The first section of the Book of Exodus opens by listing the names (Shemot, in Hebrew) of Jacob’s sons, and then chronicles the growth of their descendants into a nation and their enslavement in Egypt. As the conditions of slavery progressively worsen, the Jews cry out to G d. G d then charges Moses with the mission of freeing the Jewish people from slavery in order to receive the Torah. G d informs them that the purpose of their redemption is so they can assume their role as the moral leaders of humanity, steering the world toward its Divine fulfillment as G d’s true home.