In the discourse cited above, the Previous Rebbe continues: “‘I will show
you wonders’ refers to the revelation of the Future Redemption. The Future
Redemption will also be of this quality, but it shall be on a much higher
level;”1 [i.e., the Future Redemption
will, like the exodus from Egypt, represent a transcendence of our limits, but
it will reflect a transcendence of a much higher level].
It is possible to explain [that the two concepts mentioned above are
interrelated]. The Previous Rebbe cites the verse “I will show you wonders”
which refers to the revelations of the Future Redemption, because this amplifies
the explanation of why the plural form, “days,” is used in the verse, “As in the
days of your exodus from Egypt,” although the verse mentioning the obligation
to remember the exodus from Egypt, “so that you remember the day you left the
land of Egypt,” employs a singular form.
[As mentioned,] in the Future Redemption (when “I will show you wonders”),
the exodus from Egypt will be completed; we will transcend all limitations (even
from the most subtle ones). To attain this revelation, one must experience daily
the divine service of leaving Egypt. Each day, the person should rise above [his
limitations, and on the morrow, rise above the new,] subtler limitations [in
which he finds himself. To accentuate this point,] the verse uses the plural
“the days.”
[This interpretation of the concept of] the exodus from Egypt, [i.e., all the
steps in self-transcendence leading to the Future Redemption, does not negate
the simple meaning of the term,] which refers to the initial exodus from Egypt
([when the Jews left that land] in one day). {On the contrary, the original
exodus] is also relevant to the Future Redemption. As the Previous Rebbe
explains in the discourse,2 the exodus from Egypt opened up the potential for redemption
in general, making possible all future redemptions (those from the subsequent
exiles [of the Jewish people]), and the Future Redemption.}
This [includes the spiritual dimension of] exodus which follows the actual
(physical) exodus from Egypt. In this process, each day, one rises above subtler
degrees of limitations, until [ultimately] one’s spiritual efforts [enable one
to attain the level of the Future Redemption]. At that time, the exodus from
Egypt will be complete; we will have departed from all limitations.
[Based on the above, we can understand why] the verse “so that you remember
the day you left the land of Egypt all the days of your life,” from which we
learn the obligation to remember the exodus from Egypt [twice] daily (during the
day and at night),3 uses a
singular form. The daily remembrance of the exodus from Egypt focuses primarily
on one dimension of exodus, departing from the straits of
unholiness;4 it highlights the exodus from the limitations that
hinder Torah study and impede the performance of the mitzvos.
This relates to “the day you left the land of Egypt” (“day” — in the
singular). For the exodus from Egypt caused the Jews to be designated as G-d’s
servants (and not Pharaoh’s slaves).5 The exodus empowers each and every
Jew in his observance of the Torah and its mitzvos,67 freeing him from all hindrances stemming from worldly
matters. [Nothing, none of the obstacles created by] the exile8
[can prevent a Jew from observing the Torah], for “My writ has
precedence.”9
The verse “As in the days of your exodus from Egypt, I will show you
wonders,” by contrast, uses the plural form “days.” To attain the revelations of
the Future Redemption,10 we must leave all limitations,
even the limitations [within the realm] of holiness. This approach to divine
service involves [a constant succession of leaving Egypt] — each and every day,
one transcends more subtle limitations. [To accentuate this point,] the verse
uses the plural form “the days.”
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