וְאֶתְכֶם֙ לָקַ֣ח יְהוָ֔ה וַיּוֹצִ֥א אֶתְכֶ֛ם מִכּ֥וּר הַבַּרְזֶ֖ל מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם לִהְי֥וֹת ל֛וֹ לְעַ֥ם נַחֲלָ֖ה כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃
Mais vous, l’Éternel vous a adoptés, il vous a arrachés de ce creuset de fer, l’Égypte, pour que vous fussiez un peuple lui appartenant, comme vous l’êtes aujourd’hui.
Rabbeinu Bahya
It is appropriate to explain why such an acrostic is necessary seeing that immediately after the word אנכי G’d spells out the fact that He gave the Torah by referring to Himself as י-ה-ו-ה אלוה-יך. You are familiar with the fact that Onkelos translates the word אנכי when applied to G’d as מימרי, except in this instance where he does not translate it but renders it in the original Hebrew. By not translating the words and simply copying them, Onkelos preserves the fact that G’d refers to the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice as having been equally involved in uttering the Ten Commandments and makes plain that the commandment which demands from us complete faith in G’d’s Oneness and being unprecedented extends to both of these attributes of His. By reminding us of the acrostic concealed in these four letters, the sages reminded us of the fact that the entire Torah was given by the attribute Hashem. Our sages (Mechilta Bachodesh section 6) have called this commandment “acceptance of the Kingdom of heaven.” Both the attribute of Justice and the attribute of Mercy are qualities which a king of flesh and blood also has to display when judging his nation. Solomon already refers to this when he says (Proverbs 29,4) “a king sustains the land by justice.” The same Solomon writes in Proverbs 20,28: “mercy and truth preserve the king; he upholds his throne by loving kindness.”
אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים, “who has taken you out of the land of Egypt.” He did this in order to demonstrate the miracles to establish His claim to Kingship and Divinity in your eyes. Seeing that it was all-important to G’d to remind the people of their visual experience of what He had done, He decided not to introduce Himself as the G’d Who had created heaven and earth. The people had not witnessed that, nor for that matter had anyone else. In fact, G’d used the visual experience the people had of Him to support His claim that He had created the heaven and earth. Moreover, the Exodus of Egypt was a manifestation of G’d equal to creation of heaven and earth. The miracles which occurred subsequent to the Exodus were many and variegated; the various miracles which contradicted the laws of nature were proof that only Someone Who had established those “laws of nature” could have also have been the One Who created heaven and earth. This is why G’d chose the word הוצאתיך to describe the Exodus. The word also means “to bring forth,” and has been used repeatedly in that sense in the first chapter of Genesis. It signifies that what occurred at the Exodus was a חדוש העולם, “a rebirth of the world as it had been known.” Instead of being slaves to an earthly power, i.e. Pharaoh, the Israelites would now serve an entirely different Master, the Creator, Who had adopted them as His special people. When referring to the bondage in Egypt as a “house of slaves,” G’d may even have alluded to the fact that the masters,” i.e. the Egyptians, had been shown to be only slaves themselves, subject to a higher authority, G’d. After all, the Egyptians were descended from Cham, youngest son of Noach, whose descendants had been cursed by their father Noach to be slaves. (Compare the Egyptians’ genealogy in Genesis 10,7). Having become the slaves of slaves was in itself unnatural. It is also possible that the word עבדים in the expression בית עבדים in our verse is a reference to an object or objects. We would have to translate it as “the house of eternal slavery.” It is also possible to explain the words מבית עבדים as “from the house of horoscopes to which all Egyptians were mentally enslaved.” The reason the Torah describes the horoscopes as “slaves,” is that whereas they are like kings to those who believe in them and feel utterly dependent on their power, they are in reality servants to all the celestial forces above them. There is a hint here that actually the Israelites had been condemned to remain in Egypt for longer (according to horoscopic calculations) had not the Lord negated the power of the horoscopes and taken the Israelites out as a miracle. This is the meaning of Deut. 4,20: “He took you out from the iron crucible” in which the Israelites had been meant to dissolve like iron being melted down. Our verse then describes that the Exodus proceeded in two stages, first G’d took the people out of the iron crucible, then out of the land of Egypt.
אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים, “who has taken you out of the land of Egypt.” He did this in order to demonstrate the miracles to establish His claim to Kingship and Divinity in your eyes. Seeing that it was all-important to G’d to remind the people of their visual experience of what He had done, He decided not to introduce Himself as the G’d Who had created heaven and earth. The people had not witnessed that, nor for that matter had anyone else. In fact, G’d used the visual experience the people had of Him to support His claim that He had created the heaven and earth. Moreover, the Exodus of Egypt was a manifestation of G’d equal to creation of heaven and earth. The miracles which occurred subsequent to the Exodus were many and variegated; the various miracles which contradicted the laws of nature were proof that only Someone Who had established those “laws of nature” could have also have been the One Who created heaven and earth. This is why G’d chose the word הוצאתיך to describe the Exodus. The word also means “to bring forth,” and has been used repeatedly in that sense in the first chapter of Genesis. It signifies that what occurred at the Exodus was a חדוש העולם, “a rebirth of the world as it had been known.” Instead of being slaves to an earthly power, i.e. Pharaoh, the Israelites would now serve an entirely different Master, the Creator, Who had adopted them as His special people. When referring to the bondage in Egypt as a “house of slaves,” G’d may even have alluded to the fact that the masters,” i.e. the Egyptians, had been shown to be only slaves themselves, subject to a higher authority, G’d. After all, the Egyptians were descended from Cham, youngest son of Noach, whose descendants had been cursed by their father Noach to be slaves. (Compare the Egyptians’ genealogy in Genesis 10,7). Having become the slaves of slaves was in itself unnatural. It is also possible that the word עבדים in the expression בית עבדים in our verse is a reference to an object or objects. We would have to translate it as “the house of eternal slavery.” It is also possible to explain the words מבית עבדים as “from the house of horoscopes to which all Egyptians were mentally enslaved.” The reason the Torah describes the horoscopes as “slaves,” is that whereas they are like kings to those who believe in them and feel utterly dependent on their power, they are in reality servants to all the celestial forces above them. There is a hint here that actually the Israelites had been condemned to remain in Egypt for longer (according to horoscopic calculations) had not the Lord negated the power of the horoscopes and taken the Israelites out as a miracle. This is the meaning of Deut. 4,20: “He took you out from the iron crucible” in which the Israelites had been meant to dissolve like iron being melted down. Our verse then describes that the Exodus proceeded in two stages, first G’d took the people out of the iron crucible, then out of the land of Egypt.
Sefer Daniel; Opportunity in Exile
In addition, Chananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, representing the broader nation, miraculously surviving Nevuchadnetzar’s burning cauldron symbolizes the miraculous survival of Am Yisrael in the cauldron and melting pot of Bavel76The Torah (Devarim 4:20) describes our exile in Egypt as a “Koor Habarzel”, iron furnace..
Ramban
FOR G-D IS COME IN ORDER TO ‘NASOTH’ YOU. “I.e., to make you ‘great’ in the world, [to ensure] that you obtain a name amongst the nations [because of the fact] that He in His Glory revealed Himself to you. Nasoth is a term for ‘exalting’ and ‘greatness,’ just as in the verses: Lift up a ‘neis’ (an ensign);551Isaiah 62:10. ‘k’neis’ (as an ensign) on a hill,552Ibid., 30:17. which is so called because it is high.” Thus Rashi’s language. But this is not correct.553Rashi connects nasoth with neis (ensign, banner). Ramban objects to this because in his opinion, the root of the word nasoth is nasoh (try, accustom). Instead, it is possible that Moses is saying that “it is in order to get you ‘accustomed’ to have faith in Him that G-d is come. Since He has shown you the Revelation of the Divine Presence, your faith in Him has entered your hearts to cleave to Him, and your souls will never be separated from it forever. And that His fear may be before you when you see that He alone is G-d in heaven and upon the earth, you will have great fear of Him.” It may be that Moses is saying that “the fear of this great fire554Deuteronomy 5:22. will be before you, and you will not sin because of your fear of it.” And the word nasoth is similar in expression to the verses: And he [David] assayed to go, but could not, for he had ‘nisah’ (tried) it. And David said unto Saul: I cannot go with these; for I have not ‘nisithi’ (tried) them,555I Samuel 17:39. something like “accustomed.”
The Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] has said in the Moreh Nebuchim556Guide of the Perplexed, III, 24. The Hebrew text here follows Al Charizi’s translation, and not that of Ibn Tibbon. that Moses said to the people, “Fear not, because the purpose of that which you have seen is that when the Eternal G-d, in order to demonstrate your faithfulness to Him, will test you by sending you a false prophet who will aim to reverse that which you have heard, your steps will never slide from the way of the truth, for you have seen the truth with your own eyes.” But if so, the sense of the verse, [according to Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon], is that “in order to be able to prove you in the future, G-d came now so that you should remain faithful to Him in all trials.”
In my opinion, the real “trial” is now, [and not as Rambam has it that “He now came in order to be able to prove you in the future”]. Moses is saying: “Now G-d wanted to try you whether you will keep His commandments,557See Deuteronomy 8:2. since He has now removed all doubt from your hearts. From now on, He will see whether ye do love Him,558Ibid., 13:4. and whether you want Him and His commandments.” So also does every expression of nisayon mean “test,” such as: I cannot go with these; for I have not ‘nisithi’ them,555I Samuel 17:39. which means “I have never tried to walk with them.”
It is possible that this “trial” is for the good [of the one who is being tried],559See Vol. I, p. 275. for the master will sometimes try his servant with hard work in order to know whether he will endure it out of his love for him. Sometimes he will do him good in order to know whether he will requite him with additional service and honor for the good he has done him. This is similar to what the Sages have said:560Shemoth Rabbah 31:2. “Happy is the person who stands through his trials, for there is no man whom the Holy One, blessed be He, does not try. He tries the rich to see if his hand will be open for the poor; He tries the poor if he can bear suffering, etc.” This is why Scripture says here: “G-d has been good to you in showing you His Glory, which He hath not dealt with any nation,561Psalms 147:20. in order to prove you whether you will requite Him according to the good He has done to you to be unto Him a people of inheritance,562Deuteronomy 4:20. similar to what He said, Do ye thus requite the Eternal?563Ibid., 32:6. And it is said. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities,564Amos 3:2. for the nations are not obligated to me as are you, whom I have known face to face.”
The Rabbi [Moshe ben Maimon] has said in the Moreh Nebuchim556Guide of the Perplexed, III, 24. The Hebrew text here follows Al Charizi’s translation, and not that of Ibn Tibbon. that Moses said to the people, “Fear not, because the purpose of that which you have seen is that when the Eternal G-d, in order to demonstrate your faithfulness to Him, will test you by sending you a false prophet who will aim to reverse that which you have heard, your steps will never slide from the way of the truth, for you have seen the truth with your own eyes.” But if so, the sense of the verse, [according to Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon], is that “in order to be able to prove you in the future, G-d came now so that you should remain faithful to Him in all trials.”
In my opinion, the real “trial” is now, [and not as Rambam has it that “He now came in order to be able to prove you in the future”]. Moses is saying: “Now G-d wanted to try you whether you will keep His commandments,557See Deuteronomy 8:2. since He has now removed all doubt from your hearts. From now on, He will see whether ye do love Him,558Ibid., 13:4. and whether you want Him and His commandments.” So also does every expression of nisayon mean “test,” such as: I cannot go with these; for I have not ‘nisithi’ them,555I Samuel 17:39. which means “I have never tried to walk with them.”
It is possible that this “trial” is for the good [of the one who is being tried],559See Vol. I, p. 275. for the master will sometimes try his servant with hard work in order to know whether he will endure it out of his love for him. Sometimes he will do him good in order to know whether he will requite him with additional service and honor for the good he has done him. This is similar to what the Sages have said:560Shemoth Rabbah 31:2. “Happy is the person who stands through his trials, for there is no man whom the Holy One, blessed be He, does not try. He tries the rich to see if his hand will be open for the poor; He tries the poor if he can bear suffering, etc.” This is why Scripture says here: “G-d has been good to you in showing you His Glory, which He hath not dealt with any nation,561Psalms 147:20. in order to prove you whether you will requite Him according to the good He has done to you to be unto Him a people of inheritance,562Deuteronomy 4:20. similar to what He said, Do ye thus requite the Eternal?563Ibid., 32:6. And it is said. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities,564Amos 3:2. for the nations are not obligated to me as are you, whom I have known face to face.”