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Yetziat Mitzrayim ‐ Adina Passy (12th Grade)

We are taught from the time we are little children about the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim. Many teachers spend a
lot of time teaching students every year about the story of Pesach. It does not take much to know that we are
supposed to remember the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim all year long, as it is in kiddush and in shema. But where
do we see that Yetziat Mitzrayim is an essential part of our history? In the first dibrah of the Aseret Hadibrot, it
says that “I am the L-ord your G-d, Who took you out of Egypt.” Why does G-d need to connect it to the fact
that He took us out of Egypt? Rashi and Ramban explain that Hashem wrote “The G-d who took you out of
Egypt” to remind us that we are repaying a debt. They also say that the reason He wrote that is because it is easi-
er to have faith when there is a personal connection: in our case, taking us out. This teaches us that we must try
to connect things in our life personally so that we feel more connected to them. Also, we need to have an atti-
tude of gratitude in all aspects of life, and try to always give Hakarat Hatov, appreciation for what we have.

Why G‐d Mentions Yetziat Mitzrayim in the Ten Commandments ‐

Shaked Carmel (10th Grade)

One of the most important events discussed in the Haggadah is the Jews receiving the Torah at Har Sinai. We
are all familiar with the Ten Commandments that G-d tells Bnei Yisrael, in a whole production with lighting
and noise etc. Interestingly, though, G-d opens His commandments by saying “I am the L-rd your G-d who took
you out of Egypt”. Why was it necessary to say that G-d took the Jews out of Egypt? The effect would have
been just as dramatic if G-d said “I created the great heavens and the mighty earth”.

Many commentaries deal with this question, but in my opinion three of them especially stand out. The first is by
Rashi, one of the greatest commentators of all time, who states that it was necessary to make certain that the
Jews believed in only one G-d. Therefore, right before G-d commands the Jews they may only worship one G-d,
he tells them that He is the same G-d as the one who took them out of Egypt. That way, no one will doubt that
this is a different G-d than the one who saved them from slavery. The second commentary is by the Ibn Ezra,
who states that G-d had to remind the Jews that He took them out of Egypt, so the Jews would feel obligated to
accept the Torah, since it is due to G-d that they are not currently slaves. The final commentary, by the Ramban,
says that G-d said I took you out of Egypt because the Jews could relate to it, because they were there. If G-d
would have said I created the world, it would have been great, but the Jews would not have known what exactly
He was talking about.

At this point I am sure all of you are wondering what the lesson is. I am not sure I can provide you with a lesson
for each of the answers, but we can take away an important lesson from the Ibn Ezra’s commentary. Like the
Jews at Har Sinai, we should always be grateful and know how to show gratitude to the people who do us kind-
ness, or in this case to G-d who does us all kindness on a daily basis.