Komentaryong Sumisipi para sa Joel 1:3

בוא אל פרעה....מביא מחר, “go in unto Pharaoh...I will bring on the plague of locusts tomorrow to your territories.” How had Moses had advance warning of this plague, seeing that we have no word in the Torah where G–d had given him advance notice about this plague? We will have to fall back on the tradition that the acronyms of the ten plagues as per Rabbi Yehudah, had been etched into the side of his staff. The problem with this interpretation is that if so why did G–d bother to give him advance notice of the two plagues following after the plague of locusts? It may be more plausible to assume that the words למען תספר באזני בנך ובן בנך את אשר התעללתי במצרים, “in order that you will be able to tell your son and your grandson what I have wrought upon Egypt,” (verse 2) that this had included details about the forthcoming plague of locusts. We find that the plague of locusts recorded in the Book of Yoel (Yoel 1,3-4) was also introduced by the prophet telling his people to tell his children and grandchildren about it. [In that instance the plague of locusts smote the land of Israel. Ed.]

IN THE SECOND YEAR AFTER THEIR COMING OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, IN THE FIRST MONTH. From here the Rabbis have deduced the principle:⁵⁸Sifre Beha’alothcha 64. Pesachim 6b. “There is no [strict] chronological order in the narrative of the Torah” [for the census mentioned at the beginning of this Book of Numbers was on the first day of ‘the second’ month in the second year, and the present chapter about the Passover was in the ‘first month’ of the same year]! Now the reason for this delay [in mentioning the section concerning the Passover] was that since this fourth book [of the Torah] comes to mention the commandments which Israel was given in the wilderness of Sinai for that particular time, He wanted [first] to complete everything related to the Tent of Meeting and its functioning during all the time [that Israel was] in the wilderness. Therefore He mentioned first the [commandments about the four] standards, and the place of the Tent [of Meeting], and the position of its ministers, and the ordinance concerning the divisions [of the Levites] when carrying [the Tabernacle whilst travelling, and] all services of the Tent. Then He mentioned the dedication-offerings of the princes, who brought the wagons in which they would carry it [the Tent] as long as they were to be in the wilderness, and He finished [the account of] their offerings at the dedication of the altar, which began on the first of Nisan or afterwards.⁵⁹See above. Seder Naso, Notes 131-132, which mention two opinions, to which Ramban alludes here. After all this He returned and mentioned the admonition that He had given them not to forget the commandment of the Passover.
Now in the opinion of our Rabbis⁶⁰Sifre Beha’alothcha 67. [the obligation to bring the Passover-offering] only applied in the wilderness in this [second] year, after the exodus because they did not perform circumcision in the wilderness,⁶¹The reason for this is that during the years of G-d’s displeasure with Israel after the incident of the golden calf (Rashi), or that of the spies (Ramban), the north wind did not blow, and there was nothing to mitigate the effect of the extreme heat, so that it was dangerous to do the circumcision (Yebamoth 72 a, and see Rashi and Ramban there). See also further on in the text here. and the [non-performance of] circumcision of the male children and the servants prevented them [from slaughtering the Passover-offering].⁶²Exodus 12:44. It is possible that this [specific] command [to bring the Passover] was necessary because at first they were only commanded about making the Passover-offering in future generations after [entering] the Land of Israel, as it is written, And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the Land which the Eternal will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this Service.⁶³Ibid., Verse 25. And it is further stated there, And it shall be when the Eternal shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanite, etc., that thou shalt keep this Service in this month.⁶⁴Ibid., 13:5. And now the Holy One, blessed be He, desired and commanded that they should make it [the Passover-offering] in order that the memory of their redemption and of the miracles which were done for them and their fathers should be transmitted from the fathers who saw them to their children, and their children to another generation.⁶⁵Joel 1:3. Thus He had said at first, And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the Land,⁶³Ibid., Verse 25. meaning to say that this commandment [to bring the Passover-offering] does not apply outside the Land in future generations; therefore now He commanded that they should fulfill it in the desert. And in the opinion of our Rabbis⁶⁰Sifre Beha’alothcha 67. they only brought the Passover-offering in this [second] year [after the exodus], because they begot sons and servants whom they could not circumcise, for the reason that the Rabbis mentioned, that it was dangerous [to observe circumcision], as is explained in Tractate Yebamoth.⁶¹The reason for this is that during the years of G-d’s displeasure with Israel after the incident of the golden calf (Rashi), or that of the spies (Ramban), the north wind did not blow, and there was nothing to mitigate the effect of the extreme heat, so that it was dangerous to do the circumcision (Yebamoth 72 a, and see Rashi and Ramban there). See also further on in the text here.
However, in the Sifre the Rabbis have said:⁶⁶Sifre Beha’alothcha 67. “And they brought the Passover-offering in the first month.⁶⁷Verse 5. Scripture speaks in a critical manner about Israel, inasmuch as [throughout their forty years in the desert] they brought only this Passover-offering, and likewise He said, Did ye bring unto Me offerings and meal-offerings in the wilderness forty years?”⁶⁸Amos 5:25. The Rabbis arrived at this interpretation [that the verse is rebuking them because they only brought the Passover-offering in the second year after the exodus], on the basis of this verse which states, And they brought the Passover-offering in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at dusk, in the wilderness of Sinai,⁶⁷Verse 5. since it is a superfluous verse, for it would have been sufficient to say, and they brought the Passover-offering “according to all that the Eternal commanded Moses.” But Scripture mentioned the [exact] day and [the fact that it was in] the wilderness in order to hint that they only observed it in the wilderness on that day, and this was their “shortcoming” [which is referred to in the text of the Sifre].
It is possible that [the reason why it is considered] their shortcoming is because of their sin in the affair of the spies, on account of which they fell into disesteem⁶⁹The Hebrew word is nithnadu, which means literally “banished, isolated, or excommunicated.” and the [cooling] northern wind did not blow upon them, [with the result that on account of the great heat in the desert] they could not circumcise themselves, and therefore they were prohibited to eat any sacred offerings, and they were “rebuked” by [G-d]. Or it may be that this Beraitha [of the Sifre which speaks of the “shortcoming” of Israel, as hinted at in this section] is in agreement with the words of the Sage⁷⁰Rabbi Eliezer (Mechilta Pis’cha 15). who holds that [non-performance of] circumcision of one’s male children or servants does not prevent one from eating the Passover-offering, and therefore the people were permitted to bring the Passover-offering, but they did not trouble themselves to do it, and this is indeed a great “shortcoming.” The first interpretation, however, appears more likely to be correct, for [had they been obliged to bring it] Moses would have forced them to observe it and would not have allowed them [by not bringing it] to incur the penalty of excision. But as for the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days, and the removal [over that period] of leavened bread, Scripture did not have to say that they observed it [in the wilderness], since these are commandments that are obligatory on everyone’s person and apply in all places, and it has already been stated [that they are to be observed] throughout your generations by an ordinance forever.⁷¹Exodus 12:17.

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Come to Pharaoh, etc.’” Many have wondered about this section, as it does not mention what Moses should say to Pharaoh upon coming to him, since nothing is mentioned about the plague of locusts. What Ramban explained in the name of the Rabbati, that there is a hint to the plague of locusts in the phrase and so that you may tell in the ears of your son and your son’s son how I have made a mockery of Egypt, and it is written about locusts in Joel (1:3) Tell your children about it, and let your children tell their children — this is not sufficient to resolve this difficulty, because the very same question remains: why was it said specifically regarding this plague that he should tell it to his children more than all the other plagues?
And I have an additional difficulty: why is the hardening of the hearts of his servants mentioned only in relation to the plagues of hail and locusts? According to the simple meaning, it seems to me that in all the plagues there is certainly no difference between Pharaoh and his servants, as Pharaoh surely felt them all just like his servants, except for the plague of famine and drought, which only affected his servants but not the king himself, since kings generally have storehouses of grain for years of famine. Only in an exaggerated case would famine affect the king himself.
Therefore, regarding the hail it says, and he hardened his heart, he and his servants — not only he, but even his servants, who should have taken to heart that God had called for famine, nevertheless did not care because the wheat and the spelt were not struck. And when God said again to Moses, For I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, Moses understood from this that he should warn him a second time, that God had called for famine and yet they would not pay attention to his warning — not only Pharaoh but even his servants.
From this, Moses understood that it was God’s will to send locusts, because typically, crops that have ripened in the field can only be destroyed by hail or locusts. And since hail had already occurred, this could only be locusts that would eat what the hail had left. Therefore, specifically regarding this plague it says, And Pharaoh’s servants said to him, ‘How long shall this be a snare to us?’ because the famine affected his servants more than Pharaoh, so they urged Pharaoh to send the people away.