"Va’eira — Part I — Redemption as Process, Not Escape"

1.2 -  The Four Expressions of Redemption: Grammar, Not Poetry (Abarbanel)

Parshas Va’eira introduces redemption not through dramatic action, but through language. Before Pharaoh is overthrown, before the plagues escalate, before Israel is released, Hashem speaks four verbs of redemption—each deliberate, each distinct. These are not rhetorical flourishes. According to Abarbanel, they are the structural grammar of geulah itself.

וְלָקַחְתִּי אֶתְכֶם לִי לְעָם is not an emotional climax; it is the final outcome. Everything before it is preparation.

The Torah does not compress redemption into a single moment because redemption is not a single act. It is a process that dismantles oppression layer by layer—externally and internally. Abarbanel insists that the four expressions of redemption are not synonymous, nor are they poetic repetition. They correspond to four distinct forms of bondage Israel experiences in Egypt—and to four Divine responses required to undo them.

Redemption Requires Precision

The four expressions appear in Shemos 6:6–7:

וְהוֹצֵאתִי — I will take you out
וְהִצַּלְתִּי — I will save you
וְגָאַלְתִּי — I will redeem you
וְלָקַחְתִּי — I will take you to Me as a people

Abarbanel rejects the idea that these are stylistic parallels. Each verb addresses a different dimension of servitude, and therefore must occur in sequence. Redemption cannot skip stages without collapsing.

What Each Expression Repairs

Abarbanel explains that Egyptian bondage functioned on multiple levels. To free Israel, Hashem must dismantle each one separately.

The four expressions address four distinct evils:

• וְהוֹצֵאתִי — Removal from physical suffering
  Israel is first taken out of unbearable labor. This alleviates pain, but does not yet confer freedom.
• וְהִצַּלְתִּי — Liberation from subjugation
  Here, Israel is released from legal and political ownership. They are no longer Egypt’s workforce—but they are not yet a nation.
• וְגָאַלְתִּי — Redemption through Divine intervention
  This stage introduces judgment, justice, and Divine confrontation. Egypt is exposed and defeated. Israel’s worth is publicly affirmed.
• וְלָקַחְתִּי — Covenant and identity
  Only now does Hashem “take” Israel as His people. This is not rescue—it is relationship.

Each verb corrects a different distortion. To conflate them is to misunderstand what bondage really is.

Why Redemption Cannot Be Immediate

If Hashem had removed Israel from Egypt in one act, Egypt’s worldview would remain intact. Power would appear arbitrary. Authority would look transferable. Israel would leave physically—but Egypt would remain the metaphysical frame through which reality is interpreted.

Abarbanel teaches that redemption must dismantle false authority before establishing true authority. Otherwise, Israel would exchange masters without understanding what mastery means.

This is why וְלָקַחְתִּי appears last. Covenant without clarification is not covenant—it is dependence.

Grammar Shapes Destiny

The Torah’s choice to articulate redemption in four verbs is not descriptive; it is prescriptive. It teaches that freedom is layered, that identity follows liberation, and that relationship follows justice.

Redemption that skips grammar becomes chaos. Redemption that respects sequence becomes covenant.

This is why Va’eira slows the narrative. Why Pharaoh resists. Why plagues escalate rather than overwhelm. Why Hashem speaks before acting.

Redemption begins not when chains break—but when meaning is clarified.

The End Is Not Escape, But Belonging

The final expression—וְלָקַחְתִּי אֶתְכֶם לִי לְעָם—reveals the goal retroactively. All earlier stages exist to make this possible. Israel is not redeemed from Egypt merely to be free. They are redeemed for Hashem, for covenant, for responsibility.

Abarbanel’s insight anchors the entire parsha: geulah is not flight from suffering. It is structured transformation.

Freedom is not the absence of masters.
It is the presence of rightful authority.

And only redemption that speaks in grammar—not poetry—can endure.

📖 Sources

• Full sources available on the Mitzvah Minute Parshas Va'eira page under insights and commentaries.