קבלה אויף יחזקאל 20:9

After having transmitted this important principle to you, we now must inform you that when the Holy One, blessed is He, told Avraham that He would redeem the children of Israel from Egypt, they were unworthy of redemption. This secret was revealed by Yechezkel, as follows,²⁷⁵Ezekiel 20:5-14 “On the day that I chose Israel, I raised My hand [in oath] for the seed of the house of Yaakov, and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt… and I said to them, ‘Every man, cast away the detestable [idols] of his eyes… But the House of Israel rebelled against me… They did not follow My decrees and they spurned My laws… So I thought to pour out My wrath upon them… But I acted for the sake of My Name…”