The Five Expressions of Redemption

By not changing their names, the Jewish people in Egypt never lost their identity as Jews. Corresponding to this virtue, the Torah states that G-d took them out of the burden of Egypt. The greatest burden is when you lose your identity because it is subsumed within the identity of your tormentor. The Jews never lost their identity as Jews.

Four Expressions; Four Cups of Wine

In this week’s parsha G-d tells Moses to tell the children of Israel, “I am G-d, I will take you out from under the burdens of Egypt, and I will save you from their labor, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you as a people for Myself, and I will be a G-d to you, and you will know that I am G-d, your G-d, who is taking you from under the burdens of Egypt.” In this quote the Torah employed four expression of liberation: “I will take you out”; “I will save you”; “I will redeem you”; “I will take you”

The Talmud tells us that these four expressions of liberation are the basis for the requirement to drink four cups of wine at the Passover Seder.

The question one could raise here is: why should the fact that the same Exodus is described with four expressions necessitate drinking four cups? There was only one Exodus, so shouldn’t there be an obligation to drink only one cup of wine?

Four Stages

The simple explanation is that there were actually four separate stages of their liberation.. And—in the spirit of the Dayeinu hymn—one might suggest that we would have good reason to celebrate even if we would have remained slaves, but spared the intolerable conditions to which we were brutally subjected.

Hence, the first cup is our way of expressing gratitude and joy for not being tortured by the Egyptian taskmasters and for the end of the back-breaking slave labor.

But G-d did more than just release us from torture and the brutality to which we were subjected before the Exodus. G- d also liberated us from every form—even the most benign form—of slavery.

However, G-d did not stop at freeing us from servitude. He also released us from Egypt. Previously, no Jew could escape from the Egyptian prison. Now, Jews were free to leave Egypt. We have witnessed this form of liberation of Jews from the former Soviet Union, which kept Jews as hostages refusing to let them leave.

G-d was still not content. Not only did He liberate us from the Egyptian prison, He also granted us nationhood and made us His nation, by giving us a constitution—the Torah—that created an eternal bond between G-d and the Jewish people.

Thus, there are actually four different aspects and stages of the Exodus; each of the four levels of liberation deserves its own cup of wine to enhance the joy.

The Egyptian Burden

There is still an additional question that we must address to fully appreciate the four expressions of Redemption.

Why is it that in the opening description of how we were freed from the burden, the Torah mentions that it was an “Egyptian burden”? Did it make a difference whether the Egyptians enslaved and burdened the Jews or some other nation did it? The main point is that we were freed from that form of slavery. It makes little difference who was beating the Israelites.

We can answer this question in light of the explanation that was discussed in last week’s thought. It was suggested that the four expressions of Redemption—and the four cups of wine at the Seder—correspond to the four virtues of the Jewish people in Egypt, in which merit they were liberated. And it was also suggested that these four expressions relate to the four areas that must be cultivated by us in preparation for the final Redemption.

These four virtues, described by the Midrash, are: a) They did not change their names; b) They did not change their language; c) They did not slander one another; d) They were not unchaste.

To translate these four virtues into contemporary terms, we must: know who we are; b) speak and think in Jewish terms; c) recognize our inherent Jewish unity; and, d) gain mastery over our desires.

Not changing their names represented the fact that they never lost their identity as Jews. Corresponding to this virtue, the Torah states that G-d took them out of the burden of Egypt, with the emphasis on Egypt. The greatest burden is when you lose your identity and your identity is subsumed within the identity of your tormentor. They did not become Egyptians. This is hinted in an alternate translation of the word “sivlos” which means burdens but has also been translated as “tolerance.” Thus it reads, “I will take them out of tolerating Egypt.” They did not tolerate Egypt. It was not part of their identity.

No Contribution to Egyptian Life

The second virtue of not changing their language was explained in last week’s message as a sign that they did not lose their distinctive Jewish way of thinking. A Jew could recognize that he or she is a Jew even while adopting non-Jewish ways of thinking and communicating.

Corresponding to this aspect of liberation, the Torah states, “I will save you from their labor.” Here the term labor can mean the Egyptian way of doing things. Because the Jews exhibited resistance to serving in an Egyptian fashion, G-d saved them from working for the Egyptians and contributing to their way of life.

A Major Production

The third virtue of not slandering one another, which expressed their inherent unity, precipitated the third stage of the Exodus; G-d liberated them with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. Had the Jewish people lacked unity, their liberation would have been a private affair. It would have lacked the fanfare that accompanied the Exodus. Now that they were a united people, G-d made the Exodus a spectacular display of miracles to reflect the magnitude of the event that encompassed an entire unified nation.

The fourth virtue was their ability to gain mastery over themselves. They did not succumb to the immoral and depraved ways of the Egyptians. In the merit of this inner strength that the Jewish people maintained in Egypt, they were taken by G-d to be His nation. The reward for inner strength is to be given the means to preserve that inner strength. This G-d did by making them His nation and becoming their G-d at Mount Sinai, where G-d said “ I am the L-rd Your G-d.” The Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad Chassidic movement, whose 200th anniversary of his passing we observed last Sunday on the 24th of Teves) provides a novel translation. “I have made My essential name your strength.” This means that from Sinai onward, G-d’s transcendent being has become the inner strength of each and every Jew. Every Jew possesses the inner fortitude and moral courage to resist all the pressures that threaten our purity and holiness.

The Fifth Cup

In truth, there are actually five expressions of liberation in this week’s parsha. After the four that were enumerated above, the Torah continues: “I will bring you to the land, regarding which I raised My hand to give it to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, and I will give it to you as a heritage; I am G-d.”

Some say that this fifth expression is the reason for pouring a cup for Elijah, the prophet. It is about the future Redemption that will be ushered in and announced by Elijah. And since we have yet to experience the future Redemption, we do not drink the fifth cup.

In light of the foregoing association of the four expressions and cups of wine with the four virtues that distinguished the Jewish people, to which virtue does the fifth expression correspond?

It may be suggested that the fifth expression, that predicts the future Redemption, relates to the virtue of faith in the promise of Redemption and the desire to be liberated. It does not suffice to maintain our identity, attitude, unity and self-mastery in exile. One must clamor for the Redemption no matter how good things are spiritually and materially in exile.

Indeed, the Talmud states that it was in the merit of Emunah-faith that the Jewish people were liberated from Egypt. More specifically, the Talmud states that it was in the merit of the Jewish women that they were liberated. Actually, these two statements are complementary. The women possessed a greater measure of faith than the men.

So when we pour the fifth cup for Elijah, it is appropriate to reflect on the role of maintaining our faith in, and our anticipation of the Redemption. It is a time to reinforce our faith that, despite all of the delays, Moshiach’s coming is imminent. As we say in the Ani Ma’amin declaration: “I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach. And even though he tarries, I await his coming every day.”

Four Cups Plus One

This week’s Torah portion features the four expressions of Redemption: “I will take you out…rescue you…redeem you…take you… bring you to the land, and give it to you as a heritage.” These four cups we drink Passover night at the Seder were instituted by our sages as a means to express these four expressions/dimensions of liberation.

The question has been raised. Closer scrutiny of the text will show that there are actually five expressions of Redemption. Why then don’t we drink a fifth cup for the fifth expression, “veheiveisi” — “I will bring you”?

One answer given is that the first four expressions of redemption are addressed to the entire Jewish community. However, the fifth expression, “I will bring you,” refers to the giving of Eretz Yisrael to the Jewish people and does not apply to the tribe of Levi, because they did not have their own portion of Eretz Yisrael. They only had 42 cities plus the 6 cities of refuge which were given to them by the other tribes (Numbers 35). Since “I will bring you” does not apply to everyone, we do not drink a fifth cup. Nevertheless a fifth cup is placed on the table and called “Elijah’s cup” because he is the prophet who will announce the coming of Moshiach.

When Moshiach comes, the Talmud tells us, Eretz Yisrael will be divided into 13 portions (Bava Basra 122a), and also the tribe of Levi will receive its own portion. The tribes of Ephraim and Menashe will share the one portion allotted to the tribe of Yosef, and the 13th portion will be for Moshiach. Hence, it is most appropriate to associate Eliyahu with the fifth cup, for through him all the Jews will be given a heritage in the land.

On a deeper level, the four expressions of Redemption represent the four names/levels of the soul – enumerated in the Midrash and discussed at length in Jewish Mysticism — which are liberated on Passover night. The fifth expression, which corresponds to the fifth level, the very essence of the soul, can only be fully expressed in the Messianic age. Hence the fifth cup is the one that corresponds to the future.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Voeira by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.