R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Bo: Slaves or Warriors: Who Were We When We Left Egypt?

Woven into the account of the Exodus are two distinct and seemingly contradictory images of the Children of Israel. On one hand, they are a nation of oppressed slaves, redeemed from a bondage of both body and soul. On the other, they appear as a vast, armed, and formidable group, driven out in haste by an Egypt terrified of their power. The opening chapters of the Book of Exodus present these two narratives in parallel, without attempting to reconcile them.