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Why did the Jews bow down in gratitude when told their children would ask the wicked son's question about assimilation? Rabbi Zweig reveals that in Egypt, the Jews themselves wanted to assimilate and become Egyptians. God's rachmanus (compassion) saved them despite their desire to leave. This obligates parents to show the same unconditional commitment to children who stray—the way God dealt with us is how we must deal with our children.
Rabbi Zweig addresses a profound difficulty in Parshas Bo regarding the Jewish people's response to being told their children would ask questions. When God informs the Jews they will have children who ask "What is this service to you?"—the question of the wicked son—the people bow down in gratitude. This seems paradoxical: why thank God for the news that they will have wicked children who want to assimilate? The shiur develops a fundamental insight by examining several textual anomalies. First, why does the Torah (תורה) give a different answer to the wicked son than the Haggadah provides? Second, why would Jewish homes without Paschal lamb blood have been struck during the tenth plague, while foreign prisoners in Egyptian jails would have been spared? Rashi (רש"י) explains that foreigners were only killed so they wouldn't claim it was their god who brought the plague. But this reveals that the decree didn't automatically strike everyone—so why would Jews have been vulnerable? Third, when God commands the Jews to borrow from their "friends" (re'eihem), this terminology typically means fellow Jews throughout Torah, yet here it clearly means Egyptians.
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Why does the Midrash connect Pharaoh's expulsion of the Jews to the mitzvah of shiluach hakan? The shiur develops a chiddush that Pharaoh's sin wasn't only drowning the children, but the insensitivity of expelling the parents afterward. The deeper analysis reveals that Pharaoh may have valued the Jews greatly and wanted to control them—making his expulsion an act of tremendous cruelty, not liberation.
Why does Moshe respond to the splitting of the sea with shirah rather than praise or thanksgiving? Rashi's use of "al libo" reveals that shirah is an emotional expression—a response of love to love. When Hashem shows personal care, the only adequate response is "I love You too," not mere gratitude or praise, and this principle applies to all relationships.
Shemos 12:26-27 (Parshas Bo)
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