The languages of redemption

Exodus 6:6-7:

לָכֵ֞ן אֱמֹ֥ר לִבְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ אֲנִ֣י יְהוָה֒ וְהֽוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֨חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵעֲבֹֽדָתָ֑ם וְגָֽאַלְתִּ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ בִּזְר֣וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבִשְׁפָטִ֖ים גְּדֹלִֽים׃ ז וְלָֽקַחְתִּ֨י אֶתְכֶ֥ם לִי֙ לְעָ֔ם וְהָיִ֥יתִי לָכֶ֖ם לֵֽאלֹהִ֑ים וִֽידַעְתֶּ֗ם כִּ֣י אֲנִ֤י יְהוָה֙ אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם הַמּוֹצִ֣יא אֶתְכֶ֔ם מִתַּ֖חַת סִבְל֥וֹת מִצְרָֽיִם׃

Wherefore ſay vnto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from vnder the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage: and I will redeeme you with a ſtretched out arme, and with great iudgements. And I will take you to mee for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye ſhall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from vnder the burdens of the Egyptians.

Our scholar comments:

ד' דברים כאן והוצאתי והצלתי וגאלתי ולקחתי כנגד ד' מלכיות.
ובשפטים גדלים. ובשפטים מצויין בתגין כלומר בשפטים מצויינים ומפולאים. לכך מצויין:

ובשפטים. אותיות שפט הם מצויינים ששפט במצריים. ועוד רמז על משפטים שיעשה באומות העולם לעתיד ונשפטתי אתו בדבר ובדם וגשם שוטף.

ובשפטים גדלים ושפט בים. בים שפט בהם:
ובים שפט: לעינ' אותיות שפט מצויין ואותיות בים נשמר כך.

There are four terms mentioned here – I shall take out, and I shall rescue, and I shall redeem, and I shall take – corresponding to the Four Empires.*
And with great judgments.** The word u-vishfaṭim is marked distinguishedly with tagin, as if to say: with distinguished and wondrous judgments. Therefore, the letters shin-pé-ṭeth [in the middle of the word u-vishfaṭim] are marked, [for they spell shafaṭ = “He judged”], for He judged the Egyptians. Also, it alludes to the judgments which He will perform against the nations of the world in the future: And I will judge him with pestilence and with blood, and with overflowing rain. (Ezekiel 38:22)
And with great judments. [The letters of the word u-vishfaṭim can be re-arranged to spell] ve-shafaṭ ba-yam, “He will judge them at the Sea” – for He judged them at the Sea.
He judged them at the Sea – the letters shin-pé-ṭeth are marked, so what is left is the letters beth-yud-mem, spelling ba-yam - “at the Sea”.***

*The Four Empires of world history, according to the historical schema of the Book of Daniel and subsequent Jewish chronographers. (The traditional listing is: Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Rome becomes Christendom, and is perceived as lasting through our own day.) An important part of the thinking of the Ḥasidé Ashkenaz in general, and this commentary in particular, is that the story of the Exodus applies not only to past events in Egypt, but to the subsequent Four Empires, and especially the last one, Rome.
**In the MS, there are six tagin on the shin (two on each head), two on the pé, and four on the ṭeth (two on each head.) There are also two tagin on the final mem of gedolim.



***I seem not to have copied the last line of this comment, but I remember it from the manuscript. It interprets ba-yam as “with ים”, i.e., with 50 (the gematria of yud+mem), alluding to the 50 plagues which R. Yosé Ha-galili says plagued the Egyptians at the Sea (as we say at the seder).

SIGNIFICANCE TO NA"KH:

I would consider writing the letters שפט in the middle of the word ונשפטתי in Ezekiel 38:22 with the same tagin which are used in the word ובשפטים in our passage in Exodus.