Why Remembering the Exodus from Egypt Is a Daily Commandment

The mitzvah of remembering the Exodus from Egypt is one of the central commandments of the Torah. It carries profound meaning and eternal implications for a person’s life. In his work Netivot Shalom, the Slonimer Rebbe asks why this mitzvah is considered so fundamental that it applies at all times — both by day and by night. His answer opens a gateway to understanding the spiritual role of a Jew: remembering the Exodus is not merely a historical recollection, but a constant call to action and to an inner process of leaving one’s own “Egypt” — every inner or outer constraint, every negative force or desire that limits a person.

The Torah as a Guide for Life, Not a Record of the Past

The Netivot Shalom elaborates that the Torah is a Torah of life, meant to guide our way of living. It is not a book of memories alone. The Torah’s extensive discussion of the Exodus from Egypt is intended to instruct the Jew in a lifelong path: human existence is immersed in materiality, in a state comparable to the impurity of Egypt, and the task placed upon a person is to leave Egypt.

This is the meaning of the verse: “So that you shall remember the day you left the land of Egypt all the days of your life.” A Jew must always remember that he is expected to leave Egypt, and to free himself from the desires of Egypt and from its spiritual impurity.

By Day and By Night

The Netivot Shalom further explains why the Sages emphasized that remembering the Exodus applies both by day and by night. The message is that in good times, a Jew must remember that the purpose for which he was sent into the world is to leave Egypt. Even in times of darkness — periods described as “night,” when life feels bleak and obscured, this remembrance remains essential, because this is the Jew’s mission.

For this reason, the Exodus must be remembered every single day: so that a Jew remembers, throughout his life, that he is meant to leave Egypt — even in dark periods, when everything seems closed and hopeless. Even then, the mitzvah to leave Egypt still applies.

The Baal Shem Tov: A Path When No Path Exists

The Baal Shem Tov explained that when God was about to redeem Israel from Egypt, they were sunk in the forty-nine gates of impurity, and there was seemingly no possible way to extract them. Yet God “dug a tunnel,” as it were, beneath the Throne of Glory, and through that hidden passage, He redeemed Israel.

These are his words: “From here comes strength for every Jew, wherever he may be. Even when he sees no possible way for God to redeem him, the Exodus from Egypt teaches that God opened a pathway for all generations and for every individual, by tunneling beneath the Throne of Glory.”

Every Day, a New Exodus

The Netivot Shalom concludes: “Every single day of a Jew’s life, God grants him the power to leave and be redeemed from Egypt. Even when he is at the lowest possible state, he still has the strength to leave Egypt. This is what the elder of Slonim taught: a day in which a Jew does not act against his own inclination in order to break the power of evil is not considered a day of life. For every day, God gives a Jew the strength of the Exodus from Egypt, and it is upon him to leave yet another layer of his personal Egypt — the force of evil within him.”

“For this reason,” the Netivot Shalom continues, “the Torah elaborates at length on the exile and redemption from Egypt, because these are eternal matters. They are not merely events of the past, but timeless realities. And the weeks in which we read the Torah portions of the Exodus are especially conducive for a Jew to leave and be rescued from his own Egypt — from that part of Egypt in which he is currently trapped.”

The Timeless Message

Just as God dug a hidden path to rescue Israel from the impurity of Egypt, so too He grants every person a constant inner strength and daily ability to leave their personal Egypt, even when hope seems absent.

Every day of our lives carries the potential for action, growth, and liberation — a step toward personal and spiritual redemption.