Commento su Levitico 11:45

כי אני ה׳ המעלה אתכם FOR I AM THE LORD THAT BRINGETH YOU UP [OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT] — On condition that you should accept My commandments did I bring you up (Sifra, Shemini, Chapter 12 4). Another explanation of: FOR I AM THE LORD THAT BRINGETH YOU UP — In all other places it is written, “I brought (you) forth”, and here it is written “that bringeth (you) up” — in reference to this it was taught in the school of R. Ishmael: If I had brought up Israel from Egypt only to effect this one thing — that they do not defile themselves by reptiles as do the other peoples, that should be sufficient for them (Bava Metzia 61b), and it should be regarded by them as an elevation for themselves — this is what is implied in the expression used here: מעלה (I raised you above the people of the land of Egypt).

כי אני ה' המעלה אתכם מארץ מצרים להיות לכם לאלוקים. It is no more than appropriate that you do all this in order to attain this level of holiness in order to carry out My will; for indeed when I took you out of Egypt this was expressly in order for you to achieve this spiritual level and for Me to be your G’d, a G’d to Whom you could relate directly without any intermediary. You are meant to be holy forever by emulating My attributes and My way of thinking, in other words, you are to emulate that part of Me which I describe as קדוש, holy, beyond compare.

כי אני ה׳ המעלה אתכם מארץ מצרים, "For I am the Lord who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, etc." The Torah provides proof that G'd will protect the Jewish people from becoming enmeshed in the sin of contamination by impuriy. He took the Israelites out of such a contaminated environment in which their souls were completely submerged. We have mentioned this concept on previous occasions. If the Israelites will now take active steps to preserve their isolation from such contamination, G'd will certainly do His share to see that it does not occur again. If, on the other hand, the Israelites were to absorb any of these forbidden שקצים ורמשים as nutrients, they would revert to the environment dominated by the spiritually negative forces of the world, the קליפות. In such a case G'd could not be their companion as He does not associate His name with such forces. This was the reason He never associated His name with the Israelites until after the people had left Egypt.

כי אני ה' המעלה אתכם מארץ מצרים, “for I am the Lord Who has brought you up from the land of Egypt.” I did so in order that you accept the Torah from Me.

God. According to the Vilna Gaon the main meaning of this name of God [Elohim] is that His providence is in the affairs of this world.

להיות לכם לאלוקים, “in order for me to be your G-d.” Even if you had not wanted to become My servants. Compare (Sifra) on this verse. [I believe that the words: ”even against your will,” in Sifra refer to what follows, i.e. “having accepted My Torah you cannot help becoming holy, seeing that I am Holy.” Ed.],,