Last week, Perashat Shemot ended with Moshe seemingly “complaining” to G-d that since he returned to Egypt, the situation has only gotten worse for the Jewish People.
G-d responds (Shemot 6:1) that now Moshe will see what He will do to Pharaoh, and that as a result Pharaoh will drive them out of Egypt.
Instinctively, we might expect this week’s perasha to commence “Operation Geulah” with the Jewish Nation leaving Egypt immediately. Yet the actual departure does not occur until the next perasha. Why the delay?
Perhaps more puzzling is the continuation of the verses (6:2-8): G-d introduces Himself again to Moshe and contrasts how He appeared to the Abot. Then in rapid succession, four seemingly independent expressions: “I will take you out”, “I will save you”, “I will redeem you” and “I will take you”. What does this all mean?
The Gemara (Pesahim Yerushalmi 10:1) teaches that these four expressions aren’t repetition, but rather are four distinct stages of redemption. Rather than having the Jewish Nation leave in an instant, G-d lays out a roadmap whereas each step describes a different layer of what true freedom demands.
Rashi and Sforno explain: “I will take them out” refers to being taken from under the burdens of Egypt. “I will save you” means being saved from Egyptian slavery. “I will redeem you” refers to miracles performed against the Egyptians. Finally, “I will take you” refers to G-d taking us as His nation when we receive the Torah.
It’s not enough that G-d simply stops the work. The mistreatment must stop, the slave mentality must be healed, and only then can they reach Mt. Sinai and be ready to become G-d’s nation. Had G-d taken them out immediately, the damage of slavery would have remained.
Often when we pray, we focus on the most visible problem. We imagine that if this one thing would just “work out,” everything beneath it would automatically fix itself. How many times do we see something troubling and ask G-d to change that surface detail, when there are layers underneath that must be repaired? Perhaps that’s the hidden comfort of the perasha: when G-d seems to be “delaying” the “yes” we’re waiting for, He may be quietly redeeming us on levels we haven’t yet learned to notice.
Our Rabbis teach that these weeks from Shemot to Mishpatim, referred to as “Shovavim” are an opportune time for personal reparation and spiritual renewal. Like the four stages of redemption, this work unfolds gradually: peeling back layers, lightening burdens, and breaking bad habits.
Let us not pray only for the “instant yes” to lift our most visible burden. Let us commit instead to the patient geulah that G-d promises: first lightening what oppresses us, then breaking what binds us, witnessing the miracles that free us, until we stand at our own Mt. Sinai, finally ready to be His people.