Exodus Every Day

In the Haggada we read, "In every generation, a person is obligated to see, as if he himself went out of Egypt."

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi,  the founder of Chabad, explained: "In every generation, and every day." Every day we must go out of Egypt.

Egypt is symbolic of boundaries, being locked in either physically or spiritually. On Pesach we talk of being free, freeing ourselves is a daily task, breaking out of our status quo, to find deeper and higher meaning in Torah, Judaism, and Hashem.

To understand this, we first have to understand why Pesach is the only holiday that Hashem gave us exact times of events. Regarding the plague of the death of the first born, at which time the Jewish people were officially free, it says "And it was at midnight." Later, when the Jewish people actually leave Egypt, it says, "And it was at the essence of the day," which is high noon.

There are two different kinds of exoduses. One is out of an Egypt of darkness, midnight. This refers to one who is at a low spiritual state. He is stuck in his way of thinking, "it is a dark world, a dark exile, what is the point of trying to grow spiritually." Then there is an exodus out of an Egypt of light. This refers to a person who is at a higher spiritual state. Living a life of Torah, of light, midday, however he has become comfortable in his state, and lacks the urge to break out to reach for something higher.

Both of these Egypts are our daily struggle. Weather you find yourself in a midnight or a midday situation, you need to find a way to break out of your current constraints and attain higher plateaus of spirituality and understanding, in Torah, closeness to Hashem and the performance of mitzvahs.

This is true, in our relationships as well. We must constantly search for ways to deepen and strengthen our relationship, and not be satisfied with the status quo.

This is the life of a Jew. Always climbing higher and higher, yesterday's accomplishments, are not enough today. In every generation and every day, one is obligated to see, as if he himself went out of Egypt.