ביום הכותי כל בכור בארץ מצרים הקדשתי לי כל בכור בישראל
The Torah teaches that, on that fateful Pesach night when the Egyptian firstborn were slain by Hashem, the Jewish firstborn were consecrated to Hashem, to serve Him in the Temple. Should Jewish firstborns be singled out for a life of consecrated service just because their Egyptian counterparts were designated for death? The Alter, zl, m’Slabodka, Horav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, explains that the night of makkas bechoros – when the Egyptian firstborn died during the tenth plague to strike Egypt – it was a night of severe anxiety and tension for the Jewish firstborn. Wherever they went, they saw the bodies…
