For the guys - have you ever felt uncomfortable or been embarrassed doing something specifically Jewish- like put tefilin on in public or wear tzitzit? And for the girl - same question or you, only with mitzvot specifically for girls? 

Are we embarrassed to be Jewish? 

In this week’s Parsha, HaShem tells Moshe that all the Jews should place blood from their sacrifice on the doorpost of their house in order that HaShem shouldn skip over them. But does HaShem really need a sign to know who is and isn’t Jewish? Obviously not! So what was the point? 

Aside from the reason that we destined to be slaves, another reason for our slavery was assimilation- we were acting more and more likely the Egyptians to the point where you weren’t necessarily able to tell a Jew and non-Jew apart. HaShem teaches us in this Parsha the importance of showing the world that we’re Jews. And no, it’s not to say that we are better than everyone else, but it is to say that we are different, and we *must* take pride in that.