Kabbalah Library

81. “I am the Lord your God from the Land of Egypt, and you will know no other God besides Me.” It is not written, “who took you out from the Land of Egypt,” but rather “I am the Lord your God from the Land of Egypt.” Did they have a king from the Land of Egypt and not before? After all, it is written, “And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Take away the foreign gods that are within you,’” and afterwards, it is written, “Let us rise and go up to the House of God.” Thus, why is it written “From the Land of Egypt”?

82. Since the day when Israel were in the world, the glory of the Creator was not known except in the Land of Egypt, who were in hard labor and cried out to Him, and they never changed their custom. There, our fathers were singled out like gold from the tube in the furnace. Moreover, each day, they saw several charmers, several evil kinds, to mislead people, and they did not veer off from the path to the right or to the left. Although they did not know so much about the glory of the Creator, they followed their fathers’ customs.

83. Afterwards, they saw several miracles and several wonders, and the Creator took them to His work. And because everyone saw several miracles and tokens with their own eyes, and all those sings and wonders, He said, “I am the Lord your God from the Land of Egypt,” where His glory had been revealed. Also, it was revealed to them by the sea, where they saw the brightness of His upper glory face-to-face, so you would not say, “It was another God that spoke to us.” Rather, “It is I whom you saw in the Land of Egypt. I am the one who killed your enemies in the Land of Egypt; I am the one who made all ten plagues in the Land of Egypt,” and for this reason, “You will know no other God besides Me,” so you would not say that it is another. Rather, it is all Me.