EXOD176 Respect and sensitivity to sinners also requires not embarrassing them needlessly.… in Egypt, too, there were Jewish sinners and nonbelievers. (The majority of Jews, according to some opinions) who either did not want to leave Egypt or did not deserve to do so. In order not to publicly punish these people, God made sure they died in Egypt during the plague of darkness, so that no one would see them die or recognize why these people did not leave Egypt with the rest of the Jewish people.

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EXOD177 Although Judaism believes that action and not the spoken word is what usually fulfills the commandments, there are some mitzvot that are so important that words must accompany the action. Therefore, on Passover night, it is not sufficient merely to eat the matzo and marror or to drink the wine, but Rabban Gamliel says Pesachim 116a that these actions must be accompanied by words showing understanding of the actions and symbols. Later on, this requirement of words was incorporated into the Haggadah itself and was then codified as Jewish law. Maimonides, Hilchot Chametz Umatzah 7:5. This is part of the general mitzvah on Passover eve to tell again the story to one's children.

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EXOD179 Tell of the Exodus from Egypt. On the night of the 15th of Nisan, tell of the Exodus from Egypt, clearly, to the best of your ability, giving praise and thanks to Hashem for all the miracles that He performed for us then. Recall the miracles and other events that occurred to our ancestors during the redemption from Egypt and how Hashem executed judgment on the Egyptians and took vengeance on them. Anyone who is alone for the Seder must still speak of the Exodus, audibly, although no one else will hear. Speaking of these matters aloud will help him to feel the desired emotions, because the spoken word coming from one's lips has the power to arouse one's heart. Like the mitzvah of the Pesach offering, this mitzvah is intended to make us recall the great miracles that Hashem performed for us when He freed us from Egypt. It is not surprising that we have so many mitzvos to remind us of the Exodus. The liberation of bnei Yisrael from the enslavement in Egypt constitutes a pillar of the Torah. The Exodus is a central feature of the Jewish faith. A reoccurring phrase in our prayers and blessings is “A remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt,” because the manner of our liberation from Egypt is a source of great inspiration for us. The unprecedented phenomena that preceded our sudden, rapid exit from the land of our captivity completely violated the laws of nature. The miraculous events of the Exodus testify that the world was brought into being by the Creator, the First Cause of all that exists, Who sustains His Creation and can completely alter it through amazing miracles whenever He wants. For the sake of our nation, bnei Yisrael, the Almighty Creator performed unique, unparalleled wonders. These events silence all who deny that the world was brought into being by a Creator. Clear confirmation of faith in the Creator, our redemption from Egypt is a source of knowledge of Him and shows that His Providence and Powers covered not only the Creation as a whole career but also all of its parts. The Sefer HaChinuch provides reasons for the mitzvos for the sake of our young, so that when they begin to learn Torah, they will see that the mitzvos are understandable and beneficial. If the young look at the Torah as a closed book whose mitzvos cannot be understood, they are likely to be unwilling to fulfill the mitzvos and might reject the Torah and become involved in foolishness. To prevent this, I supply reasons for the mitzvos—the thoughts about them that come to mind first. Although all of the laws of the Torah are decrees, it is fitting for you to reflect upon them. Whenever you can put forth a reason for one, do so.

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EXOD181 The passages in Deuteronomy (6:4-9, 11:13-21) that entered the Jewish liturgy as part of the Shema enjoined parents to teach the words of the Torah diligently and constantly to their children. (Kiddushin 29a). The Passover Seder focuses more on pedagogy then on ritual. It is an opportunity "to tell your child" (this verse) the story of the Exodus, i.e.., To convey to the child a sense of who he or she is, where he or she comes from, what is her or her spiritual heritage. What is at stake in the parent's teaching the child the constituent of moral teachings of tradition is the future of moral disposition of the child. The quality of one's "parenting" becomes manifested through the activities of one's child… More is at stake in parental pedagogy than the moral disposition of the child. The very existence and continuity of Jewish tradition, and the stability of society at large, are also at risk. For example, the thirteenth-century Jewish philosopher, Gersonides, considered the family to be the most fundamental political unit of society, upon which larger political units, such as cities and nations, are based. When the family functions as a conduit of moral values, the larger society gains stability. When it does not, the larger society becomes morally imperiled. Levi Ben Gerson Commentary on the Torah, 2 vols, (Venice, 1547) [Hebrew], on Exodus 20:12. 5 According to Joseph Albo, because the family serves as the essential vehicle through which tradition is perpetuated, the very existence of Judaism is vested in the pedagogic abilities of each parent to transmit moral and religious teachings to the child. Sefer ha-Ikkarim-The Book of Principles, 6 vols., Isaac Husik, trans. (Philadelphia: PS, 1946), vol. 3, chap. 26, pp 251-252). In this view, what is at stake in parental pedagogy is the future of moral disposition of the child, the perpetuation of something of the parents in the future behavior of the child, Shabbat 127a (bottom); Pesahim 1113a (bottom), the moral and sociopolitical stability of society at large, and the continuity and perpetuation of the tradition that offers meaning and moral coherence to the lives of both the parent and the child.

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EXOD180 The only teachers of children mentioned in the Bible are parents. "And Thou shall teach them diligently to thy children" (Shema); "Thou shalt tell it to thy son", [this verse], and "Hearken my son, to the instruction of thy father; and abandon not the teaching of thy mother". [Prov. i.8.] The professional teacher was a product of economic stress when parents no longer had time to look after this duty themselves. At the best, he was only a substitute for the parent. Only when the parent has succeeded in equipping the child with a sound Jewish education leading to nobility of action, is the parental task discharged. This education must commence as soon as a child can speak "in order to introduce him to a performance of Mitzvot". The first three years were to be devoted to building up the body of the child; after that, the needs of his mind must also be catered for.

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EXOD178 See [[EXOD159]] Exodus 12:27 say SACKS 93-95

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EXOD182 Parental care of children is motivated by love and instinctive inclination. Yet if love is the sole force shaping parental attitudes, it may destroy the goal which most parents seek to achieve. Loving parents frequently shrink from taking disciplinary measures to enforce their instructions. The erring child of a doting father and mother is even spared stern admonitions. Innate love must be balanced by a mature sense of responsibility if the child's moral development is not to suffer. In addition to parents who love foolishly, there are, at the other end, parents who are bereft of affection for their children and do not have the true interest of their offspring at heart. To protect children against parents who love too much or too little, religious and civil laws have been promulgated, detailing specific parental duties. The Bible stresses parental responsibility for the education of children. Religious principles which are fundamental to the national psyche must be implanted into the child's consciousness. Thus the message of the festival of Passover, eternal opposition to oppression and enslavement, is a mandatory subject of parental instruction [this verse]. In addition to the transmission of ideals which are central to the faith, it is a parent's duty to acquaint his children with all the rules and regulations of the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:7). The importance attached to education was reiterated by Ecclesiasticus (2nd cent. B.C.E.): "Hast thou children? Instruct them, and bow down their neck from the youth" (7:23). Education of children is so basic to Judaism that Josephus wrote in the first century: "Our principal duty of all is thus to educate our children well" (Apion, bk. I, 12).

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EXOD183 Break the neck of the firstborn donkey that was not redeemed. One who does not want to fulfill the mitzvah of redeeming the firstborn of a donkey must kill it by breaking its neck. Since the animal was not redeemed, no one may derive benefit from it. One is forbidden to derive benefit even from its carcass. (See [[EXOD185]] Exodus 13:13 redeem CHINUCH 20).

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EXOD185 Redeem the firstborn of a donkey. If the firstborn of a donkey is a male, it cannot be used for any purpose until it is redeemed. The redemption is onto a lamb, and if the owner has no lamb he uses money instead--equivalent to the value of a lamb. So that Jews will never forget the great miracle that Hashem performed for them just prior to the Exodus from Egypt when he killed Egypt’s firstborn males. The men of Egypt are likened to donkeys.

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EXOD184 R. Me'ir said: Whoever occupies himself with the study of Torah for its own sake merits many things; and not only that, but the entire world is worthwhile because of him… Pirkei Avot, Perek VI, mishnah 1. When a child is circumcised, to share in Jewry's age-old covenant and compact with the Almighty, all who are present bless the infant: "Just as he has been entered into the Covenant, so may he be entered into Torah study, under the marriage canopy, and into good deeds." Again at a pidyon ha-ben, when a first-born son is redeemed from the Cohen at the age of thirty days, the Cohen blesses the child: "May be His [the Almighty's] will that even as he has been entered into [the rite of] redemption, so may he be entered upon the study of Torah, under the marriage canopy, and into good deeds; Amen." The Hatham Sofer movingly interpreted these blessings: When a father has his child circumcised or gives a Cohen five dollars to redeem it from the first-born's innate state of consecration [this verse, Exodus 13:15; 22:28; 34:20; Numbers 3:13, 40; 8:17; 18:15), neither father nor child can have the slightest personal, ulterior motive; they gain nothing for themselves: circumcision is painful; the pidyon ha-ben costs the father money. Both mitzvot are fulfilled, beyond any doubt, with the purest of motives--each lish'mah, for its own sake. So the child is fervently blessed that he may similarly enter the other covenants of his faith which await him through life. As he grows of age to begin learning the Torah, then to marry, and then to do good deeds as a member of his faith, may the same quality of lish'mah abide in all he does. This is perhaps the finest blessing his people can give him. Let him not study Torah merely in order to fashion himself a career or to seek titles of honor, but only lish'mah, for its own sake. With the same purity of motive, may he enter into marriage later in life, imbued with the wish to fulfill the Almighty's command to "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28); may it be his earnest desire to build a Jewish home as a dwelling in place for the Divine Presence, where he can forge the next link in his chain of Jewish tradition. And with the same purity of motive may he do good deeds. May he always give charity because it is a mitzvah, not to bask in glory or publicity, or to enjoy tax benefits.

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