Noach’s distress requires some exploration. Could his older sons not serve him? And if we go by the commentaries who say the way of the world is not to use older ones, didn’t he also have grandsons from them?
After this introduction and long list of questions, we can, B’ezrat Hashem, proceed to explain matters piece by piece, through the words of the Ramban in Parshat Yitro, Parshat Mishpatim, and Parshat Va’etchanan.
It is known to all that the matter of Yetziat Mitzrayim is mentioned in the Torah fifty times. In the Torah, there are Mitzvot that are statutes (chukim), testimonies (edot), and and judgments (mishpatim); and many of the Mitzvot are a remembrance of Yetziat Mitzrayim, such as Shabbat, Sukkot, Tefillin, Mezuzah, Tzitzit, taking interest on loans, forbidden foods, and more. In Yetziat Mitzrayim, the Ramban writes, there were two entirely separate issues. In our Tefillah, we recite: מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים פְּדִיתָנוּ אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֱמֶת מִמִּצְרַיִם גָּאַלְתָּנוּ ה', and in Birkat Hamazon: וּפְדִיתָנוּ מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים שֶׁהוֹצֵאתָנוּ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם.
Why is the emphasis on bringing us out of the land of Egypt and redeeming us from the house of slavery? Obviously, the exodus from Egypt was also an exodus from slavery, so why mention both separately? The Ramban says, they are two completely different things. The exodus from Egypt is one thing, and the exodus from the house of slavery is another!
What does this mean? We’ll state the words of the Ramban in our own language. The Ramban says, the first commandment of אָנֹכִי ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים is intended to establish faith. Hakadosh Baruch Hu, in Egypt, showed us through the ten plagues that He rules over the entire world! He didn’t create the world and then abandon it to the control of angels; He was, is, and will be – He rules over everything in creation! The Kli Yakar explains why Rabbi Yehuda gave the makkot the mnemonic דצ"ך עד"ש באח"ב. He says, in the first plague of the series דצ"ך, Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, "In this you shall know that I am Hashem". In the first plague of the series עד"ש, it was said, "So that you may know that I am Hashem in the midst of the earth," and likewise in the first plague of the series באח"ב it was said, "So that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth." Pharaoh denied three things in principle, and Bnei Yisrael needed to be strengthened in these areas. He denied the existence of Hakadosh Baruch Hu; and even if He existed, Pharoah denied that He oversees the lowly in nature; and even if He oversaw the lowly, Pharoah denied His ability to change nature. Thus, there’s one matter of אָנֹכִי ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם – Am Yisrael emerged strengthened in faith. But there is another matter called מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים, from the house of slavery.
The Ramban brings the words of a Midrash, that when Hakadosh Baruch Hu brought Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt, He said to them: "Rabbotai, when you were in Egypt, you were Pharaoh’s servants. From now on, I am taking you from being Pharaoh’s servants, and you become My servants!" Hakadosh Baruch Hu then warned us in Parshat Va’etchanan: הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ פֶּן תִּשְׁכַּח אֶת ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ – Beware lest you forget Hashem your G-d. Not only "who brought you out of the land of Egypt," but also "from the house of slavery” – and why? The Torah instructs us: אֶת ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ תִּירָא וְאֹתוֹ תַעֲבֹד – You shall fear Hashem your G-d and serve Him. There are two things included here: אָנֹכִי ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם refers to the commandment of אֶת ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ תִּירָא, while in parallel to that, the inclusion of מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים refers to וְאֹתוֹ תַעֲבֹד – that we are to become His servants.
What does it mean to be a servant of Hakadosh Baruch Hu? The Ramban writes: “One should be to Him at all times like a purchased slave who constantly serves before his master, making his master’s work primary and his own needs secondary, until it comes to what they said (Avot 2:12): ‘Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven,’ that even the needs of his body should be for the service of G-d – he eats, sleeps, and attends to his needs for the sustenance of the body in order to serve Hakadosh Baruch Hu.”
In exactly these words, the Radak writes on the first Pasuk in Sefer Yehoshua: וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי מוֹת מֹשֶׁה עֶבֶד ה' – And it was after the death of Moshe, the servant of Hashem. עֶבֶד ה' is one who directs all his strength, intent, and attention to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and even when engaged in worldly matters, intends it for the service of the Hashem Yitbarach. This is what’s called a servant of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. This means: A servant is a person who does not remove his mind from serving Hashem!
