By Rabbi Moshe Pogrow
The state and the land that held us as slaves represented, at the time, the height of statecraft and human power. Egypt harnessed its full range of natural resources.
But it was from Egypt that Hashem brought us out: He shattered the power of men and the forces of nature, transforming and destroying them at His Will. He passed judgment on human perversity and the worship of nature, smashing tyranny and raising up the downtrodden innocent, saving them and fulfilling His promise.
By shaping the destinies of men and intervening directly in earthly affairs, by delivering us and bringing us out from the land of Egypt, Hashem, in His justice and love, inscribed Himself forever on our consciousness. The One Who can say to us asher hotzeisicha mei’Eretz Mitzrayim is the One Whom we acknowledge for all time as the sole Shaper of our destiny, wherever we go.
Egypt was our beis avadim, where we were slaves from birth. That we had been forcibly deprived of our freedom was completely forgotten, and slavery was considered our natural state. Remembering this, we realize that, socially, we were at the point of extinction when G-d brought us out to freedom and independence.
Hence, more than any other nation, we owe to Hashem whatever we possess. All that the Egyptians had denied us was restored to us by G-d Himself: our personal individualities, the right to acquire possessions, and the possessions themselves.
Consequently, G-d alone has dominion over our lives and our property, and we belong exclusively to Him. To His service we dedicate our lives, capabilities and possessions, and we acknowledge Him alone as the Guide of all our actions.
Only subservience to G-d freed us from servitude to man. Only on this condition were we liberated and granted independence. Whereas people of other nations are indebted to G-d for their creation and existence, we are indebted to Him for our historical and social existence as well.
Based on the commentary of Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch zt”l on Chumash, with permission from the publisher.
