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Why does the Midrash connect Pharaoh's expulsion of the Jews to the mitzvah (מצוה) 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.
The shiur opens with a striking Midrash on Parshas Beshalach that connects Pharaoh's drowning at the Red Sea to the mitzvah (מצוה) of shiluach hakan (sending away the mother bird). The Midrash states that Pharaoh sent away the parents and drowned the children, violating the Torah (תורה)'s command to send away the mother and take the children. Therefore, Hashem (ה׳) will drown Pharaoh and take his daughter (the Jewish people) to Gan Eden. This connection seems entirely puzzling—why would the Torah's response to Pharaoh drowning Jewish children focus on his act of sending them away, rather than on the drowning itself? Rabbi Zweig asks a fundamental question: What was wrong with Pharaoh sending away the parents? The problem should be that he killed the children, not that he expelled the Jews from Egypt. After killing the children, wouldn't sending away the parents actually be the right thing to do—precisely what the Torah commands in shiluach hakan? Yet the Midrash treats the expulsion itself as a separate aveirah (sin), suggesting there was something deeply wrong with Pharaoh throwing the Jews out of Egypt.
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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.
Why do we read Shir HaShirim on Pesach? The Abudarham traces it to the Red Sea, where Hashem appeared anthropomorphically to establish a love relationship with us—"demisich rayosi." The shiur explains that God's appearance in human form was necessary so we could love Him, since love requires relatability. This foundation of divine love shapes how we serve Hashem and relate to our families.
Parshas Beshalach
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