Rabbi Elazar paints a vivid picture. Imagine a lily growing amidst a thicket of thorns. Beautiful, right? But how difficult would it be to pluck it, to reach in and claim that delicate flower? That, he says, is how challenging it was for God to redeem Israel. Deuteronomy (4:34) reminds us of the tribulations, signs, wonders, war, mighty hand, outstretched arm, and fearsome deeds involved. It wasn't exactly a walk in the park!

But here's the kicker. Rabbi Elazar points out something even more unsettling. The Egyptians and the Israelites weren't all that different! Both were, shall we say, “uncircumcised” in spirit (and perhaps literally!), both sported long locks, both wore sha’atnez – diverse kinds of forbidden mixtures of wool and linen. Basically, the Israelites acted just like the nations of the world. So, from a purely legalistic point of view – from the perspective of the attribute of justice – there was no real reason to redeem them. Yikes!

So, what tipped the scales? Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani offers a powerful explanation: God had bound Himself with an oath. Had He not, Israel would have remained in Egypt forever. He points to Exodus 6:6, "Lakhen, say to the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will take you out…I will rescue you…I will redeem you." That word lakhen? It doesn't just mean "therefore." Rabbi Shmuel says it's an expression of an oath, just like in I Samuel 3:14, "Therefore, I have taken an oath to the house of Eli."

Rabbi Berekhya adds another layer. "With Your arm, You redeemed Your people" (Psalms 77:16) – with force! He suggests that God, in a sense, overpowered the attribute of justice to fulfill His promise. He bent the rules, so to speak, out of love and commitment.

And then, we get into some numerological territory. Rabbi Yudan points out that from "to come and take for himself a nation from the midst of a nation" until "with fearsome deeds" in Deuteronomy 4:34, there are seventy-two letters. (Just be sure to remove the second usage of the word "nation" to get the count right!). Rabbi Avin takes it a step further, saying that God redeems them with His very name, because the name of the Holy One blessed be He, is also seventy-two letters.

What does it all mean?

Perhaps it's a reminder that redemption isn't always about deserving. Sometimes, it's about promise, about love, about a force that transcends strict justice. It reminds us that even when we’re not at our best, when we’re stuck in our own "Egypt," there's a divine commitment to our liberation. The Exodus story, as interpreted by the Rabbis, is less a tale of perfect righteousness and more a testament to unwavering divine love. And that, my friends, is a story worth remembering.