לכן אמר לבני ישראל אני ה׳ והוצאתי אתכם

1“Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am G‑d, and I will bring you out.” Now, our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “We mention the Exodus from Egypt at night,” meaning, at night as well. And we need to understand what sets the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt apart from all the [other] miracles, which we were not enjoined to mention so much.

However, in every generation a person is obligated to see himself, every day, morning and evening, as though it were the time of the Exodus from Egypt.

The explanation is that, as is known, there is “the one opposite the other.” Opposite the Egypt of kelipah (the husk) there is an Egypt in holiness; and just as there is an Egypt below, so there is [an Egypt] above, in the spiritual realm.

So too, [there is] Israel below and Israel above. And just as [this exists] in the spiritual realm above, in the higher worlds, so it is below, in the soul of man, in the service of G‑d.

2Now, the level of the Community of Israel (Knesses Yisrael) above is [described in] what is written, “How beautiful you are, and how pleasant, O love, in delights!” And below, in the soul of man, the level of “love in delights” is the joy of the soul in G‑d, its Maker.

As it is written, “Serve G‑d with joy,” and it is written, “a joyful mother of children”: for the joy comes from contemplating the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof). As it is written, “For you shall call understanding (Binah) ‘mother.’”

That is: when one contemplates the revelation of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, below, then “Israel will rejoice in its Maker,” and the joy of the soul will be in the revelation of the “flashes of fire” of love, as it comes out of its sheath, which is the prison of the body, so that “the joy of G‑d is his strength.”

3Now, it is written, “Because you did not serve, etc., more than the abundance of everything (merov kol),” etc. That is, the level of all the spiritual delights, the Higher Garden of Eden and the Lower Garden of Eden.

And this comes from contemplating what is written, “For His Name alone is exalted; His splendor is upon the earth and the heavens.” This means that His Name is His attribute of Malchus (sovereignty), by which “His Name was proclaimed King.”

As in the words, “and He brings a redeemer to their children’s children for the sake of His Name, in love; King, Helper,” etc. This is the level of the Shechinah (Divine Presence), which dwells in the lower realms, as it is written, “And I will dwell among them”; and His Name is called King over all the worlds.

And as it is written, “Your kingship is the kingship of all worlds.” And as in the words, “Unique One, Life of the worlds, King,” etc.: for through the level of His Malchus He has a relation and connection to the worlds, so that His Name is called King over them.

4Now, even the level of His Name, in itself, is high, lofty and exalted, in the state of “alone,” for the worlds bear no comparison at all to His Name, blessed be He.

Rather, the splendor and radiance of His Name is what shines “upon the earth,” which is the Lower Garden of Eden, “and the heavens,” which is the Higher Garden of Eden, where the righteous enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah (Divine Presence).

But the Shechinah, which is the level of His Name, is in the state of “alone”: nothing is drawn from it such that created beings could enjoy and take delight in it, in its very self.

But at the level of Torah and mitzvos, we say, “who has sanctified us with His commandments” (some say the blessing with “al” and some say it with [the letter] lamed): with His commandments, literally, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, puts on tefillin,” [and] “the Holy One, blessed be He, prays.”

And it is written, “I speak in righteousness (tzedakah)”: “I,” literally: that is, the Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory and His very self. And as it is stated in the Zohar, “The Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are all one.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, literally. And “the Holy One, blessed be He” is the level that is holy and entirely separate from the category of worlds, such that even at the level of radiance and splendor, worlds could not receive life-force (chayus) from Him.

For it is written, “For with Yah, G‑d formed the worlds”: this world and the World to Come, the Lower and Higher Garden of Eden, were created with only two letters of His Name.

5And it is stated in the Zohar that with a single thought He created the world. This is akin to what is written, “He who fashions their hearts together,” etc., and our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “They are all surveyed in a single glance,” for He looks and sees to the end of all the generations, and “calls the generations from the beginning,” etc.

And as is explained elsewhere, all the generations, which are the “six thousand years that the world exists,” and the days of Mashiach and the Resurrection of the Dead, are all before Him in a single thought.

By way of analogy: a single thought bears no comparison to all the thoughts a person can think all the days of his life, and all the more so to his essence and being, for it is only the extension of a mere single glimmer.

So too, all the generations of the six thousand years, and the days of Mashiach and the Resurrection of the Dead, are only the level of radiance and the extension of a single glimmer from the level of His Name alone.

But the Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory and His very self, is high and lofty, higher and higher without end or limit, and “no thought can grasp Him at all,” for He is not grasped or enclothed within the category of worlds at all. Not so with Torah and mitzvos: they are the enclothement of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, in His very self and His glory.

6When a person takes to heart all these matters and truths, his heart will rejoice and “exult, indeed with exultation and song,” in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof),

blessed be He, which extends and is enclothed in the study of Torah and the performance of the mitzvos that a person does; and he draws upon his soul the very light of G‑d, the Infinite One, blessed be He, of which all the worlds are not worthy.

7However, the joy is not in the revelation of the light of G‑d in the mind, in his thought and understanding alone, but [only] when it touches the point of his heart; for joy is revelation.

As in the analogy of a king, all of whose glory is within, but at a time of rejoicing he reveals himself. And this is [the meaning of] “Serve G‑d with joy”:

that is, that there be a revelation of the light of G‑d, the Infinite One, blessed be He, at the level of “And the glory of G‑d will be revealed.” And below, in the soul of man, the revelation is when it comes to be revealed in the heart.

This is [the meaning of] what is written, “a joyful mother of children”: that is, when the children, which are the emotive attributes (middos), are born and revealed in the heart. Not so when it is concealed and hidden within the mind, in his thought and understanding alone: then they are still in the state of pregnancy (ibbur), and she is not [yet] “a mother of children.”

8Now, what holds back the level of birth and revelation of the light of G‑d from coming out of the concealment and hiddenness in his mind to the revelation of the heart is the level of the exile of Egypt,

which is the level of the narrow strait of the throat (meitzar hagaron), the intermediary between the intellect (mochin) in the head and the heart. And in that place is the level of the chief butler, the chief baker and the chief slaughterer, which is the level of the gullet and the jugular veins,

which are none other than the level of all the pleasures of this world, and its thoughts, its affairs and its schemes, which each person uses according to his station. They are none other than the hindrances and obstacles, and the screens that separate between the light of G‑d in the mind and the revelation of the heart.

9This is the pain of pregnancy, “like the bones in the womb of her who is with child.” Therefore all exiles and troubles are called by the name ibbur (pregnancy), as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “In every parashas ha-ibbur, may their needs be before You”:

even at the time when You are filled with wrath (evrah) against them like a pregnant woman (ubarah), etc. And the redemption is called by the name “birth,” which is the level of the revelation of the newborn into the air of the world; and the pangs of Mashiach are called by the name “birth pangs.”

10And it is written, “We were with child, we writhed, before You, G‑d.” This means that the whole state of pregnancy and of exiles is in order that there be a revelation of the light of G‑d, blessed be He.

And for this, birth pangs are needed: that is, to feel the pain and bitterness over the obstruction of the light of G‑d from spreading into the revelation of the heart, because of the hindrances and obstacles, which are none other than the needs of this world.

11And then, when he comes to the level of birth and revelation, in the mode of joy, and “Israel rejoices in its Maker,” all the hindrances and obstacles will be scattered, and the separating screens will be as naught and nothing, without taking up any space at all, because of the joy of G‑d.

And just as above, the level of joy is the sweetening of the judgments (dinim), so below, in the soul of man, it nullifies all the hindrances and obstacles, within and without. And it is called by the name “the land of Canaan” (Kena’an), because it subdues (machnia’as) the external forces,

which are pushed away before G‑d of themselves, as a matter of course, like darkness that is pushed away before light. And [this is] like the analogy of a woman upon whom birth pangs have come.

12Now, at the time of her giving birth, all the pains leave her with the blood of her birth that flows from her. So too, it is written, “And I saw you wallowing in your blood,” etc.,

that is, all the hindrances and obstacles have melted and become blood, a thing that has no substance and takes up no space at all. As it is written, “And You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea,” etc.

13Now, just as the exile of Egypt is the level of the narrow strait of the throat, which separates and interrupts between the mind and the heart, as [explained] above,

so the redemption and the Exodus from Egypt is the level of their going out from the narrow strait of the throat through “the voice is the voice of Yaakov.” For the voice, which is in the throat, is what connects and joins the level of the intellect (mochin) in the head, so that it comes to revelation in the heart.

14That is, through the voice of one who reads (korei) in the Torah: by his reading in the Torah he calls (korei) and draws the light of G‑d to come out of the concealment in the mind to the revelation of the heart.

And this is [the meaning of] what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Whoever reads in the Torah, the Holy One, blessed be He, reads opposite him.” It is called “opposite him” because the level of his reading in the Torah is the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin), and the Holy One, blessed be He, opposite him, is the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin).

15And this is the meaning of the expression “reading (korei) in the Torah”: that he calls (korei) the light outward. That is, through the Written Torah, the level of the Name Havayah, for “the Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are all one.”

And this is [the meaning of] “Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am Havayah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt,” etc.: that through the level and the revelation of Havayah,

that is, through the level of the Written Torah, the level of “the voice is the voice of Yaakov,” through this there will be the level of the Exodus from Egypt, and all the hindrances and separating screens will be nullified, and there will no longer be “the burdens of Egypt” and their bondage.

16However, this alone is not the ultimate intent; rather, “And I will bring you to the land,” etc. The explanation of the matter: it is written, “to a good and spacious land,” etc.

And this Land of Israel is the level of the Oral Torah. It is called “a spacious land” in the manner of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said on [the words] “the land of tzvi, of the hosts of nations”: “Just as the hide of a deer (tzvi) cannot contain its flesh,” etc.

17The explanation is that the main foundation of the Written Torah is the level of the letters of the Torah. Therefore we are exacting with its letters: that none be missing or extra, that their form be upon them, in their likeness and their image, and that they be a single whole (golem echad).

For if, for example, the yud on top of the aleph is cut off from the body of the letter, this Torah scroll is invalid.

18And one does not recite a blessing over it. Yet the revelation of the intellectual content (haskalah) is not seen in it as it is in the Oral Torah. For the main revelation of the intellectual content of the laws and ordinances in the Torah, how and what to do, is not spelled out in the Torah, since the whole Torah consists of narratives.

And even its laws are given as narration: that G‑d said thus, that [Moshe] should speak to the children of Israel, and that Moshe said thus.

19Its intent is not that one should know from it alone all the laws, in their full clarity and their exact form. For example, the matter of tefillin: it is not spelled out that there should be four

passages, and that such-and-such be written, and that they be written specifically on parchment, as with all the rules and laws of tefillin handed down to us in the Oral Torah; and so with all the other mitzvos.

20This is because its main foundation is “in the mountains of holiness,” the level of supernal Chochmah (wisdom), for “the Torah comes forth from Chochmah.” The Written Torah is the level of supernal Chochmah, and the Oral Torah is lower Chochmah; and “for the wise, a hint [suffices].”

This means that [the Written Torah] is only like the analogy of a teacher who hints to the student with some slight hint, so that the student will understand by himself how to learn,

but this is not the main learning itself. So too, all the letters of the Written Torah are only hints and drawings-down from supernal Chochmah, by way of hint.

21All the drawings-down are hinted specifically in these letters, so that the reading (keri) is one way and the writing (kesiv) another. Therefore all its letters are counted and numbered, with none to be added and none to be lacking.

And each and every letter must be in its likeness and image, because they hint at a supernal drawing-down from supernal Chochmah (wisdom). But the essence of the intellectual content is not enclothed in the letters of the Written Torah.

Not so in the Oral Torah: there, the essence of the intellectual content is enclothed in the letters of the halachah. Therefore one is not so exacting with its letters; rather, the intellectual content, which is revealed within the letters, is the main thing. Also, according to the abundance of the intellectual content, so its letters multiply.

22Therefore, whatever is further understood in it, such as Rashi’s commentary, the Tosafos and the codifiers (poskim), is all counted as part of the Oral Torah, and even all that a seasoned student is destined to innovate.

Therefore it is called “a good and spacious land,” for it keeps expanding without end. And this is [the meaning of] “Just as the hide of a deer cannot contain its flesh,” etc.

That is, because the flesh and the hide grow so much, since the growth of the hide is due to the flesh within it. So too, at the level of the Oral Torah, the essence of the intellectual content and the letters likewise grow together, for the letters spread out by virtue of the essence of the intellectual content.

Not so in the Written Torah: the letters do not spread out by virtue of the essence of the intellectual content, but only [from] a mere glimmer, by way of hint, as [explained] above.

23With this we will understand why the Written Torah is called Mikra in the language of the Gemara, and [why we say] “reading (korei) in the Torah”: because through it he is only

like one who calls (korei) and draws the Infinite Light, blessed be He, upon his soul, from the concealment in the mind to the revelation of the heart, as [explained] above. Yet it is still as though it were a thing apart, like a person who calls to another.

But regarding the Oral Torah they said, “The Mishnah is a queen,” etc., like a king who commands, as is explained elsewhere, because a complete union takes place, Chochmah (wisdom), Binah (understanding) and Daas (knowledge) within Chochmah, Binah and Daas, etc.

24As it is written, “I have put My words in your mouth”: My words, literally. And as the Maggid told the Beis Yosef, “I am the Mishnah speaking in your mouth.” For they become one essence, in a state of true self-nullification (bittul), and this is truly the level of a dwelling place among the lower realms.

And although, from the standpoint of the extension of the very revelation of the intellectual content of the light of G‑d in the Oral Torah, it is considered a great descent for it to spread out and be enclothed in physical deeds, [such as] the Order of Zeraim (Seeds), etc., concerning this the verse says, “which I lifted up My hand.”

25This is, by way of analogy, [like] the hand, which can lift something that has fallen to the ground and place it high up, on one’s head. So too, “last in deed, first in thought.”

And “a woman of valor is the crown of her husband,” and “their end is wedged in their beginning,” which is called “a land of desire” (eretz chefetz), meaning a vessel for the resting of His will, blessed be He; for the revelation of the supernal will is specifically in the final deed.

26Likewise, in the Oral Torah there is a greater revelation of the supernal will than in the Written Torah, for from [the Written Torah] alone one cannot know the nature of the supernal will in all the laws and ordinances, but only through the Oral Torah specifically.

And this is [the meaning of] “And I will set tzvi in the land of the living.” This means that all His desire (tzivyono) and wish is in “the land of the living,” the level of the Oral Torah, for there the light of G‑d and His will are revealed with greater excellence than at the level of the Written Torah; and the will is the source of life.

And this is [the meaning of] “which I lifted up My hand to give it to Avraham, to Yitzchak and to Yaakov,” etc., who are the emotive attributes (middos) of Chesed (kindness), Gevurah (restraint) and Tiferes (beauty); for “a woman of valor is the crown of her husband,” etc., as [explained] above. “And I will give it to you as a heritage; I am Havayah”: so as to be at the level of “I have put My words in your mouth,” etc., as [explained] above.

27However, every revelation of the light of G‑d by way of these drawings-down depends entirely on a person’s heart, as [in] “wherever the heart desires, it turns it.”

Therefore one must first arouse the love, beforehand arousing the love in his heart in prayer, so that his heart truly desires the revelation of the light of G‑d.

28This is why they said, “We mention the Exodus from Egypt morning and evening”; that is, the passage of tzitzis, where it is written, “to be your G‑d (Elokim); I am Havayah your G‑d.”

The explanation is that the arousal of the heart in the morning prayer alone suffices only for its own time, since afterwards he turns to his affairs.

29And even one who is not a man of business: in his study, at the level of action, [such as] the Order of Zeraim, etc., the heart is drawn after the physicality of the subject matter, at the level of concealment and tzimtzum (contraction), the level of Elokim.

So one must arouse the love and joy again, from the point of the heart, so that there be a revelation of the level of Havayah, as [explained] above. But the revelation of the love in this alone is not enough; rather, through the Written Torah, “the voice is the voice of Yaakov,”

as [explained] above, so as to call and draw down in the Torah the revelation of the very light of G‑d; and afterwards, in the Oral Torah, the level of true self-nullification (bittul), so as to be at the level of “I have put My words in your mouth,” as [explained] above, and truly a dwelling place among the lower realms, as [explained] above, so as to be at the level of “Havayah your G‑d,” etc. And this suffices for one who understands.