Derasha 86 on Shemos 4:25

Parashas Shemos · Passuk 4:25

The Complete Passuk

וַתִּקַּ֨ח צִפֹּרָ֜ה צֹ֗ר וַתִּכְרֹת֙ אֶת־עׇרְלַ֣ת בְּנָ֔הּ וַתַּגַּ֖ע לְרַגְלָ֑יו וַתֹּ֕אמֶר כִּ֧י חֲתַן־דָּמִ֛ים אַתָּ֖ה לִֽי׃

Chabad.org — English translation + Rashi

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Yerushalmi Nedarim 3:9 (verified).

Sefaria — Exodus 4:25
Sefaria — Yerushalmi Nedarim 3:9

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text — Yerushalmi Nedarim 3:9
וְתִקַּח צִפֹּרָה צֹר וַתִּכְרֹת אֶת עׇרְלַת בְּנָהּ וַתִּגַּע לְרַגְלָיו. ר' יְהוּדָה וְר' נְחֶמְיָה וְרַבָּנִין: חַד אָמַר לְרַגְלָיו שֶׁל מֹשֶׁה, וְחָרְנָה אָמַר לְרַגְלָיו שֶׁל מַלְאָךְ, וְחָרְנָה אָמַר לְרַגְלָיו שֶׁל תִּינוֹק.

English: ““Tzipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin.” The Yerushalmi records three interpretations of whose “feet” she touched: Moses’s, the angel’s, or the infant’s.”

In context: See the cited source for the full section.

Type of Learning

Yerushalmi interpretation of “and touched his feet”

What Is Learned

The Yerushalmi preserves three interpretations of the unusual phrase “she touched his feet,” all connecting Tzipporah’s action directly with the circumcision and the danger confronting Moses or his son.