Parshat Bo
January 11, 2003

The long-anticipated day of the Exodus has arrived. At night, Hashem strikes down the Egyptian firstborn and spares the Israelites, while the latter partake of the Pesach sacrifice.

And it was, at the end of thirty years and four hundred years, and it was on that very day, that all the hosts of Hashem went out from the land of Egypt. A night of watching (LEIL SHIMMURIM) it was for Hashem, to take them out from the land of Egypt; it is this night for Hashem, watching for all the Children of Israel for their generations (Shemot 12:41-42).

This night when we celebrate the Seder to this day is called “the night of watching” (LEIL SHIMMURIM). This expression, which seems to describe the essence of this night in a way that transcends history, raises several questions.

Why is the word for watching (SHIMMURIM) in the plural form?

• Saadiah Gaon (882-942), whose commentary translates difficult terms into Arabic, renders this word in the singular form for "watching," suggesting that LEIL SHIMMURIM is a construction similar to YOM KIPPURIM (Day of Atonement)  the plural is really an abstract noun that describes the noun before it.
   

• The Midrash Yalkut Shimoni (210) adds that SHIMMURIM refers to a double redemption, both for the nation of Israel and for Hashem! As Hashem had told Yaakov: I will descend with you to Egypt and I will also surely bring you up (Bereishit 46:4), meaning that, as long as they were in Exile, Hashem, as it were, was in Exile as well.

What is the verb definition of the verb SHIN-MEM-RESH, which is the basis of SHIMMURIM?

• Rashi and Rashbam say it means: "to wait, anticipate, expect," similar to: but his father waited (SHAMAR) for the thing (Bereishit 37:11).
  Hashem waited until this night to fulfill His promise, which was to take the Children of Israel out from the land of Egypt. And, as soon as this day arrived, Hashem did not delay, even for an instant.
   

• Sforno (R. Ovadia ben Yaakov Sforno, c. 1470-c.1550) says: "to await." Hashem awaited the moment when the people were ready to be redeemed.
   

• Ramban takes this idea a daring step further: Hashem looked forward to fulfilling His promise from the Covenant between the Parts, that the exile would last 400 years. However, this period was extended because of the people’s sins (see Yechezkel 20:8; Yehoshua 24:14; Sanhedrin 92b). Only when they cried out to Hashem (Shemot 2:23-3:9) was the extension limited to 30 years. Finally, the night came when they deserved the realization of Hashem’s decree.
   

• In another comment, Rashi understands SH-M-R as "to reserve," as he quotes from the Mechilta: “On the of 15th Nisan the ministering angels came to Avraham to inform him, and on the 15th of Nisan Yitzchak was born, and on the 15th of Nisan the decree was made [at the Covenant] between the Parts.”
   

• Ibn Ezra says: "to protect." Hashem protected the people from the destroyer (moshchit) during the Plague of the Firstborn.

Rashi extends the idea of protection (from Pesachim 109b): On this night, the people of Israel are always protected from harmful agents.

A number of laws and customs are connected to this concept of the Seder night as LEIL SHIMMURIM:

• The Sages decreed the drinking of four cups, even though even numbers (zugot) are considered harmful (Ibid.).
   

• We recite only Shma and Ha’mapil before sleep, but none of the other protective prayers (Shulchan Aruch 482:2).
   

• We do not drink wine after the fourth cup, so we can remain awake (see Ibn Ezra below) (Ibid.).
   

• We open the door for the prophet Eliyahu, who will proclaim the coming of Mashiach; in reward for our faith and eagerness, he will come. In some communities, people leave their doors unlocked (unless it is particularly dangerous, because we do not rely on miracles) (Ibid., 481).
   

• If it is Friday night, many do not recite the abridged repetition of the Amidah (mei’ein sheva), which is meant to protect worshipers who are returning from the synagogue after dark (Ibid., 487:1).
  R. Yisrael Isserlein (1390-1460) did not put salt on the matzah at the Seder. In a midrash cited by Tosafot on Berachot 40a, we learn that, while people wait for each other to wash their hands, they sit without mitzvot, so Satan accuses. During the year, the salt of the covenant (Vayikra 2:13) placed on the bread protects them. At the Seder, this protection is not necessary.
   

• There is a custom quoted in the name of Ramban (Orchot Chaim, Laws of Pesach, 27) to eat fennel (SHUMAR in Hebrew) at the Seder, because its name suggests SHIMMURIM.

Saadiah Gaon continues: Just as this was a night for Hashem, so will it be a watching for all the Children of Israel for their generations.

Other commentaries give the latter part of this verse additional implications:

• Rashbam and Ibn Ezra: Therefore, every year the Children of Israel look forward to celebrating Pesach.
   

• In another comment, Ibn Ezra notes that SH-M-R can mean "to stay awake," as in Shir HaShirim 5:7. Thus, we continue speaking about the Exodus "until we are overcome by sleep," as in the incident of Rabbi Eliezer and his colleagues mentioned in the Haggadah.
   

• Chizkuni (R. Chizkiya ben Manoach, mid 13th Century) says: Therefore, be careful to observe the Pesach sacrifice.
   

• Ramban: Therefore the night is dedicated to Hashem for Hallel and the other mitzvot of the Seder, as follows in 13:10.
   

• Sforno (based on Rosh Hashanah 11a): Therefore, this night is reserved for the future redemption, the Mashiach.

Along the same lines, Shemot Rabbah (18) notes that many other redemptions occurred on this night, including the Exodus, the defeat of Sancheriv during the reign of Chizkiyah, Chananya, Daniel, and the turning point in the Purim story.

As our Sages taught: “In Nisan were they redeemed, in Nisan are they destined to be redeemed.”

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