וְהִנֵּה בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר וְכָל יוֹם וָיוֹם חַיָּיב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת עַצְמוֹ כְּאִילּוּ הוּא יָצָא הַיּוֹם מִמִּצְרַיִם.

In each and every generation, every single day, a person must view himself as though he personally left Egypt today. The exodus from Egypt was not just a one-time historical event; rather, it is a perpetual experience that occurs, in a spiritual sense, in every generation, every day, within every human being. Therefore, each day, one must once again see himself as though he left Egypt that day, and not only that, but he should experience an actual "exodus from Egypt"; one must "depart from Egypt" in some way every day. It is not always the same "Egypt" (Mitzrayim ), but every day, a person faces certain constraints [metzarim ] and limitations from which he needs to emerge.

וְהִיא יְצִיאַת נֶפֶשׁ הָאֱלוֹהִית מִמַּאֲסַר הַגּוּף, מִשְׁכָא דְּחִוְיָא,

This refers to the exodus of the divine soul from imprisonment in the body, the serpent's skin, The human body is the skin of the primordial serpent. It is the kelippa (literally, "husk," a term to connote a force for evil) of the serpent that exists within a person, imprisoning the soul, enveloping it, and concealing the Divine from it. Humans are on different levels in terms of the dominance of the body over the soul. Nevertheless, simply by virtue of a person's being inside a body, he is subordinate to, and enslaved by, corporeal conceptions. These are associated with the body's sensory systems, through which a person perceives everything, including spiritual forces. In this matter, there is no variation between people. Even a great, righteous person is always confined within his sensory organs. Nevertheless, the idea that the body's perception is limited does not refer only to its external, sensory organs; rather, the soul itself, and its desires, thoughts, and experiences, are limited, enslaved to the body's physical perception of the world. The soul desires, thinks, and experiences through the body. The body does not necessarily tend toward doing evil, but it dims the light of the soul. The soul can comprehend the spiritual realm only through the body, and this involves a certain degree of darkness. As Rambam says in his Introduction to Avot: Just as a blind man cannot comprehend the concept of color, a person who has been placed inside a body cannot comprehend spiritual reality. This imprisonment is the personal "Egyptian exile" of the soul that has been placed inside the body. The physical reality limits, envelops, and conceals the soul and its domain. It conceals the infinite Divine from the soul and purports to be a real, tangible entity in itself. The divine soul's exodus is thus an exodus from all "metzarim." Furthermore, it applies at all times, for every day constitutes a new constraint from which one must emerge.

לִיכָּלֵל בְּיִחוּד אוֹר אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַל יְדֵי עֵסֶק הַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוֹת

in order to become incorporated within the unity of the light of Ein Sof , blessed be He. This is achieved through engaging in Torah study and performing mitzvot, When a person performs a mitzva, this constitutes his "exodus" from the constraints that appear to differentiate between the external world and the Divine. When one engages in God's Torah and mitzvot, he identifies and unites with God, for the words of the Torah are God's, and the mitzvot are commanded by Him. At that moment, the divine soul fulfills itself, for it is a part of God above, and now, it unites with Him.

בִּכְלָל,

in general, Every engagement with Torah and mitzvot contains an element of "leaving" the physical experience and this world, and connecting with God.

וּבִפְרָט בְּקַבָּלַת מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם בִּקְרִיאַת שְׁמַע, שֶׁבָּהּ מְקַבֵּל וּמַמְשִׁיךְ עָלָיו יִחוּדוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ בְּפֵירוּשׁ, בְּאָמְרוֹ: "ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד" (דברים ו, ד).

and particularly through accepting the kingship of Heaven while reciting the Shema , in which he accepts and draws upon himself God's unity explicitly, when he says, "The Lord is our God, the Lord is One" (Deut. 6:4). One's daily recitation of the Shema is his daily exodus from Egypt. This involves more than just remembering the exodus; it constitutes a true return to the exodus. When a person accepts God's kingship upon himself in the Shema, he also openly and consciously accepts upon himself, to the extent that he is able, freedom from worldly limitations and metzarim. The spiritual orientation of the Shema is the same as that of the exodus from Egypt. It involves emerging from oneself, rising up from the world of matter, multiplicity, and separation, and entering the realm of oneness, where boundaries are transcended.

וּכְמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר לְעֵיל כִּי 'אֱלֹהֵינוּ' הוּא כְּמוֹ "אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם" וכו'

This has the same implication as explained above (chap. 46), whereby the words "our God" in the Shema have the same connotation as the phrase "God of Abraham...." The possessive pronoun "our God" should be understood in the same way as the phrase "God of Abraham," which connects God to Abraham in the most complete way. This constitutes the most perfect level of connection and union. It is called the level of the "chariot," for it is as though the chariot is nullified to the rider, and they become one and the same, such that Abraham is the divine attribute of Ḥesed, Kindness, and the divine attribute of Ḥesed is Abraham.

לְפִי שֶׁהָיָה בָּטֵל וְנִכְלָל בְּיִחוּד אוֹר אֵין סוֹף בָּרוּךְ הוּא.

He is called "God of Abraham" because Abraham was subsumed and incorporated within the unity of the light of Ein Sof, blessed be He. The term "God of Abraham" can be used only when the man Abraham no longer exists as a separate entity. His entire being is continuously and utterly nullified to the divine unity, and is nothing but a means of expression for the divine essence and its greatness.

רַק שֶׁאַבְרָהָם זָכָה לָזֶה בְּמַעֲשָׂיו,

The only difference is that Abraham merited this through his deeds, Abraham merited this through his own deeds, and not by virtue of divine enlightenment from above. This means that his entire personality and being were subsumed. His nullification was not related to a particular act (a mitzva) and to the specific time when it was carried out, which is the case when an ordinary person is subsumed, as will be explained below.

וְהִילּוּכוֹ בַּקּוֹדֶשׁ מִמַּדְרֵגָה לְמַדְרֵגָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "וַיִּסַּע אַבְרָם הָלוֹךְ וְנָסוֹעַ" וגו' (בראשית יב, ט),

and his progressing in holiness from level to level, as the verse states, "Abram journeyed, steadily journeying to the Negev" (Gen. 12:9), Abraham's external journeys, which are described in the Torah, are also his internal journeys, his soul's progress from one level to the next as he moves deeper toward the love in his divine soul. Abraham journeys closer and closer to the essence of divine Ḥesed until he unites with it and becomes its "chariot," and his entire essence and personality are only a vessel for the revelation of the Divine Presence through Ḥesed. Abraham was not born a "chariot," nor did he receive this attribute as a gift; he achieved it through hard work and "journeying to the Negev."

אֲבָל אֲנַחְנוּ, יְרוּשָּׁה וּמַתָּנָה הִיא לָנוּ, שֶׁנָּתַן לָנוּ אֶת תּוֹרָתוֹ, והִלְבִּישׁ בָּהּ רְצוֹנוֹ וְחָכְמָתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ,

whereas for us it is an inheritance and gift. For God gave us His Torah and enclothed within it His will and wisdom, When we reach the level of God being "our God," it is not by virtue of our own work. God gave us His Torah, the expression of His essence, in a vessel that we are able to receive, understand, and even touch. This is what is meant by "enclothing"; the divine will and wisdom are enclothed in the Torah like a person who leaves his house and shows himself to others with clothes on his body. The nature of clothing is that it both conceals and reveals; it conceals the inner essence and reveals that which the other can comprehend. Another example is that of a parable. Like a garment, a parable allows the message to be revealed, yet at the same time, it does fully reveal that which it explains. Thus, the Torah is the "ancient proverb" (I Sam. 24:13), a parable of the most ancient One, God. Like clothing, the Torah reveals to us only certain, superficial images; however, the actual will and wisdom of God are enclothed within these images. God's supernal will and wisdom are beyond the bounds of comprehension, yet we are able to relate to the will and wisdom in the Torah. One cannot ignite his soul with the supernal divine light which "rested from all His works" (Gen. 2:3). Certain virtuous individuals merit to receive a light that is somewhat similar to this. However, even a young girl can light Sabbath candles. This marvel is expressed in the form of the letter alef: There is a yod at the top and a yod at the bottom, and a slanting line that joins them. The top and bottom signify the wisdom of above and the wisdom of below, the upper waters and the lower waters, and the beginning and end of an act. The line that connects them is the observance of a mitzva, when a person willingly accepts God's kingship.

הַמְיוּחָדִים בְּמַהוּתוֹ וְעַצְמוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ בְּתַכְלִית הַיִּחוּד. וַהֲרֵי זֶה כְּאִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת עַצְמוֹ כִּבְיָכוֹל,

which are unified with His essence and being in absolute union. Thus, it is as though He gave us His self, so to speak. The divine will and wisdom that are enclothed in the Torah are not merely will and wisdom in their highest form; they are actually unified with God's essence. "The giving of the Torah" refers to the gift that God included within the Torah: His own will and wisdom, and His desire and longing for the world. In fact, His very self may be found there.

כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזֹּהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ (חלק ב קמ, ב) עַל פָּסוּק "וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה" (שמות כה, ב) [דְּ"לִי", כְּלוֹמַר אוֹתִי, וַהֲוָה לֵיהּ לוֹמַר: 'וּתְרוּמָה', אֶלָּא מִשּׁוּם דְּכוֹלָּא חַד, עַיֵּין שָׁם הֵיטֵב].

As it states in the holy Zohar (2:140b) regarding the verse, "They shall take for Me [li ] a gift," (Ex. 25:2) (that the word " li " here means "Me," and not "for Me." Accordingly, the verse should have stated "Take Me and a gift," inserting the word "and." However, it did not, because God and the Torah are all one. Study it there well.) According to this interpretation, the verse actually states, "They shall take Me [and] a gift" since the verse does not include the word "and." Consequently, there is only one matter here: the mitzva. Taking a gift to God is the act of the mitzva, and since His will and wisdom that are enclothed in the Torah are unified with His essence, the act involved in this mitzva essentially equates taking God Himself.

וְזֶה שֶׁכָּתוּב: "וַתִּתֶּן לָנוּ ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ בְּאַהֲבָה" כו', "כִּי בְאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ נָתַתָּ לָנוּ ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ" כו'.

This is the meaning of what is recited in the liturgy of the festivals, "You gave us Lord our God with love…" and in the prayer of the eighteen blessings, "For in the light of Your countenance You gave us Lord our God…." Consequently, one should understand these phrases as follows: "You granted us that the Lord will be our God, with love," and, "For in the light of Your countenance You granted us that the Lord would be our God." The greatest possible gift from God is His being "our God." This gift is "living Torah." Since the Torah, which is His will and wisdom, is truly unified with His essence and being, the giving of the Torah essentially means that God gives Himself to us.

וְלָזֶה אֵין מוֹנֵעַ לָנוּ מִדְּבֵיקוּת הַנֶּפֶשׁ בְּיִחוּדוֹ וְאוֹרוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, אֶלָּא הָרָצוֹן. שֶׁאִם אֵין הָאָדָם רוֹצֶה כְּלָל חַס וְשָׁלוֹם לְדָבְקָה בּוֹ כו',

Therefore, nothing can prevent our soul from bonding with God's unity and light except our will, such as if a person has no desire at all, God forbid, to bond with Him, etc. When God gave us the Torah, the barrier that separated the upper worlds from the lower worlds, and God from the world, was eradicated. Since that time, the wall between us and God is no longer an objective, real barrier, but one that is made of our lack of will. God does not compel us to unite with Him; rather, He sanctifies us, making us truly one with Him, only when we willingly choose to observe His mitzvot.

אֲבָל מִיָּד שֶׁרוֹצֶה וּמְקַבֵּל וּמַמְשִׁיךְ עָלָיו אֱלֹהוּתוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, וְאוֹמֵר: "ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד" (דברים ו, ד), הֲרֵי מִמֵּילָא נִכְלֶלֶת נַפְשׁוֹ בְּיִחוּדוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ,

Nevertheless, the moment he desires it and accepts and draws upon himself God's divinity, reciting, "The Lord is our God, the Lord is One" (Deut. 6:4), his soul is automatically incorporated into God's unity, This occurs as soon as a person associates himself with God, who is one. Since the individual wants it, the door is opened, and since he is doing nothing to block it, there is no longer any barrier between him and God.

דְּרוּחַ אַיְּיתֵי רוּחַ וְאַמְשִׁיךְ רוּחַ (זוהר ח"ב, קסב, ב).

as spirit from below evokes spirit from above and draws forth spirit (Zohar 2:162b). The way a person relates to others influences how those others relate to him. Likewise, through discovering and through doing God's will, he draws down the revelation of God's will. When a person willingly accepts what God wants from him and affirms his acceptance of God's kingship, God's will and his own will become one.

וְהִיא בְּחִינַת יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם.

This constitutes a form of leaving Egypt. Desiring and accepting the divine will, and connecting with the Divine, is a spiritual form of leaving Egypt. Connecting to God, who is one, means being freed from all other ties. This connection releases the divine soul from its imprisonment in the body and in the world.

וְלָכֵן תִּקְּנוּ פָּרָשַׁת יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם בִּשְׁעַת קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע דַּוְוקָא, אַף שֶׁהִיא מִצְוָה בִּפְנֵי עַצְמָהּ וְלֹא מִמִּצְוַת קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע,

That is why the Sages specifically instituted reciting the passage of remembering the exodus from Egypt while reciting the Shema , even though remembering the exodus is a mitzva in its own right and not a component of the mitzva of reciting the Shema, The main part of the mitzva of reciting the Shema is the first two passages, where it is explicitly stated that one must say these verses every day, morning and evening. Remembering the exodus from Egypt, which is mentioned in the passage that deals with the tzitzit, is a separate positive commandment that is seemingly unrelated to the recitation of the Shema.

כִּדְאִיתָא בַּגְּמָרָא (ברכות יב, ב; כא, א) וּפוֹסְקִים (על שולחן ערוך אורח חיים סימן סז), אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהֵן דָּבָר אֶחָד מַמָּשׁ.

as stated in the Talmud (Berakhot 12b, 21a) and by the halakhic authorities (Shulḥan Arukh, Oraḥ Ḥayyim 67), nevertheless, the Sages linked them, because they actually comprise a single concept. The exodus and the recitation of the Shema comprise a single concept. The only boundaries between a Jew and God are those that are formed by the person's will, or, in the words of the prophet, "Your iniquities have been separating between you and your God" (Isa. 59:2). If a person desires it and is willing to accept it upon himself, he can leave Egypt. Consequently, the recitation of the Shema, which constitutes the acceptance of the yoke of God's kingship and the expression of one's desire to cling to Him, is itself the equivalent of the exodus, the soul's breaking free of its constraints.

וְכֵן בְּסוֹף פָּרָשַׁת יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם, מְסַיֵּים גַּם כֵּן: "אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם" (במדבר טו, מא). וְהַיְינוּ, גַּם כֵּן כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר לְעֵיל.

Accordingly, the end of the passage of the exodus from Egypt also concludes with the same theme as the Shema: "I am the Lord your God" (Num. 15:21). This should also be understood as was explained above. As mentioned above, the exodus is mentioned in the passage of the Shema that deals with the tzitzit (ritual fringes). The exodus from Egypt, and the connection to the Divine wherein God is "your God," are literally one concept.