Chasidut על חבקוק 2:4

Indeed, regarding what is explained in the Talmud, “A person does not commit a sin unless a spirit of nonsense has entered him” (Sotah 3a), relates to another matter. For is it not known what is stated in the verse, the tzaddik shall live through his faith (Habakuk 2:4)? For sometimes a person falls from Awareness, and it is by way of a trial from the Blessed Creator, by taking from him the Awareness in order to see if he will stand by God’s ways. Nevertheless the righteous holds to his way through his faith; and even though they take the Awareness from him, nevertheless he walks and strengthens himself in God’s ways. But this is not true if he does not have the faith; then when he falls from Awareness and “a spirit of nonsense enters him” he might commit a sin, God forbid. And this is what our Sages of Blessed Memory intended in their saying, “A person does not commit a sin unless a spirit of nonsense has entered him,” which is to say that he fell from Awareness by way of a trial. But in the Egyptian exile they did not have Awareness at all, and then there was no relevance for Choice as we have stated. And that is because the Awareness was in smallness, which is to say that they were in Awareness like a minor who has no [legal] awareness; and therefore it was stated in the Talmud, “A minor has no [legal] intention” (Hullin 13a). And that is [the meaning of] the verse’s further statement, that you may tell … how I have toyed [hit’allalti] with the Egyptians (Ex. 10:2), from the idiom of child [ollel] and infant (Jeremiah 44:7) – as if [God was saying] “Like I have made myself small in Egypt,” which is to say that the Awareness was in smallness in Egypt. And after this it says that you may know that I am the LORD (Ex. 10:2), which is to say that they will have the whole Awareness in their Exodus from Egypt, to know God with Awareness.