Pesah Question
Can you think of one of the more unusual events in the Exodus story that is important, but you can explain that the event never happened?
Exodus 11:7
ד וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֔ה כֹּ֖ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֑ה כַּֽחֲצֹ֣ת הַלַּ֔יְלָה אֲנִ֥י יוֹצֵ֖א בְּת֥וֹךְ מִצְרָֽיִם׃ ה וּמֵ֣ת כָּל־בְּכוֹר֮ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַיִם֒ מִבְּכ֤וֹר פַּרְעֹה֙ הַיֹּשֵׁ֣ב עַל־כִּסְא֔וֹ עַ֚ד בְּכ֣וֹר הַשִּׁפְחָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר אַחַ֣ר הָֽרֵחָ֑יִם וְכֹ֖ל בְּכ֥וֹר בְּהֵמָֽה׃ ו וְהָ֥יְתָ֛ה צְעָקָ֥ה גְדֹלָ֖ה בְּכָל־אֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲשֶׁ֤ר כָּמֹ֨הוּ֙ לֹ֣א נִֽהְיָ֔תָה וְכָמֹ֖הוּ לֹ֥א תֹסִֽף׃
ז וּלְכֹ֣ל ׀ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל לֹ֤א יֶֽחֱרַץ־כֶּ֨לֶב֙ לְשֹׁנ֔וֹ לְמֵאִ֖ישׁ וְעַד־בְּהֵמָ֑ה לְמַ֨עַן֙ תֵּֽדְע֔וּן אֲשֶׁר֙ יַפְלֶ֣ה יְהוָ֔ה בֵּ֥ין מִצְרַ֖יִם וּבֵ֥ין יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
ח וְיָֽרְד֣וּ כָל־עֲבָדֶיךָ֩ אֵ֨לֶּה אֵלַ֜י וְהִשְׁתַּֽחֲווּ־לִ֣י לֵאמֹ֗ר צֵ֤א אַתָּה֙ וְכָל־הָעָ֣ם אֲשֶׁר־בְּרַגְלֶ֔יךָ וְאַֽחֲרֵי־כֵ֖ן אֵצֵ֑א וַיֵּצֵ֥א מֵֽעִם־פַּרְעֹ֖ה בָּֽחֳרִי־אָֽף׃ {ס}
From NJPS
4 Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: Toward midnight I will go forth among the Egyptians, 5 and every first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the first-born of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; and all the first-born of the cattle. 6 And there shall be a loud cry in all the land of Egypt, such as has never been or will ever be again; 7 but not a dog shall snarl at any of the Israelites, at man or beast — in order that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8 Then all these courtiers of yours shall come down to me and bow low to me, saying, ‘Depart, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will depart.” And he left Pharaoh’s presence in hot anger.
I offer the following discussion in honor of Motek’s first seder:
I wrote a paper in college on how the early sources saw the Torah’s explanation for the plagues, how they justified the suffering of the ordinary Egyptians. As made clear in this paragraph from Exodus 11, even the first-born of the slave girl was killed. This section of the Exodus is replete with reasons such as in verse 7 “to make a distinction” and elsewhere that YHWH is the true God, powerful, and present.
After all the horrible plagues and the uproar at the death of the firstborn predicted in verse 6 “and there shall be a loud cry”, how is it that davka the dogs should be quiet. Moreover, the dogs seem to only be quiet towards the Israelites and even their animals!
Is it possible that the Torah is referring to Basenji dogs?
From Wikipedia
Like wild canids, Basenjis do not bark. They will, however, give the occasional single “woof.” They also chortle, whine, squeal, howl, and make a Basenji-specific noise called a yodel or a baroo. Some Basenji screams, during times of distress such as being locked up, have been compared to the scream of a woman, the crow of a rooster; essentially, their ability runs the gamut of vocalizations. Though they do not bark, they are quite capable of making their voices heard.
The Basenji is one of the most ancient dog breeds. Originating on the continent of Africa, it has been venerated by humans for thousands of years. Basenjis can be seen on steles in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs, sitting at the feet of their masters, looking just as they do today, with pricked ears and tightly curled tail.
But if the dogs are Basenji, then they wouldn’t be barking in the first place and there would be no miracle. But to anyone who has lived in an area with wild dogs, the idea of them being quiet all night or even towards a part of the population is patently ridiculous!
In sum, in contrast with the outcry of the Egyptians, the dogs are miraculously silent. It may seem impossible, but it is such a specific detail, it must be referring to something that actually happened, or was familiar to the people at the time. This is an important example of how the Torah may have transmitted an embellished detail of a story. I’ll leave it to you to ponder whether the normally loud dogs were silent to all things Israelite, or whether the normally silent dogs, yodeled at the Egyptians.
OJ, this is a most interesting observation.
We know each word has significance, therefore, I just wonder if it implies more in regards to the Israelites leaving Egypt in the middle of the night as cover, rather than that of the bark of the dog, or both.
We know that some Hebrew had inner married with Egyptians, I wonder if this had anything to do with the plight of the servant girl.
In that, because she had inner married, she too, suffered Egypt’s curse?
Comment by Traditional Family Resources — February 27, 2008 @ 9:23 am