Derasha on Bo 12:12 — Torah Temimah note 1

Parashas Bo · Shemos 12:12 · TT note 1

The Complete Passuk

וְעָבַרְתִּ֣י בְאֶֽרֶץ־מִצְרַ֘יִם֮ בַּלַּ֣יְלָה הַזֶּה֒ וְהִכֵּיתִ֤י כׇל־בְּכוֹר֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם מֵאָדָ֖ם וְעַד־בְּהֵמָ֑ה וּבְכׇל־אֱלֹהֵ֥י מִצְרַ֛יִם אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֥ה שְׁפָטִ֖ים אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃

Source Citation

Torah Temimah on Shemos 12:12, note 1 (on וְעָבַרְתִּי) points to Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 2:1.

Sefaria — Exodus 12:12
Sefaria — Torah Temimah on Exodus 12:12
Sefaria — Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 2:1

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text — Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 2:1 (via Torah Temimah)
כַּד אֲתָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמִפְרַק אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא שָׁלַח שָׁלִיחַ וּמַלְאָךְ, אֶלָּא הוּא בְּעַצְמוֹ, דִּכְתִיב: וְעָבַרְתִּי בְאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם — הוּא וְכָל דַּרְגּוֹן דִּילֵיהּ.

English: When the Holy One, Blessed be He, came to redeem Israel, He did not send a messenger or an angel, but He Himself, as it is written, “And I will pass through the land of Egypt” — He and all His retinue.

Type of Learning

Emphasis on first-person agency: redemption and the plague were by Hashem Himself.

What Is Learned

The plague of the firstborn was carried out by Hashem Himself, not by an intermediary.