s name became known to the world through the redemption. It was the fulfillment of the four terms of redemptions: I will bring you out from beneath the labors of the Egyptians; I will deliver you from their service (avodah); I will redeem you with an outstretched arm; and I will take you to be my people.118Exodus 6:6-7
We refer to these four terms of redemption in the passage before the daily recitation of the Shema: “Open our eyes to Your Torah and let our hearts cling to Your commandments and unify our hearts to love and to revere Your name.” The words of the Shema must be said with complete concentration and holy intention, with love and fear so that they can ascend to heaven!
1. “Open our eyes to Your Torah” – this was the purpose of going out of Egypt.
2. “Let our hearts cling to Your commandments” – God delivered us from serving false god so we could serve Him through the commandments.
3. “Unify to….revere Your name” – reverence began with the redemption brought about with a mighty hand.
4. Unify our hearts to love (You) – through reverence we come to love of God and through love God will “Take you to be my people.”
These four phrases, then, are a byproduct of the way in which God revealed His name and promised redemption to the people of Israel.
(A comment from the grandson of Rabbi Pinchas Ha-levi Horowitz:) There is another reason for why the first born of the prisoners were also affected by the tenth plague. The sages give two reasons: because the prisoners rejoiced in Israel’s suffering and so that they would not say that it was because of their gods that the first born of Egypt died. We learn that if one is permitted to witness the downfall of the wicked, it must be because of one’s merit. In the case of the Exodus, then, this was the case. The Exodus from Egypt was due to Israel’s own merit; so that they would be able to tell the story of the Exodus in generations to come. But the death of the prisoners of the Egyptians would not have been due to their own merit (since they were not being punished for enslaving the Israelites) so there must have been other reasons for their punishment. It must have been that the prisoners rejoiced in Israel’s oppression. It was because they rejoiced in Israel’s suffering that the Israelites were allowed to witness their punishment.
The sages also teach that “once the destroyer is given permission to destroy, a distinction is not made between one and another.” God had condemned the first born in Egypt. Once God unleashed destruction on Egypt, a distinction could not be made between the first born of the Egyptians and the other non-Israel first born. The final plague was performed for the sake of God and for the well being of Israel. For the sake of God – not allowing any of the first born to survive was to prevent anyone from thinking that maybe another god was responsible for the plague. It was performed for the sake of Israel – even those who rejoiced in Israel’s suffering were punished.
God saw the Israelites and God knew: At first glance, this statement seems superfluous. What does it tell us that we don’t already know? According to the Midrash, the statements, “God saw” and “God knew” imply that God knew that Israel had performed repentance but the Israelites did not know this about one another. God could “see” them but they could not “see” each other because they had, “covered up,” their sins.
What does it mean to “cover up” ones sins? Two verses are found in Scripture: “Happy is one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered over,”105Psalms 32:1 and “One who covers his faults will not succeed!”106Proverbs 28:13 The second verse refers to one who tries to cover over a public sin – he cannot succeed – while the first verse refers to private sins. Since the Israelites were guilty of idolatry in Egypt, and did not see one another repent, it was necessary for them to atone through suffering in Egypt.
This verse raises the philosophical question of foreknowledge vs. free choice. If God knows that a person is going to sin, how can they be held responsible for what they did since it was foreseen? But if we have free will, then how can God have foreknowledge of what we are going to do? So when scripture says that God “saw and knew” that Israel would repent, does that mean God had foreknowledge of their sins (and therefore it was inevitable) or that Israel had a choice regarding these sins (in which case God couldn’t know what the Israelites would do)?
God’s knowledge of wrong doing does not make the wicked act inevitable. Evil actions are like falsehood. When one speaks falsely, God’s knowledge is tempered by the nature of the false statement and therefore it is not absolute – one always has the choice reverse one’s statement or actions. This is what scripture means, “Therefore the wicked shall not establish judgment nor will the sinner, in the assembly of the righteous.”107Psalms 1:5 This means, the wicked cannot claim that their wickedness is as inevitable and immutable as the righteousness of the just. Regarding the righteous we say, “For Adonai knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked is lost.”108Psalm 1:6 That is, God rewards the ways of the righteous but the ways of the wicked are lost because they can change. That is what the sages meant when they taught: “Great is repentance for through it even premeditated sins are counted as merits.”109Babylonian Talmud Yoma 86b It is written, “Turn back you rebellious children;”110Jeremiah 3:14 that is, they were rebellious at first but did not remain so!
Since repentance is one of the positive commandments in the Torah, and each person must be able to choose to observe it, it is necessary for God to allow us to sin so that we can choose repentance freely. It would be impossible for a person to repent if he did not sin, therefore sin must be one of the choices which God gives us. Also, the punishment could not be foreordained prior to the actual sin, since God never punishes before the person actually commits the sin. Therefore God allows us to turn our sins into merits – it was already revealed (to God) that while the sins were necessary while the Israelites were in Egypt, Israel would overcome them. God foresaw all of this – the existence of sin and the possibility of repentance.
The Ten Plagues
It is the custom to spill a drop of wine or sprinkle a drop with one’s finger as each plague is mentioned and then as each of the three mnemonics are recited. Some see this as a way of indicating our hope that evils such as these will not be visited upon us. Others interpret it to mean that we diminish our cup of joy because – no matter how necessary and deserved – we do not rejoice at the thought of suffering, pain and death.
So too the midrash teaches that when the angels wished to sing praises to God as the Egyptians drowned in the Sea, God told them to stop because “My creations are drowning in the sea and you would sing songs of praise?”
Of the ten plagues, the tenth is the most problematic. God struck down not only the first born of the Egyptians but even the first born of the captive who were born in prison. Rabbi Horowitz explains this seeming injustice by finding multiple reasonsfor the final plague. This plague was the ultimate sign of redemption for the people of Israel. Through it, Egypt and the nations of the world came to understand the power and justice of God. No one was innocent in Egypt – not the servants, nor the people, nor Pharaoh. Horowitz connects the revelation of God’s name with the four promises of redemption that are the basis of the four cups of wine.
He offers an interesting connection between these promises and the liturgical introduction to the Shema in the morning service.
I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night – I and not an angel: What does the Haggadah mean when it says, “I am Adonai - I and not another?” To answer this question one must understand that there are several reasons given for the plague of the first born.
The most obvious reason for the death of the firstborn is given by scripture, “Israel is my first born child; since you have refused to let him leave I will smite your first born child.”111Exodus 4:22-23
Another reason for this plague was to show the power of God. Only God was able to “distinguish the one who is a first born and the one who isn’t.”112Mekhilta; that is, no human being can really know if the other person is a first born or not. Only God is present in the moment of conception to distinguish the first born from other children. Horowitz goes on to explain why this is the case.
Punishing the first born was a way of punishing the gods of Egypt. Scripture states, “I will execute judgment on all the gods of Egypt.” 113Exodus 12:29 The first born were set apart for the service of false gods; therefore, by killing the first born, God executed judgment on the gods of Egypt.
The Torah says not only were the Egyptian first born struck down, but so were “the first born of the captives who were in the dungeon.”114Exodus 12:29 Rashi offers two reasons why the tenth plague affected everyone in Egypt even if they were not personally responsible for the subjugation of the Israelites. First, they rejoiced over the suffering of the Israelites. And second, lest they think that the final plague was caused by their false god rather than the God of Israel.115Also see the Mekhilta, Masekheta Pisha
Determining why some died during the tenth plague and others did not was a complicated matter. There was no way to know who was a first born and who wasn’t. Some of those serving their gods might not have been first born while there may have been others who didn’t think they were first born who actually were. For instance, a woman who had an illicit relationship with another man might have conceived the other man’s child without her husband’s knowledge. This child would have appeared to be her husband’s first born child but might not have been the birth father’s first born. Similarly, there might have been children who were the first born of the man with whom they were conceived but not the first born of the woman’s husband. So some non-first born might not have been serving in the Egyptian cultic rituals while other first born might not have been serving in this position at all.
Complicating the matter even more was that there were “the first born of the captives” - who were charged with leading the worship of the non-Egyptian gods. God threatened to execute judgment against the gods of Egypt but not other gods. So why were the first born of the foreigners condemned to death? If these first born did not die during the tenth plague they may have thought that their gods were responsible for this plague.
God, therefore, singled out all the first born but they may have died for different reasons: some because they were the first born who served the gods of Egypt, others because they rejoiced in Israel’s suffering, and still others because they were the first born of Egypt, and God had promised to punish all the first born of Egypt. Those who served the gods of the foreign people might have assumed that their gods were responsible for the tenth plague, so God struck their first born down as well.
We can now understand the expressions in this passage. The Haggadah says, “I executed judgment against all the gods of Egypt – I and not a messenger” because only God would have known who was an actual first born and who was not. And the passage‟, “I am Adonai – I and not another,” is a reference to the gods of the prisoners who were not Egyptians and who were worshipping the gods of other nations. It was the God and not “another” god who caused the tenth plague in Egypt – God made this clear by striking down the first born of the foreigners who served other gods besides the gods of the Egyptians.
The following verse alludes to God’s success in making His presence known in Egypt and beyond: “You brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, winning fame for Yourself to this very day.”116Daniel 9:15 By hardening Pharaoh’s heart, God’s renown was not revealed to the world until the moment of their redemption. At first Pharaoh said: “Who is Adonai that I should heed Him and let Israel go? I do not know Adonai, nor will I let Israel go!”117Exodus 5:2 God’s name was still unknown at this time.
God’s name became known to the world through the redemption. It was the fulfillment of the four terms of redemptions: I will bring you out from beneath the labors of the Egyptians; I will deliver you from their service (avodah); I will redeem you with an outstretched arm; and I will take you to be my people.118Exodus 6:6-7
We refer to these four terms of redemption in the passage before the daily recitation of the Shema: “Open our eyes to Your Torah and let our hearts cling to Your commandments and unify our hearts to love and to revere Your name.” The words of the Shema must be said with complete concentration and holy intention, with love and fear so that they can ascend to heaven!
1. “Open our eyes to Your Torah” – this was the purpose of going out of Egypt.
2. “Let our hearts cling to Your commandments” – God delivered us from serving false god so we could serve Him through the commandments.
3. “Unify to….revere Your name” – reverence began with the redemption brought about with a mighty hand.
4. Unify our hearts to love (You) – through reverence we come to love of God and through love God will “Take you to be my people.”
These four phrases, then, are a byproduct of the way in which God revealed His name and promised redemption to the people of Israel.
(A comment from the grandson of Rabbi Pinchas Ha-levi Horowitz:) There is another reason for why the first born of the prisoners were also affected by the tenth plague. The sages give two reasons: because the prisoners rejoiced in Israel’s suffering and so that they would not say that it was because of their gods that the first born of Egypt died. We learn that if one is permitted to witness the downfall of the wicked, it must be because of one’s merit. In the case of the Exodus, then, this was the case. The Exodus from Egypt was due to Israel’s own merit; so that they would be able to tell the story of the Exodus in generations to come. But the death of the prisoners of the Egyptians would not have been due to their own merit (since they were not being punished for enslaving the Israelites) so there must have been other reasons for their punishment. It must have been that the prisoners rejoiced in Israel’s oppression. It was because they rejoiced in Israel’s suffering that the Israelites were allowed to witness their punishment.
The sages also teach that “once the destroyer is given permission to destroy, a distinction is not made between one and another.” God had condemned the first born in Egypt. Once God unleashed destruction on Egypt, a distinction could not be made between the first born of the Egyptians and the other non-Israel first born. The final plague was performed for the sake of God and for the well being of Israel. For the sake of God – not allowing any of the first born to survive was to prevent anyone from thinking that maybe another god was responsible for the plague. It was performed for the sake of Israel – even those who rejoiced in Israel’s suffering were punished.