Myśl Żydowska do Wyjścia 14:13

(1) Since the giving of the ten commandments, all communications had pertained only to what the Israelites were to do vis a vis G-d, or what they were not to do. They were not to build idols, altars, worship partners of G-d, offer sacrifices to deities etc. Now the subject matter changes and becomes the welfare of Israel and its interests. Moreover, Israel has asked that G-d not communicate with them directly but through an intermediary. G-d therefore announces now that He will indeed guide them through an intermediary as requested, i.e. through an angel. This angel would lead them to the holy land. It had been similar before the arrival at the foot of Mount Sinai, when the Torah had testified repeatedly that an angel was travelling either ahead or behind the camp, as the case might be. (Exodus chapter 14, 13, Isaiah 63) This angel is sometimes referred to as "face" i.e. G-d’s "face." (compare Exodus 33, 16 "if Your face does not go with me") (2) They are warned that this angel insists on their obedience, and they ought not to underestimate his powers and rebel against him, else he might be exchanged for another. This other angel would be unable to forgive or even postpone their punishment for misconduct. The present angel can postpone punishment "because My name is within him." However, he does not have the authority to forgive sins. "Lo yissa pish-achem,” he will not forgive. We read about this definition in the thirteen midot, attributes of G-d as nosse avon vafesha. However, "venakeh lo yenakeh,” he cannot wipe out sin and leave you free from guilt. Since G-d had said "at any place that allows My name to be mentioned, I will come to you and bless you," we understand the word she-mee, My name, as representing a positive power. The Jewish people are exhorted "make sure that you will listen to his voice," (instructions) do not think that the presence of the angel represents the absence of My Presence, rather the reverse is the case. He will help you attain all your objectives. This is not the "panim el panim" level, the face to face relationship. The reason that G-d has to underline all this, so to speak, is that if by chance the settlement in the land of Canaan will prove time consuming, this is not due to the angel's impotence, but on the contrary, to insure that a sudden and immediate takeover will not have negative ecological consequences for you, since you are far fewer in number than the present inhabitants of the country, (verse 27-33) (3) Should you sin and associate yourselves in any form with the former inhabitants, this would become a trap for you. After this address to Israel, the next paragraph is addressed to Moses and the elders. (4) This is a flashback to Parshat Vitro prior to the giving of the Torah, when Moses had been warned not to allow the priests etc. to breach the fenced off area around the mountain. Here it details who could approach, and how far those people could proceed, something that had been omitted in chapter nineteen. It is related that Moses conveyed these details to the people together with the legislation that had already been revealed to him. The people's response was that "whatever G-d has said, we will do." At that point, Moses put down in writing what had transpired up to that point. If the people had not accepted, he would not have had any reason to record all these events and their acceptance by Israel. The sacrifices were probably offered by the youngsters, the firstborns, young enough to have been blameless in all respects as explained by Maimonides. Our sages already discussed how Moses could know exactly what was half the blood, (verse 6) Various answers are proposed, the important thing being that the division of the blood indicated that is was "blood of the covenant," and as such some had to be assigned to both parties. (5) Half of the blood was sprinkled on the people to symbolise this concept. Before that, Moses took the book of the covenant and read therefrom. The people then proclaimed "we will do and we will hear." The difference between the "we will do" and the "we will do and hear" has been explained in chapter 44.

The lack of confirmation by the Torah that shortly after leaving Egypt the Israelites slaughtered sacrifices wholesale makes Pharaoh's incredulity at the statement that all the livestock would be demanded by the Jewish G-d appear more plausible. The Torah also does not report that Pharaoh did indeed supply animals of his own to be slaughtered on his behalf as predicted by Moses (10,25). To prove that Moses’ss demand that not a hoof would remain in Egypt was indeed a Divinely authorized demand and not merely a ploy by Moses to bait Pharaoh, a further plague had to be announced. On the one hand, feeling sure that Moses had overstepped the bounds of what was reasonable, Pharaoh threatened to kill him should he dare to appear before him again. He refers twice to previous statements by Moses such as "as you said" (12,31; 12,23). The first may refer to what he had perceived to be G-d’s instructions, the second to what he believed to have been Moses’ss own intiative. Moses announces the time and extent of the next plague to justify himself and announces that instead of his coming to Pharaoh's Court, the order will be reversed, and Pharaoh's ministers will come to the Jews pleading for them to leave. The final plague combined the three elements that have characterized the previous three groups, and this is the reason verse 13,15 refers to the obstinacy of Pharaoh causing him to suffer this plague. The creation of new criteria, i.e. the selection of only the first borns as victims, is suggestive of the "I am G-d" demonstrated during the first three plagues. The distinction between the houses having the blood of the Passover sacrifice on their doorposts, and those that did not, corresponds to the second group of plagues, when G-d left Jewish residential areas or Jewish property unharmed. The uniqueness of the event, never to be repeated is representative of the lesson contained in the third group of plagues.