מִכְתָּ֥ם לְדָוִ֑ד שָֽׁמְרֵ֥נִי אֵ֝֗ל כִּֽי־חָסִ֥יתִי בָֽךְ׃
Miktam dari Daud. Lindungilah aku, ya Allah, sebab kepada-Mu aku berlindung.
Peirush Hafla'ah
Did the people of Israel deserve to be redeemed or were they redeemed simply because of God’s promise to our forefather, Abraham. Despite the fact that we were naked and bare of mitzvot, or maybe because we lacked commandments, God gave us the opportunity to make ourselves worthy of redemption. It was not the Passover offering that became the turning point but circumcision, brit milah.
But you were still naked and bare: King David said, “I rejoice over your promise as one who obtains great spoil.”58Psalms 119:162 This is a reference to the time David saw himself naked of any mitzvot except for the one inscribed in his flesh: circumcision. The word michtam,59Psalm 16:1, the meaning of the word is uncertain.is interpreted as makah tam – that he had a whole wound. This is a reference to the fact that tradition has it that King David was born circumcised so he had no wound caused by circumcision. David, then, rejoiced in fulfilling this mitzvah even though he did not have to be circumcised to fulfill it – he still considered it a “great spoil.”
Similarly, the people rejoiced in the mitzvah of circumcision in Egypt because through this commandment they knew they would be released from exile, and they would no longer be “naked and bare” of commandments. It was also through this commandment that they gained “great spoil,” from the Egyptians, just like King David would. The great spoil was the Divine sparks that they redeemed and took out of the land of Egypt through the Exodus and the redemption of the people of Israel.
The second mitzvah which made the people of Israel worthy of redemption was the Passover offering. Midrash Mekhilta asks why the taking of the paschal lamb preceding its slaughter by four days? Israel did not become worthy of redemption until they had fulfilled two commandments. One does not receive a reward for a good deed until one has performed some type of act. By setting aside the lamb for four days they showed their willingness to put their trust in God.
So what was the reason for the four days? Scripture also suggests that circumcision should have been enough reason for Israel to be redeemed so why was it necessary to have a second commandment?
The main reason that Israel was redeemed was because of circumcision. But the circumcision of a gentile would not have counted as the fulfillment of a commandment in Israel’s favor. Therefore the people of Israel first had to atone for the sin of idolatry; they did this by setting aside the paschal lamb as an offering to show their rejection of Egypt’s deity. Having set aside the lamb, then they were circumcised and only then did they bring a sacrifice to God. The first mitzvah, then, was setting aside the lamb to show their rejection of idolatry.
But you were still naked and bare: King David said, “I rejoice over your promise as one who obtains great spoil.”58Psalms 119:162 This is a reference to the time David saw himself naked of any mitzvot except for the one inscribed in his flesh: circumcision. The word michtam,59Psalm 16:1, the meaning of the word is uncertain.is interpreted as makah tam – that he had a whole wound. This is a reference to the fact that tradition has it that King David was born circumcised so he had no wound caused by circumcision. David, then, rejoiced in fulfilling this mitzvah even though he did not have to be circumcised to fulfill it – he still considered it a “great spoil.”
Similarly, the people rejoiced in the mitzvah of circumcision in Egypt because through this commandment they knew they would be released from exile, and they would no longer be “naked and bare” of commandments. It was also through this commandment that they gained “great spoil,” from the Egyptians, just like King David would. The great spoil was the Divine sparks that they redeemed and took out of the land of Egypt through the Exodus and the redemption of the people of Israel.
The second mitzvah which made the people of Israel worthy of redemption was the Passover offering. Midrash Mekhilta asks why the taking of the paschal lamb preceding its slaughter by four days? Israel did not become worthy of redemption until they had fulfilled two commandments. One does not receive a reward for a good deed until one has performed some type of act. By setting aside the lamb for four days they showed their willingness to put their trust in God.
So what was the reason for the four days? Scripture also suggests that circumcision should have been enough reason for Israel to be redeemed so why was it necessary to have a second commandment?
The main reason that Israel was redeemed was because of circumcision. But the circumcision of a gentile would not have counted as the fulfillment of a commandment in Israel’s favor. Therefore the people of Israel first had to atone for the sin of idolatry; they did this by setting aside the paschal lamb as an offering to show their rejection of Egypt’s deity. Having set aside the lamb, then they were circumcised and only then did they bring a sacrifice to God. The first mitzvah, then, was setting aside the lamb to show their rejection of idolatry.