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Why does the Torah (תורה) present two seemingly redundant accounts of the Exodus story and the Korban Pesach (פסח)? The shiur develops a fundamental yesod: Korban Pesach embodies two distinct aspects of redemption—the commitment to serve Hashem (ה׳) (represented by eating), and the miraculous salvation from death at midnight (represented by slaughtering). These correspond to the daytime exodus and nighttime liberation, explaining the dual narratives and the unique status of tefillin as symbols of both dimensions.
Rabbi Zweig opens by identifying a fundamental structural question in Parshas Bo: the Torah (תורה) presents two seemingly repetitive sections (Kadesh and V'haya Ki Yavi'acha) that both discuss the sanctification of the firstborn, remembering the Exodus, and the obligation of tefillin. Why this apparent redundancy? Additionally, both sections connect tefillin to the Exodus, yet use different terminology—calling the hand tefillin an "os" (sign) and the head tefillin a "zikaron" (remembrance) in one place, and "totafos" (related to speaking) in another. The shiur proceeds to examine a series of intricate questions in Rashi (רש"י)'s commentary. Most strikingly, Rashi appears to contradict himself three times regarding the meaning of "Pesach (פסח)": first explaining it as "passing over," then presenting the Targum's translation of "compassion" before insisting it means "passing over," and finally offering both interpretations as equally valid. Additionally, Rashi states in one place that the Jews were obligated to bring the Korban Pesach only in Egypt and then in Eretz Yisrael (not in the wilderness), yet in Bamidbar he calls it a "disgrace" that they only brought it once during forty years in the desert, implying an annual obligation.
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Parshas Bo, Shemos 12-13
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