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Why did righteous women merit our redemption from Egypt? The shiur argues that Yosef HaTzaddik embodied yiras Elokim so completely he became a "twin" reflection of Hashem (ה׳)—and when Jews abandoned that after his death, Pharaoh felt emboldened to oppress them. Jewish women—through Shifrah, Puah, Miriam, and Yocheved—restored yiras Elokim to Jewish homes, making the nation worthy of geulah.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a Gemara (גמרא) teaching that Amram, the Gadol HaDor, divorced his wife when Pharaoh decreed the killing of Jewish boys, reasoning that having children under such circumstances was futile. His five-year-old daughter Miriam challenged him: Pharaoh only decrees against boys, but Amram's decree affects girls too; unborn children forfeit the World to Come, but murdered children retain it; and Pharaoh's decree might end, but a tzaddik's decree endures. Amram kissed her head and remarried. The question is: what did Miriam see that the Gadol HaDor missed? Rabbi Zweig then turns to the opening pesukim of Shemos, which state "Yosef hayah b'Mitzrayim"—Yosef was in Egypt. Rashi (רש"י) explains this means Yosef remained righteous despite all his trials. But why repeat this? We already knew from Vayigash that Yosef was a tzaddik. The answer, Rabbi Zweig suggests, is that this pasuk is not merely describing Yosef's character—it is explaining what made the Jewish people worthy of redemption. Yosef's righteousness was the paradigm and the merit that sustained Israel in Egypt.
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Shemos 1:1-2:10
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