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Why are there four expressions of redemption in Parshas Vaeira when leaving slavery is conceptually one act? Rabbi Zweig develops a fundamental principle: just as entering Egyptian bondage occurred through four progressive stages of restriction—geographic confinement, invasion of privacy, loss of property, and forced labor—the geulah systematically undoes each stage. The shiur distinguishes between the natural exodus attempted in Parshas Shemos and the miraculous redemption of Parshas Bo, where Hashem (ה׳) Himself reverses history.
Rabbi Zweig opens with Rashi (רש"י)'s commentary on the opening pesukim of Parshas Vaeira, focusing on the critical distinction between the name Elokim (used with the Avos) and the name Hashem (ה׳). Rashi explains that the Avos received promises under the name Kel Shakai but those promises were not fulfilled during their lifetimes—a statement that requires clarification since Hashem did fulfill many promises to Avrohom, giving him wealth and a son. Rabbi Zweig suggests that the unfulfilled promise specifically refers to permanent possession of Eretz Yisrael and complete geulah, which would only come through the name Hashem. The core question of the shiur centers on the four expressions of redemption: v'hotzeisi, v'hitzalti, v'ga'alti, and v'lakachti. Why does the Torah (תורה) present leaving Egypt as four distinct stages rather than one unified geulah? Chazal derive the four cups of the Seder from these four expressions, but this raises the question: if traveling from one place to another requires three intermediate stops, we don't say there are four journeys—it's still one journey. Similarly, why isn't leaving slavery considered one act of redemption?
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Shemos 6:2-8 (Parshas Vaeira)
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