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Were the Jews slaves or subjects in Egypt? The shiur builds on Rashi (רש"י)'s reading of "mibeis avadim" to argue that Jewish enslavement was legally structured as royal taxation, not ownership, making Jews subjects of Pharaoh rather than property. This distinction explains the Gemara (גמרא)'s counterclaim for wages, why Hashem (ה׳) introduces Himself at Sinai as liberator from Pharaoh (not Creator), and why Egypt trained us to become avdei Hashem—servants who are owed reward.
This shiur addresses a fundamental question about the nature of Jewish enslavement in Egypt and its theological implications. The Torah (תורה) records that when Pharaoh became leprous and began slaughtering 600 Jewish children daily—80,000 in total—to bathe in their blood, the Jewish people cried out "from their hard work" (min ha'avodah), and Hashem (ה׳) responded to their cries about their difficult labor. This seems morally incongruous: how could the nation cry only about working conditions while children were being murdered, and how could Hashem respond to labor complaints rather than to bloodshed? Rabbi Zweig begins by examining Rashi (רש"י)'s enigmatic comment on the phrase "asher hotzeisicha mei'eretz Mitzrayim mibeis avadim." Rashi offers two readings: either "from the house of Pharaoh where you were servants" or "from the house of slaves where you were servants to Pharaoh." The crucial distinction is whether Jews were avadim l'Pharaoh (subjects of the king) or avadim l'avadim (slaves to slaves/Egyptians). Rashi's insistence that we were avadim l'Pharaoh—not to Egyptian citizens—fundamentally redefines the Egyptian experience from chattel slavery to royal servitude under discriminatory taxation.
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What is the primary purpose of the cities of refuge - protecting the accidental killer or something else? The shiur argues that creating respect for law takes precedence over providing sanctuary. True deterrence comes from recognizing the gravity of murder itself, not fear of punishment.
