Shemos 1:22 · unit 1

Parashas Shemos · Passuk 1:22

The Complete Passuk

וַיְצַ֣ו פַּרְעֹ֔ה לְכָל־עַמּ֖וֹ לֵאמֹ֑ר כָּל־הַבֵּ֣ן הַיִּלּ֗וֹד הַיְאֹ֙רָה֙ תַּשְׁלִיכֻ֔הוּ וְכָל־הַבַּ֖ת תְּחַיּֽוּן׃

And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying: Every son that is born you shall cast into the Nile, and every daughter you shall keep alive.

Chabad.org — 1:22

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to R’ Yosei bar Chanina — Sotah 12a (verified).

Sefaria — Sotah 12a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text — Sotah 12a

לכל עמו — א״ר יוסי ב״ר חנינא: אף על עמו גזר. שלש גזירות גזר פרעה: בתחלה אם בן הוא והמתן אותו, ואחר כך גזר היאורה תשליכוהו, ולבסוף אף על עמו גזר.

English: “To all his people” — R’ Yosei bar Chanina said: He decreed even upon his own people. Pharaoh issued three decrees: first, “if it is a son you shall put him to death”; afterward he decreed “into the Nile you shall cast him”; and finally he decreed even upon his own people.

On the daf / in context: The progressive decrees culminate in a universal order that included Egyptian infants as well, once the astrologers warned that the future redeemer would be struck through water.

Type of Learning

Custom — sequential reading of the three decrees.

What Is Learned

Chazal teach that Pharaoh’s final decree was universal, encompassing Egyptian children as well, in an attempt to ensure the death of the future redeemer.