The Children of Israel, Jacob’s family, came to Egypt and lived there to cope with a famine. They dwelled in the Land of Goshen and expanded with great fecundity. The Torah tells us these people were enslaved by Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. hundreds of years later, supported by God’s interventions, they escaped from their subjugation.
There are archeological findings to support this history. Some debate whether these discoveries sufficiently document the chronology and birth of the Jewish People.
But the Torah is first and foremost a spiritual instrument. It was revealed by God from the heavenly realm. Earthly receptions of transcendent manifestations are wrapped in ambiguity. Communications from God are subject to filtering into our material world. They may be absolute spiritually. But when we try to accommodate imprecise knowledge into a literal understanding, the message is likely to be misinterpreted.
Accepting spiritual disclosures as historical fact is an example of this type of reconciliation. History includes many amazing illustrations of the glory of human endeavors, accomplishments, and acts of grace. It also records frequent horrifying eras exhibiting the worst of humanity. These periods of cruelty and viciousness have been justified by a literal interpretation of this Biblical teaching. Although many notable events are described in this Scripture, their role is to create a framework to help guide readers to engage into the heavenly theme.
The spiritual message is more comprehensible. Understanding springs from recognition of God’s nature as the only 100% Spiritual being ever described. This nature is what God brings to the table. By God’s example of Self, we learn to seek out and engage our own heavenly powers to transcend, expand, and complete what life has to offer us.
Adding the heavenly to the earthly allows us to progress beyond the limitations of the material world. Bridging these two realms permits them to enhance each other. Our mortal lives benefit from this interaction.
The Hebrew word for Egypt – which is Mitzrayim – means “limitations.” A person living in Egypt was limited in growth potential by a society structured around an absolutist institutional monarchy that allowed little wiggle room for personal growth. Thus, dwelling in Egypt, whether enslaved or not, was a metaphor for the shackles imposed on the soul by a purely material outlook. God’s goal in unfettering this People was to open up the infinite potential of the ethereal world. Spiritually, our corporeal world limits spiritual growth in individuals who perceive only with the physical senses.
God takes us beyond the earthly limitations by illustrating the existence of the heavenly option. Lying dormant within us, the soul is immediately accessible when sought. The miracles that instituted the escape from captivity were momentous. Making a drastic and dramatic move is often necessary to overcome deeply ingrained concepts and lifestyles. Taking the Hebrew people physically out of the Land of Egypt is part of the process of inspiring spiritual enlightenment.
The Egyptians and the Children of Israel were embedded and ruled by the very strict material culture of Egypt. They were also sinking away from any intuitive contact with their heavenly powers. Many Egyptians joined Jews in the Exodus from Egypt. Many seized the day when opportunity opened the door.
By wandering in the desert, the mind cleared. Wandering this desiccated wasteland for 40 years removed material stimulation, cultivating spiritual growth. The bland landscape corresponds to a meditative state. Desire, anger, fear, and false ego dissipate. The mind expands and becomes receptive to experiences outside the earthly plane. The senses cease to insist upon knowing everything. Epiphanic insights inspire far-reaching acceptance, appreciation, and awareness.
The stage was set for the Revelation at Mt. Sinai.
As the people ramble through the scorched plain of Sinai, God guides from a pillar of fire when darkness encourages random imagination. When the light of the sun blinds the inner eye to the truth, the Conductor appears as a pillar of smoke. Good and evil are irrelevant when reaching for, connecting with, and bridging to the heavenly realm. This Guide inserts clarity into the night and removes the distractions presented by the day.
The story of the Exodus from Egypt is a tale of transition from banal materialism to exalted spirituality. It describes the elevating process of combining the earthly and heavenly powers. The ultimate goal of Revelation is to take advantage of what each realm offers. The spiritual involvement extends infinite choice and eternal perspective to our transitory world. The corporeal adds variability and growth to the ethereal. Neither plane loses its relevance.
By activating and joining a soul to the life of a person, Creation is repaired and completed. Melding the extraordinary with the familiar is the ultimate purpose of God’s rescue mission. it’s all about our finding the supreme achievement life has to offer by enhancing our earthly lives with heavenly powers.
Our task is to concentrate on the transcendent nature of God. Spend time trying to clear the mind of all thought. Strengthen the ability to focus without distraction. This meditative and mindful approach takes you out of the Land of Egypt.
Health and Spirit by Dr. Jack Zoldan 