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Moses descended into "foreign turf" - the World of Chaos
When Moses, who was of the world of Tohu, entered the world of Tikun and witnessed the dynamic of the advantage of the lowest, he marveled at it and was humbled before the souls of This World. When G-d asked him to redeem the Jewish people from Egypt, he said that someone else should be sent, someone from the world of Tikun, containing this astounding dynamic.
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Negative mitzvot represent spirituality on a level that cannot be contained within a vessel.
"This is My name forever and this is My memorial to all generations",
The Hebrew word for "My name" - "sh'mi", together with the Hebrew letters yud and hei - the initial letters of the name Havayah, has the numerical value of 365, the number of negative injunctions in the Torah. The Hebrew word for "My memorial" - "zichri" together with vav and hei - the latter two letters of G-d's name, equals 248 - the number of positive injunctions. |
Moses is not searching for G-d's ID tag or His title in Who's Who. Moses is addressing a heart-wrenching issue.
The Jewish people suffered for decades under a cruel and brutal empire. Their male newborns are cast into the Nile; their men are subjected to slave labor, beaten and tortured mercilessly. Jewish life has become valueless.
When G‑d appears to Moses, demanding that he enter the lion's den and liberate his broken people from bondage, Moses' response is: What type of G‑d is this who can let evil flourish under His gaze? Should one, can one, believe in such a G‑d? |
Intermediate
The snake represented the occult powers of Egypt; it was Jacob who developed the traits necessary to defeat witchcraft while in the house of Laban.
At the burning bush, G-d informed Moses that he would lead his brethren into freedom. But Moses expressed doubt that the Jews would heed his directives, G-d then gave him three signs. The Shem miShmuel says the merit of the forefathers represented by these three signs gave them the necessary faith to go out of bondage.
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The neck is the place of forgetfulness
One who recognizes his own
shortcomings by means of da'at. can repent and fix what he
lack. However, the essence of the Egyptian exile was
the removal of da'at, meaning the aspect of
forgetfulness and their inability to recognize their own shortcomings.
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