The Final Plague
砖诪讜转 驻专拽 讬讘 驻住讜拽 讻讟
讜址讬职讛执讬 讘址旨讞植爪执讬 讛址诇址旨讬职诇指讛 讜址讛’ 讛执讻指旨讛 讻指诇 讘职旨讻讜止专 讘职旨讗侄专侄抓 诪执爪职专址讬执诐 诪执讘职旨讻止专 驻址旨专职注止讛 讛址讬止旨砖值讈讘 注址诇 讻执旨住职讗讜止 注址讚 讘职旨讻讜止专 讛址砖职旨讈讘执讬 讗植砖侄讈专 讘职旨讘值讬转 讛址讘旨讜止专 讜职讻止诇 讘职旨讻讜止专 讘职旨讛值诪指讛:
Exodus 12:29
And it came to pass at midnight, that the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the first-born of cattle.
砖诪讜转 专讘讛 (讜讬诇谞讗) 驻专砖讛 讬讞
(诇诪讛)讛专讙 讘讻讜专讬 砖讘讬 砖讛讬讜 讗讜诪专讬诐 诇砖讘讜讬 砖讛讬讛 讞讘讜砖 讘讘讬转 讛讗住讜专讬谉 专爪讜谞讱 砖转爪讗 讜讬讙讗诇讜 讬砖专讗诇 讜讛讜讗 讗讜诪专 诇讗 谞爪讗 诪讬讻谉 诇注讜诇诐 讻讚讬 砖诇讗 讬爪讗讜 讬砖专讗诇 诇讻讱 讚谞谉 注诪讛诐
Exodus Rabbah Parashah 18
(Why) Were the first born captives killed? They (the Egyptians) used to say to those that they held in prison, “Do you want to go free (and have it result in) the freeing of the Israelites?” he would respond “I will not ever leave this place so that the Israelites will not ever be able to leave.” On account of this they (the captives) were judged with the rest of Egypt.
Each year, when we read the Exodus story and again when we encounter it at the Passover seder, we are confronted with a serious moral question. We must ask ourselves how we feel about the nature of the collective punishment of the Egyptians. If we examine a number of customs and teachings that we find in the Jewish tradition about the suffering of the Egyptians, we can see that there has never been an easy relationship with this problem.
First, it is clear here in our text. When the 10th plague is described, we see it afflicting the firstborn sons of Pharaoh on down to the firstborn in captivity鈥攅ven the firstborn cattle. We may not be comfortable with the idea of the plague, but we can understand why it is applied to Pharaoh, and perhaps even to the Egyptians who were complicit in the enslavement of the Israelites. Surely, though, the captives in prison played no role in enslaving the Israelites; rather they were probably no better off than the Israelites. That is why the midrash feels the need to articulate their role in the story. The Rabbis are uncomfortable with the idea that any innocent person would be punished in the plagues, and they go to great lengths in this and other midrashim to identify the guilt of the Egyptians.
We see this discomfort at other times as well. When we read the 10 plagues at the seder, we take 10 drops of wine out of our glasses to diminish our joy on account of the suffering of the Egyptians. We also find a midrash (Talmud Sanhedrin 39b) saying that the angels wanted to sing out as the waves crashed over the Egyptians in the Red Sea and God admonished them: “My creations are drowning in the sea and you wish to sing?”
When we approach the Exodus, we can feel the discomfort of our ancestors at seeing all of the Egyptians punished without a clear sense that each was accountable. It is for this reason that this midrash establishes the guilt of all those who were punished. Despite this justification, however, we also hold traditions that remind us that the freedom of the Israelites came at a cost and that, regardless of the assignment of guilt, we ought to feel a loss.
