Breaking Through to Redemption

When we look at the verse, "As in the days of your going out of Egypt, I will show you wonders" (Micha 7:15), two questions arise. First, this verse is one of the few instances in which the exodus from Egypt is described in the plural as "days" rather than simply "day", as is written in the verse, "So you should remember the day of your exodus". Why in this verse is the plural used rather than the singular?

The second question deals with the comparison between the miracles of the exodus from Egypt compared to the miracles which will take place in the Ultimate Redemption. The miracles of the Ultimate Redemption are compared to the wonders the Jewish People saw as they were coming out of Egypt; however, after this redemption, there will be no exile, indicating that this redemption is on a higher level and is more complete. The wonders of this era will surpass the wonders of the Egyptian exodus to the extent that some of the sages have said that we will no longer mention the Egyptian exodus in the Era of Mashiach.

Another opinion is that we will continue to remember the Egyptian exodus since it is part of the Future Redemption, and was the first step in the process of bringing the Redemption. We will also mention the first exodus because the wonders of the Ultimate Redemption are compared to the wonders we saw coming out of Egypt. The Jewish People witnessed great miracles as they left Egypt, but the miracles of the Future Redemption will seem like wonders compared to those of the Egyptian exodus.

What is the spiritual source for this difference? When the Jewish People were in Egypt, they needed to be elevated from the 49^th gate of impurity (out of 50). As we counted the Omer, we ascended the 50 Gates of Bina. This is demonstrated by the fact that the Egyptian exodus is mentioned 50 times in the Torah. The Egyptian exodus represents the 50 Gates of Bina as they are drawn through the sefira of malchut. The Future Redemption will also represent the 50 Gates of Bina, but these will be drawn through keter which is beyond the sefirot, and concluded in Atik, which is higher than keter. This is not the external aspect of Atik, but the pnimiyut, the deepest part of the level that is beyond levels. This will result in a greater revelation of G‑d in the Redemption.

The revelation of G‑d during the Egyptian exodus was great but limited, since it was enclothed in malchut. In the Era of Mashiach, there will be no garments obscuring Divine Revelation.

We return to the question why we will mention the exodus from Egypt in the Era of Mashiach if the wonders and the revelation of G‑d will be so much greater. The Sixth Chabad Rebbe (the Frierdiger) has said that the Egyptian exodus will be mentioned because it created a kind of channel for all of the future redemptions, including the Ultimate Redemption. The Egyptian exodus was special because it was a necessary preparation for the giving of the Torah. Before the Torah was given, nothing in the world could be elevated to the higher worlds, and nothing occupying those levels could descend into the world of action. The ability to refine and to elevate the world was an important step toward the Ultimate Redemption, when the world will recognize its Creator and become a dwelling place for the Infinite Light Blessed Be He.

The answer to the first question why in the verse "As in the days of your coming out of Egypt, I will show you wonders", "days" is plural meaning that all of the days, from the Egyptian exodus to the Future Redemption, are part of a process of coming out of Egypt. Every day a person should reflect on the idea that he is coming out of Egypt. The First Rebbe of Chabad identifies the Reading of the Shema as the appropriate time to experience our personal exodus. The reason we mention tzitzit in the Evening Prayer at a time which is not connected to this mitzvah is that the same passage mentions the exodus from Egypt.

Every day, we are leaving behind more and more limitations until we will reach the point where we will break through all limits in the Ultimate Redemption. Mashiach is descended from King David, who is descended from Peretz, which sounds like the word "poretz", which means breaking through limits. Every morning before prayer, there is a physical exile which causes us to feel limited within the boundaries of our bodies.

The verse, "We draw from the man who has breath in his nostrils. For what is he deemed worthy?" describes the limited spirituality when we first awaken and the soul is only in the nostrils. During prayer, the soul spreads throughout the whole body, subduing the gross physicality and compelling the animal soul to say "amen" against its will; this is the only way of achieving complete service. As King David says, "My heart is void within me," demonstrating that one must conquer the left part of his heart before he can say "You shall love…" in the Shema, and to declare love for G‑d with both souls, the animal and the divine. Similarly, evil and the spirit of impurity will be conquered and then transformed into good in the Era of Mashiach.

So why do we need this conquering? Why not simply transform the impurity rather than conquering it first? This subjugation has an advantage in that, as the Alter Rebbe writes in the Tanya, a person is a true servant of G‑d when he is constantly battling against and subduing his nature. It is a battle which brings G‑dly light into the world.

The situation is similar to that of a king who distributes all of his treasures to his soldiers so that they can fight a war. In peace time, these treasures would never have been touched, much less, spent so freely. This war is the battle with the animal soul, and the victory brings treasures of Divine Revelation. This is another reason why the Egyptian exodus will be mentioned in the Era of Mashiach; the daily battle against the animal soul is our personal coming out of Egypt which will eventually lead to the Ultimate Redemption.

Adapted by Yehoshua Metzinger from Sefer Maamarim, Melukat, Adar-Sivan p. 147

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