Musar su Esodo 12:12

Moses' level of intimacy with G–d was such that he had what our sages call אספקלריא מאירא, a clear vision. G–d enlightened Moses with this clear vision and he acted as G–d's agent. G–d in His Essence, however, performed these miracles, using Moses as a "filter" i.e. עבר. This is the true significance of Exodus 12,12: ועברתי בארץ מצרים בלילה הזה, "I shall pass through the land of Egypt during that night, etc." Moses was called איש האלוקים, which our sages have interpreted to mean that his upper half was אלוקים, whereas the lower half of his body was איש, human. This simply means that Moses had not commenced his career on the same level as he completed it. Once he had ascended to Sinai, to אלוקים in Exodus 19,3, he became not only איש האלוקים but אלוקים. Shemot Rabbah 3 describes Moses as a טירון, "a private," in G–d's army in terms of his prophetic powers at the beginning of his career. Later on he rose to a level where he was described as אלוקים.

The Zohar, commenting on 12,3: ויקחו להם איש ה לבית אבות שה לבית, "They shall each acquire for themselves a lamb per family or a lamb per household," comments that in effect G–d told the Jews to physically get hold of the Egyptians' deity, to keep it locked up for three days and to publicly excecute it on the fourth day. The Egyptians had to witness all this. This was a harder pill for them to swallow than all the other plagues that they had been subjected to previously, and this their idol was afterwards to be roasted on the fire as part of its execution. It was not to be boiled in water because the Torah's command to burn the idols (of the nations we conquered) in fire legislated in Deut. 7,25 would not have been carried out by boiling. If one were to boil the Passover lamb it would be equivalent to hiding it, covering it up, and one could not smell its fragrance. The distinctive smell of its roasting should permeate the house. The reason that it must be roasted whole with its legs and head is to prevent giving the impression that it is alive or that it is a pig, for instance. It must be prepared as food in such a way that everyone notices that it is an Egyptian deity that is being treated in this fashion. The Passover lamb must also not be eaten in a ravenous manner, but at a time when one has almost completed one's meal. No bone may be broken so that the skeleton can be viewed as whole, and its inability to save itself be demonstrated. For all these reasons the Torah speaks about ובאלוההים עשה שפטים "He executed judgments on their deities" (Numbers 33,4).

I have already pointed out that Moses was appointed אלהים over all the שרים in the Celestial Regions, and that the Ineffable Name is reserved for The deity who controls and suspends laws of nature at will. We pay tribute to this fact in the Haggadah shel Pessach, where we describe G–d's interference in the line: "I, and not an angel, I, and not a Seraph, I, and not any agent." In view of the above, how are we to understand the verse in Numbers 20,16: וישלח מלאך ויוציאנו ממצרים, "He sent an angel and took us out of Egypt?" Clearly the "angel" was Moses. G–d transferred His power העבר, as the Torah says in Exodus 12,23: "ועבר ה' G–d will pass through Egypt to strike, but will see the blood, etc." We have a similar verse in 12,12: ועברתי בארץ מצרים בלילה הזה, "I shall pass through the land of Egypt during this night." The expression עבר, is a way of transferring power. This explains the threefold statement תדע which we quoted at the very beginning of our commentary (page 409). All three verses describe that there is no one like the Lord our G–d. The first one emphasizes His existence, whereas the second one emphasizes that He exercises control everywhere in His universe. The third statement features the word בעבור תדע, instead of למען תדע. The expression בעבור must be understood as העברה, transfer of His authority via Moses.

We have learned in Kidushin 41: The commandment to be מקדש את האשה devolves first and foremost on the actual groom, though it may be performed by anyone he designates. When the Jewish people left Egypt, G–d (the groom) personally performed the act of קדושין: The Torah says of G–d: ועברתי בארץ מצרים (Exodus 12,12). The ceremony was, however, also performed by a messenger whom G–d had designated, viz: וישלח מלאך ויוציאני, "He sent an angel (messenger) and took me out" (Numbers 20,16). The actual wedding ceremony, the נישואין, must be carried out by the groom personally, not a stand-in. The giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai symbolised this wedding ceremony between G–d and the Jewish people. This wedding took place on the Sabbath, an occasion when G–d spoke to Israel פנים בפנים דבר ה' עמכם, "Face to face did G–d speak with you" (Deut. 5,4). The usual time for man and his wife to join conjugally is on the Sabbath. This is part of the mystical aspect of marriage.