English translation — שמות ב

Sicha 2<pg>7</pg>

A.

"And said<sup>1</sup>

Moshe to G-d, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring out the children of Israel from Egypt,'"

And our Sages, of blessed memory, explained in the Midrash<sup>2</sup>,

and so it is in Rashi<sup>3</sup>,

that Moshe's argument "and that I should bring out the children of Israel from Egypt" its intention was "what merit do they have that I could bring them out"

(and in Rashi's language "what merit did Israel have that You should perform a miracle for them and I should bring them out of Egypt").

And about this, Hashem answered him, "When you take out<sup>4</sup>

the people from Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain" — that is,

"What<sup>5</sup>

you said, with what merit will I take them out of Egypt, know that in the merit of the Torah that they are destined to receive through you on this mountain they are going out from there."

And one must understand the explanation of the answer "in the merit of the Torah that they are destined to receive,"

what does their receiving the Torah in the future help,

after their exodus from Egypt,

as a merit for which they went out of Egypt.

And behold, in his second commentary on the verse here "And He said, 'For I will be with you, and this is the sign for you that I have sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain.'"

Rashi writes "Another explanation:<sup>6</sup>

For I will be with you, and that you will succeed in your mission — this is the sign for you regarding another promise that I promise you, that when you bring them out of Egypt you will serve Me on this mountain, that you will receive the Torah upon it, and it is the merit that stands for Israel.

And an example of this language we find<sup>7</sup>

"And this is the sign for you: eat this year the aftergrowth etc. The fall of Sennacherib will be a sign for you regarding another promise, that your land is desolate of fruits and I will bless the aftergrowths."

And the commentators wrote<sup>8</sup>,

that this that Rashi brings "And an example of this language",

is to bring a proof that the Holy One, blessed be He, attaches His promise to another promise,

even though that promise itself has not yet been fulfilled.

And so it is in our case,

that even though the promise of this mission itself has not yet been fulfilled,

and if so, how can the promise of the mission be a proof and sign for the promise of receiving the Torah, which is another promise — behold, regarding this he brings an example from that which we find in Isaiah, that the promise of the fall of Sennacherib,

before its fulfillment,

was a sign for another promise, that is the blessing of the aftergrowths.

Behold, we see from Rashi this very thing,

that this is a novel thing, that a future event

(and not yet fulfilled)

will be a sign and symbol,

and according to this, it will be even more difficult regarding the aforementioned matter,

how can it be said that the future receiving of the Torah is a cause for something in the present,

which is the merit that they have, because of which they left Egypt.

2.

At first glance, one can say,

that for this reason<pg>8</pg>

Rashi changed from the language of the Midrash: In the Midrash it says "What you said, by what merit will I take them out of Egypt, know that by the merit of the Torah that they are destined to receive through you on this mountain they will go out from there,"

while in Rashi's commentary "And what you asked, what merit do Israel have that they should go out of Egypt, I have a great thing<sup>9</sup>

for this exodus, for they are destined to receive the Torah on this mountain at the end of three months after they go out of Egypt"<sup>10</sup>,

that Rashi did not write "that by the merit of the Torah" is because his intention is to explain that the exodus of Bnei Yisrael is not because of a merit that they have now<sup>11</sup>,

but rather that "I have a great thing for this exodus",

that is to say<sup>12</sup>,

that the Holy One, blessed be He, has a "great thing",

an important and great purpose for which He takes them out of Egypt.

[And based on this, it can be said,

that in the midrash that says "that in the merit of the Torah that they are destined to receive through you on this mountain they are leaving from there",

it does not mean,

that they have now the merit of the future receiving of the Torah,

that therefore they are worthy of being redeemed,

but rather "in the merit of the Torah" itself<sup>13</sup>,

that the Torah is what gives merit

(reason and cause)

for their exodus from Egypt,

so that they would be able to receive the Torah<sup>14</sup>

(and therefore it is not said in the midrash "in the merit that they are destined to receive the Torah" and the like)].

And it requires explanation,

that it is not so clear in his language here "and that you asked what merit do Israel have that they should leave Egypt, a great thing I have for this exodus",

for the main emphasis is missing in the response to Moses' question

("what merit etc.'")

— that this is not a merit that they have now but rather this is the purpose and the intention and the goal of the exodus.

Moreover: in his second explanation Rashi writes in the explanation "and it is the merit<sup>15</sup>

that stands for Israel"<sup>16</sup>.

3.

Another possible explanation:

since the Holy One, blessed be He, knows the future,

therefore it is possible that He gives reward for a mitzvah even before its fulfillment¹⁷,

and similarly in our matter,

since<pg>9</pg>

that the Holy One, blessed be He, knew that they were destined to receive the Torah, therefore from the outset He took them out for the merit in the future¹⁸.

But also this explanation requires examination,

because when the action that will be done in the future is done by the person himself,

it is possible that it will be considered a merit,

But in our case,

the Giving of the Torah was not from the choice of the Children of Israel,

and as the words of our Sages of blessed memory¹⁹

"that the Holy One, blessed be He, coerced them [with] the mountain like a tub and said to them: If you accept the Torah, good, and if not, there shall be your burial," and therefore "from here a great protest against the Torah,"

behold, the Giving of the Torah is not a thing dependent on their will and their choice,

and if so, there is no place for reward for this action.

And furthermore: since the Holy One, blessed be He, said "when you take the people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain," it follows,

that the children of Israel were compelled in this by the very utterance of the Holy One, blessed be He.

[And this is not comparable to that which the Holy One, blessed be He, knows the future,

and nevertheless this knowledge does not compel man's choice

(as explained in many places&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;)

— for it is known,

that this applies to the knowledge of the Holy One, blessed be He,

but not so with the utterance above,

which is something revealed,

the utterance compels the choice

(as explained&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

regarding the matter "righteous&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;

and wicked He does not say"&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;,

for even though the Holy One, blessed be He, knows whether one will be righteous or wicked,

but since this knowledge does not come in utterance

("He does not say")

it does not compel man's choice),

and accordingly,

since in our case the Holy One, blessed be He, said "you will serve God on this mountain,"

behold the children of Israel were compelled in this,

and it is impossible to give them reward for this deed].

And this is not a contradiction to the foundation of free choice

[that "the main thing&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;

is great and it is the pillar of the Torah and the commandment..

that the authority is in your hands and whatever a person desires to do from the deeds of the children of man he does, whether good or evil etc., that the Creator does not coerce the children of man nor decree&lt;pg&gt;10&lt;/pg&gt;

upon them to do good or evil, but everything is given over to them"]

— because this foundation was said only in relation to the conduct of an individual person,

but not regarding the Giving of the Torah

(to the entirety of Israel),

and as we find explicitly,

as above,

that the entire essence of the Giving of the Torah was not from their choice without that,

but rather through the coercion of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And thus the question remains in its place,

for at first glance how is it possible to consider this that Bnei Yisrael received the Torah as a merit for them,

since this was not by their choice but they were compelled to receive it at the time of Mattan Torah,

and furthermore they were compelled in this from the word of Hashem "When you take the people out of Egypt you shall serve G-d on this mountain"²⁵

— and thus,

how is Yetzias Mitzrayim a reward for Mattan Torah

(and the entire matter of reward and punishment is founded on the foundation of free choice,

as explained in the Rambam²⁶)?

Therefore it seems to me that in the words of our Sages here is hinted an additional matter beyond the actual receiving of the Torah by Yisrael,

that this matter is by their choice and upon it they received the reward of Yetzias Mitzrayim.

4.

And this will be understood with the introduction of the words of the "Haggadah" that are brought in several early authorities²⁷

on the content of the commandment of counting the Omer between Passover and Shavuot

(in this time),

that "At the time²⁸

that Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, said to them, 'You shall serve God on this mountain,' Israel said to him, 'Moses our teacher, when is this service?' He said to them, 'At the end of fifty days,' and they were counting, each one by himself

(from here the sages established to count the Omer etc.')

".

And one must examine when Moses said to Israel "You shall serve God on this mountain."

For behold, from the simple language of the aforementioned Aggadah,

that Moses said to them "at the end of fifty days",

it implies,

that this was at their exodus from Egypt.

However, in Shibolei HaLeket²⁹

this "Midrash Aggadah" is brought in a different language, and this is its wording: "Because when Israel were informed to go out from Egypt, they were informed that they are destined to receive

[the]

Torah at the end of fifty days from their exodus, as it is said, 'When you bring out the people from Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain,'

behold, the nun of 'ta'avdun' is extra to tell you that at the end of fifty days you shall serve God

(that you shall serve)

[that you shall receive]

the Torah, and Israel, out of abundant affection, were counting each and every day and saying, 'Behold, one day has passed, and a second day,' and so on, for it seemed to them like a long time because of their great affection for the matter

(therefore the counting was established for generations)

".

behold it is explicit,

that Moshe said to them "you shall worship God on this mountain" "when Israel was informed [that they would] go out of Egypt",

that this was while they were still in Egypt,

and as is related in our parshah³⁰

that this was the first mission of Moshe Rabbeinu,

to gather the elders of Israel and to say to them "I have surely remembered etc. I will bring you up etc.",

and according to the version of the Shibolei HaLeket, then at that time Moshe informed them that they were destined to receive the Torah

("you shall worship God etc.").

and so he precisely [states] there in his language,

that Moshe said<pg>11</pg>

to them "that they are destined to receive the Torah at the end of fifty days from their exodus",

from which it is implied that this speech was before the exodus from Egypt³¹.

And so too it stands to reason,

for even though Moses was not explicitly commanded by the Holy One, blessed be He, to make this known to the Children of Israel&lt;sup&gt;32&lt;/sup&gt;,

nevertheless, since Moses our teacher was a lover of Israel&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;,

why would Moses our teacher withhold himself from announcing such good tidings to Israel for so long a time

[at least ten months,

for the duration of each plague was about a month,

as Rashi explains&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;

that "the plague lasted a quarter of a month, and for three-quarters he would warn and admonish them",

and also according to the opinion&lt;sup&gt;*34&lt;/sup&gt;

that the last three plagues did not last a month,

nevertheless, from the delivery of the first mission to the elders of Israel

(which is in our portion)

until the beginning of the plagues a certain time passed,

as is understood from what is related at the end of our portion&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;].

5.

And now, based on this,

that while still in Egypt Israel was informed that they were destined to receive the Torah — and this news aroused in the Children of Israel a great longing for the receiving of the Torah,

out of abundant affection — it is understood,

that this longing began immediately and at once,

while still in Egypt.

That the counting of the days began only after the Exodus from Egypt

(And according to the "Haggadah" that in the aforementioned first ones only then did they ask Moshe "When is this service?"^*35),

And not before that while they were in Egypt — this is because Moshe told them explicitly "When you bring out etc. you shall serve",

And thus it is understood and simple,

That before their departure from Egypt there is no place

(To ask "When is this service?" and)

To count the days³⁶,

But the essential yearning

(Due to the greatness of the affection),

Was aroused in Israel immediately when they were informed of this tidings.

And one can thus also be precise from the wording of the midrash

(Which is brought in the poskim³⁷),

From "One who was imprisoned in the house<pg>12</pg>

the imprisoned etc.,

the king set him a time and to give him his daughter,

and he was counting and going until the time comes",

and in another place&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;

the matters were brought in more detail&lt;sup&gt;39&lt;/sup&gt;,

that the king said to "a certain man thrown into a pit and imprisoned there",

"I&lt;sup&gt;40&lt;/sup&gt;

will permit you and will take you out of this pit and at a certain time I will give you my daughter

(as a wife),

and that man rejoiced a great joy, said it is not enough that he takes me out of this pit but still he wants to give me his daughter,

and so the king did, he took him out of the pit and dressed him in nice garments etc. when that man saw that the king had already fulfilled part of his words, he began to count immediately how much time there is until what the king set for him to give him his daughter..

so were Israel in Egypt like in a pit etc."&lt;sup&gt;41&lt;/sup&gt;.

behold that the counting of days began only after the king fulfilled part of his words and took him out of the pit,

even though the joy of the prisoner began immediately when he was informed of the good news,

from this it is understood regarding our matter,

that the joy of the children of Israel began while they were still in Egypt when they were informed about their exodus from Egypt and the receiving of the Torah,

but the counting of days began only after the actual exodus.

And according to all the above, it is to be explained the words of

(our sages of blessed memory and)

Rashi "And what you asked, what merit do Israel have, I have a great thing regarding this exodus, for they are destined to receive the Torah on this mountain at the end of three months after they left Egypt":

In that Hashem announced that they would receive the Torah after their exodus from Egypt, there were awakened in them a longing and great yearning for the receiving of the Torah,

and this desire is certainly considered a great merit for Israel

[for this matter

(Israel's desire to receive the Torah)

is not explicitly stated in the utterance of Hashem,

and He only said to Moses "you shall serve God on this mountain"].

And based on this, one can say even more,

that because of this, even the actual receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai is considered a merit

(and as we find in many places&lt;sup&gt;42&lt;/sup&gt;

that this is the praise and virtue of Israel that they received the Torah at Mount Sinai)

— although He coerced them [by holding] the mountain over them like a vat,

and furthermore,

that the very utterance of Hashem "you shall serve God on this mountain" already compelled the matter of the receiving of the Torah

(as above)

— because the matter of the receiving of the Torah "began"&lt;sup&gt;*42&lt;/sup&gt;

from the longing and yearning of Israel for the receiving of the Torah while they were still in Egypt,

that this thing came from their will and their choice,

and this itself revealed,

that also the act of their receiving at Mount Sinai was not

(only)

a matter of compulsion and coercion,

but there is in this&lt;pg&gt;13&lt;/pg&gt;

Also the matter of acceptance&lt;sup&gt;43&lt;/sup&gt;

from the aspect of their will and their free choice&lt;sup&gt;44&lt;/sup&gt;.

And this is the explanation: "What merit do Israel have etc. [that they are] destined to receive the Torah,"

that this is a merit that preceded the Exodus from Egypt and it is a cause and merit because of which they went out,

since the beginning of the receiving of the Torah is from the yearning for it while they were in Egypt,

as above.

6.

And behold, it is known that every cause and effect have a substantive and inner connection between them,

and in our case,

that since the desire of Israel for the Giving of the Torah is the cause and merit for their exodus from Egypt,

it must be said that there is a connection between them,

and it is akin to the concept of the Exodus from Egypt.

And one must explain this

(in the inwardness of the concepts)

:

It is known⁴⁵

that the meaning of the matter of the Exodus from Egypt is not only the physical exodus from the land of Egypt in its simple sense,

but the exodus from all straits and spiritual boundaries,

that is, not only from the strait of the evil inclination,

and his body and his animal soul

(Egypt of the husk),

which conceal and hide the light of his soul and prevent the person from serving God,

but also from the straits and boundaries that exist in holiness itself

("Egypt" of holiness).

For when the service of God is founded solely on the understanding and comprehension of the person or on the feeling of his emotions

(love of God and fear of Him),

behold, he is still in a state of "strait,"

because his service is in measure and limitation,

according to the measures of his understanding and comprehension or the feeling of his emotions,

and as our master, the Alter Rebbe, wrote in the Tanya⁴⁶

that "even...

a completely righteous person who serves God with fear and love in delights...

is not nullified...

completely...

only it is a thing in itself,"

that his service is limited according to the manner of his "existence";

And the true matter of the Exodus from Egypt,

the exodus from all straits and boundaries

(even of holiness)

is when the person's service is out of complete self-nullification⁴⁷,

that the person has no existence of his own at all, but he is nullified to the Holy One, blessed be He,

and as it is written⁴⁸

"For to Me the children of Israel are servants; they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt,"

that in this that the Holy One, blessed be He, brought out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, behold, in this itself the Israelites became servants of God,

for a servant has no existence of his own but is nullified to his master,

and this is the true exodus from all straits and boundaries,

when the person is at the level of a servant,

nullified utterly to the Holy One, blessed be He.

And based on this, the connection is understood between the merit of Israel in that while still in Egypt they yearned for the receiving of the Torah, to the matter of the Exodus from Egypt,

for in the Holy One, blessed be He's announcement to Moshe it is explicit: "When you take out [the people] ... you shall serve God on this mountain",

meaning not merely receiving Torah and commandments, but the main emphasis is on the matter of servitude,

that Israel will become servants of God,

and for this servitude Israel yearned while still in Egypt,

from which it is understood that this yearning indicates the greatness of Israel's self-nullification &lt;pg&gt;14&lt;/pg&gt;

to the Holy One, blessed be He,

the opposite of the matter of "existence",

for although they were then in a state of exile in its simple sense,

in the nakedness of the land and in a state of servitude to Pharaoh,

nevertheless they yearned not only to be free men but for "you shall serve God",

that they be subjugated to the Holy One, blessed be He,

with great self-nullification and subjugation,

the opposite of the matter of Egypt — constraints and boundaries

(even of holiness).

7.

Based on this, one may also explain the connection of the two responses to Moshe's two questions: a)

Who am I — "What am I important to speak with the kings,"

b)

And that I should bring out the children of Israel,

"And even if I am important, what merit do Israel have that a miracle should be done for them and I should take them out of Egypt"⁴⁹

— to which the Holy One, blessed be He, answered him: "That you said 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh,'

it is not yours but rather Mine, for I will be with you etc. And that you asked what merit Israel have that they should go out of Egypt,

I have a great matter regarding this exodus, for they are destined to receive the Torah on this mountain."

And according to the above, one may say,

that there is a connection and inner bond between them,

that both of them indicate the matter of nullification and absence of existence,

that this is the "merit" and the reason for the exodus from Egypt as above.

Explanation of the matter⁵⁰

:

The inner content in the answer of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses: "It is not yours, but rather Mine,"

is,

that this refers to what Moses said: "Who am I, what am I important to speak with the kings,"

about which the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him that indeed the discussion is not about his importance, because of which he was chosen to be the agent of God to redeem Israel,

"It is not yours, but rather Mine,

for I will be with you,"

that the entire thing is not attributed to Moses at all,

but rather the entire thing is Mine,

and consequently there is no discussion at all regarding the merit and importance of Moses,

for the redemption is of the Holy One, blessed be He,

and when Moses will go to Pharaoh, this is the going of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were,

for I will be with you.

And so it is regarding the second matter,

"What merit do Israel have that they should go out of Egypt" that the Holy One, blessed be He, said "A great thing I have regarding this exodus",

that the discussion here is not about the merit and virtue of Israel,

but rather that "A great thing I have regarding this exodus",

for the entire matter is nothing but the matter of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And the merit required from the Children of Israel that they merit this "great thing" that is "Mine"

(of the Holy One, blessed be He)

— it is the matter of self-nullification,

that this is the content of the matter of the yearning of Israel while still in Egypt for "You shall serve God",

which indicates their ultimate self-nullification,

as above at length.

8.

And behold, since the Giving of the Torah is the purpose and goal of the Exodus from Egypt,

it must be said,

that at the Giving of the Torah they were elevated to a higher level in the aforementioned self-nullification.

But at first glance we find the opposite,

that not only were they not elevated regarding the self-nullification that they already had in Egypt

(in their yearning to serve Him, etc.),

and especially after the Exodus from Egypt when they became "servants of the Lord,"

but on the contrary,

that at the time of the Giving of the Torah it was necessary that "He coerced them [like a mountain suspended over them],"

to compel them to accept the Torah⁵¹.

And it can be said that not only is this not a contradiction to the above,

but rather it is precisely this that proves it,

that "He coerced them [like a mountain suspended over them]" is a continuation of their yearning and self-nullification to the Holy One, blessed be He, as preparation for the Giving of the Torah,

that at the Giving of the Torah this came to its perfection.

For here in Rashi on the verse⁵²

"I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt" it is stated "the exodus is worthy that you be subjugated to Me."

<pg>15</pg>

And it implies that the main subjugation and nullification occurred at the time of the Giving of the Torah.

And it must be said,

that at the time of the Giving of the Torah the Children of Israel were elevated,

for even though immediately at their exodus from Egypt they became "servants of the Lord,"

nevertheless, through the Giving of the Torah they were elevated to a more exalted level.

And one can say the explanation in this⁵³

:

Regarding the nullification of a servant to the king,

that he has no existence of his own,

but rather all his existence is the existence of the king,

there are several ways: when the nullification and acceptance of the yoke are on the part of the person,

the servant,

that he accepted upon himself to be a servant of the king,

then in this nullification there is also subtly a mixture of the existence of the person,

for the reason for his being a servant and the reason for his nullification is from his side

(the yoke he accepted of his own will)

; and the true matter of nullification is when it comes not from the side of the servant,

that he accepted upon himself the kingship of the king,

but rather when it comes entirely from the side of the king himself,

that the king makes him into a servant⁵⁴.

And this is the inner aspect of the matter of "He coerced them [like a mountain] like a cask"⁵⁵,

that then the matter of servants of God in perfection was completed,

that their nullification to the Holy One, blessed be He, is not dependent on their existence

(that they preceded "we will do" to "we will hear"),

but from the side of the Holy One, blessed be He,

that then there is added to this that the nullification is in their very existence,

it is also more true and inner,

because they are compelled to be servants not from the side of their existence but from the side of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And this matter was possible only after there was among the children of Israel the nullification of the great yearning for receiving the Torah,

through which they arrived at complete nullification from the side of man to be servants of God,

and to the extent that they preceded "we will do" to "we will hear",

behold then when He coerced them [like a mountain] like a cask, there was drawn and effected in them the nullification from the side of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is above their existence,

and it penetrated into their innerness.

9.

And just as it is in Yetzias Mitzrayim,

the merit that Israel had that the Holy One, blessed be He, would perform a miracle for them and take them out of Egypt,

is their longing for Matan Torah,

"When you take the people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain,"

so too is it regarding the future redemption that will come soon, literally,

that the merit of Israel is the merit of the waiting and anticipation for the redemption,

as it is brought in the Midrashim⁵⁶,

In this is also included the yearning and longing for the Torah of Mashiach,

that "Because⁵⁷

of this all of Israel yearned etc. for the days of Mashiach etc. because in those days knowledge and wisdom and truth will increase, as it is said⁵⁸

for the earth will be filled with knowledge of the Lord..

because that king who will stand from the seed of David will be wiser than Solomon and a great prophet, close to Moses our teacher, and therefore he will teach the entire people,"

that it will be speedily in our days,

immediately and at once literally.

(From the sicha of Shabbos Parshas Kedoshim 5727)