Rashi in His Own Words
שמות כ', ב': אנכי ה 'אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים מבית עבדים :
רש"י ד"ה אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים :כדאי היא ההוצאה שתהיו משועבדים לי ... ולמה אמר לשון יחיד ,אלקיך ,ליתן פתחון פה למשה ללמד סניגוריא במעשה העגל ,וזהו שאמר (שמות ל"ב ,י"א )למה ה 'יחרה אפך בעמך ,לא להם צוית ,לא יהיה לכם אלקים אחרים ,אלא לי לבדי :
Shemos 20:2: I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Rashi Heading - Who took you out of the land of Egypt: Taking you out of Egypt is sufficient reason for you to be subservient to Me, etc. And why did He say this in the singular ("your G-d," singular)? (He did so) to give Moshe an opening to offer a defense in the calf incident. This is (what is meant by "Why, O Lord, should Your anger be kindled against Your people?" You did not command them, "You shall not have the gods of others before Me," but You commanded me alone.)
Synopsis
In this week's Torah portion, Yisro, we are told how G-d gave the Torah to the Jewish people. He began by saying, "I am the Lord your God who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." Rashi cites the words "Who took you out of the land of Egypt" and explains that "Taking you out (of Egypt) is enough reason for you to be subservient to Me." According to some commentaries, Rashi explains why the Torah doesn't say, "I am the Lord your G-d who created heaven and earth." In other words, Rashi explains that the Torah says that He took us out of the land of Egypt to explain why we must be subservient to Him.
This reason, however, is not sufficient. According to Peshat, there seems to be no reason to ask why the Torah says, "Who took you out of the land of Egypt." The Torah tells us, "I am the Lord your G-d," which explains why Jews specifically must be subservient to Him! The Jews were the ones whom Hashem redeemed from Egypt.
We already know that the purpose of leaving Egypt was to receive the Torah, thereby becoming Hashem's slaves and accepting Him as our king. However, being a slave does not negate the idea of having a certain amount of "free time," during which one eats and sleeps. By saying that we are subservient to Him because He redeemed us from Egypt, Rashi tells us that we are constantly His slaves. Our bond to G-d mirrors our bond to Pharaoh, which was 24/7. Rashi is not saying that "Who took you out of the land of Egypt" is the reason that "I am the Lord your G-d." Instead, he is explaining how we must serve Hashem. We must serve Him with all of our being.
Rashi's Explanation
In this week's Torah portion, Yisro, the Torah tells us of Hashem giving the Torah to the Jewish people, beginning with the Ten Commandments. The first of these commandments is, "I am the Lord your G-d Who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." Rashi cites the words "Who took you out of the land of Egypt" and begins his explanation by saying, "The taking you out (of Egypt) is enough reason for you to be subservient to Me."
As we have said many times, Rashi is explaining Peshat, the simple meaning of the Torah. His commentary answers a question that would otherwise bother a beginning student. What is the difficulty that Rashi is explaining here? The Sefer HaMizrachi and other commentaries to Rashi explain that our verse seemingly has a question that would bother a beginner. Why did the Torah not relate that the Lord is our G-d Who Created heaven and earth? Creation took place long before our redemption from Egypt! The Torah could have said, "I am the Lord your G-d Who created heaven and earth!" Therefore, Rashi explains that the Torah states that had he only taken us out of Egypt, that would be sufficient reason for us to be subservient to Him.
Difficulties in Understanding Rashi
However, in reality, this is no question whatsoever! G-d is telling us why He is our G-d, the G-d of the Jewish people. It is understandable why Hashem said something that only applies to the Jews. Why choose this specific event, the exodus from Egypt? The reason is that this event only concerns the Jews.
It explains why we are a unique, chosen nation. The Torah already told us that our redemption from Egypt was to receive the Torah.
Furthermore, the Torah has said several times that Hashem is our G-d because He has redeemed us from Egypt to give us the Torah. If Rashi needs to comment on this, why did he not comment earlier? For example, at the beginning of the book of Shemos, the second of the five books of the Torah, Hashem told Moshe, "When you take the people out of Egypt, you will worship Hashem on this mountain." Further on, it says, "Therefore say to the Jewish people ... and I will take you out from the burdens of Egypt... I will take you to Myself as a nation, and I shall be a G-d to you, etc., and you will know that I am the Lord your G-d Who took you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." Our portion says regarding the preparations for receiving the Torah, "You saw what I did to the Egyptians, and I carried you... and I brought you to Me, etc. If you obey Me and keep My covenant, etc., you shall be to Me a holy nation, etc." We see clearly that the purpose of our redemption from Egypt was to receive the Torah and become Hashem's chosen nation. Why did Rashi not point out the connection between the exodus from Egypt and being subservient to Hashem earlier?
Another apparent difficulty is that we know how precise Rashi is in his chosen words. This applies to the terms he uses in his comments and equally to those he uses in the headings of his remarks. We explain that Rashi is saying that "Who brought you out of the land of Egypt" is the reason for "I am the Lord your G-d." This being the case, why does Rashi only cite the words from the verse "Who brought you out of the land of Egypt" and not the words "I am the Lord your G-d?"
Furthermore, in the overwhelming majority of cases where the Torah says that the purpose of the Exodus from Egypt was for us to accept Hashem as our G-d, Rashi uses the expression "I redeemed you on this condition" or the like. Why does Rashi change this pattern here and say that "taking you out of Egypt is sufficient reason for you to be subservient to Me?
Also, in keeping with the expression "I am the Lord your G-d," Rashi should have used a similar term. He could have said, "So that you should accept Me as G-d," or "So that you accept My kingship." Why does Rashi use a different expression, "that you be subservient to Me."
The Explanation
The beginning student would not wonder why it says, "Who brought you out of the land of Egypt." Quite to the contrary, his question is that the words are seemingly superfluous. We already knew that we were leaving Egypt to receive the Torah, and we knew what keeping the Torah entails; we would be G-d's slaves rather than Pharaoh's. What reason could there be for Hashem to tell us that "I am the Lord your G-d" because I took you out of Egypt? Without exception, every Jew was aware of this.
Rashi does not say that redeeming us from Egypt was why Hashem is our G-d; instead, it is a separate statement that adds something to how Hashem is our G-d. The Hebrew word for subservient משעובד comes from the word for a slave, עבד. However, it implies something much more than slavery, and it means being totally devoted to the owner in absolutely every respect. A slave is the property of his master.
Nonetheless, he does have a private life to a certain extent. He has time to eat and sleep. Rashi is telling us that our relationship with G-d goes much deeper. We must dedicate every second of every day of our entire life to Hashem's service. "I am the Lord, your G-d," means we are his slaves. "Who took you out of the land of Egypt" signifies a more profound devotion than the devotion of a slave to his master. G-d redeemed us from our backbreaking work for Pharaoh in Egypt. Slavery was all-encompassing. By the same token, Hashem commands us to serve Him in eating, drinking, and sleeping. Every action that we perform must be a part of our Divine service.
A Deeper Explanation
After Rashi's words, he asks why G-d said "your G-d" in the singular possessive. He explains that Hashem was leaving room for Moshe to defend the Jews after the sin of the golden calf. In other words, Moshe could claim to G-d that the Jews understood from this commandment that He was your (Moshe's) G-d. It does not seem like much of a defense. From this, we can learn a great lesson. G-d was concerned with every Jew, even one who could be led astray at the very beginning of our becoming G-d's nation.
Moreover, when we say led astray, we are referring to idolatry. This did not occur after reading the prohibition in a book, but rather after hearing the prohibition from G-d Almighty Himself! We must learn from Hashem to tend to each Jew without exception. We must help each Jew materially and spiritually, including one who has been led astray. We must reach out to everyone.
In our time, this is especially true. The vast, overwhelming majority of those led astray are part of a specific category in Jewish law. They are considered "babies who were kidnapped by gentiles." This is because nearly all of those who are not observant have never received a Jewish education. They have no real idea of the real meaning of the Torah and Mitzvos. Therefore, they cannot be held responsible for their actions. How much more so do we all have a responsibility to help them observe Torah-true Judaism.
(Adapted from a talk given on Shabbos Parshas Yisro 5730)
I hope you gained as much by reading this as I did by translating and adapting it.
Click here to dedicate a week, a month, or a year to the Rashi of the Week.
You can find us on the web at www.RebbeTeachesRashi.org.
