English translation — שמות ב

A.

On the verse¹

"And I will give this people favor in the eyes of Egypt etc." — what the Most High said to Moses our teacher when telling him about the Exodus from Egypt — is stated in the Midrash²

: "And I will give favor to the people — what I said to Abraham³

And afterward they will go out with great wealth,

I am about to make you a favor in the eyes of Egypt so that they will lend to them and they will go full,

so that Abraham our father should not have an opening of the mouth to say 'And they will enslave them and afflict them'⁴

fulfilled in them 'And afterward they will go out with great wealth' was not fulfilled in them."

The guarantee of the beginning of the words of the Midrash "What I said to Abraham 'And afterward they will go out with great wealth'" is understood simply⁵

: Since the question arises: Why did the Most High immediately

(before Moses had accepted the mission at all,

and certainly before leaving Midian)

speaking with Moses about the Exodus from Egypt tell him that "And I will give favor to the people etc."?

The Midrash answers,

that thereby is meant a primary condition that <b>enables the Exodus</b> — the "He will send you out"⁶

— if before that there will be "And I will give etc. and a woman shall borrow from her neighbor",

fulfillment of the promise of the Most High

(immediately when telling about

(the exile and)

the redemption from Egypt

(in the Covenant Between the Parts))

"And afterward they will go out with great wealth."

One must however understand: what does the midrash mean with that which it continues "in order that there should not be an opening of the mouth for Avraham Avinu etc."?

For what practical difference is Avraham's opening of the mouth — the Above must surely fulfill His promise.

2.

The same matter,

that that which Jews had to borrow from the Egyptians "vessels of silver etc." is so that Avraham should not have the claim "and they will enslave them ..

He fulfilled ..

and afterwards they will go out with great wealth He did not fulfill",

we find also in Gemara Berachot⁷,

but there is understood the necessity to safeguard the claim of Avraham:

The Gemara stands on the verse in Parshat Bo&lt;sup&gt;8&lt;/sup&gt;

"Speak now in the ears of the people and let them ask etc.",

which speaks about the announcement of the Most High to Moses that &lt;b&gt;Jews&lt;/b&gt; should ask from the Egyptians property — and explains&lt;sup&gt;9&lt;/sup&gt;

: "The school of Rabbi Yannai said: 'na' is nothing but an expression of request.

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: I request of you&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;

Go and say to Israel: I request of you, ask from Egypt silver vessels and gold vessels,

so that that righteous one should not say

(Rashi: Abraham)

"And they will enslave them and afflict them" was fulfilled in them, "and afterwards they will go out with great wealth" was not fulfilled in them.

D.

E.

The Gemara answers the question why the Most High had to ask the &lt;b&gt;Jews&lt;/b&gt; — "Speak &lt;b&gt;now&lt;/b&gt;,

'na' is nothing but an expression of request" — that they should ask for the silver vessels and gold vessels from the Egyptians,

although in their then-current situation they did not think at all about this principle,

and on the contrary — as the Gemara brings out "They said to him: If only we ourselves would go out",

the Gemara explains,

that even though &lt;b&gt;Jews ask&lt;/b&gt; to forgo the great wealth,

but the Most High cannot fulfill their request,

"so that that righteous one should not say etc.".

But here in the Midrash,

where it does not speak about the command to the Jews to borrow from the Egyptians,

but about that which the <b>Almighty</b> will do to fulfill <b>His promise</b> — “<b>And I will give</b> the favor of the people etc.” — why does one need to come to

that it is “so that Abraham should not have an opening of the mouth”¹¹?

3.

Also, there are several precise points in this statement of our Sages of blessed memory mentioned above,

and among them:

a)

What is the reason for the emphasis in the phrase "

(fulfilled)

<b>in them </b>..

(not fulfilled)

<b>in them</b>”; prima facie it should have said "And they will serve them and afflict them <b>fulfilled </b>and afterwards they will go out with great wealth <b>not fulfilled</b>"?

b)

Why is the claim in a manner that the "fulfillment" of the "they will go out with great wealth" — is demanded because there was the "fulfillment" of "and they will serve them and afflict

“them” — apparently, the claim is that the promise “and afterwards they will go out with great wealth” was not fulfilled in them,

that this is the main complaint”¹².

c)

What is the reason for the change of language between Midrash and Gemara — in the Midrash it says

(a)

“that there should be no opening of the mouth

(b)

to Abraham our father”,

and in the Gemara

(a)

“that he should not say

(b)

that righteous one”¹³

consequently the words “to Abraham our father” are apparently a superfluous language; but in the Gemara Abraham is not mentioned at all¹⁴,

and yet the Gemara uses the title “that righteous one” and not “Abraham our father”]?

4.

will one understand this in the introduction¹⁵

The Above must fulfill the promise because of the promise itself¹⁶,

because <b>He</b> <b>promised</b>; for it is indeed "Not a man is God that He would lie ..

Has He said and will He not do, and spoken and will He not fulfill it?"¹⁷,

"I will not profane My covenant, and the utterance of My lips I will not alter"¹⁸,

— and not only to prevent the claim of Avraham&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;.

From this itself there is a necessity to say,

that even without this "And I will give favor etc." the Almighty could have fulfilled &lt;b&gt;His &lt;/b&gt;promise that Jews should receive great wealth,

and nevertheless there will be a place for the claim and opening of the mouth of Avraham Avinu.

And this is what the midrash innovates: specifically through the fact that the promise is fulfilled in the manner of "And I will give this people favor in the eyes of Egypt, etc." it is ensured "that there should be no opening for Abraham our father."

And in this innovation the Gemara <b>adds </b>further,

that the matter of "And I will give this people favor in the eyes of Egypt ...

so that they will borrow from them and go laden" is still also not entirely sufficient,

it needed to be in a manner of "Speak <b>please </b>in the ears of the people <b>and let them borrow </b>etc.'",

<b>Jews </b>should ask this from the Egyptians,

so that thereby there will be entirely no place for the claim of Abraham.

5.

The explanation of this:

The Gemara relates in Tractate Sanhedrin²⁰,

that in the time of Alexander of Macedon

the Egyptians came to him with a claim,

that the Jews should return to them the silver and gold that they took from them.

Geviha ben Pesisa answered them "Give us the wages of the work of six hundred thousand [people] whom you enslaved in Egypt, etc."

They explain²¹,

that the great wealth that the Jews received from the Egyptians came to them as wages

(payment)

for their labor in Egypt²².

Since this was both as a punishment for the Egyptians

(as follows)

and as payment of wages for the Jews,

there can be in this two aspects — which of the two was the main one:

a)

That that which the Egyptians had to give the Jews their property was primarily as a punishment for the Egyptians²³,

and explain the verse

(at the Covenant Between the Parts)

— "And also the nation whom they will serve I will judge, and afterwards they will go out with great wealth"²⁴,

that the "they will go out with great wealth" is a part

(and a continuation)

of the "the nation" "I will judge".

d.

h.

primarily is

here the punishment of "&lt;b&gt;and you will despoil &lt;/b&gt;the &lt;b&gt;Egyptians&lt;/b&gt;"²⁵,

but

(— why does it come to the Jews specifically)

: since that Jews worked for the Egyptians,

the punishment of the Egyptians was set up such,

that the Jews should receive their property,

as wages for work.

b)

that the "great wealth" was originally established as a reward for the "and they will enslave them and afflict them",

and that which it says in the continuation to the "I will judge",

is because together with the wages for the work for the Jews, this was also a matter of punishment for the Egyptians — they had taken from them a great wealth,

until that — "and you will empty out Egypt".

And.

The difference between the two ways is:

According to the first manner,

there is no difference in what manner the "great wealth" comes to Jews.

The thing is,

that the great wealth should be &lt;b&gt;taken &lt;/b&gt;from Egypt,

and that which comes to Jews is only a secondary matter,

so what difference does the manner in this make.

And consequently,

if the Jews had taken the "great wealth" from the Egyptians during the plague of darkness&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;,

for example,

then the intention of "they went out with great wealth" would have been fulfilled.

If, however, the “and afterward they will go out with great wealth” is

(primarily)

wages for work,

for the “and they will enslave them and afflict them,”

it must then be in a manner of <b>payment</b>,

there must be revealed and felt that the <b>Egyptians</b> give this to the Jews²⁷,

i.e.,

that is,

they pay thereby the wages for work²⁸.

And this is what the midrash says,

that specifically by this that the Almighty said “and I will give the favor of this people etc.” — it is ensured “that there should be no opening for Abraham our father to say: ‘and they will enslave them and afflict them’ was fulfilled in them, but ‘and afterward they will go out with great wealth’ was not fulfilled in them”:

The very promise of the Most High "And afterward they will go out with great wealth"

(in which its intention was not explicitly interpreted)

can be carried out,

also when this is in a manner that in it is evident

(mainly)

the aspect of punishment for the Egyptians and not the aspect of reward and recompense for the labor and affliction of the Jews;

But then there remains a place for a "claim <b>to Abraham our father</b>": Abraham,

the "father" of the people of Israel,

demands that the intention of this great wealth should be

(primarily)

<b>for the benefit of Israel</b>,

that is, a matter of reward for the "and they will serve them"

(and specifically then is this for them a "consolation" for the bitter exile in Egypt)²⁹.

From this it is understood why the "opening of the mouth" of Avraham

(that "and after etc. did not endure in them")

is connected with the introduction of "and they will serve them and they will oppress them endured in them" — because this is the <b>foundation</b> of the "opening of the mouth" regarding the great wealth: since "and they will serve them and they will oppress them <b>endured in them</b>" — <b>the Jews</b> went through the hard labor and affliction,

this obligates that also the "and after they will go out with great wealth

(should be in the manner of)

<b>endured in them</b>"

(and therefore the additional emphasis "

(endured)

<b>in them</b>",

not "endured" simply)

; the Jews should feel that the "great wealth" is from the outset a promise to <b>them</b>

(and <b>because of</b> them)

— as reward and recompense for their labor and affliction.

And in order to fulfill this claim,

the Above warned that the great wealth should come to the Jews in a manner that the Egyptians should <b>give</b> it and with grace,

<b>with their good will</b> and with a pleasant countenance — "and I will give the grace of the people etc.",

which emphasizes,

that the "great wealth" is connected with the "and they will serve them and they will oppress them",

as above³⁰.

7.

On this the Gemara adds in the safeguarding of the claim of Avraham — by bringing the aforementioned matter in connection with the verse "Speak now in the ears of the people, and let them borrow etc.":

Even when the Egyptians give the Jews at the exodus from Egypt vessels of silver and vessels of gold etc. and with a pleasant countenance,

it can still be a place to say,

that in this it is not recognizable in a revealed manner as it comes as payment for work; it can be a reasoning that this is not payment for work,

but merely giving gifts³¹.

Or so that Jews should not go out from Egypt naked and lacking everything³².

And therefore,

in order to completely secure the matter of "and afterward they will go out with great wealth fulfilled <b>in them</b>"

(that one should know clearly that this is wages for work),

the Most High commanded that the slaves

(and in the manner of our poverty)

themselves specifically should ask — and in a manner that they effect it,

demand — from the Egyptians the "great wealth",

which demonstrates openly that the wealth <b>belongs to them</b>.

And based on this, the variations in the language of the Gemara will be understood

(relative to the language of the Midrash)

— it states "so that he should not say

(and not the language "opening of the mouth"³³)

that righteous one"

(and not "Abraham our father")

If it would have been in a way that the Egyptians themselves would give the great wealth to Jews³⁴

it would also have been a proof that the "great wealth" belongs to Jews and that the intention in it is for the good of Israel; and consequently there is no "opening of the mouth"

(by another "the opener" the mouth is closed — the Egyptians if they do not give are causing to say —)

that "and afterwards they will go out with great wealth was not fulfilled in them";

It is only "that that <b>righteous one</b> should not say" — from the aspect of the perfection of righteousness and justice of Abraham our father there is a place to say,

that by undergoing such difficulty of the bondage and affliction in Egypt

("and they will enslave them and afflict them")

<b>it is fitting</b> that the Jews be paid with the "great wealth" in a way that it should be openly recognizable that it is the reward for their labor

(that specifically then the "and afterwards they will go out with great wealth <b>was fulfilled in them</b>" <b>in perfection</b>).

And this is accomplished,

as above,

through that which "Speak now in the ears of &lt;b&gt;the people, and let them borrow &lt;/b&gt;etc."

8.

The explanation of this in spiritual service:

It is known³⁵,

that the "great wealth",

which the Jews took out from Egypt,

consists

(in the inner aspect of matters)

of the holy sparks which were there,

including — in the silver and gold etc.,

afterwards they made from it the Mishkan and generally used it in holiness — which were refined through the exile of Egypt — the intention and purpose of their going through the exile of Egypt was³⁶

in order that through this the matter of "and afterwards they will go out with great wealth" should be fulfilled,

to take out and elevate the holy sparks from Egypt.

saying "and perhaps we will go out with our own"

(and like the parable that the Gemara brings³⁷)

— then why did the Almighty not forego on this?

And according to the above it is understood and simple: The "great wealth" was a primary purpose of the exile of Egypt; without this "great wealth" the intention and purpose of the exile of Egypt is not fulfilled].

And through this "and they will enslave them and oppress them",

through this that the Jews in their servitude clarified and elevated the holy sparks that were in Egypt,

there was also brought about an elevation <b>in them</b>,

in the Jews themselves³⁸.

What this is the inner explanation of that which one says "and afterwards <b>they will go out</b> with great wealth",

that the Jews <b>received</b> and went out with the "wealth

“Great,”

and the elevation that occurred in Jews — “and I will bring you up also”³⁹.

9.

With this one will understand the content of the two matters mentioned above

(section 5)

in spiritual service:

If one assumes that the great wealth was primarily the matter concerning Egypt — to punish the Egyptians,

it turns out,

that the main intention

(inner)

of the exile in Egypt was in order to refine and take out from there the holy sparks — &lt;b&gt;they &lt;/b&gt;should be refined.

But since that Jews were the ones who through their service carried out the intention,

they receive for that a reward,

which is the great elevation to which they come through their service.

Abraham our father, however, "looks" at the "great wealth" as it primarily pertains to &lt;b&gt;Jews&lt;/b&gt;; "And afterward they will go out with great wealth &lt;b&gt;fulfilled in them&lt;/b&gt;" — that the intention of the exile in Egypt is: so that &lt;b&gt;Jews&lt;/b&gt; should achieve their elevation and perfection,

and for that the Most High sent them down into Egypt to refine there the holy sparks in order through this to achieve their perfection.

D.

H.

The intention is the benefit and elevation of Jews,

but this is achieved through the refinement of the sparks.

And from this reason the "great wealth" must come specifically through that which "And I will give the favor of the people — that they will borrow and go <b>filled</b>"⁴⁰,

when the <b>Egyptians</b> give their wealth to Jews

(not the Jews take it

themselves)

it is brought out that the clarification of the sparks is because of the elevation of Jews,

for which the holy sparks themselves assist the Jews in their service.

In the matter of "Havayah is my helper"⁴²

plural language,

that the sparks of holiness,

which become clarified through the work of man,

become "my helpers,"

assistants and helpers to the man who works in his work.

And one could say,

that that which the sparks of holiness become afterwards the "helpers" of the one who clarifies,

is a result and consequence of this, that the main intention of the clarification of the sparks is "for the sake of Israel,"

so that Jews should become elevated].

Yud.

The two manners mentioned above are also present in the service of every Jew

(That the descent of the soul below "is ..

In the aspect of actual exile"⁴³)

The descent of the soul below is to refine the body and animal soul and his portion in the world — "to bind and unite them with the light of the Ein Sof, blessed be He"⁴⁴,

Through which one makes a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He, in the lower realms.

And through that which the soul comes down below and conducts the service of refining and purifying the world,

this descent is for the sake of an ascent⁴⁵

— there is in it an up-

lifted ascent

(even higher than it was before its descent below),

until that through this it reaches <b>its perfection</b>⁴⁶.

And in this there are two opinions⁴⁷

(as above regarding the exile of Egypt)

a)

That the main point and purpose is — that the world should be clarified and become a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He,

but since Jews are the ones who effect the dwelling place,

they receive a reward for this⁴⁸

— "And afterwards they will go out with great wealth" — which is the ascent that they attain through the service.

b)

The ultimate intention is — <b>Jews</b>,

that a Jew should attain his true perfection⁴⁹

; but the way to this is — through the descent of the soul below and its service in clarification and refinement of the world.

11.

The two aforementioned modes are connected with two modes of how a soul goes to its service of clarification and refinement of the world⁵⁰

a)

The service of refining the world is with acceptance of the yoke like a "simple servant",

i.e.

that

that for him it makes no difference what the service does; he knows only one thing: he has a mission from the Above that he must carry out — but it is not different to him <b>what</b> the

mission does,

And in the well-known expression⁵¹

"If he were commanded to chop wood",

he would do it with the same acceptance of the yoke.

b)

Although he does his service with self-nullification and fixed times,

he knows however also and understands the content of the service,

the content of the mission⁵²,

that it becomes a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He, in the lower realms.

What the difference between these two modes of service expresses itself afterwards regarding the ascent of the soul,

which is accomplished through the service:

When his service is in the first manner,

with the sole purpose and intention to carry out the mission of the Above,

then for him the elevation of his soul is like an additional matter to his service — a matter of reward⁵³

(which he receives afterwards,

for what he carried out the intention of the Above).

When however for him is also heard the "content" of the mission,

also that which he does in his service

(connecting the world with G‑dliness,

that there should become a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He, in the lower realms),

then for him the elevation of the soul is not like a matter of reward but like a continuation of

The service itself.

Because the elevation of the soul is indeed the matter of the body — that the extension of the essence which is revealed through its service in clarification and refinement of the world

(the dwelling for His essence, may He be blessed⁵⁴)

— becomes revealed to the soul

(which revealed the dwelling)⁵⁵.

12.

But also the

(second)

mode of service can be in two ways:

a)

that the content and effect of his service is perceived by him

(not during the service itself,

but)

at the conclusion of the service: when he completes his service he comes to recognition of what was accomplished through his service.

b)

that also during the service itself he perceives the content and intention of the service,

to the extent that he does his service not only in order to carry out the intention of the <b>Supernal One</b>,

but this itself is

(so to speak)

also <b>his</b>⁵⁶

intention and feeling at the time of service: to make for Him a dwelling place in the lower realms,

bring the world to its perfection.

And one can say that this is the content of the difference as the above-mentioned matter stands in the Midrash and as it stands in the Gemara:

In the Gemara: In order to remove the possibility of "that righteous one might say ..

And afterwards they will go out with great wealth was not fulfilled in them" the Jews needed to borrow from the Egyptians — this is because according to the view of the Gemara the Jews also at the time

And at the time of the enslavement, he hears that the purpose of the work is the great wealth,

the clarification of the sparks —

And therefore the Jews themselves demand this at the completion of the work — as a <b>continuation</b> to the work,

since the continuation of their work is to receive the "great wealth".

But not according to the Midrash,

the intention and purpose did not begin in the service of the Jews <b>at the time of the bondage</b>,

but only after the completion and perfection of the service,

and therefore it is sufficient that the "great wealth" should come after the completion of the service in a manner of "and they will borrow"⁵⁷

— that the Egyptians themselves give it to the Jews,

as above.

13.

From all the above emerges also the instruction in the service of every Jew "in our deeds and our service all the time of the duration of the exile"⁵⁸,

and especially in our days,

at the heels of Mashiach:

A Jew must learn Torah and fulfill commandments with acceptance of the yoke,

because thus has the Most High commanded, and it makes no difference at all in the essence of his service what is the &lt;b&gt;intention&lt;/b&gt; of the Most High in His mission and service — and consequently there is for him no distinction whether it is in the time of the Holy Temple or in the time of the exile in general or in the footsteps of Mashiach.

The manner of fulfillment is with one intention and purpose: to do a command and mission from the Most High.

Knowing however that one finds oneself "in the footsteps of Mashiach" and "the purpose

The perfection of the days of Mashiach and the resurrection of the dead, which is the revelation of the light of the Ein Sof, blessed be He, in this physical world

("for which it was created from the beginning"⁵⁹)

depends on our deeds and our service during all the time of the exile"⁵⁸,

this itself must be heard in his service.

And as we see in practice that when a Jew hears that his fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos brings and precedes,

"I will hasten it" the coming of Mashiach and the building of the Holy Temple etc. — d.

h.

that his service brings the world and the entire order of the chain of descent to its purpose,

"for which it was created from the beginning",

that it should be a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He, in the lower realms — then his service of G-d is entirely with a different vitality and with much more adornment etc.⁶⁰.

And when the service is in such a manner,

is his will and request that there should be the revelation of Moshiach in an entirely different manner,

until he <b>demands</b> as it were "like Moshiach now"⁶¹.

And this itself is even more hastening and advancing the redemption of each and every one of Israel,

together with the Shechinah

(which is found)

in exile,

and it becomes the "<b>immediately</b> they are redeemed"⁶²,

immediately literally — "now" — in our times.

(From the talk of Shabbos Parshas Devarim 5740)