A Nation Drawn Out From the Midst of a Nation

"This month shall be for you" (Exodus 12:2). Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Yudan son of Rabbi Shimon: the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, "My children, you have a renewal of redemption now, and so in the time to come. In the past I did not redeem a nation from the midst of a nation, but now I am redeeming a nation from the midst of a nation," as it is written, "or has God ever tried to come and take for Himself" and so forth (Deuteronomy 4:34). Rabbi Yehoshua son of Rabbi Nehemiah in the name of Rabbi Yohanan bar Pazi: it does not say here "a nation from the midst of a people" or "a people from the midst of a nation," but "a nation from the midst of a nation" (ibid.), for these were uncircumcised and these were uncircumcised, these grew a lock of hair and these grew a lock of hair. If so, the attribute of justice would not have allowed Israel ever to be redeemed from Egypt. Rabbi Shemuel bar Nahman said: had the Holy One, blessed be He, not bound Himself by an oath, Israel would never have been redeemed from Egypt. And what is the reason? "Therefore say to the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out" and so forth (Exodus 6:6), and "therefore" [lakhen] means nothing other than an oath, as it says, "and therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli" (1 Samuel 3:14). Rabbi Berekhiah said: "You redeemed Your people with an arm" (Psalms 77:16) - by force. Rabbi Yudan said: from "to come and take for Himself a nation" (Deuteronomy 4:34) until "great terrors" (ibid.) there are seventy-two letters. And if a person says to you there are seventy-five, say to him: subtract the second "nation," which is not part of the count. Rabbi Avin said: He redeemed them by His name, for the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, has seventy-two letters. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: it is like a king whose son was taken captive, and vengeance clothed the king, and he went and ransomed his son, and said, "Let them count by the era of my son's redemption." So the Holy One said, "Let them count by the era of the exodus from Egypt." Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina said: it is like a king who married many wives and wrote them neither a marriage gift nor a marriage contract, but when he married a woman of good family and noble lineage he wrote her a marriage gift and a contract. So of all the women Ahasuerus married he wrote neither gift nor contract, but when he married Esther, of good family and noble lineage, he wrote her a marriage gift and a contract. He wrote her the gift, "in the tenth month, which is the month of Tevet" (Esther 2:16), and he wrote her the contract, "in the seventh year of his reign" (ibid.).