Parshas Yisro 5786 "I am Hashem your G-d who took you out of the land of Egypt" - Going out from one's own constraints and limitations

00:00 The Frierdiker Rebbe relates in one of his sichos: The Rebbe Maharash knew one of the elder chassidim who had still merited to be with the Alter Rebbe. This chossid was called Reb Tzadok Kapuster. Reb Tzadok was a young man in the Alter Rebbe’s time. That is, he was not yet among those in the Alter Rebbe’s study circles. As is known, the Alter Rebbe had three study circles—Circle One, Circle Two, and Circle Three—made up of his students. Reb Tzadok was still very young then, so he was not yet one of those chassidim, but he knew the Alter Rebbe and knew what Chabad Chassidus was. In time, he became one of the Mitteler Rebbe’s closest chassidim. He was also with the Tzemach Tzedek, and the Rebbe Maharash still knew him in Lubavitch. Reb Tzadok Kapuster was commonly called Reb Tzadok the davener because he would daven for many hours. For his livelihood, he had a mill where he ground grain. It was a windmill, and the work required him to be there only a few months a year. For the rest of the year he had time and an income, and he would stay in Lubavitch. His mill, the source of his livelihood, was in a town not far from Lubavitch, and throughout

01:29 the other months, when he did not need to work, he would travel to Lubavitch. There he would devote himself to Torah study and avodah, learning and davening. Every day he would daven for many hours, spending a very long time in prayer. That is why people called him Reb Tzadok the davener. The Frierdiker Rebbe relates, as he heard in the name of the Rebbe Maharash, that the Rebbe Maharash would often sit with him and hear stories from him. Once he asked him, “Reb Tzadok, what are you davening about? You daven for such a long time—about what? Why do you spend so long davening?” Reb Tzadok answered that he was fulfilling the mitzvah of telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt. After all, there is a mitzvah to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt, and in davening we leave our constraints and limitations. Mitzrayim, Egypt, means constraints and limitations, and in davening we leave them behind—that is what he was davening about. The Rebbe Maharash explained what he had heard from the elderly chossid: What is the deeper meaning of his words? As is known, Chassidus explains that the word lesaper, “to tell,” is also related to brightness and radiance. Lesaper does not mean only to tell a story; it is also related to the word sapphire—to bring forth light. In other words, the Exodus from Egypt in his davening, his departure from constraints and limitations, was something that shone for him. It glowed and radiated, lighting his way

02:55 throughout all twenty-four hours of the day. His whole day was illuminated. It was a day of light. From him they learned that this is how a Jew’s avodah of davening should be conducted; this is how a Jew should daven. In later years, the Rebbe Maharash spoke about this chossid, who was devoted and close to him, and about his avodah of Hashem. In this week’s parsha we find the account of the Giving of the Torah and the Ten Commandments. In the Ten Commandments it says: “I am Hashem your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” There is a well-known question raised in the books of Chassidus, a question that already appears among the Rishonim. Ibn Ezra asks: Why does it say, “I am Hashem your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt”? Seemingly, when Hakadosh Boruch Hu came to the Jewish people and wanted to tell them that they must devote themselves to Him—“I am Hashem your G-d”—it would have been more fitting to mention something connected to all of creation, rather than only an event that had taken place then. The Exodus from Egypt was experienced only by the Jewish people living at that time, who saw its miracles and those extraordinary events. But at the Giving of the Torah, these words were addressed to all Jews, for all generations, and therefore

04:24 something universal, connected to all of creation—the creation of heaven and earth—could have been mentioned here. The Rebbe sharpens the question further: Why does it not say, “I am Hashem your G-d, Who created heaven and earth”? That is something universal, relevant to everyone. The question is even stronger because, in a certain sense, the creation of heaven and earth is an even greater wonder than the Exodus from Egypt. The Exodus is a particular miracle, albeit a great one—the Ten Plagues, the splitting of the sea, and all those events. But all of that happens after something already exists; within that existing world, nature is changed. That is a great matter, as the Rebbe explains at length: it is a change in nature. The creation of heaven and earth, by contrast, is something from nothing, and something from nothing is “a most great and wondrous thing.” As the Rebbe explains in Tanya, something from nothing is the greatest wonder, “a most great and wondrous thing.” That something should come into being from nothing is a greater wonder than changing the nature of something that already exists. Nevertheless, it says, “I am Hashem your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt,” and not “Who created heaven and earth.” The explanation points to a third idea.

05:50 In a certain sense, the creation of heaven and earth is a most great and wondrous thing, with all its wonders and everything it contains. Nevertheless, in creating heaven and earth, Hakadosh Boruch Hu made the world into an existing entity, a reality, and from this came the bounds of nature and of existence. Thus the creation of heaven and earth is connected to the G-dliness that relates to nature. That is how the world became a reality. As Chassidus explains, the G-dliness that relates to the world is only a contracted light, a limited level of the name Elokim, which enclothes itself to bring the existence of the world into being. That is how the bounds of nature arise. The Exodus from Egypt, by contrast, is a departure from constraints and limitations—exactly the opposite: leaving the world’s constraints and limitations behind. In other words, in creating the world, Hakadosh Boruch Hu indeed created something most wondrous, but what did He create? The bounds of nature and the conditions of existence. The Exodus from Egypt, on the other hand, means leaving the constraints and limitations of nature behind. And Chassidus says that this was the entire purpose of the Giving of the Torah. This is the meaning of the verse, “I am Hashem your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt”: the Giving of the Torah was meant to take the Jewish people beyond constraints and limitations. As the Rebbe says, the Exodus from Egypt was a departure from

07:17 the constraints and limitations of nature, a departure made possible by the revelation of the name Havayah, the boundlessness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Through this came the departure from all the world’s constraints and limitations, all its bounds and measures. This finds expression in avodas Hashem. What was new about the Giving of the Torah, compared with what came before, is that a Jew can go beyond the limitations of nature. There are two aspects of avodas Hashem. One is seeing G-dliness in the world—looking at the world and seeing in its nature “How manifold are Your works,” “How great are Your works.” This, too, is an important part of avodas Hashem, but it is not what was new about the Giving of the Torah. This kind of avodah existed before the Giving of the Torah as well: seeing Hakadosh Boruch Hu within the world itself. That was the avodah of Avraham Avinu—“G-d of the world”—seeing the world and G-dliness as inseparable, with G-dliness connected to nature. But the Giving of the Torah is a revelation above nature, a departure from constraints and limitations. A Jew was given the power to go beyond all the bounds and limitations of his own nature. Whatever that nature may be, and however deeply rooted it is in him, he can go beyond its bounds and limitations. Therefore, at the time of the [unclear] of the Giving of the Torah, Hakadosh Boruch Hu said, “I am Hashem your G-d”...

08:38 “I am Hashem your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” From this comes the departure from constraints and limitations. Through this, a Jew receives the ability to go beyond his own constraints and limitations—those of the animal soul and the natural soul. More than that, he can even go beyond the constraints and limitations of the G-dly soul. That means even the bounds and limitations of a nature that is holy, a nature formed by upbringing. According to the Shulchan Aruch, there are bounds and measures prescribed by the Torah. As we say regarding Torah study, “one chapter in the morning and one chapter in the evening”—with that, one fulfills the mitzvah of studying Torah. Likewise, in the avodah of davening there are prescribed prayer times; and there are measures in Torah study, in observing mitzvos, in tzedakah, in giving maaser, and so forth. But when it comes to “Who brought you out of the land of Egypt,” a person can go beyond his own bounds and limitations even in holy matters, and study Torah even [unclear], without regard for the usual schedule or for bounds and limitations. So too in the avodah of davening: he does not focus on the time limits of davening with the congregation, but davens with attention to the meaning of the words and with contemplation. He gathers all the powers of his soul and davens, without regard for the usual schedule. He davens and davens—and this is a reflection of what happened at the Exodus from Egypt, until the davening accompanies him throughout the day. And likewise in avodah

10:07 of tzedakah and giving. Even though, according to halachah, he can say that he has already fulfilled his obligation, he nevertheless goes beyond his own limits and gives tzedakah without limit. So much so that, as the Alter Rebbe says, “A person will give all that he has for his soul.” His tzedakah can even be more than a fifth, because it is “for his soul.” It matters to him to free his soul, to redeem it from everything that holds it back, and to connect with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So in tzedakah, too, there is giving more than a tenth, more than a fifth—“A person will give all that he has for his soul.” This is the avodah of the Exodus from Egypt: to leave behind all constraints and limitations. [unclear] There was an occasion when the Rebbe said a maamar, one of the last maamarim we merited to hear from the Rebbe. It was on the eve of Shabbos [unclear]. The Rebbe then said the maamar “I am Hashem your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The Rebbe spoke about the subject with great vitality and asked that same question. And after discussing and explaining it all, the Rebbe said something very striking. He said that although the question is truly a question in Torah, it remains a real question. After all, the conclusion is that it does not say, “Who created heaven and earth,” but rather, “Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” From this I see that we must learn the whole significance and greatness of the Exodus from Egypt—to leave behind

11:30 constraints and limitations. Nevertheless, since [unclear] in the Torah, and the Torah is true, as the Rebbe said, the question itself points to an additional aspect of Torah: the Torah does have a beginning connected with the creation of heaven and earth. Where do we find such a beginning in the Torah? Very simply: both in the Written Torah and in the Oral Torah. In the Written Torah, for example, the Chumash—the Five Books of the Torah—begins, “In the beginning, G-d created the heaven and the earth.” The Ten Commandments begin, “I am Hashem your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt”—with the Exodus from Egypt. But the Chumash as a whole, the Five Books of the Torah, begins with the creation of heaven and earth: “In the beginning, G-d created the heaven and the earth.” And in the Oral Torah, the Rebbe once spoke about the Rambam. When the Rambam writes his work, which is Oral Torah—and in his well-known introduction, the Rambam writes that a person first reads the Written Torah and can then turn to studying the Rambam, where he has the entire Torah, the Written Torah together with the Oral Torah, the Torah together with the explanation given with it—how, then, does the Rambam begin? The first halachah in the Rambam: “The foundation of foundations and pillar of wisdom is to know that there is a Primary Being, and He brings all that exists into being. All that exists in heaven and earth and between them exists only through the truth of His existence.” The first halachah in the Rambam speaks about the creation of heaven and earth. So another point is added to the question: on the contrary, we do find the creation of heaven and earth in the Torah. What is the significance of the creation of heaven and earth? The Rebbe once explained: What is its significance for our avodah? What lesson

13:09 is there in the creation of heaven and earth that we need to take into our own avodah today? [unclear] It is the idea of renewal. The creation of heaven and earth expresses the fact that Hakadosh Boruch Hu “in His goodness renews the work of Creation every day, continually.” This is the foundation of creation from nothing: from nothing into actual existence at every moment, a new creation, a new reality. And when we come to the Giving of the Torah, we need to know that this is a new reality, and that the world is a new reality. Knowing that the world is a new reality, that it is renewed from nothing into existence at every moment, gives a Jew tremendous vitality, meaning, strength, fervor, and enthusiasm in serving Hashem. We need to take several more things from this. On the one hand, a Jew needs to know that Torah is connected with renewal, that he is renewed at every moment from nothing into existence through the power of Atzmus. This gives him strength, vitality, and freshness in serving Hashem. At the same time, there must be an Exodus from Egypt—“Who brought you out of the land of Egypt”: leaving behind the constraints and limitations of the world and of nature, and serving Hakadosh Boruch Hu beyond all constraints and limitations, as a way of life, so that the Exodus from Egypt shines forth in every detail of his life. And may we soon, in our days, merit the true departure from all constraints and limitations, with the true and complete Geulah through our righteous Moshiach. Then we will leave behind all constraints and limitations: “As in the days of your departure from the land of Egypt, I will show him wonders.” And as we speak about studying the Rambam in these days, [unclear]

14:48 to study the Rambam, whether three chapters or one chapter, [unclear] to take upon ourselves the Rebbe’s initiative to study Rambam every day. And may we merit the fulfillment of what is written at the end of the Rambam, the well-known verse: “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.” Amen; may it be His will.