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Why did the Egyptian maidservants deserve punishment if they too were enslaved and merely following orders? Rashi (רש"י)'s answer—"v'smechim b'tzarasam" (they were happy with Jewish suffering)—establishes that enjoying an act makes it yours even under coercion. This yesod transforms our understanding of mitzvah (מצוה) observance: simcha in learning and mitzvos is what makes them authentically our ma'aseh rather than mere compliance.
Rabbi Zweig opens by addressing Rashi (רש"י)'s question on the plague of the firstborn: Why were the maidservants' firstborn children in Egypt punished when the maidservants themselves were also enslaved victims? Rashi answers that although they were subjugated to their Egyptian masters, "v'smechim b'tzarasam"—they were happy with the suffering of the Jewish people. Rabbi Zweig notes that Rashi could have simply said the maidservants were "meshubadim l'Yisrael" (subjugated Israel), but the addition of "v'smechim b'tzarasam" must carry significant meaning. The shiur draws a profound parallel to the Nuremberg trials after World War II. The Nazi defendants claimed they were "just following orders"—an argument structurally identical to the maidservants' defense. The Nuremberg court ruled that crimes against humanity are "ultra vires" (beyond the authority of any state to command), and therefore no one has an obligation to obey such orders. Rabbi Zweig critiques this answer as both constitutionally problematic (creating retroactive crimes, which is ex post facto legislation) and practically limited (it would only apply to high-level planners, not individual soldiers who believed they were suppressing partisans rather than committing genocide).
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Parshas Bo (Plague of the Firstborn), Rashi on Shemos
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