Four Redemptions: Body and Soul, Nation and Individual
From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitzהרב דוד מתתיהו בן יחיאל יהושע רבינוביץProfile ›
Shemos 6:6-7
לָכֵן אֱמֹר לִבְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲנִי יְהֹוָה וְהוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מִתַּחַת סִבְלֹת מִצְרַיִם וְהִצַּלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם מֵעֲבֹדָתָם וְגָאַלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בִּזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה וּבִשְׁפָטִים גְּדֹלִים וְלָקַחְתִּי אֶתְכֶם לִי לְעָם וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הַמּוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם מִתַּחַת סִבְלוֹת מִצְרָיִם
Therefore say to Bnei Yisrael: I am Hashem. I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt, I will rescue you from their labor, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am Hashem your God, Who brings you out from under the burdens of Egypt.
1“Therefore say to Bnei Yisrael: I am Hashem. I will bring you out … I will rescue you … I will redeem you … I will take you …”1
לָכֵן אֱמוֹר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲנִי ה׳ וְהוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם וְגוֹ׳ וְהִצַּלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם וְגוֹ׳ וְגָאַלְתִּי אֶתְכֶם וְגוֹ׳ וְלָקַחְתִּי אֶתְכֶם וְגוֹ׳ (ו, ו-ז).
- Shemos 6:6–7. ↩
In shortHashem promises Israel its redemption in four expressions: bring out, rescue, redeem and take.
2The Midrash says: “There are four redemptions here: ‘I will bring out,’ ‘I will rescue,’ ‘I will redeem’ and ‘I will take’ … and to match them, Chazal instituted four cups on the night of Pesach, to fulfill what is said, ‘I will lift up the cup of salvations, and I will call out in the Name of Hashem.’”2 But why are four expressions of redemption needed? Why is one not enough? And what does the verse “I will lift up the cup of salvations, and I will call out in the Name of Hashem” have to do with it?
אִיתָא בַּמִּדְרָשׁ (שמות רבה ו, ד), אַרְבַּע גְּאוּלּוֹת יֵשׁ כָּאן, וְהוֹצֵאתִי וְהִצַּלְתִּי וְגָאַלְתִּי וְלָקַחְתִּי וְכוּ׳, וּכְנֶגְדָּן תִּקְּנוּ חֲכָמִים אַרְבַּע כּוֹסוֹת בְּלֵיל הַפֶּסַח, לְקַיֵּים מַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קטז, יג) ״כּוֹס יְשׁוּעוֹת אֶשָּׂא וּבְשֵׁם ה׳ אֶקְרָא״. וְיֵשׁ לְהָבִין, לְשֵׁם מָה נִצְרָכִים אַרְבָּעָה לְשׁוֹנוֹת שֶׁל גְּאוּלָּה, וְלֹא דַּי בְּלָשׁוֹן אֶחָד. עוֹד צָרִיךְ לְהָבִין שַׁיָּיכוּת הַכָּתוּב ״כּוֹס יְשׁוּעוֹת אֶשָּׂא וּבְשֵׁם ה׳ אֶקְרָא״, לְכָאן.
- Shemos Rabbah 6:4; Tehillim 116:13. ↩
In shortWhy does the verse need four expressions of redemption, and what has “I will lift up the cup of salvations” to do with them?
3There is a further question. Later in the parshah, before the plague of wild beasts, Hashem sends word to Pharaoh: “I will put a redemption between My people and your people; tomorrow this sign will be.”3 The word for “redemption” here is pedus. The Baal HaTurim cites the Masorah, the ancient record of where each word appears in Scripture, which lists it three times: here; in “He sent redemption to His people”; and in “and with Him is abundant redemption.”4 How are these three verses connected?
עוֹד בַּפָּרָשָׁה ״וְשַׂמְתִּי פְדוּת בֵּין עַמִּי וּבֵין עַמֶּךָ לְמָחָר יִהְיֶה הָאוֹת הַזֶּה״ (ח, יט). וּבְבַעַל הַטּוּרִים הֵבִיא שְׁלֹשָׁה בַּמָּסוֹרָה, הָכָא, וְאִידָךְ ״פְּדוּת שָׁלַח לְעַמּוֹ״ (תהלים קיא, ט), וְאִידָךְ ״וְהַרְבֵּה עִמּוֹ פְדוּת״ (תהלים קל, ז). וְצָרִיךְ בֵּיאוּר שַׁיָּיכוּת שְׁלוֹשֶׁת הַמִּקְרָאוֹת הַלָּלוּ אַהֲדָדֵי.
- Shemos 8:19. The plague of wild beasts would not strike the land of Goshen, where Israel lived. ↩
- Baal HaTurim on Shemos 8:19; Tehillim 111:9; Tehillim 130:7. ↩
In shortA further question: what links the three verses that the Masorah groups together by the word pedus, “redemption”?
4Let us first cite another teaching. On the verse “God will surely remember you,”5 the Midrash says: “Israel had a sign. Any redeemer who would come with this sign, pakod pakadti, ‘I have surely remembered,’ they would know that he is a true redeemer.”6 The Gaon R' Meir Shapiro of Lublin, zy"a, is quoted as explaining that the doubled wording of “remembering” hints at the redemption of the body and the redemption of the soul. That was the sign they held: if a redeemer came to free only their bodies from slavery in Egypt, it would not count as a redemption for Israel at all. Rather, the righteous redeemer is the one who comes and speaks of a doubled redemption, both physical and spiritual. We may add to his words. Besides these two kinds of exile, of body and of soul, there are two more: the exile of the community and the exile of the individual. Sometimes a single person is in an exile of his own, physical or spiritual, sunk, Heaven forbid, in the forty-nine gates of impurity, its lowest depths. And there is likewise an exile of the community, physical and spiritual. So there are four kinds of exile, communal and individual, each in body and in soul, and to match them there are four expressions of redemption. This answers our first question.
וְנַקְדִּים עוֹד, דְּהִנֵּה עַל הַפָּסוּק (בראשית נ, כד) ״פָּקוֹד יִפְקוֹד אֱלֹקִים אֶתְכֶם״, הוּבָא בַּמִּדְרָשׁ (שמות רבה ג, ח), סִימָן הָיָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל כָּל גּוֹאֵל שֶׁיָּבֹא בַּסִּימָן הַזֶּה פָּקוֹד פָּקַדְתִּי, הֵם יוֹדְעִים שֶׁהוּא גּוֹאֵל שֶׁל אֱמֶת. וְהוּבָא בְּשֵׁם הַגָּאוֹן רַבִּי מֵאִיר שַׁפִּירָא מלובלין זי״ע לְפָרֵשׁ, דְּעִנְיַן כֶּפֶל הַלְּשׁוֹנוֹת שֶׁל פְּקִידָה רוֹמֵז לִגְאוּלַּת הַגּוּף וּגְאוּלַּת הַנְּשָׁמָה, וְזֶהוּ הַסִּימָן שֶׁהָיָה בְּיָדָם, שֶׁאִם יָבוֹא גּוֹאֵל לִגְאוֹל רַק אֶת גּוּפָם מִהְיוֹת עֲבָדִים בְּמִצְרַיִם, אֵין זֶה נֶחְשָׁב גְּאוּלָּה כְּלָל לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶלָּא הַגּוֹאֵל צֶדֶק הוּא זֶה שֶׁבָּא וְאוֹמֵר גְּאוּלָּה בְּכִפְלַיִם, בֵּין בַּגַּשְׁמִיּוּת וּבֵין בָּרוּחָנִיּוּת. וְאֶפְשָׁר לְהוֹסִיף עַל דְּבָרָיו, שֶׁמִּלְּבַד שְׁנֵי בְּחִינוֹת גָּלוּת הָאֲמוּרוֹת שֶׁל גּוּף וּנְשָׁמָה, יֶשְׁנָם עוֹד שְׁנֵי בְּחִינוֹת שֶׁל גָּלוּת, גָּלוּת הַכְּלָל וְגָלוּת הַפְּרָט, דִּפְעָמִים שֶׁיֵּשׁ לְאָדָם יָחִיד בְּחִינַת גָּלוּת, בֵּין בַּגַּשְׁמִיּוּת וּבֵין בָּרוּחָנִיּוּת שֶׁהוּא מְשׁוּקָּע במ״ט שַׁעֲרֵי טוּמְאָה ח״ו, וְכֵן יֵשׁ בְּחִינַת גָּלוּת הַכְּלָל בַּגַּשְׁמִיּוּת וּבָרוּחָנִיּוּת. נִמְצָא שֶׁיֶּשְׁנָם אַרְבָּעָה בְּחִינוֹת גָּלוּת, גָּלוּת הַכְּלָל וְגָלוּת הַפְּרָט, בְּגוּף וּבְנֶפֶשׁ, וּכְנֶגְדָּם יֶשְׁנָם אַרְבַּע לְשׁוֹנוֹת שֶׁל גְּאוּלָּה.
In shortExile is of body and soul, as R' Meir Shapiro taught, and also communal and individual: four exiles, matching the four expressions of redemption.
5This lets us explain the Masorah we cited, which links “I will put a redemption between My people and your people”7 with “He sent redemption to His people.” It hints that the redemption “between My people and your people” is not a redemption of the body alone. It is a redemption of the soul as well, as the verse says, “He sent redemption to His people; He commanded His covenant forever; holy and awesome is His Name,”8 a verse that hints at the exile of the soul. This teaches us that in Egypt Israel was granted a redemption of both body and soul. And the verse “and with Him is abundant redemption” hints at the redemption of the individual and of the many. The Holy One, blessed be He, sets a redemption for each individual Jew, saving him from the plague of wild beasts so that it has no power over him. Besides this, Hashem will add a further redemption, an “abundant” one, for all Israel together, to bring them out of the exile of the many.
וּבָזֶה יֵשׁ לְבָאֵר הַמְּסוּרָה הַנִּזְכֶּרֶת, ״וְשַׂמְתִּי פְדוּת בֵּינִי וּבֵין עַמֶּךָ״, ״פְּדוּת שָׁלַח לְעַמּוֹ״, הַיְינוּ דְּבָא לְרַמֵּז דְּהַפְּדוּת שֶׁבֵּינִי וּבֵין עַמֶּךָ אֵינֶנּוּ רַק פְּדוּת גּוּפָנִית, אֶלָּא הַפְּדוּת הוּא גַּם גְּאוּלַּת הַנְּשָׁמָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ״פְּדוּת שָׁלַח לְעַמּוֹ צִוָּה לְעוֹלָם בְּרִיתוֹ קָדוֹשׁ וְנוֹרָא שְׁמוֹ״, הָרוֹמֵז לְגָלוּת הַנֶּפֶשׁ, לְלַמְּדֵינוּ שֶׁזָּכוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמִצְרַיִם לִגְאוּלַּת הַגּוּף וְהַנֶּפֶשׁ. וּבַפָּסוּק ״וְהַרְבֵּה עִמּוֹ פְדוּת״ נִרְמַז גְּאוּלַּת הַיָּחִיד וְהָרַבִּים, שֶׁמִּלְּבַד שהקב״ה יָשִׂים פְּדוּת לְכָל יָחִיד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל לְהַצִּילוֹ מֵהַמַּכָּה שֶׁלֹּא תִּשְׁלוֹט בּוֹ, עוֹד יוֹסִיף ה׳ פְּדוּת לְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל יַחַד לְהוֹצִיאָם מִגָּלוּת הָרַבִּים.
- The sefer has “between Me (beini) and your people”; the verse reads “between My people.” ↩
- Tehillim 111:9. ↩
In shortThe Masorah's verses hint at all four: Egypt's redemption freed soul as well as body, and “abundant redemption” adds the community's to each individual's.
6The purpose of all these redemptions is what the verse goes on to say: “And you shall know that I am Hashem.”9 That is what the Midrash means when it says the four cups were instituted to match the redemptions. Through them we are privileged to attain what the verse says, “I will lift up the cup of salvations, and I will call out in the Name of Hashem.”10 Through the power of the mitzvos of Pesach and the mitzvah of the four cups, we are able to call out in the Name of Hashem and to reach the level of “And you shall know that I am Hashem.” This answers our second question.
וְהִנֵּה הַתַּכְלִית שֶׁל כָּל גְּאוּלּוֹת אֵלּוּ כּוּלָּם, הוּא מַה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בַּכָּתוּב ״וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי אֲנִי ה׳״. וְזוֹ הִיא כַּוָּונַת הַמִּדְרָשׁ שֶׁכְּנֶגֶד זֶה תִּקְּנוּ אַרְבַּע כּוֹסוֹת שֶׁבָּהֶם יִזְכּוּ לְמַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר ״כּוֹס יְשׁוּעוֹת אֶקְרָא וּבְשֵׁם ה׳ אֶקְרָא״, שֶׁבְּכֹחַ מִצְוַת חַג הַפֶּסַח וּמִצְוַת אַרְבַּע כּוֹסוֹת יִזְכּוּ לִקְרוֹא בְּשֵׁם ה׳, וּלְהַגִּיעַ לִבְחִינַת ״וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי אֲנִי ה׳״.
- Shemos 6:7. ↩
- Tehillim 116:13. Here the sefer has “I will call out (ekra) the cup of salvations”; the verse reads “I will lift up (esa).” ↩
In shortKnowing Hashem is the goal of all four redemptions, and the four cups bring us there: “I will call out in the Name of Hashem.”
7May Hashem grant that each and every one of us leave his own personal exile, and that we be privileged to redeem our souls. Amen, may it be His will.
יִתֵּן ה׳ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד לָצֵאת מֵהַגָּלוּת הַפְּרָטִית, וְנִזְכֶּה לִפְדּוֹת נַפְשֵׁנוּ, אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן.
In shortThe Rebbe prays that each of us leave his own personal exile and be privileged to redeem his soul.
Takeaway
A redemption that frees only the body is not complete; the true redeemer speaks of a doubled redemption, of body and soul alike. Besides the exile of the whole nation, each of us can be in a personal exile of his own, and Hashem's four expressions of redemption reach every one of these. The four cups we lift on Pesach night are meant to bring us to call out in the Name of Hashem and to know that He is Hashem.
Learn this in the merit of Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz. His yahrzeit and life ›
English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.