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Why did women, not men, drive the redemption from Egypt? The shiur develops a yesod distinguishing male spiritual perfection through action from female perfection through bitul to God. Geulah operates according to the female model where God acts and humans are instruments, explaining why righteous women naturally understood and facilitated the Exodus.
This shiur examines the prominent role of women in the Exodus narrative, addressing several puzzling questions from the text. The discussion begins with Ibn Ezra's question about why the Torah (תורה) doesn't emphasize Yocheved giving birth to Moshe at age 130, unlike Sarah's celebrated birth at 90. The Ramban (רמב"ן) answers that miracles announced through prophets receive Torah emphasis, while those done privately by God do not, since the former require human partnership while the latter show God acting independently. The central thesis emerges through analyzing Amram's decision to divorce Yocheved when Pharaoh decreed death for Jewish boys. Amram reasoned logically that boys would die and girls would be taken by Egyptians, producing non-Jewish children - making procreation pointless. However, five-year-old Miriam corrected her father's perspective, arguing that Jewish women would choose death over relations with Egyptians, even when halachically permitted under threat of death.
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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.
Parshas Shemos
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Why did the Ten Plagues unfold so gradually when God could have freed the Jews instantly? The shiur argues that the Exodus marks a theological shift from God's transcendent relationship with creation (experienced by the Patriarchs) to His immanent presence within creation through the revelation of the Tetragrammaton to Moshe. The plagues establish this new reality where divine presence emerges from within the world rather than being imposed from without.
