Yaakov was the most successful of the Avos, as all his children were Tzadikim and he had them in Golus.

Potifar’s wife seduction: The wife of Potifar sees that she must contribute to the future of Yosef and believes that God may work even in strange ways. Yosef’s perspective: the ends don’t justify the means one must follow the law to the letter.

Dreams are the illustration of the experience of Exile, thus the story of Galus is punctuated by dreams. A positive lesson: in a dream one can skip steps, nothing is above anyone.

The punishment and exile included drowning the boys in the River but not the girls. The Rebbe points out that the “keeping the girls alive” was also part of the decree, it means living in the spirit of Egypt and their worship of nature. It explains the deeper meaning of drowning the boys in the…

The first two plagues represent parallel yet opposite ideas: Dam- Blood is to warm Egypt from its natural coldness to holiness, and to be warmed by it. Tzfardea- Frogs were to cool off Egypt’s passions to worldliness. Here the order (is atypical:) first from the top down and then from the bottom up.

The Mesiras Nefesh it took for the Yidden to trust Hashem and hold and kill the Idol of Egypt and its reward.

Three levels of understanding the (need for) the Makkos: 1) To get Yidden out of Egypt. That would not happen until Egypt got to know Hashem, this is the reason Hashem needed to punish Egypt. 2) To educate Egypt about Hashem for Egypt’s sake. 3) To give Yidden a deeper understanding of Hashem, as (after…

The Makkos were needed to get Yidden out of Egypt but they had deeper purposes as well.

[A Rashi Sicha]. Two expressions, two actions, both at the same time. ועברתי the killing of the Egyptian firstborn is a passive act, achieved in one pass over Egypt. ואצא בתוך מצרים the saving of the Jewish people happens proactively with much attention. This class explores the what and the why of these ideas.

Class One: Introduction to the Sicha: on the afternoon of the 15th of Nissan we were given freedom and we ran with it. The idea (discussed in Likutei Torah etc.) about the two types of Matza: 1) Before midnight that must be watched 2) After Midnight that guards itself. The events of mid-day on the…