Shemos 4:25 · unit 2 — she touched his feet

Parashas Shemos

The Complete Passuk

וַתִּקַּ֨ח צִפֹּרָ֜ה צֹ֗ר וַתִּכְרֹת֙ אֶת־עׇרְלַ֣ת בְּנָ֔הּ וַתַּגַּ֖ע לְרַגְלָ֑יו וַתֹּ֕אמֶר כִּ֧י חֲתַן־דָּמִ֛ים אַתָּ֖ה לִֽי׃

iMeaning of verses uncertain. So Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched his legs with it, saying, “You are truly a bridegroom of blood to me!”

Chabad.org — 4:25

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to R’ Yehudah / R’ Nechemyah / Rabbanan — TT (verified).

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text

ותגע לרגליו — פליגי\ldots חד אמר לרגליו של משה\ldots וחד אמר לרגליו של מלאך\ldots

English: “And she touched it to his feet” — they disagree\ldots one said to Moshe’s feet\ldots and one said to the angel’s feet\ldots

On the daf / in context: The ambiguous pronoun is resolved in multiple ways: Moshe’s feet (the debt of the mitzvah), the angel’s feet, or the infant’s feet.

Type of Learning

Custom

What Is Learned

Chazal offer several referents for “his feet,” each yielding a coherent reading of Tzipporah’s gesture.

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