Our great redemption from Mitzrayim is, without a doubt, the most covenantal event of the Jewish people. We mention it twice daily as part of reciting the Shema, and as the Ramban notes, many Torah mitzvos mean to recall it. The very giving of the Torah begins with its mention.

But the centrality of Yetzias Mitzrayim raises a simple difficulty. It was Hashem, surely, who put us there in the first place, promising Avraham Avinu that we would descend into Egyptian exile and realizing the promise with the descent of Yaakov and his sons. From our perspective, it seems we would have been better off without experiencing the harsh exile and without requiring redemption.

If Hashem exiled us into Egypt – unlike later exiles, the reason why we deserved it is not mentioned by the Torah – why then is the ultimate redemption such a big deal? How can our connection with Hashem and our entire religious identity be predicated on leaving Mitzrayim if Hashem put us there in the first place?

It seems the answer to this is that Egypt was substantively different from all other exiles. As the Passuk mentions, Egypt was the “iron furnace” in which we were nationally wrought (Devraim 4:20). Another Passuk mentions that we were born out of Mitzrayim: “And your birth, on the day that you were born” (Yechezkel 16:4). With signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, Hashem brought us forth as “one nation from within another” (Devarim 4:34).

Every birth requires a prior incubation period, including no small hardship of labor and birth. This is the basic meaning of the exile that preceded our redemption. Mitzrayim was the crucible in which we were formed. We had to go through a time of Egyptian exile, in the global center of idolatry and slavery, to become the nation of Hashem that represents the very opposite – the negation of idolatry and the negation of slavery.

From a society predicated on nothing other than power and control, realized in idolatry, sorcery, and slavery, we left Mitzrayim to form a society founded on trust, love, and relationship. The wonders of Mitzrayim teach us Divine, unconditional love. The Ramban explains that the great miracles teach us that our lives, whether national or personal, are replete with concealed miracles of Divine supervision. We learn to love and trust Hashem, and we concurrently learn to love and trust each other.

Why did we come out of Mitzrayim? This question can be answered with a variety of formulations, but allow me to end by citing two Pesukim that present two sides of a single coin.

One Passuk, in Yeshayahu, states: “This nation I have created for Myself, My glory they shall tell” (43:21). According to this statement, our birth out of Egypt made us into Hashem’s nation. Our task is thus to operate His “embassy,” to bring Divine elevation into the world and tell His glory. 

The flip side is found in Tehillim: “I am Hashem, your God, who raised you from the land of Egypt – open wide your mouth and I shall fill it” (81:11). We came out of Egypt to open our mouths, to direct our hopes and aspirations at Hashem and allow Him to fulfill them within our relationship.

Both sides of this coin were initiated as we left Mitzrayim, in the moment of our redemption that coincided with the great revelation of Hashem. Hashem enters the world by means of our trust and our loyalty, by means of our unique relationship with Him. Its formation required a long process that included both exile and redemption. Yetzias Mitzrayim is thus with us always.