In our Torah for this week (i.e., parashat Va’era), the LORD told Moses that He was about to fulfill His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by giving the Israelites the land of Canaan, and that he had heard the “groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians held as slaves” (Exod. 6:5).The LORD (יהוה) was now coming down to earth to fight and save his people! Israel would now know that He alone is their Savior and God. The “showdown” between the LORD (יהוה) and the so-called “gods” of Egypt was imminent, and God therefore encouraged the people with precious promises: “I AM the LORD (אֲנִי יְהוָה) and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgment; and I will take you to me for a people and I will be to you a God” (these are the “four expressions of redemption” we recite during the Passover Seder every year).
Despite these wonderful promises, however, the people were unable to listen because of their “shortness of breath” (מִקּצֶר רוּחַ) on account of their harsh slavery. The LORD then told Moses: “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land,” and the great showdown between the LORD and the gods of Egypt began. However, even after repeatedly witnessing the series of miraculous plagues issued in the Name of the LORD, the despot remained proud and unmoved, thereby setting the stage for the final devastating plagues upon the land of Egypt and the great Passover redemption of Israel.
Parashat Va’era Podcast:
