Sunday, February 05, 2006
Punishment of Mitzrim - kam leih b'derabbah mineih
My chavrusa pointed out an interesting kashe of the Ksav Sofer and others (again, you have to appreciate this type of mehalaich that is common among Hungarian derush seforim - it is an acquired taste for Litvaks) how is it that the Mitzrim could be punished by having their property taken by Bnei Yisrael and simultaneously punsihed by the death of bechorim - we have a rule in halacha called kam leih b'derabbah mineih that double jeapordy is not allowed and one cannot be punished with misah and a mamon simultaneously? According to the tanna R' Nechunya ben HaKannah this rule even applies to misah b'yedei shamayim.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My simple explanation is that these are punishments for 2 different crimes. The money is related to 210 years of back pay. Macas bechoros is for the refusal of that immediate generation and its leader to heed G-d's command and allow Beni Yisrael to leave. Kam lei applies to multiple penalties that arise out of the exact same action/crime.
ReplyDeleteHere the back pay started accruing long before G-d issued the command to Pharoah with the warning regarding the consequences of refusal.