Questions tagged [yetziat-mitzrayim]
The redemption of the Jewish People from slavery in Egypt; performed by G-d through Moses.
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Did Pharaoh do teshuvah?
When Pharaoh says:
וַיִּשְׁלַח פַּרְעֹה וַיִּקְרָא לְמֹשֶׁה וּלְאַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם חָטָאתִי הַפָּעַם יְהוָה הַצַּדִּיק וַאֲנִי וְעַמִּי הָרְשָׁעִים׃
(Pharaoh sent, and called for Moshe and ...
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"... and the cities are fortified and very large" - how would ex-Egyptians see Canaanean cities?
Tel Hevron (the ancient settlement in Hebron) features a fragment of a Middle Bronze Age city wall. The sign cites the verse "However, the people who inhabit the country are powerful, and the ...
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The victory over Amalek after the Yam Suf, was this "above nature"?
Surely it goes without saying that the miracles of the plagues and the splitting of the sea were "above nature" (Being manifest through יהוה).
Question: was the victory which the Jews had ...
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Did Yisro REALLY know what was going on?
The first pasuk of Parshas Yisro opens by telling us that
"Yisro had heard all that God had done for the Jewish people"
Shemos 18:1
וַיִּשְׁמַע יִתְרוֹ כֹהֵן מִדְיָן חֹתֵן מֹשֶׁה אֵת כׇּל־...
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Why only Az Yashir?
Why did the Jewish people only praise god with song after the miracle that occurred at the splitting of the sea?
Were the miracles of the ten plagues not significant enough for the Jews to praise god?
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What was the issue with the Jews \ Moshe praying to God?
The pasuk in Shemos tells us that when the jews were at the sea, and the Egyptians were closing in on them, they turned to God and called out.
following this, the chumash tells us:
shemos 14:15
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Did Mordechai have a different "scream" than Moshe Rabbeinu?
What are some of the differences between the word וַיִּצְעַק and וַיִּזְעַק?
וַיִּצְעַק Here:
( https://www.sefaria.org/Exodus.8.8?ven=Metsudah_Chumash,_Metsudah_Publications,_2009&lang=bi&...
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Moshe Rabbeinu and Queen Esther's hesitation
The stories of Yetzias Mitzrayim and the story of Purim both feature a reluctant hero who initially hesitates to take action but ultimately steps forward to fulfill their role in the divine plan.
In ...
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The nature of the specific Pharoah when we left Egypt, and his relation to Amalek?
Who was the specific Pharoah of Egypt when the Jews left Egypt? And also, given "Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, how he met you along the way and ...
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How would Gentiles come to faith and be accepted as believing Jews?
From the time of the exodus out of Egypt, a great mixed multitude went up with the Hebrew people, bringing their flocks and cattle with them, a mixture of nations of proselytes (see: Where did the ...
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The Yetziat Mitrazyim Path
I know there are many opinions on Yitziat Mitzraim. The path taken through the sea and how/where they went.
Is there a sefer/website that shows (picture or text) the different shitas? I am hoping for ...
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What is the logic of "You shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in that land."
What is the logic of the reason given in Deut 23:8, "You shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in that land." How does the Israelites living for a while as welcome (and then ...
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What was the "kur ha'barzel" aspect of galus Mitzrayim and was it effective?
In Sefer Devarim 4:20 it says:
וְאֶתְכֶם֙ לָקַ֣ח יְהוָ֔ה וַיּוֹצִ֥א אֶתְכֶ֛ם מִכּ֥וּר הַבַּרְזֶ֖ל
מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם לִהְי֥וֹת ל֛וֹ לְעַ֥ם נַחֲלָ֖ה כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃
but you יהוה took and brought out of ...
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Lifting up the holy sparks - The Ari on Mitzrayim
Lifting up the holy sparks is also known as nitzotzos dikedushah (see footnote 10, see also this answer). I recently saw this article quoting the Ari HaKodesh in saying that the work the Jewish People ...
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Malachim not to sing Shirah at the Yam Suf, and the verse proving it
The Baal Haturim brings on Shemos 14:20
וַיָּבֹ֞א בֵּ֣ין ׀ מַחֲנֵ֣ה מִצְרַ֗יִם וּבֵין֙ מַחֲנֵ֣ה יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיְהִ֤י הֶֽעָנָן֙ וְהַחֹ֔שֶׁךְ וַיָּ֖אֶר אֶת־הַלָּ֑יְלָה וְלֹא־קָרַ֥ב זֶ֛ה אֶל־זֶ֖ה כׇּל־...
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Why is the Exodus from Egypt so fundamental to Judaism?
The Exodus from Egypt serves as a basis for a number of Mitzvos and is a hugely fundamental concept to Judaism, to the extent that the Rosh states:
כִּי מִי שֶּׁאֵינוֹ מַאֲמִין ''אֲשֶּׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ ...
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Why wait longer? Why did the Jewish people need to stay in Mitzrayim until after the plagues?
The Tur, Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher writes in his commentary on Shemos 9:12 that G-d had to harden the heart of pharaoh, in order to prevent that pharaoh would capitulate prematurely. This because G-d ...
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Why isn't anyone named in the story of the birth of Moshe?
In the story of the birth of Moshe (Shemot 2:1-10), several people are mentioned - himself, his parents, his sister, Pharaoh's Daughter, her slaves - but none of these are named. Only at the very end ...
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How did the Jews in Egypt have children if they couldn't go to the mikveh after giving birth?
This question is based on a few assumptions, which are based on a couple of Midrashim.
First of all, Shemos Rabbah 9:10 and Tanna D'Vei Eliyahu Chapter 6 say that the Egyptians were punished with the ...
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Is it possible we didn’t speak Egyptian while in Egypt?
Our sages say that we didn’t change our language, clothes, and names and in that merit we were redeemed. However didn’t we have to communicate with the Egyptians in their language?
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Why the need for "haste" at the original Passover, if leaving the house was forbidden before morning?
Exodus 12
English
Complete Jewish Bible
10
And you shall not leave over any of it until morning, and whatever is left over of it until morning, you shall burn in fire.
יוְלֹֽא־תוֹתִ֥ירוּ מִמֶּנּוּ ...
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How did the Jewish people have livestock when leaving Egypt?
Exodus 12:38
Moreover, a mixed multitude went up with them, and very much
livestock, both flocks and herds.
How can it be that the Israelites left Egypt with much livestock after they were slaves in ...
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Who was first to show that the first nine of the ten plagues could be grouped into three groups of three?
Who was first to show that the first nine of the ten plagues could be grouped into three groups of three?
The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood דָּם (7:17-24; 7:17-24)
Go to Pharoah – לֵ֣ךְ אֶל־...
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Why did all the waters in the world split during kriyat yam suf?
Rashi on Exodus 14:21 says this:
AND THE WATERS WERE DIVIDED — all the waters in the world (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 14:2:2).
Source.
Why did this happen? Are there reasons given?
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Why did the last plague target only the firstborn?
There must be a reason that the firstborn were targeted in the last of the 10 plagues before the Israelites escaped from Egypt. Were the other Egyptians more righteous? Why did the 10th plague target ...
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When was the first Jewish leap year?
What number year within the 19-year cycle was the year of Yetziyat Mitzrayim -- if that was the mechanism used in the midbar to keep Pesach in the Spring
and alternatively, if the cycle wasn't what ...
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Were Bene-Israel more numerous than the Egyptians according to Exodus 1:9?
Exodus 1:9 He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join ...
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Did the Jews speak Lashon Hara while in Egypt
In Vayikra Rabbah 32:5 the Midrash Rabbah is explicit that one of the reasons the Jews were redeemed from exile is because the did not speak Lashon Harah (slander) about each other while they were in ...
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Source that we were enslaved in Egypt to bring national unity
I heard in a Shiur that the Medresh says that the reason we were enslaved in Egypt was to bring national unity. Does anyone know where the Medresh says that? Thanks.
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Were the original tablets brought down by Moses the same as the second set?
We're taught that when Moses brought down the tablets, he shattered the first set in a rage after witnessing his people worshipping the golden calf.
As soon as Moses came near the camp and saw the ...
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Why does "like the days you went out of Egypt" deal with plural "days"?
In the verse, Michah 7:15, it says "Like the days you went out of Egypt, I'll show them {lit. "him"} wonders", which simply implies that the future redemption will be similar to ...
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What day of the week was Yeziyat Mizrayim?
Do we have a tradition what day of the week Yeziayit Mizrayim was? I seem to recall seeing it stated somewhere, but a quick search didn't find any sources.
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Midrash on commandments for non-Jews
Note: I had recalled seeing this or a similar question somewhere on the site but couldn't find it.
There's a midrash that appears in two versions (that I know of), one in Midrash Tehillim 21:1:
"...
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טט בכתפי שתים - is Katfi Coptic?
The gemara in Menachos 34b learns the number of parshiyos in tefillin in various ways. One is
ר"ע אומר אינו צריך טט בכתפי שתים פת באפריקי שתים
Rabbi Akiva says: ... four compartments can be ...
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Why did God want the Israelites to take riches from Egypt before the Exodus?
In parshat Bo, we read:
And the Lord said to Moses... Speak, please, in the ears of the people, and let them ask every man of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and ...
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How populated was Egypt in the times of the patriarchs and by whom?
I start with the assumption that since no miracle is mentioned regarding the Egyptians, they reproduced naturally, having on average 4-5 kids.
If we assume that Mitzrayim, the son of Ham, was the ...
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Did the Jews know that Moshe was the future redeemer and being raised in the palace?
It's quite plausible to suggest that Moshe's birth which lit up the room was known to more than just the family. Also, the fact that Yocheved weaned him for 2 years then sent him to the palace could ...
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How to understand Yoseph's seemingly cruel actions?
It seems that Yoseph completely changed the system of government from one where citizens had land rights and minimal taxes to one where the right to property was taken away and 20% tax.
He basically ...
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Do we ignore the language differences interpreting Moses being not a man of words (לֹא֩ אִ֨ישׁ דְּבָרִ֜ים אָנֹ֗כִי)?
Do we ignore the language differences interpreting Moses being not a man of words (לֹא֩ אִ֨ישׁ דְּבָרִ֜ים אָנֹ֗כִי)?
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֣ה אֶל־יְהוָה֮ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנָי֒ לֹא֩ אִ֨ישׁ דְּבָרִ֜ים אָנֹ֗כִי ...
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Are there Orthodox sources on alternative estimations of the Exodus?
When discussing the Exodus, some academic scholars try to reconcile the Biblical narrative with empirical findings by lowering the estimates for the number of people involved and the grandiosity of ...
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How did the Israelites borrow garments from the Egyptians?
It is written1 that the Israelites kept their uniqueness by keeping their language, names and their dress. Why then did the Bnei Yisrael borrow from the Egyptians their clothes if they kept their ...
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Is there a midrash that says all of the water in the world split at the time of the splitting of the reed sea?
Is there a midrash that states that all the bodies of water split during the splitting of the reed sea? If yes, I would think that such an event would be recorded in some secular history book? Are ...
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Why did Pharaoh let the Jews out if he thought they were leaving for 3 days in order to serve hashem when they were alreadys serving hashem there?
It is my understanding that Pharaoh truly believed that he was allowing the Jews out (even towards the very end) for a 3 day journey and the reason behind this journey was to go to Sinai in order that ...
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How does one calculate from pesach to the keriat yam suf?
Quote“We are all familiar with the historical reason for celebrating the ‘seventh day of Passover’ – for (according to the Midrash) the miracle of the splitting of the Red Sea took place seven days ...
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Were there really 5x as many makkos at yam suf?
Towards the end of the haggadah, there is a paragraph discussing how many makkos there were at yam suf:
רבי יוסי הגלילי אומר- מנין אתה אומר שלקו המצרים במצרים עשר מכות ועל הים לקו חמישים מכות? ...
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Looking for midrash source
A couple of years ago I heard a vort based on a midrash. The midrash apparently stated that when Yisrael were enslaved in Egypt, the Egyptians made them work very hard at building magnificent ...
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Eggs in Salt Water at the Seder
Minhagei Yeshurun (119) writes
היה אסור לכהני מצרים עפ"י דתם לאכול מלח לזה צוו חז"ל לאכלו בפסח בסעודה
זו למען עשות נגד חקיהם טעם אכילת תחלה בצים מבושלות הוא גם כן למען
עשות נגד חוקי המצרים כי ...
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Did the Israelites erase their tracks from Egypt to Eretz Yisrael?
I remember reading that Moses gave one tribe of Israel the task of erasing every trace of the Israelites' journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Is this accurate, what is the source, and what would ...
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Why were the plagues necessary if God hardened Pharaoh's heart?
The Torah tells us that God hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the Israelites go. [Ex. Ch. 4-14] Some commentators [e.g., Sforno] explain that this was in order to allow Pharaoh to ...
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Why does the Torah repeat 20 times that God hardened Pharaoh's heart?
The Torah tells us twenty times, in the space of just a few pages [Ex. Ch. 4-14], that God hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the Israelites go. Why this emphatic insistence on this ...
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