Shemos 4:24 · unit 1 — at the lodging-place

Parashas Shemos

The Complete Passuk

וַיְהִ֥י בַדֶּ֖רֶךְ בַּמָּל֑וֹן וַיִּפְגְּשֵׁ֣הוּ ה׳ וַיְבַקֵּ֖שׁ הֲמִיתֽוֹ׃

And it was on the way, at the lodging-place, that Hashem encountered him and sought to kill him.

Chabad.org — 4:24

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to baraisa — Nedarim 31b–32a (verified).

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text

ויהי בדרך במלון — תניא, אמר רבי: חס ושלום שמשה רבינו נתרשל מן המילה, אלא כך אמר: אמול ואצא – סכנה היא\ldots

English: “And it was on the way at the lodging-place” — it was taught, Rabbi said: Heaven forbid that Moshe our teacher was negligent about circumcision; rather he reasoned: If I circumcise and then set out, it is dangerous\ldots

On the daf / in context: Moshe’s delay is explained as a calculated hesitation between the command to return immediately and the medical danger of travel after circumcision; the angel’s attack settles the priority.

Type of Learning

Custom

What Is Learned

Chazal defend Moshe from the charge of negligence and explain the episode as a conflict of duties resolved by the angelic encounter.