The Possuk in this week’s Parsha states: בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם וַיְהִי הַזֶה יָצְּאוּ כָל צִבְּאוֹת ה' מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְּרָיִם׃ לֵיל שִמֻּרִים הוּא לַה׳ לְּהוֹצִיאָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְּרָיִם “And it was in the ‘Etzem’ of the day, that all the armies of HaShem went out of the land of Mitzrayim; It was a night of ‘Shimurim’ for HaShem to take them out of the land of Mitzrayim”.
[In a Maamor under the same title that the Rebbe Rashab delivered in the year 5655, which has recently been printed in the book of Maamorim for the year 5655], the Rebbe RaShaB points out that at the beginning of the Possuk the Torah says that they went out of Mitzrayim in the essence of day, highlighting that it was daytime when the Jews left Mitzrayim, and so too a few verses later, again the Torah states that וַיְּהִי בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶה הוֹצִיא ה׳ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְּרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְּרַיִם “It was on that very day, that HaShem took the B’nei Yisroel out of the land of Mitzrayim” and yet in the very next verse after ours the Torah states that it is a לֵיל שִמֻּרִים - a night of ‘Shimurim’ to take them out of the land of Mitzrayim implying that the Exodus was at night.
He mentions something that is brought down by our Rabbis of blessed memory in the Talmud; yet another Possuk which states: הוֹצִיאֲךָ ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ מִמִצְּרַיִם לָיְּלָה “HaShem your G-d brought you out of Mitzrayim at night” and the Talmud asks: “did HaShem bring the B’nei Yisroel out of Mitzrayim in the night? But did they not come out in the daytime? as the Possuk states: מִמָחֳרַת הַפֶסַח יָצְּאוּ בְּנֵי יִשְּרָאֵל בְּיָד רָמָה “On the day following the Korban Pesach, the B’nei Yisroel left triumphantly”. The Talmud answers that the redemption started at night, meaning that the beginning of the redemption was at night and its conclusion was by day. However, this idea itself requires further clarification. How is it possible to say that the redemption occurred during the day and at night time, being that day and night are two opposites, and furthermore, how is it possible that the same concept of redemption can exist at both extremes?
Particularly when the daytime part of the ‘Geulah’ took place (as reported in the Torah) in the essence [or the epitome] of ‘day’ as the Possuk says: “In the ‘Etzem’ of the day” and (as is reported in RaShi and in the ‘Mechilta’) the night time part of the redemption took place at midnight which is the darkest part of the night. [It is explained elsewhere that up till midnight it gets darker as it gets later, and after midnight the light of day is already starting to shine in the second half of the night, so it transpires that the darkest moment is at midnight.]
So, the two concepts of day and night are in fact two opposites (from one extreme to another), which makes the question even stronger? How can we explain that the redemption actually takes place at opposite times; both by day and at night?
