Parshas Bo: Kachatzos Halayla and the Present Moment

AI summary (may contain mistakes)

Why did the final makah come exactly at midnight? Midnight takes up no time, like the present moment, where Hashem appears and away from which the yetzer hara drags us into past and future. One commentary has kachatzos meaning around midnight for the Egyptians but the instant itself for the Jews. The idea carries into eating the Korban Pesach until midnight and the present-tense bracha of Maariv.

Key points

• Rashi's pshat reads kachatzos as the night splitting, while the Gemara in Brachos reads around midnight.
• The present moment occupies no time, so it is the gateway to spirituality and free choice.
• A commentary on Rashi explains Moshe Rabbeinu said around midnight for the Egyptians, who are not present people.
• A commentary on the Gemara explains eating the Korban Pesach becomes a mitzvah retroactively at midnight.
• Maariv's bracha after Krias Shema speaks in present tense, since night lets a person be present.

In this shiur

1. 0:00Kachatzos halayla in Parshas Bo
2. 0:58Rashi's pshat and the Gemara's drash
3. 3:36The names revealed at the burning bush
4. 6:35Does midnight exist in time?
5. 13:53Shkia and the instant of midnight
6. 18:23Klal Yisrael beyond time
7. 20:13Eating the Korban Pesach until midnight
8. 25:31Nighttime, presence and Maariv

Topics

• Makas Bechoros
• Kachatzos HaLayla
• Korban Pesach
• Present Moment