Chapter 1

בכל דור ודור חייב לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא
יצא ממצרים שנאמר והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא
לאמר בעבור זה עשה ה׳ לי בצאתי ממצרים

“In1 each and every generation a person is obliged to regard himself as if he had come out of Egypt. For it is written:2 ‘And you shall tell your son that day, “It is on account of what G-d did for me when I came out of Egypt.” ’ ”3

In every generation and under all circumstances, each and every Jew must be aware of “what G-d did for me when I came out of Egypt.” This is because exile and redemption are first and foremost spiritual matters. Although the exile in Egypt was only the first exile, and the redemption from Egypt was only the first redemption, they are symbolic of all other exiles and redemptions, up to and including the final Redemption through our righteous Moshiach. Regarding the final Redemption, too, the verse states:4 “Similar to the days of your leaving the land of Egypt, will I show him wondrous things.”5 This is because both exile and redemption are basically spiritual in nature.

When Yaakov, accompanied by the 70 members of his family, went to Egypt, he did not do so of his own volition. Neither did the Jewish people leave Egypt as a result of their own might. G-d led our forefather Yaakov and the 70 people into Egypt through Yosef’s sale into slavery. He redeemed the Jewish people from Egypt through Moshe, our master.

So too with regard to this, the final exile and the upcoming final Redemption. The Jews who lived in the generation of Rabbi Yochanan Zakkai [during which this final exile began] did not leave Eretz Yisroel to wander in the lands of the Diaspora of their own volition. And Jewry will not reenter Eretz Yisroel as a result of their own might.

Blessed G-d banished us from the land of our ancestors because of certain sinful actions. When we truly repent, He will send the Righteous Redeemer to liberate us from all the lands of our exile and lead us to Eretz Yisroel. We can accomplish nothing by our own might, however, because both exile and redemption are Divinely ordained occurrences.

Exile is not a matter of choice. Whether we desire it or not, we must accept the punishment of exile. Redemption, too, is not dependent on our own might. The verse states:6 “Not by a multitude of people, nor by might…” will the Holy Temple and Eretz Yisroel be regained only as a result of G-d’s desire that it come to pass. For exile and redemption are Divinely ordained matters which the Chosen People must undergo in order to fulfill G-d’s will, through the study of Torah, the performance of mitzvos and repentance in all the lands of exile. When that is accomplished, G-d shall fulfill His promise of redemption through our righteous Moshiach.

During the exile in Egypt the Jewish cry of repentance, “and we cried out to G-d…,”7 brought about G-d’s redemption [as the verse says: “and He hearkened to our cry”] through the first redeemer, Moshe. So too in our own times, when Jews will cry out to G-d in repentance, He shall send the Righteous Redeemer.

The whole matter of exile and redemption is a component of the spiritual service Jews are to accomplish in this world. Our Sages say8 that the purpose of exile is for the number of proselytes to increase, i.e., that Jews should purify and elevate the sparks of holiness [concealed in the corporeality of this world].9 This is accomplished through the spiritual service of each and every Jew, for every Jew has a soul-mission which he must accomplish in this world.

This then is the meaning of, “In each and every generation a person is obliged to regard himself as if he had come out of Egypt,” for the physical exodus from Egypt depends on the spiritual exodus therefrom.

Concerning the exile in Egypt the verse states:10 “And the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with hard labor [in Hebrew בפרך] b’forech.” The Gemara11 offers two interpretations of the word b’forech. R. Elazor says it is a composite of b’feh rach, with a soft tongue. The Midrash12 states that Pharaoh fooled the Jewish people by using mild words in order to find out the maximum number of bricks they could produce in a day. He then forced them to produce this same amount every day. Thus, b’feh rach, the soft tongue, led to b’forech, hard labor.

R. Shmuel bar Nachmeini says b’forech means that Pharaoh, by forcing us into extremely hard labor, broke us both physically and spiritually. The verse alludes to this when it says, “but they did not listen to Moshe, because of their shortness of breath and hard labor.”13

Jews while in the exile of Egypt, and now as well, are so broken physically and embittered spiritually that they are inconsolable.

In summary: Every Jew in each generation must feel as if he himself had gone out of Egyptian exile. The Egyptian exile and redemption are indicative of all exiles and redemptions, all occurring according to a Divinely ordained spiritual agenda. Exile does not come about through one’s own volition it is a punishment. Redemption does not come about through one’s own might. This final bitter exile is [also] a punishment. Through repentance [we will merit that] G-d will send our Righteous Redeemer. The purpose of exile is that we purify and elevate the sparks of holiness [contained in physical matter]. The bitterness which results from exile hinders the consolation of redemption.