The Pesach Sacrifice and the Plague of the Firstborn: The Night of Redemption

The plague of the firstborn was in fact the final plague, after which the Jewish people were to leave Egypt. The time had come for God to fulfill the oath sworn to Avraham that He would redeem his descendants. However, the Israelites were not spiritually prepared for redemption and had no merit through which they could be redeemed. Therefore, before the plague of the firstborn, God gave them two commandments: the Passover offering and the mitzvah of circumcision.

The lamb was chosen for the Passover offering because it was worshipped by the Egyptians as an idol. They served the zodiac sign of Aries and therefore would neither slaughter small livestock nor eat its meat. The Israelites, having lived long among the Egyptians, had also become attached to this idolatry. Even after witnessing great miracles and recognizing the emptiness of idol worship, they still required a powerful act of faith: to take the Egyptian deity and slaughter it publicly without fear.

The Complete Nullification of Idolatry

The Israelites took the lamb on the tenth of Nisan, four days before its slaughter, and tied it to their beds so the Egyptians would see their idol humiliated in Jewish homes, crying out yet powerless to save itself. This strengthened the faith of Israel.

They selected specifically a strong, flawless lamb: a healthy one year old male, complete and whole, so the Egyptians could not claim that Israel defeated their idol only because it was weak or blemished. Since Egyptians believed the lamb’s power was strongest during the month of Nisan, Israel took it precisely then, at the height of Aries’ strength. On the afternoon of the fourteenth of Nisan, when many people were outside, they prepared the lamb for slaughter in public view. The Egyptians wanted to stone them, but God prevented even a word of protest. To make it clear that a lamb had been slaughtered, the Israelites placed its blood on the lintel and doorposts of their homes.

Roasting and Eating the Lamb

The lamb was roasted over fire, not cooked or prepared in a vessel, in order to produce the strongest possible aroma. The smell spread throughout Egypt, filling the land. Egyptians saw Israel roasting their deity and smelled the delicious scent while they themselves suffered hunger after the plague of locusts. Some Egyptians even begged the Jews for a piece of meat, though this was considered a grave violation in Egypt. Yet God commanded that no outsider may eat from it.

The lamb was roasted whole, with its head and legs intact, so it would be obvious that it was a lamb. The bones were not broken, and afterward they were discarded intact so Egyptians would see clearly the remains of their god. In this way Israel demonstrated again and again the complete worthlessness of idolatry.

The Covenant of Circumcision

In the days before the Passover offering, the Israelites circumcised themselves. Many hesitated. God instructed Moshe to prepare the Passover offering and infused it with a heavenly fragrance that spread throughout Egypt. The people gathered and begged to eat from it, but Moshe told them that uncircumcised individuals could not partake. Immediately they agreed to circumcise themselves. Moshe performed the circumcisions, Aaron carried out the necessary steps, and Yehoshua assisted. In only a few hours the entire nation was circumcised, and the two types of blood were placed on their doorposts. God passed through and blessed them.

“Who Struck Egypt Through Their Firstborn”

Meanwhile in Egypt, the people heard Moshe’s warning that every Egyptian firstborn would die. Some mocked the warning, but many were terrified and searched for ways to protect their children. Some sent their firstborn to sleep in Jewish homes, hoping to save them. Others placed their children in temples of their idols, and some tried to send them out of Egypt entirely.

The general atmosphere remained strangely calm, though the firstborn themselves were deeply afraid. They pleaded with their fathers: everything Moshe had warned about had come true, and now they would die unless the Israelites were released. Their fathers refused. The firstborn even appealed to Pharaoh, but he ordered their legs broken for their audacity. In fear and anger, the firstborn turned against their own families and a violent conflict broke out, leaving hundreds of thousands dead.

“Every Firstborn Died”

On the night of the fifteenth of Nisan, as Israel joyfully ate the Passover offering, Pharaoh slept calmly despite being a firstborn himself. At midnight the decree struck. The firstborn were struck directly by God Himself. Alongside Him came multitudes of destructive angels.

The devastation exceeded all expectations. Instead of one death per home, many families lost multiple members. Both maternal and paternal firstborn died, and even the eldest child died in homes without a firstborn. Firstborn who had fled Egypt or hidden among the Israelites also died. Only two were spared: Pharaoh, so he could witness Egypt’s downfall later, and Pharaoh’s daughter Batya, through Moshe’s prayer.

Egypt was filled with cries of grief, while Jewish homes were filled with song and celebration. Egyptians rushed to Jewish homes searching for their children, only to find them dead while Jewish firstborn slept peacefully. The contrast deepened the humiliation and despair of Egypt.

The Fall of the Idols

Not only the people suffered. Egyptian idols crumbled, melted, or decayed. Even statues of deceased firstborns, worshipped in Egyptian homes, broke apart. Dogs dug up bones from graves, parading them publicly, intensifying the mourning. That night Egypt’s false gods collapsed, except for one idol left intact to mislead them later.

Pharaoh in His Pajamas

Pharaoh, terrified for his life, rushed through the night searching for Moshe. Reaching the land of Goshen, he begged: “Rise up, leave my people… from now on you are servants of God.” After much searching he found Moshe and pleaded for Israel to leave immediately, even offering sacrifices himself.

Moshe responded that they would leave openly by day, not secretly at night, as God commanded. Pharaoh would not die that night, Moshe assured him, but would live to witness Egypt’s ultimate downfall.

That night, Israel sang praises and rejoiced, while Egypt cried out in grief over the catastrophe that had befallen them.