Pesach and Chag Hamatzot

חג הפסח-פרק יב:ג-כ or חג המצות?

• The Torah refers to two distinct holidays: Pesach and Chag Hamatzot.

Differences between ג-יג and יד-כ

• Verses ג-יג discuss Pesach, while verses יד-כ discuss Chag Hamatzot.
• Pesach: take a lamb (seh) on the 10th, share with neighbors, roast and eat with matzah and maror, paint blood on doorposts as a sign, eat in haste and burn leftovers, commemorates Makkat Bechorot
• Chag Hamatzot: eat matzah for 7 days, destroy leavening agents, the 1st and 7th days are "mikraei kodesh", keep these commandments because I took you out of Egypt, guard the day forever
• Pesach is observed on the 14th of Nissan, while Chag Hamatzot lasts from the 15th to the 21st of Nissan.
• Pesach commemorates Makkat Bechorot, while Chag Hamatzot commemorates the hasty departure from Egypt.
• Pesach Mitzrayim (Pesukim 3-13) and Pesach LeDorot (Pasuk 14)
• Pesach Mitzrayim is the Pesach in Egypt, while Pesach Ledorot is the Pesach in future generations.

When are בנ”י told about each holiday?

• Chag Hamatzot is commanded in Perek 13, outside of Egypt.
• Pesach is commanded in Perek 12, in Egypt.

Additional Sources

• Vayikra 23, Devarim, and חזקוני לג:ג support the existence of two separate holidays.
• Vayikra 23: Pesach is on the twilight of the 14th, and Chag Hamatzot is from the 15th for seven days.
• Devarim states that Pesach is at night and Chag Hamatzot lasts seven days.
• חזקוני לג:ג states that Passover eve and the first night are called פסח, while the remainder of the festival is called חג המצות.

במדבר פרק ט - פסח שני

• Pesach Sheni is a makeup day for Pesach and not for Chag Hamatzot
• Pesach Sheni is only one day, observed on the 14th of Iyar.

Overlap of Holidays

• The holidays might appear blurred because they overlap on the night of the 15th.
• Even in the Gemara, it is unclear and they are mixed up due to historical confusion.

Perspectives on Naming the Holiday

• God prefers calling it Chag HaMatzot, emphasizing our rush to follow His commands.
• We refer to the seven-day holiday as Pesach to honor Hashem’s intervention in Makkat Bechorot.
• The Torah calls it Chag Hamatzot to focus on our commitment, while we call it Pesach to acknowledge Hashem's actions.

פסח מצרים vs. פסח לדורות

• Pesach Ledorot is Pesach in the Beit Hamikdash, while Pesach Mitzrayim is Pesach in Egypt.
• Pesach Mitzrayim involved taking the seh on the tenth, putting blood on doorposts, and eating in haste.
• Pesach Ledorot involves sacrificing at the Beit Hamikdash and being tahor.
• In Pesach Mitzrayim, there was no Seder, no Beit Hamikdash to sacrifice at, and no way of being Tahor; these things are only for Pesach Ledorot.
• Pesach Mitzrayim was observed in Egypt and the first year in the desert.
• Pesach L'dorot involves the Maggid and the Seder and is in Jerusalem.
• Pesach Mitzrayim involved eating in one night, while Pesach L'dorot is kept for seven days.

Was פסח מצרים Considered a קרבן?

• There is a debate on whether Pesach Mitzrayim was considered a korban.
• Arguments for it being a korban: qualifications of the seh, blood sprinkling, burning leftovers, and no chametz.
• Arguments against it being a korban: no mizbeach, no kohen, no portion to Hashem, no need to be pure, and never called a sacrifice.

Whether the Jews Were Affected by Makkat Bechorot

• The angel of death cannot touch homes turned into altars.
• If their homes are altars, then the seh is a korban.

Did בנ"י Celebrate חג המצות During Their Journey From Mitzrayim?

• Arguments for celebration: commanded by Hashem to celebrate and eat matzah.
• Arguments against celebration: how would they commemorate leaving when they haven’t left yet, only told about holiday after leaving, and not practical due to journey.

ר"ן vs. רמב"ן

• ר"ן argues that they did not celebrate Chag Hamatzot because there was not enough time and Pesach only applied for one day and night.
• רמב"ן argues that they did not let their bread rise because they were commanded not to have any leaven for seven days.

What does פסח mean?

• As a noun, it means Korban/food.
• As a verb, it refers to Hashem's actions during Makkat Bechorot.

Rashi 12:13

• Rashi provides two answers for ופסחתי:
• compassion
• leaping/skipping over.

ראב"ע הארוך יב: כז

• It means limp/leaning and comes from פיסח - lame, shows Hashem is leaning on us to protect us from the malach hamavet.

Septuagint

• It means protection.

What is the נ”מ between Rashi’s second answer vs. his first answer/Ibn Ezra?

• Whether Hashem was active or passive in saving us from the tenth plague.
• Rashi = Passive.
• Ibn Ezra = Active.

Lesson 18: Transforming a Nation פרק יג:יז-יד:לא

• This pertains to the Jewish leaving Mitzrayim and the events afterward.

The First פרשיה

• The topics found are the route they take, carrying of Yosef’s bones (עצמות יוסף), and the cloud/fire of Hashem.
• Other names for דרך ארץ פלשתים are Via Maris, דרך הים, and Way of Horus.
• Bnei Yisrael avoids this road so that they don’t see a war. Because if they saw a war they would go back to Mitzrayim.
• The theme of this פרשיה is trying to make Bnei Yisrael feel secure because he just saved us; Travel

Trying to Avoid a War With Whom?

• רמב"ן פסוק יז says that the war to avoid is between Bnei Yisrael Vs. Plishtim, arguing that nations fight us when we walk through their land
• Bechor Shor/Sarna says that the war to avoid is between Bnei Yisrael Vs. Mitzrayim (Pharaoh) and taking the long way stopped Mitzrayim from chasing us
• Rasag says that the war to avoid is between Bnei Yisrael Vs. Cannanim because they need time to rest before fighting, you can’t just get up unaffected from slavery and Hashem had mercy and let our soul rest until it had strength

Plan to go to the Wilderness

• There is a question as to why the pesukim make it seem Bidieved when the plan was to go to the wilderness for 3 days
• All Parshanim share in common that Hashem is trying to avoid war
• The approach of the מכילתא is that if Hashem brought us directly to Israel, we might forget the Torah, but if we wander in the desert with it for 40 years, it will never leave our hearts. We will swallow it through Manna and Matan Torah and Thinks Derech Hamidbar is lechatchila [we were always going to wander 40 years] Ignores the spies

עצמות יוסף

• Shows Moshe is a good and honorable leader, he is here to protect us just like Yosef did for his family during the famine
• Shows we are leaving for good, because he took the bones when it was supposed to be a 3 day vacation

Two Reasons Why פרעה Chases After בנ”י

• So Pharaoh will think we are trapped/lost and vulnerable so he wants to kill us
• Pharoah thinks we ran away, so he wants to bring us back as slaves

Contradictions

• Earlier in perek 13 we take the detour to make us feel secure this is doing the opposite
• The ambiguity in the text about what פרעה plans to do with בנ”י is whether he wants to kill us or take us back to be slaves.

Three Reasons for Why ה Wanted Jews to go דרך המדבר

• To Mislead Pharaoh: Purpose of this is to end up at Yam Suf
  • We take Derech Midbar
  • We said we will leave for 3 days
  • We steal their jewelry
• So there wouldn’t be a war
• So we can get the torah at Har sinai

Three Deceptions to פרעה: Shemot Rabbah, Bechor Shor, Ran (Drasha 11)

• Shemot Rabbah - lie of the three day journey - reason is b/c Pharaoh never would’ve chased us if we didn’t trick him and If they don’t chase us, they wouldn’t receive their punishment of drowning
• Bechor Shor - lie of ‘derech hamidbar’. Reason - so Hashem can do more miracles like to split the sea, let us pass through, and drown Egypt [also so we don’t have to deal with philistines]
• Ran focuses on taking their gold, 3 day journey, and Derech hamidbar and it is to make Egyptians chase us in their own free will
• All lies have the same end goal - egyptians drowning/Kriat Yam Suf
• Reason for קריעת ים סוף for each פרשן:
• Shemot Rabbah + Ran - punish the egyptians
• Bechor shor - l’harbot nissim [more miracles]

Faith and Doubt on Both Sides

• Egyptians doubt Hashem b/c they say “what have we done by letting out the Jews” - don’t acknowledge Hashem behind the redemption, they still believe that they kicked out the Jews when it was really Hashem who forced them to. Jews say “what is this that we have done to ourselves, to be taken out of Egypt” - shows them ignoring Hashem

Hashem’s Goal

• To teach both groups that He is G-d

Lesson from the Egyptians

• All of Mitzrayim, the fact that the ones not coming back, was enough to convince the ones in Mitzrayim that Hashem is G-d
• Hashem will be honored through Pharoah and they will believe in Hashem.

Earlier Lesson

• Lessons for the Egyptians by the makkot, “and Egypt will know that I am Hashem”. There are also the other 2 lessons, with the lessons given every two makkah and the third one not having a lesson and also Makkat Bechorot. Hashem is powerful.
• The lessons are G-d Exists, G-d is involved in things, No one is like G-d

Belief

• Each camp begins to believe in Hashem.
• Egypt - see ibn ezra proof above, כִּ֣י ה׳ נִלְחָ֥ם לָהֶ֖ם בְּמִצְרָֽיִם, When they see Hashem is fighting for Bnei Yisrael.
• Jews - “vaya’aminu b’Hashem uveMoshe avdoh” [and az yashir], When they see the dead egyptians.

Another Purpose of קריעת ים סוף

• b/cThe Jews were oppressed and had a ‘nefesh shfeilah’ - a slave mentality, and they couldn’t bear to go against their masters the Egyptians. This generation had to die in the Midbar because they had a slave mentality and only the new generation would be able to fight to conquer Israel.
• Kriyat yam suf actually breaks their slave mentality and seeing Egyptians die takes Egypt out of the Jews (Mentally/Psychologically)

מילים מנחות

• for פסוקים יד: יג, ל, לא is י.ר.א. [fear/see]– jews go from fearing egyptians, to seeing them dead, to fearing Hashem
• the ספורנו comment is that we were only free after the masters died

Ibn Ezra vs Sforno

• Ibn Ezra thinks of it being psychological while the Sforno thinks it is physical

Lesson 19: Let the Training Continue: פרשת בשלח

• K”YS
• Marah
• Midbar Sin
• Refidim - Masa Umirivah
• Refidim - Milchemet Amalek
• All the places are all problems or complaints and they are all tests; the word for crying out/screaming and the word for test.

Chiasmus

• Milchemet Amalek and K”YS are A.
• Refidim and Marah are B.
• Midbar Sin is C.

מרה

• The test is Hashem is showing B”Y that if they want their basic necessities, they need to follow Hashem’s mitzvot.
• Ibn Ezra: We didn’t know what this tree was, but it was miraculous, it's completely supernatural.
• Other: It was a natural event, the tree filtered the water and cleaned it and the wood absorbed the salt and purified it

Rambam vs. Ramban

• Ramban: The big miracles the Torah discusses proves that small hidden miracles happen all the time.
• Rambam: Hashem puts all miracles in nature.

Laws At מרה

• The chok [rules w/o obv. reason] is shabbat, and the mishpat [rules w/ obv reason] is kibbud av v’em
• They got survival skills and ethics.

Midrash

• Torah is like water. On the way to Marah, Bnei Yisrael didn’t have any water for 3 days. The mashal is that you shouldn’t go three days w/o torah learning.

מדבר סין

• The complaint is that they will run out of food in the future. Because they will be far from Mitzrayim. All Mepharshim agree they didn’t run out of meat because they have livestock, so they ran out of bread.

Approaches to פסוק ג

• Cassuto: B”Y are lying, because they are remembering what they think is the better situation- “romanticizing” Mitzrayim but it's not on purpose because it is in human nature.
• Shadal: It's very possible that the Egyptians actually gave B”Y some free food

לחם מן השמים

• Ibn ezra: It just means food (me’achal) .
• Ramban: They made Lechem out of the maan, maan is an ingredient, not a food; Lechem means bread

פסוק ד- למען אנסנו

• Rashi says that it is the rules of the Mann.
• Ramban says that it is the fact that Mann is gross and to see if B”Y will continue to complain day in and day out.
• Sforno says that the test is what we do in our free time because there is no work required to get food now, so we need to learn Torah.
• Rashbam says the test is being dependent on Hashem.

Change

• Two ways G-d tries to change בנ"י is through traumatic experiences and subtle changes.

מסה ומריבה

• The place renamed מסה ומריבה because bnei yisrael tested g-d [מסה] and fought with moses [ומריבה].
• Shows that they are rejecting everythis Hashem has done for them thus far, and that they haven’t learned the lessons of the makkot
• Miracle takes place away from the camp b/c Bnei Yisrael said that Hashem wasn’t present in their camp when they were complaining

מלחמת עלמק

• There is the smichut parshiyot of refidim and Amalek and At refidim, Hashem says He is always with B”Y
• This has to constantly remind them that He is helping B”Y because they keep forgetting that Hashem is with us.
• Mashal: a boy is on his dad’s shoulder and his dad is getting him stuff
• B”Y aren’t appreciating Hashem and the second Hashem stops protecting B”Y, Amalek come and attack them

מלחמת עמלק

• Ibn Ezra said this proves to us that Bnei Yisrael is not strong and they still have the slave mentality, and Hashem is making us win
• Rashi: Did Moshe's hands really make us win? Gemara: Moshe’s hands reflect what happens, when they go up they trust Hashem when they go down their trust in Hashem goes down. If up they win, if down they lose.
• At Yam Suf they are told told not to do anything and stand back but Bnei Yisrael here has to fight, they are willing to be better.

Chiastic Structure

• A - Danger created by man
• B - Natural evil
• C - Trusting G-d every day
• B - Natural Evil
• A - Danger Created by man