"In every generation and every day," the Tanya teaches, "a person must regard himself as if he had that day come out of Egypt." Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi reads the Exodus not as ancient history but as a daily spiritual event.
Egypt, Mitzrayim (מצרים), means "narrow straits." The Exodus is the liberation of the divine soul from its confinement in the body, described in Kabbalistic imagery as the "serpent's skin." And this liberation happens every single time you say the Shema.
When you declare "the Lord is our God, the Lord is One" (Deuteronomy 6:4), you are not making a philosophical statement. You are drawing God's unity into yourself. "Our God" means the same thing as "the God of Abraham" in the Amidah prayer: Abraham became so nullified, so absorbed into the light of the Ein Sof (אין סוף), that God was called his God. Abraham achieved this through decades of spiritual ascent. But we receive it as a gift through the Torah.
The Zohar comments on the verse "that they bring Me an offering" (Exodus 25:2), noting that the Hebrew can be read as "bring Me." God is saying: when you engage with Torah, you are not receiving information about Me. You are receiving Me. The Torah is not separate from God. It is God's will and wisdom, united with His very essence.
This means the only barrier between your soul and complete union with the Infinite is your own will. The moment you desire it, the moment you accept God's kingship upon yourself and declare His oneness, your soul "is spontaneously absorbed into His unity." As the Zohar teaches, "Spirit evokes spirit and draws forth spirit" (Zohar II:162b). Your turning toward God calls forth God's turning toward you. This is why the Exodus is mentioned during the Shema. Every recitation is a liberation.
“In every generation and every day a person is obliged to regard himself as if he had that day come out of Egypt.”1 The Mishnah (Pesachim 10:5) does not contain the words “and every day” and “that day,” which the author inserts. This refers to the release of the divine soul from the confinement of the body, the “serpent’s skin,” in order to be absorbed into the Unity of the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, through occupation in the Torah and commandments in general, and in particular through accepting the Kingdom of Heaven during the recital of the Shema, wherein the person explicitly accepts and draws over himself His Unity, blessed be He, when he says, “the L–rd is our G–d, the L–rd is One.”2 Deuteronomy 6:4. It has previously been explained3 Ch. 46. that “our G–d” is understood in the same way as “the G–d of Abraham,” and so forth,4 “…the G–d of Isaac, and the G–d of Jacob”—Liturgy (Amidah). Cf. Mechilta on Exodus 3:15. because he became nullified and absorbed into the Unity of the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, except that Abraham merited this by reason of his works and his advancing in holiness from degree to degree, as is written, “And Abram journeyed, going on and on…”5 Genesis 12:9. In our case, however, it is a heritage and a gift, in that He has given us His Torah and has clothed in it His will and wisdom, blessed be He, which are united with His Essence and Being, blessed be He, in perfect unity; and surely this is as if He gave us His very self, as it were. In this sense the Zohar6 II:140b. commented on the verse, “That they bring Me an offering.” 7 Exodus 25:2. [For the expression לי [“to Me”] has the same meaning as אותי [“Me”]; hence the text should have read “Me and an offering,”8 Literally “…take Me and an offering.” except that both are one and the same. Study it well there.] This is the interpretation of “And You, L–rd our G–d, have given us, in love…,”9 Liturgy, Amidah for Festivals. [and] “For by the light of Your Countenance You gave us, L–rd our G–d….”10 Liturgy, end of Amidah. The emphasis is on “You gave us…our G–d.” Therefore the only thing that precludes us from the attachment of the soul to His Unity and light, blessed be He, is the will, that is, if the human being does not will it at all, G–d forbid, to cleave to Him…. But immediately he does so desire, and he accepts and draws upon himself His G–dliness, blessed be He, and declares, “the L–rd is our G–d, the L–rd is One,” then his soul is spontaneously absorbed into His Unity, blessed be He, for “Spirit evokes spirit and draws forth spirit.”11 I.e., bestows an extra measure of spirituality. Zohar II:162b. This is a form of “Exodus from Egypt.” Therefore it was ordained that the paragraph concerning the Exodus from Egypt be read specifically during the recital of the Shema,12 Cf. Berachot 13a; Rabbi Schneur Zalman, Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 58:1. although it is a commandment by itself and not appertaining to the commandment of the recital of the Shema, as is stated in the Talmud and Codes,13 Berachot 21a; Shulchan Aruch, ibid., 67:1-2. for they are actually the same thing. Likewise, the paragraph referring to the Exodus from Egypt also concludes, “I am the L–rd your G–d.”14 Numbers 15:41. This also accords with what has been explained earlier.
