כִּ֣י לֹ֤א בְחִפָּזוֹן֙ תֵּצֵ֔אוּ וּבִמְנוּסָ֖ה לֹ֣א תֵלֵכ֑וּן כִּֽי־הֹלֵ֤ךְ לִפְנֵיכֶם֙ יְהוָ֔ה וּמְאַסִּפְכֶ֖ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ס)
Sebab kamu tidak akan keluar dengan tergesa-gesa, dan kamu tidak akan pergi seperti orang yang melarikan diri, sebab Yang Mahakekal berjalan di depanmu, dan Allah Israel menjadi barisan belakangmu.
Rabbeinu Bahya
I have found in Midrash Tehillim on Psalm 118,14 that whereas in this world G’d is exalted only in His capacity as the two-lettered name י-ה, in the world of the future He will be exalted in His capacity as a six-lettered name. This is the meaning of Isaiah 26,14 כי ביה יהוה צור עולמים “that in the eternal life the Rock will be called י-ה י-ה-ו-ה.” I believe that the message of this Midrash is that whereas the present world was created by G’d in His capacity as י-ה, i.e. as the attribute of Justice, the world to come will represent a world created by the attribute of Mercy, i.e. י-ה-ו-ה. Seeing that at that time there will neither be a יצר הרע, an evil urge, nor death, the function of the attribute of Justice will be severely curtailed and the world will be based almost exclusively on the attribute of Mercy.
There is another short passage in Shemot Rabbah 19,6 which may be understood along similar lines. The author, quoting G’d, says: “in the past I and My court used to walk ahead of you as described in Exodus 14,21. In the future, however, I will be walking all by Myself;” as we read in Isaiah 52,12: “for the Lord (י-ה-ו-ה) is marching before you, the G’d of Israel is your rear guard.” The G’d of Israel is identical with the “G’d of Yaakov.” This is the same attribute.
When Moses spoke both of אלי and of אלו-הי אבי separately, the reference to the אלו-הי אבי was to the G’d of his tribe, the tribe of Levi (seeing that Levi represented the attribute of Justice both when he killed the males of Shechem and when he carried out the execution of the Jews who had worshipped the golden calf).
וארוממנהו, “and I wish to declare Him supreme.” This is a veiled reference to the time when G’d can be called by His full Name as the world will have recognised His full potential in the affairs of man. Moses follows with ה' איש מלחמה ה' שמו, “eventually G’d’s attribute of Mercy will be permanently in the ascendancy.” The unique nature of G’d consists of the fact that He will link the beginning to the end, the start of a development to its successful completion. He can do this as He is eternal and has foreseen the final outcome already at the beginning of its development. You will find this concept confirmed in the Sefer Yetzirah 1,4: הבן בחכמה וחכם בבינה העמד דבר על בוריו והשב יוצר על מכונו, “[if I understand it correctly. Ed.] when approached with wisdom and understanding it will be seen that though initially man could not decipher how G’d’s plan for the universe was going to work out, eventually it will be demonstrated as having been the logical result of the premises it is built on.”
There is another short passage in Shemot Rabbah 19,6 which may be understood along similar lines. The author, quoting G’d, says: “in the past I and My court used to walk ahead of you as described in Exodus 14,21. In the future, however, I will be walking all by Myself;” as we read in Isaiah 52,12: “for the Lord (י-ה-ו-ה) is marching before you, the G’d of Israel is your rear guard.” The G’d of Israel is identical with the “G’d of Yaakov.” This is the same attribute.
When Moses spoke both of אלי and of אלו-הי אבי separately, the reference to the אלו-הי אבי was to the G’d of his tribe, the tribe of Levi (seeing that Levi represented the attribute of Justice both when he killed the males of Shechem and when he carried out the execution of the Jews who had worshipped the golden calf).
וארוממנהו, “and I wish to declare Him supreme.” This is a veiled reference to the time when G’d can be called by His full Name as the world will have recognised His full potential in the affairs of man. Moses follows with ה' איש מלחמה ה' שמו, “eventually G’d’s attribute of Mercy will be permanently in the ascendancy.” The unique nature of G’d consists of the fact that He will link the beginning to the end, the start of a development to its successful completion. He can do this as He is eternal and has foreseen the final outcome already at the beginning of its development. You will find this concept confirmed in the Sefer Yetzirah 1,4: הבן בחכמה וחכם בבינה העמד דבר על בוריו והשב יוצר על מכונו, “[if I understand it correctly. Ed.] when approached with wisdom and understanding it will be seen that though initially man could not decipher how G’d’s plan for the universe was going to work out, eventually it will be demonstrated as having been the logical result of the premises it is built on.”
Maaseh Nissim
Matzah, because we ate… The Haggadah explains that the reason we eat Matzah is to remind us of the haste with which we left Egypt. Yet we were commanded to eat Matzah prior to our flight from Egypt. So how can we explain the eating of Matzah in this way? There are, however, two separate reasons and two separate Mitzvot in eating Matzah. We eat Matzah all week of Pesach as a way of reminding ourselves that we were slaves in Egypt. Matzah is Lechem Oni, the bread of affliction. We refrain from eating leavened bread and eat only Matzah for seven days to symbolize the fact that the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt for a very long time. The Biblical seven days symbolize the seven days of creation and the many days we were enslaved. On the eve of Passover when we tell the story of the Exodus the Matzah symbolizes the haste with which we left Egypt.
Was leaving with haste really a sign of distinction? In Isaiah 52:12, “For you shall not go out with haste and nor go by flight for the Lord will go before you and the God of Israel shall be your rearguard.” We are told that in the end of time redemption will come with haste but slowly and deliberately. So why is leaving Egypt with such haste considered to be a good thing? Rabbi Ashkenazi explained that the Israelites had to leave Egypt in haste because they were living in a place of impurity and God wished to get them out as quickly as possible so he could reveal himself to them. But in the end of time redemption will come more deliberately and slowly because Israel will not be in such dire danger. The haste with which we left Egypt was a sign of God’s impatience to quickly establish a new covenant with the people and protect them from impurity.
Was leaving with haste really a sign of distinction? In Isaiah 52:12, “For you shall not go out with haste and nor go by flight for the Lord will go before you and the God of Israel shall be your rearguard.” We are told that in the end of time redemption will come with haste but slowly and deliberately. So why is leaving Egypt with such haste considered to be a good thing? Rabbi Ashkenazi explained that the Israelites had to leave Egypt in haste because they were living in a place of impurity and God wished to get them out as quickly as possible so he could reveal himself to them. But in the end of time redemption will come more deliberately and slowly because Israel will not be in such dire danger. The haste with which we left Egypt was a sign of God’s impatience to quickly establish a new covenant with the people and protect them from impurity.
Kli Yakar
“And you shall eat it in haste.” In the Mekhilta, it concludes that this refers to the haste of the Divine Presence, but in the future it is written For you shall not go out in haste, etc. (Isaiah 42:12). The explanation of this matter is that regarding this redemption it is written And the Lord went before them, implying but not behind them, because Egypt was full of idols, therefore there was no place for the Divine Presence there. Therefore, you shall go in haste in order to quickly receive the Divine Presence. But in the future, the Divine Presence will be both before them and behind them, therefore they will not need to go in haste after the Divine Presence, for it would appear as if they were fleeing from the Divine Presence that was behind them. This is what is meant by For you shall not go out in haste, nor go in flight, for the Lord goes before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.