Bnei Yisrael’s exile in Egypt seemed interminable. Slavery was such a deep part of their identity that they refused to believe that their redemption was imminent. Egypt’s oppression of Bnei Yisrael was so severe that even Moshe struggled to understand how it could be part of G‑d’s plan. It was only when G‑d struck the Egyptians with the Ten Plagues that Egypt’s grip on the Jewish people began to crumble.
“In every generation and every day, one must regard himself as though he has come out of Egypt on that very day.”
The Torah’s name for Egypt, Mitzrayim, shares a common root with the Hebrew word meitzar, constraint. Accordingly,
Chassidus explains that “in every generation and every day,” one must constantly strive to escape his personal “Egypt”—the internal constraints that hinder and restrain his devoted service of G‑d. In this context, the Ten Plagues represent ten steps through which we can breach even the toughest internal barriers, freeing our souls to fully experience our attachment to G‑d.
In the first plague, the waters of the Nile River—which the Egyptians worshipped as a god—turned into blood.
Water is naturally cold; thus, the waters of the Nile represent coolness and indifference toward things that are G‑dly and holy. This attitude of coolness is the root of all spiritual ills, for it is impossible for a person to remain perpetually unexcited about both holiness and that which challenges holiness. Consequently, even if a person observes all the mitzvos but does so coldly and apathetically, his detachment will invariably bring him to interest in and attraction to ideas that are incompatible with a life of holiness.
The first and most crucial step toward our escape from Egypt is therefore to rid ourselves of the cold waters of the Nile, and infuse our Judaism and Torah observance with passion.
—Likkutei Sichos, vol. 1, pp. 119–124
