Kaisipang Hudyo sa Mga Bilang 15:37: Derekh Hashem

The remembrance of the exodus from Egypt: Afterwards, he accepts the yoke of commandments upon himself with [the passage that begins with,] "And if you listen" (Deuteronomy 11:13-21). And then he mentions the exodus from Egypt with the passage (Numbers 15:37-41) of the fringes (tsitsit). For the exodus from Egypt was a great refinement in which we - Israel - were refined, and the matter stayed forever. And that is because after the sin of Adam, all of humanity remained corrupted, as we have written in Part I (On Mankind 5). And evil was growing until there was no place for the good to strengthen itself at all. And even though our father Abraham, peace be upon him, had been selected - they still did not have a place where they were able to strengthen themselves and establish themselves as a whole nation and merit the crowns that were fit for them, due to the evil that was darkening them and to the earlier pollution that had not yet left them. And hence it was necessary for them to be exiled to Egypt and be subjugated there; such that in that great subjugation, they were refined like gold in a crucible and were purified. And so when the appropriate time came, the Master, blessed be He, strengthened His influence and emanation over Israel, suppressed the evil in front of them, separated them from it, elevated them from their lowliness and raised them to Him. So they were redeemed with a permanent redemption; and from then on, they were established as a whole nation cleaving to Him, may He be blessed, and crowned by Him. And note that this was a refinement that was made forever, as we have mentioned. And all of the good that has come and is coming to us is all dependent upon this. Hence we have been commanded to always remember it and to mention it with our mouths. For through it, this refinement is strengthened upon us, the light is intensified in us, and the purpose that comes out of this refinement is perpetuated.