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Why did the plagues continue even after Pharaoh agreed to let the people go? The shiur develops a fundamental distinction between two dimensions of the makkos: pressure tactics to free Israel versus divine vengeance for harming God's children. Once Pharaoh consents in Parshas Bo, the plagues shift from strategic pressure to pure judgment—and that fury places the Jewish people themselves under scrutiny.
Rabbi Zweig analyzes Parshas Bo by uncovering a fundamental shift in the nature of the Ten Plagues that occurs specifically in this parsha. The shiur opens with several textual difficulties: Why does the Torah (תורה) introduce the plagues in Bo as if they are just beginning, stating "so that you may tell your children what I did to Egypt"? Why does Parshas Bo suddenly require the Jewish people to have merit (through the blood of the Korban Pesach (פסח)) to be saved from Makas Bechoros, when previous plagues automatically spared them? And why does the Torah emphasize that the plague of locusts will never be duplicated, when in fact later prophets describe even worse infestations? The key to understanding these questions lies in recognizing that the Midrash presents two completely different frameworks for the plagues. One Midrash describes them as a military siege strategy—escalating pressure tactics to force Pharaoh's surrender. Another Midrash states that each plague corresponds measure-for-measure to what the Egyptians planned to do to the Jews: they wanted Jews to draw water, so God turned their water to blood; they wanted Jews as shepherds, so God killed their livestock, and so forth.
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Parshas Bo
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What is the primary purpose of the cities of refuge - protecting the accidental killer or something else? The shiur argues that creating respect for law takes precedence over providing sanctuary. True deterrence comes from recognizing the gravity of murder itself, not fear of punishment.
