From the prayer text (blessings of the morning Shema): "From Egypt You redeemed us, Hashem, our God, and from the house of slaves You freed us. You killed all their firstborns and redeemed Your firstborn, Israel." At first glance, it seems that by initially mentioning the plague of the firstborn in Egypt, the continuation refers to the saving of Israel's firstborn from this plague, as the prayer text often takes a point and its opposite. However, according to this, the language "and redeemed Your firstborn, Israel" is more fitting to use "and saved or freed Your firstborn, Israel." This proves that the intention is on the general redemption of Israel from Egypt.

Indeed, the language is precisely aligned with Hashem's statement to Moses in his first mission to all of Israel, where he was commanded to say to Pharaoh (Exodus 4:22): "Israel is My firstborn son," indicating that all of Israel is called the firstborn son to Hashem, and it continues (Exodus 4:23): "Let My son go that he may serve Me," implying that this is the foundation and purpose of the redemption, that Israel was elevated to the status of 'firstborn sons,' and therefore, "Let My son go that he may serve Me." In light of this, the prayer text "redeemed Your firstborn, Israel," refers to the general redemption, not to the saving of Israel's firstborns from the plague of the firstborns.

Furthermore, in the text "From Egypt You redeemed us, from the house of slaves You freed us," we explained that 'redemption' implies a spiritual sense, and 'freedom' is in the physical sense. According to this, the continuation – "You killed all their firstborns and redeemed Your firstborn, Israel" – raises a question, as the prayer text's manner is to take a point and its opposite. If we say that the redemption of the firstborn mentioned here refers to the saving of the firstborns, it fits well; however, according to our explanation that it refers to the general redemption of all Israel, it implies that the spiritual redemption of Israel's firstborn is dependent on the plague of the firstborns, and the connection between them needs clarification.

We also find meaning that the redemption of Israel is dependent on the plague of the firstborns, as it is written (Exodus 13:14-15): "And it shall be when your son asks you in the future, saying, 'What is this?' you shall say to him, 'With a strong hand, Hashem brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. And it came to pass when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, Hashem killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to Hashem all males that open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.'" It implies that by the plague of the firstborns, we were set free, and therefore we are commanded to tell all this to our son. However, according to this, it needs clarification, for the mitzvah of redeeming the firstborn was also mentioned as part of the story, so why was it not mentioned in the Haggadah as part of the mitzvah of telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt?

Furthermore, it needs clarification, as it implies from these verses that the plague of the firstborns and the mitzvah of redeeming the firstborn are central to the story of the Exodus from Egypt, as these things were said to all of Israel at the very moment of their exodus from Egypt, and it needs clarification as to why these two events are unique compared to the other plagues and matters of the Exodus from Egypt.

Additionally, it needs clarification, as the Haggadah explains that these verses are said in response to the question of the simple son, and if they are the foundation of the story of the Exodus from Egypt, then they should be told to all the sons.

It seems we can answer based on what Rabbi Abraham ben the Gra wrote (in his commentary "Geulat Avraham" on the Haggadah), and this is his language: "This matzah that we eat, what is it for? It is because the dough of our fathers did not have time to become leavened before the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them, as it is said (Exodus 12:39), 'They baked the dough that they brought out of Egypt into unleavened cakes, for it had not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, etc.' It is not explicitly stated in this verse that the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them. It seems that it is inferred from the excess phrase, 'for it had not leavened,' 'because they were driven out of Egypt,' why does it say 'and could not delay'? From this, they learned that the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to them, and their soul was aroused, and their great desire to follow Him was so intense that they could not delay due to their compassion for small items, and they left everything for the sake of the love of the Blessed One, and they did not even prepare provisions for themselves, and they went after Him into the wilderness, into an unplanted land, due to their great trust in having seen the revelation of the Divine Presence, end quote."

It seems to explain the depth of his words, that in the Exodus from Egypt, there was a revelation to all Israel that there is no one but Him, meaning they realized that there is no other master and no other power besides Him, blessed be He. As is precisely stated in the lengthy language of the author of the Haggadah, "until the King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to them." Not in the manner mentioned about this Pesach, where it only mentions that Hashem passed over the houses of the Israelites, without elaborating with "King of Kings." This is because the matzah is a remembrance of the actual Exodus from Egypt, where He revealed Himself in such a way that He is the master of everything, and there is none besides Him. Faced with this revelation, all their doubts and fears about whether to leave were nullified, and they abandoned everything with great trust and love, and they left.

This matter remained for all generations, as Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, of blessed memory, established (Nefesh Hachaim, Gate 3, Chapter 12), the well-known remedy to strengthen oneself in times of great trouble, with the knowledge and recognition that there is none besides Him, and through this power, the judgments are sweetened, and no harm will come to them, God forbid. According to our words, this is not merely a remedy, but a reality, that when a person elevates to the recognition that there is none besides Him, the control of the judgments is nullified from them, and no harm can befall them.

With this, it is understood why in the plague of the firstborns no angel or seraph was sent to strike, but "I" and not an angel, "I" and not a seraph (Haggadah text), because in the very revelation of the Divine Presence, the firstborns of Egypt were struck, as hinted in Rashi's words (Exodus 12:12): "And I will pass through – like a king passing from place to place, and in one passing and one moment, all are struck." This means that the existence of the firstborns of Egypt was contrary to the concept of "there is none besides Him," because they were the important ones, and therefore presumably chosen to be the priests for idolatry. Additionally, even without this, due to their importance, their opinions were considered, and they enslaved Israel according to their guidance and counsel. Consequently, when the great light of "there is none besides Him" was revealed, all the entities opposing this revelation were nullified, including the firstborns, and they died and were lost from the world.

The matter of the mitzvah of redeeming the firstborn also indicates that there is none besides Him, as written in the book "Chinuch" (Mitzvah 18), and this is his language: "From the root of this mitzvah, Hashem wanted to merit us to perform a mitzvah with the first of our offspring, to know that everything is His, and a person has nothing in the world except what the Holy One, blessed be He, grants him in His kindness, end quote." Now it fits well why all these – the plague of the firstborns, the redemption of the firstborns, and the actual Exodus from Egypt – are central to the mitzvah of telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt, as mentioned, that the essence of all these indicates that there is none besides Him, and He is the main content of the mitzvah of telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt.

All these mitzvot are the duty of the father towards the son. The mitzvah of telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt originates from the verse (Exodus 13:8) "and you shall tell your son," and the mitzvah of redeeming the firstborn is also imposed on the father (Chinuch, Mitzvah 392), because the concept of "there is none besides Him" is most properly and clearly conveyed from father to son, as the son relies on his father in all matters and believes everything he says more than other people.

In light of our words, it fits well why this answer was determined for the simple son, because this foundation of "there is none besides Him" is not related to be accepted with wisdom and depth, but rather with simple and sincere faith. Even the wise son or the wicked son, who need an answer with an explanation, still, this fundamental principle must also be accepted by them through simple faith.