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Why does the Torah (תורה) instruct us to tell our children about the Exodus before telling us we will know Hashem (ה׳)? The shiur explains that only when we adopt a parental perspective can we understand that Hashem's "toying" with the Egyptians was not merely justice, but a personal expression of care—validation that we are His children. This yesod extends to marriage: the deepest gift isn't affection, but the underlying validation each spouse gives the other.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a textual difficulty in Parshas Bo (Shemos 10:1-2). Before the eighth plague, Hashem (ה׳) tells Moshe: "Tell your children and grandchildren what I did to Egypt... and you will know that I am Hashem." The order is puzzling—shouldn't the verse first say "you will know I am Hashem" and then instruct you to tell your children? One doesn't transmit a message one doesn't yet understand oneself. The shiur proposes that the Torah (תורה) is teaching us a fundamental psychological and spiritual truth: some perspectives are impossible to grasp from the position of a child. A four-year-old cannot understand why parents enforce bedtime; a young adult cannot fully appreciate why parents insist on financial independence. Only when you yourself become a parent do you retroactively understand what your own parents were doing. The Torah is saying: switch into parenting mode—give over the message to your children—and in that very act, you will be able to relate to Hashem as a parent relates to a child, and then you will understand what He did for us.
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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 10:1-2
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