Derasha 6 on Bo 11:4

Parashas Bo · Passuk 11:4

The Complete Passuk

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה כֹּ֖ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֑ה כַּחֲצֹ֣ת הַלַּ֔יְלָה אֲנִ֥י יוֹצֵ֖א בְּת֥וֹךְ מִצְרָֽיִם׃

Chabad.org — English translation + Rashi

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Berachos 3b (verified).

Sefaria — Exodus 11:4
Sefaria — Berachos 3b
E-Daf — Berachos 3b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text — Berachos 3b
בְּחַדְתִּי. וְתִיפּוֹק לֵיהּ מִשּׁוּם מַזִּיקִין? בִּתְרֵי. אִי בִּתְרֵי — חֲשָׁד נָמֵי לֵיכָּא! בִּתְרֵי וּפְרִיצִי.

English: “Around midnight” — it is written kachatzot. Is there uncertainty before Heaven? Rav Ashi said: It was at the midpoint of the night of the thirteenth leading into the fourteenth. And thus Moshe said to Yisrael: The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Tomorrow, around midnight as it is now, I will go out into the midst of Egypt.”

On the daf / in context: See the cited source for the full section.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13.

What Is Learned

There is no uncertainty before Heaven about the exact moment of midnight; Moshe’s wording reflects the timing of the announcement relative to the coming night.