Ch. 46 began with the Alter Rebbe explaining yet another simple and straightforward means by which every Jew can arrive at a great love of G‑d, thereby enhancing his performance of Torah and mitzvot. This is done by utilizing the love which comes into being “as water mirrors the face to the face.” For just as water reflects the image of a face peering into it, so too, is there reflected the “heart of man to man.” The Alter Rebbe went on to explain that all the particulars mentioned in the parable of the mighty king and the wretched commoner, as enumerated there, are infinitely more applicable with regard to the love showered by G‑d upon each and every Jew. He showed us His great love when He Himself descended to take us out of our nethermost level, in Egypt, and led us into His innermost chambers by giving us the Torah and mitzvot, whereby we are able to attach ourselves to Him with the ultimate level of unity. Accordingly, the Alter Rebbe then expounded the word kidshanu in the text of the benedictions as implying betrothal, the perfect union of man and wife. Kidshanu also implies Supernal Holiness, which alludes to the supreme state of exalted separation which Jews attain through the performance of mitzvot, recalling G‑d’s holiness — His total exalted separation from all worlds.

Ch. 47 will continue this theme, and answer the following question (as the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, notes): How can the love reflected “as water mirrors the face to the face” be expected of us nowadays, when G‑d’s love was shown to us thousands of years ago, at the time of the Exodus? The answer given by the Alter Rebbe is: Not only is it reasonable to expect this love of a Jew when he recalls the initial Exodus (and the giving of the Torah) when G‑d himself descended (thus showing His great love for us), but also, in truth this is a present-day event as well — for the Exodus is a daily occurrence.

והנה בכל דור ודור, וכל יום ויום, חייב אדם לראות עצמו כאילו הוא יצא היום ממצרים

“In every generation and every day a person is obliged to regard himself as if he had that day come out of Egypt.”

This text is cited from the Mishnah (Pesachim 10:5), except that the Alter Rebbe inserts the words, “and every day.” For the Exodus is not only an event which takes place in every generation: it is also a daily event in the spiritual life of the Jew.

והיא יציאת נפש האלקית ממאסר הגוף, משכא דחויא

This refers to the release of the divine soul from the confinement of the body, the “serpent’s skin,”

The body is a source of confinement for the divine soul, since it derives its life-force from kelipah. It is from this exile that the divine soul escapes,

ליכלל ביחוד אור אין סוף ברוך הוא, על ידי עסק התורה והמצות בכלל

in order to be absorbed into the unity of the light of the blessed Ein Sof, by engaging in the Torah and commandments in general,

ובפרט בקבלת מלכות שמים בקריאת שמע, שבה מקבל וממשיך עליו יחודו יתברך בפירוש, באמרו: ה׳ אלקינו ה׳ אחד

and in particular through accepting the Kingdom of Heaven during the recital of the Shema, wherein the person explicitly accepts and draws upon himself G‑d’s unity, when he says: “The Lord is our G‑d, the Lord is One.”

וכמו שנתבאר לעיל, כי אלקינו הוא כמו: אלקי אברהם וכו׳, לפי שהיה בטל ונכלל ביחוד אור אין סוף ברוך הוא

It has previously been explained — in ch. 46 — that “our G‑d” is understood in the same way as “the G‑d of Abraham,” and so forth, because he became nullified and absorbed into the unity of the light of the blessed Ein Sof,

Abraham’s self-nullification and consequent union with G‑d were so complete that G‑d is called “the G‑d of Abraham.” Through the performance of the mitzvot, the same may be said of every Jew, so that G‑d may rightfully be called “our G‑d,”

רק שאברהם זכה לזה במעשיו, והילוכו בקודש ממדרגה למדרגה

except that Abraham merited this union by reason of his works and his advancing in holiness from degree to degree, until he uplifted himself to this great level of nullity and unification of self with G‑d,

כמו שכתוב: ויסע אברם הלוך ונסוע וגו׳

as it is written:1 “And Abram journeyed, going on and on [to the South].”

Abraham progressed from level to level until he attained the esoteric level of “the South,” which alludes to the highest possible degree of love for G‑d. Abraham, then, achieved this state as a result of his own labors.

אבל אנחנו, ירושה ומתנה היא לנו, שנתן לנו את תורתו, והלביש בה רצונו וחכמתו יתברך, המיוחדים במהותו ועצמותו יתברך בתכלית היחוד

But as for us, the children of Abraham, for us it is a heritage and a gift, in that He has given us His Torah and has clothed in it His Will and wisdom, which are united with His Essence and Being in perfect unity;