출애굽기 5:1의 인용 해설

ויהי העם כמתאננים AND THE PEOPLE WERE COMPLAINING — The term העם “the people” always denotes wicked men. Similarly it states, (Exodus 17:4) “what shall I do unto this people (לעם הזה)? [yet a little and they will stone me]”, and it further states, ( 13:10) “This evil people [which refuses to hear my words]”. But when they are worthy men who are spoken of they are called עמי “My people”, as it is said, (Exodus 5:1) “Let My people go”; (Micah 6:3) “O My people, what have I done unto thee” (Sifrei Bamidbar 85).

Pharaoh and the Egyptians denied three principles of our faith: It was not enough to liberate the Jews. They also had to come to recognize the reality of God's existence and God's attributes: first, that God is the first cause; second, the reality of divine providence; and third, recognizing that God is all powerful. When Moses came to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Let My people go that they may celebrate a festival for Me in the wilderness,” (Exodus 5:1), he was addressing these three principles. When Moses used the name YHVH, “Lord,” Moses was affirming the existence of God as the cause of all causes. When he called God “the God of Israel,” he was expressing his belief in divine providence: the Lord is also our personal God who watches over us. And when Moses said, “Let My people go,” he was expressing the belief that God can command even the most powerful rulers. Finally, when he said, “That they may celebrate a festival to Me,” Moses was telling us the implication of these beliefs: that this all-powerful God whose providence is over us, wants us to serve Him. Pharaoh responds by denying these principles of faith, saying: “Who is the Lord that I should heed Him? I do not know the Lord nor will I let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2) By saying, “Who is the Lord,” Pharaoh denied the existence of God. Saying, “That I should heed Him,” Pharaoh was denying that Israel was God's people and that, even if they are His, Pharaoh was not obligated to obey Him.
God responded to these challenges with the first nine plagues to make Pharaoh recognize these fundamental truths. These three principles are related to the mnemonics, dtzach, adash ba’ahav. The first three plagues prove the existence of God (during which we are told, “Through this you shall know that that there is none like the Lord our God”41); the second three plagues are proof of divine providence (“That you may know that I am in the midst of the land”42); and the third group of three plagues are proof that God is all-powerful (“That you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth”43). The plagues, however, not only taught Pharaoh but also taught the Israelites the truth about God. The Israelites came to recognize the existence of God and divine providence. They also saw that God is all powerful. Through God's commandments in Egypt, the eyes of the Israelites were opened so that they saw how awesome God really is. It was on the basis of these insights that they were able to build a faith based on Torah and Mitzvot. Even if God had not punished Egypt's gods, it would have been enough for us because through the Exodus we came to understand the truths of our faith.

ואלוקי הארץ, “and the Lord of the earth.” Do not be surprised if Avraham spoke about “the G’d of the earth,” seeing that he made Eliezer swear in the land of Canaan, a place where G’d most certainly had not yet been recognised as such. It is customary throughout the Bible to relate the term G’d to a certain country as most nations had “national gods,” deities which supposedly had the interests of the inhabitants of that country at heart. This is why we have such expressions as “the God of Israel,” (Exodus 5,1 and many others), “the G’d of Jerusalem,” (Chronicles II 32,19). The name of our G’d is never associated with other nations or their countries. The reason is that the Holy Land is G’d’s special “inheritance;” when Avraham referred to אלוקי הארץ, he referred to G’d as the especial Patron of the Holy Land, the very land in which he resided. If Avraham had found himself in Egypt at that moment, he would not have referred to G’d at that time as אלוקי הארץ, “the G’d of the land. This is why he added a little while later (verse six) “the G’d of heaven who has taken me out from my father’s house, etc.” Whereas Avraham lists a number of places G’d has taken him away from, he never once refers to G’d as being the G’d of any of these places. The reason was that he did not want the G’d in heaven to be associated in Eliezer’s mind with any country other than the Holy Land.
This may help explain the famous statement in Ketuvot 110 that anyone who resides outside the Holy Land is as if he did not have any god at all. They quote as proof Samuel I 26,19 “For they have driven me out today (David speaking), so that I cannot have a share in the Lord’s possession, but am told: ‘go and worship other gods!’”