1 Then Hashem said to Moshe, “You shall soon see what I will do to Pharaoh: he shall let them go because of a greater might; indeed, because of a greater might he shall drive them from his land.”
א וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה עַתָּה תִרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶעֱשֶׂה לְפַרְעֹה כִּי בְיָד חֲזָקָה יְשַׁלְּחֵם וּבְיָד חֲזָקָה יְגָרְשֵׁם מֵאַרְצוֹ׃
2 Hashem spoke to Moshe and said to him, “I am Hashem.
ב וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֲנִי יְהֹוָה׃
4 I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.
v’-GAM ha-ki-MO-tee et b’-ree-TEE i-TAM la-TAYT la-HEM et E-retz k’-NA-an AYT E-retz m’-gu-ray-HEM a-sher GA-ru VAH
ד וְגַם הֲקִמֹתִי אֶת־בְּרִיתִי אִתָּם לָתֵת לָהֶם אֶת־אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן אֵת אֶרֶץ מְגֻרֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר־גָּרוּ בָהּ׃
5 I have now heard the moaning of the Israelites because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.
ה וְגַם אֲנִי שָׁמַעְתִּי אֶת־נַאֲקַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר מִצְרַיִם מַעֲבִדִים אֹתָם וָאֶזְכֹּר אֶת־בְּרִיתִי׃
6 Say, therefore, to B’nei Yisrael: I am Hashem. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements.
ו לָכֵן אֱמֹר לִבְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲנִי יְהֹוָה וְהוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מִתַּחַת סִבְלֹת מִצְרַיִם וְהִצַּלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם מֵעֲבֹדָתָם וְגָאַלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בִּזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה וּבִשְׁפָטִים גְּדֹלִים׃
7 And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, Hashem, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians.
ז וְלָקַחְתִּי אֶתְכֶם לִי לְעָם וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הַמּוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם מִתַּחַת סִבְלוֹת מִצְרָיִם׃
8 I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and I will give it to you for a possession, I Hashem.”
9 But when Moshe told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moshe, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage.
ט וַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה כֵּן אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא שָׁמְעוּ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה מִקֹּצֶר רוּחַ וּמֵעֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה׃
10 Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying,
י וַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר׃
יא בֹּא דַבֵּר אֶל־פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם וִישַׁלַּח אֶת־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאַרְצוֹ׃
12 But Moshe appealed to Hashem, saying, “The Israelites would not listen to me; how then should Pharaoh heed me, a man of impeded speech!”
יב וַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה לֵאמֹר הֵן בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא־שָׁמְעוּ אֵלַי וְאֵיךְ יִשְׁמָעֵנִי פַרְעֹה וַאֲנִי עֲרַל שְׂפָתָיִם׃
13 So Hashem spoke to both Moshe and Aharon in regard to the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, instructing them to deliver the Israelites from the land of Egypt.
יג וַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל־אַהֲרֹן וַיְצַוֵּם אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶל־פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם לְהוֹצִיא אֶת־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם׃
14 The following are the heads of their respective clans. The sons of Reuven, Yisrael‘s first-born: Enoch and Pallu, Chetzron and Carmi; those are the families of Reuven.
יד אֵלֶּה רָאשֵׁי בֵית־אֲבֹתָם בְּנֵי רְאוּבֵן בְּכֹר יִשְׂרָאֵל חֲנוֹךְ וּפַלּוּא חֶצְרוֹן וְכַרְמִי אֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת רְאוּבֵן׃
15 The sons of Shimon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; those are the families of Shimon.
טו וּבְנֵי שִׁמְעוֹן יְמוּאֵל וְיָמִין וְאֹהַד וְיָכִין וְצֹחַר וְשָׁאוּל בֶּן־הַכְּנַעֲנִית אֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת שִׁמְעוֹן׃
17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shim’i, by their families.
יז בְּנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹן לִבְנִי וְשִׁמְעִי לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם׃
19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Leviim by their lineage.
יט וּבְנֵי מְרָרִי מַחְלִי וּמוּשִׁי אֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחֹת הַלֵּוִי לְתֹלְדֹתָם׃
22 The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
כב וּבְנֵי עֻזִּיאֵל מִישָׁאֵל וְאֶלְצָפָן וְסִתְרִי׃
26 It is the same Aharon and Moshe to whom Hashem said, “Bring forth the Israelites from the land of Egypt, troop by troop.”
כו הוּא אַהֲרֹן וּמֹשֶׁה אֲשֶׁר אָמַר יְהֹוָה לָהֶם הוֹצִיאוּ אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם עַל־צִבְאֹתָם׃
27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to free the Israelites from the Egyptians; these are the same Moshe and Aharon.
כז הֵם הַמְדַבְּרִים אֶל־פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַיִם לְהוֹצִיא אֶת־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרָיִם הוּא מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן׃
כח וַיְהִי בְּיוֹם דִּבֶּר יְהֹוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם׃
Four cups of wine are drunk at the Passover Seder, corresponding to the four expressions of redemption used in this verse to describe the exodus from Egypt: “Free,” “deliver,” “redeem,” and “take” (verses 6-8). A close reading of this chapter, however, uncovers that there is a fifth expression, “I will bring you,” found in the following verse. Why, then, do we not have five cups of wine at the Seder? The Talmud (Pesachim 118) explain that while the first four expressions of redemption from Egypt have in fact been realized, the fifth expression, “I will bring you into the land” has not yet been completely fulfilled. Only when all the Jews return to Israel and Mashiach comes to Jerusalem will we rejoice with a fifth cup.
Biblical Hebrew has two words relating to bequests: Morasha (מורשה), and yerusha (ירושה). Morasha, the Hebrew word for ‘possession’ in this verse, is generally translated as ‘heritage,’ while yerusha is translated as ‘inheritance.’ The use of different words suggests a difference in meaning. An inheritance is simply passed on from the previous generation, while a heritage requires the receiver’s active involvement and participation, like a family business which the founder’s children must work hard to maintain. An inheritance may be squandered; a heritage must be preserved intact for the next generation. This certainly explains why the verse uses the word morasha with regard to Eretz Yisrael. The land requires our active involvement to maintain and preserve it, and it is not ours to squander.1 comment