The First and Final Redemption
The last day of Passover, known as Acharon Shel Pesach, concludes the
theme of liberation and redemption from exile. While the first night of
Passover commemorates the redemption from exile in Egypt, the final day
celebrates the future Redemption, which G-d will bring about through
Moshiach. [ 1 ]
The connection between the first and the last redemptions is also
gleaned from the verse: [ 2 ] "As
in the days when you left Egypt, I shall show you wonders [during the
final Redemption]."
Our Rabbis ask: [ 3 ] Why does the
verse say "As in the days when you left Egypt," when the Exodus took
place on one day, as the verse states: [
4 ] "Remember this day on which you left Egypt."
On the day the Jewish slaves left Egypt they achieved the status of free
people. [ 5 ] This transition,
however, is an ongoing experience that requires constant meditation on
the concepts of slavery and freedom. A person's ruminations must have a
salutary effect on his daily conduct.
This is why spiritual redemption from all straits and limitations that
constitute spiritual Egyptian exile is an ongoing process,
notwithstanding the fact that the Jews' physical Exodus took only one
day.
This is expressed by our Sages when they state: [ 6 ] "In each and every generation and on each and
every day, every man is obligated to see himself as if he had gone out
from Egypt on that very day." Man's viewing the Exodus from Egypt as a
continuous process will lead to daily improvement in conduct as well -
as befits a free man.
Both the first and the final redemption involve the liberation of all
the Jewish people. Just as the Exodus encompassed the entire nation and
resulted from the Jews' collective service, so will the future
Redemption liberate all Jews from exile, and it too will result from our
collective efforts.
This collective liberation and effort came about during the Exodus as a
result of the effort of each Jew, who first liberated himself from his
own spiritual exile. And so with the final liberation: the efforts of
each and every Jew in redeeming himself from spiritual exile will result
in the collective redemption of all Jews from the final exile.
In practical terms, the lesson from the above is that each and every Jew
is entrusted by G-d with a unique mission that he, and only he, is
capable of accomplishing. He cannot rely on someone else to fulfill that
mission for him, for the other individual is entrusted with his own
mission.
On the other hand, each person must also realize that he is part of a
collective - the Jewish nation. His mission is thus of vital importance
not only to himself but to all the Jewish people. Fulfilling his mission
as an individual thus helps the Jewish people fulfill their mission as a
collective whole. Ultimately, each Jew's personal redemption from
spiritual exile leads to the collective redemption of all Jews from the
final exile.
Based on Likkutei Sichos Vol. XXII pp. 258-263.
Footnotes:
- Back to text See Sefer HaSichos 5700 p. 72.
- Back to text Michah 7:15.
- Back to text Zohar III 176a; ma'amar titled Kimei Tzeischa 5708.
- Back to text Shmos 13:3.
- Back to text Gevuras HaShem ch. 61.
- Back to text Pesachim 116b, Tanya ch. 47.
