The following info was written by R’ Nachman Rosenberg (a YWN reader) – LIzecher Nishmas his father R’ Shlomo ben Yitzchok Z”L – who was Niftar on Purim Katan of this year.

YWN is posting it “as submitted”.

Based on Me’am Lo’ez

1)Q:  Why should we, who are still in galus and are hated in the world still celebrate the fact that Jews were freed from slavery in Miyzrayim?
A:   We say in the hagadah that had Hashem not taken us out on Mitzrayim then we and our children would still be slaves there; even today. Therefore we must thank Him for letting our forefathers free.

2)Q:   Why do we say that we would still be slaves in Mitzrayim had Hashem not taken us out, if He told Avraham at the Bris Bien Habisarim that his children would  be enslaved for four hundred years?
A:  Had Hashem not taken us out with the great miracles He did we would still have a connection to Mitzrayim.   You see, there are three ways for a slave to gain his freedom. The first is to rise up against his master and overpower him. There was no hope for the Jews to accomplish this because they were so weak from their heavy labor. They were also petrified of the Mitzrim since they were slaves from birth. An example would be, if just one lion would attack 100,000 sheep, would the sheep rise up and beat the lion? No, they would just scatter and run. Similarly, the 600,000 adult jews never banded together in fright.
         The second way to be free would be to escape. This was also impossible since all the gates on the walls of Mitzrayim were locked with Kishuf (magic)[see #10]. If someone tried to escape an type of alarm was sounded. Even if all the Jews had escaped somehow that would not be a true freedom because the Mitzrim would tell us, even today, that you are still really our escaped slaves.  
             The third way is for the master to willfully free his slave after years of loyal service. Wicked Pharoah obviously would never agree to this and even if he did we would still feel indebted to him for that kindness.
Therefore Hashem took us out with amazing miracles that completely cut our ties to Pharoah and Mitzrayim forever.

3)Q:  If we all know that we were slaves in Mitzrayim and Hashem took us out, why do we have to sit at the seder and express it verbally, even to go into all the details. Hashem knows what He did?
A:    By praising and thanking Hashem for Yetzias Mitzrayim we are making His name great. When we tell, in length, of the amazing miracles He did for us we give joy to Him. He calls all the malachim and tells them “Come and hear the praises My sons are singing”. They all gather to hear the Jews say the hagadah and are happy to see Hashem’s nation being thankful to Hashem. They watch how the Jews put aside all their troubles and concentrate solely on this important topic throughout the night. Also the more a person continually praises a mortal king for his kind act the more that king will favor him. All the more, Hashem.

4)Q:    How did Moshe and Aharon get into Pharoah’s palace to tell Hashem’s message to let the Jews out?
A:    Pharoah’s palace was huge. It had 400 entranceways, 100 on each side. Sixty mighty warriors guarded each entrance. Moshe and Aharon were afraid to try to enter but were brought in safely by Malach Gavriel.
       When Pharoah saw two strangers in his palace he demanded to know how they got past his guards. He had many guard executed and the rest were dismissed from their posts.
         When Moshe and Aharon got in the next day Pharoah was furious. “Are you blind?” he demanded. His guards explained that the only way these two could have gotten into the palace was through Kishuf (magic).
 
5)Q:    What was the scene as Moshe and Aharon presented them selves in front of Pharoah?

A:     As Moshe and Aharon were walking towards the throne room they saw two huge hungry lions on long chains. Normally the only way to get into the throne room was for the lion keepers to throw raw meat to them and as they ate a guest could rush past.
    When Moshe got close he touched the lions with his staff and they became as docile as sheep. They removed their own chains and followed behind Moshe and Aharon. All the other wild animals that were in the palace also followed behind like trained dogs. Pharoah was amazed.

6)Q:    What happened when Moshe and Aharon came before Pharoah?

A:   Pharoah asked them what they wanted. They announced “Hashem, the G-D of the Jews sent us to tell you to let His people into the dessert to serve Him. Pharoah became frightened and asked them to come back the next day.
    He called his advisors together with Bilaam and his sons at the head. After Pharoah described how Moshe and Aharon came with lions in tow (see # 5).
Bilaam calmed Pharoah down by explaining that they’re just magicians like us. When they come back tomorrow we’ll test them.
      The next day was the yearly gathering of all the kings of the world that came to pay homage to the king of Mitzrayim. They would bring presents along with their idols and proclaim Pharoah the king of them all. Moshe and Aharon stood at the doorway because there were too many people crowded around Pharoah. His servants told him that those two people were standing at the door. They were called in but when Pharoah saw that they came empty handed he was very angry.  “Who are you and what do you want” shouted Pharoah. They answered “We are messengers of Hashem”. Pharoah demanded” What do you want’’? They answered “Hashem says send out My nation’’. 

7)Q:   What did all the kings that were visiting Pharoah think of Moshe and Aharon?
A:     All the kings trembled when they saw the shining faces of Moshe and Aharon. They marveled at the staff that Moshe had since it had the Sheim Hamiforosh on it. When Moshe spoke the vibrations made them shake with fear. All the kings took off their crowns and bowed to Moshe and Aharon. Pharoah was so upset by this that he suddenly had to go to the bathroom. While he was there Hashem sent rats to attack him. Pharoah yelled so loudly that all his guests heard him. When he returned he composed himself and asked angrily “Who is Hashem? Why didn’t he also send me a gift. I don’t know and never heard of Hashem.

8)Q:   How did Pharoah try to find out who Hashem is?

A:      Pharoah had a large book full of names of different idols. He read ‘’God of Ammon, god of Moav, god of Tzidon etc.” After he was done he announced “ I did not find this Hashem you speak of”.
    Moshe explained Pharoah’s mistake with a parable: A servant who was looking for his master searched the graveyard to find him. After a while people asked him who was looking for. When they heard he was looking for his master the laughed and said “You’re master is a cohen, he wouldn’t be found in the graveyard.
     Moshe told Pharoah that he was being as silly as that servant when he tried to find the one true living King in a book of dead idols.
      After Moshe explained to Pharoah the greatness of Hashem, he was scared. He asked his advisors if they heard of Hashem. They said that they He was the son of ancient wizards and came from the kings of yesteryear.
    Aha, thought Pharoah. There is such a Hashem but not as Moshe described. Why should I fear him over any other idol. He then spoke the words that he would be terribly punished for.”Who is Hashem that I should listen to his voice?”

9)Q: Who did Pharoah think Moshe and Aharon were?

A:  Pharoah was told that both brothers were from the priestly tribe of Levi and were thus exempt from slavery. Moreover Aharon was a Jewish leader and Moshe was an escaped murderer. He told them that they had too much time on their hands and should stop bothering to get the Jews out.

10) Q:    Why didn’t the Jews try to escape from Mitzrayim?

A:      The Mitzrim placed magical devices at all the gates in the form of different animals. One gate would have the statue of a dog or a camel and so on. If a Jew would try to escape from a particular gate the statue would call out to all its kind; the dog statue would cause all the dogs of Mitzrayim to bark and everyone would know someone was escaping from the ‘’dog gate’’.

 11)     Q:     Why did Hashem want to have a stick turning into a snake as the first miracle?

                    A:       He was showing Pharoah that just like a snake sheds its skin but still remains the same snake, so too, you will seem to change your mind about the Jews many times. But will always remain the same.
      He was also showing that like the snake that when Moshe grasped its tail it reverted back to a stick, so will Pharoah when grasped be as ineffective as a stick.
       Additionally, you say “Who is Hashem”, but you will eventually bow to Me as all Jews bow at Modim; with a straight back like a stick and then slowly rising as a snake.

12)       Q:    Why did Hashem want a simple trick that the Mitzrim could easily perform as the first miracle?

                        A:      Hashem wanted them to perform a trick that even the small children that Pharoah called could duplicate. This way as the miracles became more difficult to reproduce the Mitzrim couldn’t say” We have no desire to copy your tricks. If you want you can copy ours”.

13)         Q:   How was Pharoah still impressed by this seemingly simple trick.
               A:     After the throne room floor was swarming snakes of Pharoah’s magicians, Aharon picked up his snake and it turned back into a stick. He then put the stick back on the floor and it, an inanimate object began swallowing all the sankes without getting any thicker.
      Pharoah was frightened the the stick would to swallow his throne along with him. But as soon as Moshe and Aharon left Pharoah commanded that should they return they should be executed. Still when they returned immediately afterwards to perform the next miracle of Tzaraas on Moshe’s hand, Pharoah felt as helpless as a piece of wood.
14)         Q:   Why did Hashem tell Moshe to approach Pharoah at the nile in the morning?
               A:   Pharoah pretended to be a god and had no bathroom in his private palace (the one he used when he was attacked by rats [see # 7] was removed). He commanded the citizens in the capitol city to remain in their homes until sunrise. He would wake up very early and go to the Nile to relieve himself. On the way back he would tell the people, who had come out of their home, that he had just finished meditating and practicing his sorcery.
    He was quite embarrassed to be caught by Moshe and had to ask Moshe to wait until he was finished.

15)        Q:   How did Hashem describe Pharoah stubbornness to Moshe?

                           A:   Hashem made Pharoah’s heart ‘’Kuvaid’’ ,hard. Kuvaid also means a liver. The more a liver is roasted the tougher it becomes. The more Pharoah is punished the more stubborn he will be.
      Hashem explained with a parable.
      A lion was once traveling with his servants. When they reached a bridge a donkey toll collector demanded his fee. The sly fox stepped forward and berated the donkey ‘’How dare you demand a fee from the king of beasts!’’
      The lion promptly attacked the donkey and killed him. He then asked the fox to prepare the donkey as a meal. During the preparation the fox ate the donkey’s heart. Later at the feast the lion demanded to know where his rightful portion, the heart had gone. The fox replied ‘’ Heart! What heart. If that donkey had a heart would he have insulted the king?
     If Pharoah had a heart would he say ‘’Who is Hashem that I should listen to His voice”? Would he complain that he did not receive a gift from Moshe? Would he have already forgotten about those rats? [see #7]

16)      Q:    Why did Hashem want Aharon to hit the Nile and not any other body of water?

                       A:       Different countries have different properties in their water. Water in some countries can make a person smart. Some can improve health. The water of the Nile river and even the fish improved the power of Kishuf (magic). Hashem wanted these special powers to stop therefore he struck it first with the plague of blood.
          He also wanted to especially punish the Saar (guardian) of the Nile for not protesting before Him when the Mitzrim where throwing Jewish boys into it.

17)       Q:     Why were the fish in the Nile also punished?

                          A:  Unlike the fish in the times of Noach that did not follow the sins of that time and were not punished. Now they participated in the crime of throwing Jewish baby boys into the Nile by eating those babies.
    Also Hashem wanted to show that this plague wasn’t just an illusion. By making the fish die everyone saw that it was actually blood.
18)          Q:  Why did Hashem make the frogs specifically come from the Nile?

                              A:    He wanted to show Pharoah that unlike his claims, Pharoah was not in charge of the Nile nor did he create it.
19)           Q:  What were some reasons for the plague of frogs?

                                 A:    Before the Jews were enslaved they learned and davened   all day to Hashem. Now as slaves these beautiful sounds were replaced by cries and moans. Hashem therefore sent the frogs to fill Mitzrayim’s ears with terrible noise both day and night.
         Also, during the decree that all Jewish boys would be thrown into the river, the mothers would be silent during their labor pains. This increased their pain.
        Additionally, the Jewish people cried out bitterly when the babies were tossed into the river. Now the Mitzrim heard plenty of loud noise.
20)           Q:      Why does the Pasuk seem to be saying that one frog came to mitzrayim; “the frog came up and covered Mitzrayim”?

                              A:           Rabbi Akiva says that only one giant from came out of the Nile and when the Mitzrim began to hit it many smaller frogs came out of the giant one.
     Rabbi Elazar says that when the giant frog came out of the Nile it croaked so loud that all the frogs of the world gathered in Mitzrayim.
     Imagine, it normally takes a person forty days to travel through Mitzrayim end to end and now the whole land was full of frogs.
                  
21)         Q:     What does the Pasuk mean by the ‘’frog came ‘’up’’?  Up  from where?

                            A:     When the Mitzrim saw all those frogs they tried to barricade themselves in their houses. Those who had marbles walls and floors felt especially safe. But Hashem made the frogs go under the homes and push ‘UP’ the marble floor and enter the homes.
    Not only did they enter the homes they also made their way into their bodies and began croaking so that one person couldn’t hear another. 

22)        Q:   Why couldn’t the Mitzrim simply squash the frogs or beat them away?
       
                            A:   When a Mitzri would attempt to hit a frog it split and many more came out of its belly. When the Mitzrim tried to bake bread frogs would jump into the dough and get baked into it and died. After the Mitzri ate the bread Hashem brought these frogs back to life inside the Mitzrim. The Mitzrim deserved this punishment because they always rushed the Jews to continue working and they had to eat their bread with their hand still dirty from making bricks.

23)         Q:  Why were the Mitzrim punished with Kinim; lice?

                         A:    The Jews were forced to clean the dusty roads and streets so Hashem turned the dust into lice. There were so much lice it covered the ground by one amah (cubit). Now there was no way to clean the strrets and the Jews were relieved from this duty.
    Another reason was the Jews weren’t allowed to bathe after working and were always covered in dust. Now it were the Mitzrim who were covered head to toe.
24)         Q:  What kind of lice was Kinim?

                           A:  Some say there were 14 different species of lice and some say 24.The smallest was as big as a hen’s egg! The lice would attack their faces and between their eyes. Jumping into water could not help get rid of the lice.

25)          Q:  If the Kinim were as big as a hen’s egg [see # 24] then why couldn’t the magicians duplicate this miracle since its larger than a barley?

                             A:  True, Kishuf magic can only create something larger than a barley bean and these egg size lice were definitely bigger. But it was only through a miracle that they were that size and the magicians could only create thing in their natural form and size.

26)          Q:       What does the Torah mean GROUND when it says ‘’Egypt will be filled the swarm (Maakos Aruv) and even the ground upon where they are”?

                               A:     In Melachim 2 it says that when the prophet Elisha was attacked by a band of water carriers he cursed them in Hasham’s name. Instantly an entire forest popped up at that spot and two bears mauled the forty two men. The reason the entire forest miraculously appeared was so that the bears should feel unafraid in their own habitat and therefore not be afraid of the humans.
                                             In Mitzrayim too, Hashem sent all the wild animals with their own habitats so they would be a ferocious as possible.

27)               Q:   Why did the Mitzrim deserve Makkos Aruv?

                                       A:    The Mitzrim would send the Jews into the forests to capture wild animals for no reason other than to abuse the Jews. Also when Pharoah had tzoraas he would take a bath in the blood of 150 Jewish babies twice a day. It was up to the animals to avenge the murder of so many innocents, as it says in Parshas Noach-“MiYad Kol Chaya Adrishenu;Of every beast I will demand it’’. The Rambam explains this to mean that a murderer will not go unpunished. Hashem will send wild animals to hunt him down.       
                             Another miracle was that although normally different animals naturally fight with one another, here they all came with the sole purpose of attacking Mitarayim.    

28)                 Q:      Why did the wild animals begin their attack with Pharoah’s ministers and only then spread out to the rest of Mitzrayim? (see Shmos ch.8 v.20)

                                           A:   The original idea plan to enslave the Jews came from the citizens of Mitzrayim. Pharoah and his ministers went along with the plan. But the decree of throwing Jewish boys into the river came from Pharoah and his ministers therefore any Makkah that was deadly (Aruv,Dever,Makkos Bechoros) was first directed to Pharoah and his ministers and any non-lethal Makkah  went to the ordinary people first. In all cases Pharoah personally suffered from the Makkos right away.
29)          Q:    Why did Pharoah only offer the Jews to bring sacrifices to Hashem here in Mitzrayim after Makkos Aruv when he agreed for them to go out to offer sacrifices after Tzfardaya?

                              A:    Until now Pharoah thought that Hashem was a force only in the desert and that is why the Jews had to go there to offer the sacrifices. After Makkos Aruv when Hashem clearly showed a distinction between the Jews and the Mitzrim by not having any of the animals enter the city of Goshen.Now Pharoah realized they could just as easily sacrifice in Mitzrayim since Hashem is here too.

30)           Q:    Why did the Mitzrim deserve Makkos Dever?

                                A:    The Mitzrim forced Jewish men to tend their flock in far off pastures. The true intention was to keep the men away from their families and thus decrease the growth of the Jewish homes. Also, the Mitzrim had mercy on their oxen when they would plow the fields so the Jews replaced the oxen in the plows!
                                              Additionally, Mitzrim would steal any livestock owned by Jews in order for the Jew to have no concerns of his own and only work for them.

31)                      Q:    After Makkos Dever, how could Pharoah become hard-hearted right away even though he saw that none of the livestock belonging to the Jews had died?
  
                   A:       Had all the livestock in Mitzrayim died including the Jews’ then Mitzrayim’s economy would have been doomed but now that there were Jewish livestock or partially owned Jewish/Egyptian livestock, Pharoah simply confiscated them all.

32)              Q:   How could any animals be afflicted with Schin (boils) if they all died during Makkos Dever?

                                      A:    Only animals left in the fields died during Dever but animals brought in were spared. Others explain that Hashem left one tenth of the animals alive so if someone had a hundred animals he was left with only 10 after Dever.

33)               Q:   How could Moshe throw enough ashes to coat the entire land to bring Schin (boils)?

                                        A:   Actually there were three miracles involved. First, both Moshe and Aharon had filled up both hands with ashes and then Moshe put all four handfuls into one hand. Secondly, this amount of ash covered all 400 Parsoas of the land. Thirdly, although ash is very light Moshe threw it out of the atmosphere until it reached the sun were the radioactivity energized the ash before it came back down on Mitzrayim.

34)                Q:   Why did the Mitzrim deserve Shchin (boils)?

                                          A:    The Mitzrim had forced the Jews to attend to them when they bathed but now because of the Schin the Mitzrim couldn’t tolerate a hot or even cold bath. They also made the Jews feel like disgusting creatures now Hashems made them disgusting.
                                                           The Shchin was like a blood and pus blister in the inside and a dry rash on the outside. They had Shchin from head to toe and eventually all their skin decayed.
   35)               Q:    Why did the Mitzrim deserve Makkos Burud(hail)?

                                          A:     The Mitzrim forced the Jews to plant orchards, vineyards and gardens for them. All were destroyed by the hail. The Mitzrim would also yell and throw stones at the Jews, now Hashem was thundering and throwing “stones” at them. The top half of the hail was firewhile the bottom half was equal to six handfuls of ice. The fire didn’t melt the ice.

  36)                Q:    Did any people die from the Burud?
                                           A:     The decree of Burud was only to destroy plant life but anyone foolish enough to stay outside was frozen to death. Later when the fire started they were roasted alive. 
   37)                 Q:   How was the Makkah of Arbah (locusts) so different than regular locusts that the Torah testifies “It will be something that your fathers and father’s father have never seen”?

                                        A:    Normally locusts arrive one by one until they all gather together, then they go from field to field. In Mitzrayim the locusts all arrived at the same instant and after they devoured the fields they piled into all the Mitzri homes.

   38)                Q:   If Hashem told Moshe that he will harden the hearts of Pharoah and his officials at Makkos Arbah why then did the officials say “ How long will this man continue to be a threat to us while we watch our land be destroyed”?

                                         A:    As afraid as they were of all the Makkos they would still not give in to Hashem’s command given over by Moshe to let ALL the jews to go and offer sacrifices. Even at this Makkah they only offered the men to go.
                                                   Furthermore, they still thought that Moshe was a great sorcerer and brought the makkos on his own. This is seen throught the fact that they said “How long is this MAN going to be a threat…”    
   39)              Q:   Why did Hashem tell Moshe to “stretch out your hands over Mitzrayim (in) B’Arbah; on Arbah, what does the letter Bais in B’Arbah telling us?

                       A:    As we know all ten Makkos were engraved on Moshe’s staff. Now Hashem was telling Moshe to place his hand over the part of the staff were Arhah was engraved in order to begin the Makkah. In fact the same was true for all the Makkos that were brought by Moshe’s staff.   

   40)          Q:   Why did Hashem bring a strong west wind to sweep all the Arbah out of Mitzrayim as opposed to the frogs that just died in heaps?

                               A:   Many of the Mitzrim were glad with the prospect of pickling the Arbah which was a delicacy even though the locusts devastated the land.
                                            In fact, since the day Moshe davened to Hashem to end the plague never have there been damaging locusts in Mitzrayim. This is the meaning of the Torah when it says at the warning of Makkos Arbah “It will be known to the children and grandchildren”. Since in many generations they will ask why Egypt is spared from locusts but not their neighboring countries. Moshe’s prayers had an everlasting effect.

     41)           Q:    Why was the reason Pharoah was stubborn even after Makkos Arbah?

                              A:     When Pharoah saw that all the locusts disappeared even the ones being pickled in jars, he assumed that it had all been a grand illusion preformed by Moshe.

   42)          Q:    If Hashem promised Noach that the day and night cycle would never be interrupted again how could He bring Choishech (Darkness) in Mitzrayim?
                  A:   Some answer is that Hashem only said He wouln’t stop day and night in the whole world. Just like we see there are still isolated cases of floods. Others explain that the darkness got even deeper at night, this differentiated day and night.
                                              Still others explain that the darkness wasn’t darkness at all but a blinding light. Just as a bat can’t see in the light the Mitzrim were blinded by the light. The Jews were only able to see with this light in the merit of Moshe and Aharon.

       43)                  Q:   Why didn’t Hashem command the Mitzrim to give the Jews their treasures instead of the Jews asking to borrow them?

                         A:   The Mitzrim would have felt that they paid back the Jews for all the years of slavery with the treasures. Hashem’s plan was for the Jews to only borrow it and when they wouldn’t return the Mitzrim would chase them and be lured into the Yam Suf.      

  44)           Q:    Why did Hashem want to drown the Mitzrim in the Yam Suf. He could have easily drowned them in the land as a punishment for drowning the Jewish babies.    

                   A:    Hashem was punishing the Mitzrim midah k’neged midah all along. Hashem wanted to slowly lure the Mitzrim into the Yam Suf just like the Jews were slowly tricked into becoming slaves.

 45)             Q:   When Moshe warned Pharoah about Makkos Bechoros why did he say the plague would begin KaChatzos; around midnight?

                    A:    When Moshe warned Pharoah it was midnight Rosh Chodesh Nissan. Moshe was actually saying just as now it is midnight the plague will also begin at midnight.
                                                   Also, dogs start to bark at midnight. Since on that night no dogs would bark Moshe was afraid the a Chillul hashem would occur if the Mitzrim would be waiting to hear the dogs and then wouldn’t know the exact time of midnight.

  46)              Q:    Why did Hashem want the Jews to bring a sheep into their homes four days before it would be slaughtered if one can buy a sheep even on Erev Peasach any other year?

                     A:    At this time the Jews were not yet worthy to be freed. Many believed in the same idols as the Mitzrim. Hashem therefore commanded that they show that they were separating themselves from the Mitzrim by bring in a sheep to slaughter.
                                                     Also, since the Jews had been slaves for 210 years instead of 400 years those four terrifying days made up for it.
                                                     Additionally, the men had to be given a Bris Milah before they could eat the Korban Peasach and they needed 3 days to recover. So the only time they had to secure a Korban was four days before.
                                                   All these reasons applied only to the first Peasach.   

   47)             Q:      Why did Hashem command that the sheep be a perfect male if it was not going on a Mizbauach(altar)?

                   A:     If the sheep was flawed in some way or a female the Mitzrim would use that as an excuse to why they didn’t try to rescue their god since the sheep were not fit for their own temples. The pain of seeing their god bound and slaughtered was more painful to the Mitzrim than all the plagues.

   48)             Q:   If a sheep was brought because it was the Egyptian god then why is a goat also good for a Korban Peasach?

                   A:   Every month has its own mazal .The mazal for Nissan is the sheep (Tleh). Every day is also split into 12 two hours periods representing all the mazalos.  The day begins (e.g. 6am) with the mazal of that month. This means, that in Nissan starting with Tleh and going in order the mazal of the goat (Gedi) is at Chatzos; midnight, which was the time of Makkos Bechros.
  49)               Q:   If the Jews kept their sheep for four days while the Mitzrim didn’t attack then why do we only celebrate this fact on Shabbos HaGodol which was only the first of the four days?

                      A:   On that Shabbos the Mitzrim rose up to attack the Jews but Hashem struck them with paralysis. This took the edge off their fury for the remaining days.

      50)                Q:   How could the Jews violate the Shabbos by buying sheep when they already had started to keep Shabbos?

                                         A:   Hashem specifically wanted them to buy sheep on Shabbos in order to pique the curiosity of the Mitzrim. The Jews explained what they were doing and about the upcoming Makkos Bechoros. Pharoah had not shared the warning he got about the Makkos Bechros with his people and when the firstborn found out they had a civil war against Pharoah. 600,000 Mitzrim died in that war.
    51)                 Q:    Why did Hashem want the Jews to put blood on their doorposts as a sign if He told Moshe the He would bring Makkos Bechoros Himself?
                                   
                                           A:   Although Hashem came with myriads of destructive malachim, they were only like soldiers accompanying their King. Hashem only guaranteed that He and his group would skip over the Jews but the Jews had to protect themselves from the ordinary nightly forces of destruction.
                                                          Others explain that Hashem meant that He would kill the mazal of the sheep (Aires) that was Mitzrayim’s mazal and the firstborn would be killed by malachim. Also some say that Hashem killed the firstborn while the malachim killed the oldest in the household if there were no firstborn present.

   52)                   Q:   Were there any firstborn that did not die?

                                              A:     Yes. Both Pharoah and Basya were spared. Pharoah was kept alive to witness Hashem’s might. Basya was also spared in return for her kindness to Moshe and his prayers on her behalf.
                                                            Also those firstborn Mitzrim who joined the seder celebration did not die as hashem proclaimed “whoever is a friend of My people let him join the celebration”.

       53)                     Q:     What happened to the firstborn that already died before the plague?

                                                  A:    There was a custom in Mitzrayim to keep large portraits of deceased children in special shrines, as a remembrance for the parents. During Makkos Bechoros there portraits crumbled to dust and drifted throughout the house. The poorer Mitzrim had their children’s bones dug up by dogs.

    54)                     Q:  What were the Jews doing during the terrible cries of the Mitzrim during Makkos Bechoros.

                                                      A:   Hashem put the Jews into a pleasant sleep and they didn’t hear anything although they saw everything going on in their dreams, dreams so vivid it was like they were witnessing everything.