Brick and Mortar

Torah relates that the Egyptian exile involved hard labor of “chomer u’leveinim – mortar and brick.” Of the current exile, however, Torah explains that the refinement of “chomer – mortar” is acquired through “kal vachomer – in-depth Torah study,” and the refinement of “leveina– brick,” through “libun hilchisa – clarification of Jewish law.”

This explains why great Torah scholars through the ages toiled in Torah study with superhuman intensity. Far from “enslaving” the Jew, such toil in Torah is what actually sets him free from the exile.