“We were slaves to Pharoah in Egypt and Hashem took us out with a strong hand and an outstretched arm.” (Pesach Haggadah)

Why does the above text need to say the word “Egypt” Of course Pharoah was in Egypt.

The answer is “the New York Yankees”. Let me explain.

Imagine meeting a person and he says to you, “I was on the greatest baseball team of all time.” You say, “Okay, what teams did you play beat.” He answers, “Oh, we played against this really hard team. It was a bunch of 14 year-olds but in the end, we won the game.” Would anyone think this person was really on the greatest baseball team?

Another person says that he was on the greatest baseball team ever. When you ask him what teams he beat he responds, “We beat the New York Yankees. The Philadelphia Phillies. The Boston Red Sox. The Miami Marlins (I can hope, can’t I).” This guy you would believe because his team beat all of the best teams.

We say the Jews are the greatest nation. How do we prove this? Well, let’s look throughout history at all of the powerhouse nations: the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Spaniards, the Germans… the list goes on and on. All of the “greatest” nations have tried to knock us out, but none of them have been able to. We’re still here! This is why the word “Egypt” is mentioned. To remind us that it was not only Pharoah that we were freed from but the most powerful nation in the world at that time. We are truly part of the greatest nation!

Good Shabbos and Good Yom Tov!
-yes
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