The Midnight Hour: Bo.23

 The Midnight Hour: Bo

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

January 24, 2023

Midrash is a body of rabbinic literature going back to the early years of the Common Era. Devoted to complex and sometimes ambiguous issues that come up in the Torah, the Midrash offers commentaries, lore and teachings that fill in gaps in the stories and help us understand better the meaning and intent of the original texts.

As you might expect, there is much material in the Midrash concerning this week’s Torah portion, Bo (“Come In,” Exodus 10:1—13:16).

The very first words of the portion (“Come in unto Pharaoh”) already merit discussion. They are more ominous than earlier directions that God gives Moses. Forceful and even threatening, they indicate the severity and tragedy of what is about to ensue—the last three plagues which God inflicts upon the Egyptians: Locust, Darkness, and the Death of the Firstborn.

But one phrase that occurs later in the portion warrants even more commentary: Va-y’hi ba-chatzi ha-lai-la, (“And it came to pass at midnight,” Ex. 12:29), the time that the Angel of Death descends upon the Egyptians to carry out his terrible mission. The Midrash focuses on the timing that these words imply. Is midnight an exact time, as we would suppose? Or perhaps—like so much else in the Torah—the intent of the word is more abstract, a metaphor that carries wider implication.

That dreadful “night” isn’t only terrible for the Egyptians. For weeks and months now, despite the earlier plagues, Pharaoh has only become more adamant in his refusal to let the Hebrews go. In fact, in anger and frustration, he intensifies their labor and increases their suffering. It is indeed a dark time for all. In the larger perspective of history, this time is the beginning of the end of the ancient Egyptian empire. And as with every such historical event, the suffering is widespread. Pharaoh knows that if he lets the slaves go, his entire system will fall apart. But the harder he tries to hold on, the worse things become. Disease, hunger and disastrous natural events (some would call them supernatural) have been wreaking havoc on his empire and subjects. Huge hail stones containing fire have decimated both crops and livestock; a seeming solar eclipse has just engulfed all Egypt (but not the Hebrews) with pitch darkness. And the worst of all is just about to happen.

This is the “midnight” that the Torah text refers to, the very moment when the night divides in two. For the Egyptians it will become even darker, even more devastating. For the Hebrews however, the second half of the night will bring increasing light. At first it may still seem dark, but Redemption has already begun.

In its telling of the Ten Plagues, the Torah focuses on God’s hand in these wonders and miracles. The Midrash, however, adds yet another element: human involvement. The Midrash cites several other Biblical “nights” (many of which, the Rabbis teach, occurred on the same night as the last Egyptian Plague, the 15th of Nissan). Among these are the night that Abraham rescues his nephew, Lot, from his captors; and the night that Jacob wrestles with the mysterious angel and earns the new name of “Israel.” It is also the very night that Haman meets his downfall, as King Achashverosh orders him to declare publicly Mordechai’s triumph. 

The lesson of the Midrash is that it isn’t always easy to see the light in the “midnight hour,” but that it is there, if only we look forward and bravely take the first steps towards it.

For many of us there have been many dark and terrible times when this teaching provided us with the hope and strength we needed to continue holding on to our faith and mission. It’s a lesson worth preserving.

© 2023 by Boaz D. Heilman