The Parsha that we will read, B'ezrat Hashem, this Shabbat is Parshat Bo. This is the Parsha that concludes the Eser Makkot – the ten plagues, with our Parsha containing the three final – locusts, darkness, and killing of the firstborn.
The Vilna Gaon explained the dispute between the Tanna Kamma and Rabbi Yehuda – whether the text reads בְּכוֹרוֹת (firstborn) or מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת (plague of the firstborn); if it reads בְּכוֹרוֹת, this means the firstborn themselves died, while if it reads מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת, this means the firstborn killed the Egyptians.
The Midrash states (Yalkut Shimoni, Bo 186):
When they took their Korban Pesach (Paschal lambs) at that time, the firstborn of the nations of the world gathered around Bnei Yisrael and asked them why they were doing this. They told them: 'This is a Korban Pesach to Hashem, who will kill the firstborn of Egypt'. They went to their fathers and to Pharaoh to request that he send out Israel, but they refused, and the firstborn made war and killed many of them (sixty myriads), as it is written: 'To Him who struck Egypt through their firstborn.'
It emerges, therefore, that as a result of Makat Bechorot, Bnei Yisrael left Egypt. Therefore, I would like to expand on this idea and learn from it a great yesod in our Avodat Hashem.
Killing of the firstborns was indeed the final plague, but it was also the first warning:
And Hashem said to Moshe: 'When you go to return to Egypt, see all the wonders that I have placed in your hand and perform them before Pharaoh, and I will harden his heart and he will not send out the people. And you shall say to Pharaoh: Thus says G-d, My son, My firstborn, is Israel. And I say to you: Send out My son that he may serve Me, and if you refuse to send him out, behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.'
This implies that the first warning was not about blood or frogs, which were the first plagues, but about killing the firstborn. The question arises – why was the warning about Makat Bechorot given specifically now, when it was only going to take place a year later?
Rashi says, although it was the final plague, Hakadosh Baruch Hu warned Pharaoh about it first because it is the most severe. A person (of flesh and blood) who seeks revenge from his fellow conceals his words so that his fellow won't seek rescue, but when it comes to Hakadosh Baruch Hu there is no ability to escape from His hand except by returning to Him. Therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu teaches Pharaoh and warns him to repent.
Chazal say (Shemot Rabbah, 15:27):
May the name of Hakadosh Baruch Hu be exalted, for He "declares the end from the beginning." Regarding Avraham He says: "And also the nation whom they shall serve, I will judge." What is "judge"? The plague of the firstborn which is called a plague, as it says: "Yet one more plague." What is "I will judge"? Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: I will exact payment from them through the plague of the firstborn, as it says: "Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn." And Hakadosh Baruch Hu transmitted this sign to Avraham, and Avraham to Yitzchak, and Yitzchak to Yaakov, and Yaakov to Levi, and Levi to Kehat, and Kehat to Amram, and Amram to Moshe, and Moshe kept it and came.
The Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh explains that one must understand the intent of this prophecy: it was not meant to be delivered at its proper time. Rather, Moshe was being safeguarded so that he would not err and say these words to Pharaoh the very first time he appeared before him.
It seems that Hakadosh Baruch Hu, in His wisdom, sought to remove a potential obstacle from Moshe’s heart – lest he grow weary of the mission, or an unsettling thought arise within him when he would witness the severity of the plagues while Pharaoh neither rose nor trembled, as the process dragged on month after month. To prevent this, Hakadosh Baruch Hu placed a word in Moshe’s mouth that would serve as a source of strength and reassurance, so that he would not entertain empty or discouraging thoughts. He therefore said to Moshe Rabbeinu: כֹּה אָמַר ה' בְּנִי בְכֹרִ י – So said Hashem: My firstborn son. From that moment onward, Moshe would be anticipating this final outcome. As long as he had not yet seen Makat Bechorot, his heart would remain steady and unafraid, for until that plague arrived, he knew that the process was not yet complete.
From that moment onward, Moshe would be oriented toward the final outcome. As long as the ultimate plague had not yet occurred, his heart would remain firm and unafraid, for he understood that the process was still unfolding and had not yet reached its conclusion.
Accordingly, the prophecy was structured in stages. First, Moshe was told what to expect upon his return to Egypt. Then he was informed that Pharaoh’s resistance would persist and that repeated blows would not immediately bring about release. Only at the very end was Moshe shown the final and decisive turning point. In this way, the prophecy was not meant for immediate delivery, but rather to serve as an inner source of strength, sustaining Moshe throughout the long and difficult progression of the mission.
Moreover, Hakadosh Baruch Hu acted with wisdom by informing Moshe in advance that this plague would be the final one – the moment through which Pharaoh would finally send Bnei Yisrael out. Significantly, He did not say that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart after this plague, indicating that it would mark the end of the process.
This becomes clear later, when Pharaoh finally explodes at Moshe and dismisses him with a deadly warning: “Do not continue to see my face, for on the day you see my face, you shall die.” At that moment, Moshe understood exactly where they stood. He recognized that this was the fulfillment of what Hakadosh Baruch Hu had already told him earlier, on the road from Midian to Egypt, when He prepared him psychologically for the long and difficult process ahead. Hakadosh Baruch Hu had warned him then that Pharaoh’s heart would be strengthened again and again, until the very end, and had already planted in Moshe’s mouth the defining message for the final confrontation: וְאָמַרְ תָּ אֶל־פַּרְ עֹה כֹּה אָמַר ה׳ בְּנִי בְכֹרִ י יִשְׂרָאֵל – And you shall say to Pharaoh: So says Hashem, Israel is My firstborn son.
From that point onward, Moshe carried this prophecy with him as an inner compass. As long as he had not yet seen Makat Bechorot, he knew the process was not complete. And when Pharaoh uttered his final threat and severed all contact, Moshe understood with absolute clarity: this was it. The final plague – Makat Bechorot – was now about to unfold.
Seemingly, Pharaoh should have said to him: "For on the day you see my face, I will kill you." But if he says to him "you shall die," it implies that merely seeing Pharaoh's face would cause Moshe's soul to depart – and this makes no sense. Who is Pharaoh that Moshe's soul would leave because of him?!
The Ibn Ezra says, "You shall die” means Moshe will be liable to death for rebelling against the kingdom. Then Targum Yonatan ben Uziel comes and writes something wondrous. Who exactly will kill him? Pharaoh said to him: And I will deliver you into the hand of those men who sought your life to take it. ‘Those men’ being none other than Datan and Aviram!
Another thing we need to know is that the name of the Pesach holiday is also called after Makat Bechorot. Why? Because the Torah says:
And you shall say: It is a Pesach sacrifice to Hashem, who passed over the houses of Bnei Yisrael in Egypt when He struck Egypt, and He saved our houses.
The meaning is that indeed, in both the makka of blood and the makka of frogs, Hakadosh Baruch Hu freed the houses of Bnei Yisrael. But in memory of that 'passing over' (פּ ָ סַ ח) that Hakadosh Baruch Hu passed over the houses of Bnei Yisrael, the Pesach holiday is called by its name.
