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Why does the Torah (תורה) emphasize telling children about the Exodus ("lemaan tesaper b'oznei bincha")? The shiur argues that sippur yetzias Mitzrayim is not primarily about gratitude or demonstrating reward and punishment, but about making children feel God's love—since the plagues were inflicted solely because Egypt harmed us. Only by functioning as loving parents can we truly understand God's love for us.
Rabbi Zweig opens by examining the difficult structure of Shemos 10:2: "lemaan tesaper b'oznei bincha uven bincha es asher hisalalti b'Mitzrayim...vidatem ki ani Hashem (ה׳)"—that you should tell your children and grandchildren what I did to Egypt, and then you shall know I am Hashem. Why does knowledge ("vidatem") come after telling over ("tesaper"), rather than the reverse? Additionally, why does this purpose for the plagues appear specifically in Parshas Bo, when God had already introduced the plagues earlier? The shiur then addresses a puzzling gemara (גמרא) in Pesachim that derives from "ba'avur zeh" (through a cross-reference to ben sorer umoreh's phrase "b'neinu zeh") that a blind person is exempt from sippur yetzias Mitzrayim. This cross-reference must reflect a substantive conceptual connection, not merely a technical derivation. What does the exemption from sippur yetzias Mitzrayim have to do with the halacha (הלכה) that a blind father's child cannot become a ben sorer umoreh?
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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.
Shemos 10:2 (Parshas Bo)
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