509) “In all their affliction he was afflicted.” In all of Israel’s afflictions, when afflictions came upon them, it is written about them, Lo [no], with the letter Aleph, but it is pronounced as Lo [to him] with the letter Vav, since the Creator is with them in the affliction. Lo with an Aleph means he is not afflicted; he is in a higher place. And even though there are no anger and affliction in that place, as it is written, “Strength and gladness are in His place,” a response to Israel’s afflictions comes there nonetheless. Lo with the letter Aleph is as it is written, “He that has made us, and we are His,” which is written with an Aleph but read with a Vav.
510) “And the angel of His presence saved them.” Thus, He was with them in the affliction, since in the beginning, it is written, “In all their affliction He was afflicted,” and it is written that He saved them. But if He is with them in the affliction, has He not saved them yet? However, it is not written that He saves them, but only that He saved them, in past tense. “He saved them” by being with them in that affliction and suffering with them.
When Israel are in exile, the Shechina is in exile with them, too, as it is written, “Then the Lord your God will turn your captivity and have compassion upon you.” He should have said, “Returned your captivity.” “Turned your captivity” comes to tell you that the Shechina was with them in exile, and “Turned” means that it relates to Himself.
511) “And the angel of His presence saved them.” This is the Shechina, who was in exile with them. “Saved them,” but if He is with them in exile, has He not saved them yet? These afflictions of Israel are the abodes of the Creator in exile, for the Creator is in each and every one of their afflictions. And because the Shechina is with them, the Creator remembers to do good to them and to deliver them from exile, as it is written, “And I have remembered My covenant,” the Shechina.
Thus, He actually saved them by being with them in the affliction, as it is written, “And I have remembered My covenant.” By being with them in the affliction, He saves them because He suffers with them and alleviates their pain. And here it is written that He saved them through His presence in the plight, and by this He promised them their redemption.
512) It is written, “And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.” This includes the other seeing, before all the others, as it is written, “And God remembered His covenant,” the Shechina.
It is written, “And God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” Should it not have said, “And He remembered His covenant for Abraham”? Indeed, Et [“with” in Hebrew] Abraham is the bonding and coupling of the Shechina with the patriarchs, since Et is the name of the Shechina.
Et Abraham is southwest, embrace of the right, since south is right, Hesed, Abraham. West is the Shechina, Et, and Abraham embraces her with Hassadim.
Et Isaac is northwest, embrace of the left, since north is left, Gevura, Isaac. West is the Shechina, Et. Isaac embraces her with Gevurot.
“And with Jacob” is one coupling, one whole, a complete coupling. This is because it indicates to the coupling of ZA, Jacob, with the Shechina, Et, and there is no coupling except in the middle line, Jacob. But in Abraham and Isaac, there are only embraces. This is why it is said about Jacob that he is one coupling. And it is written, “and with Jacob,” which incorporates them together, which is “One whole,” and the additional Vav in the words “and with Jacob” implies the completeness of the coupling.
513) It is written, “The heavens” is the mingling of the quality of night, Nukva, in the day, ZA. “And the earth” is the quality of day that is included in the quality of night, the mingling of ZA in Nukva. This is so because the Vav of the “And” indicates the male that is included in the Nukva.
It is written, “With Abraham,” “With Isaac,” but for Jacob it writes, “And with,” which indicates a single coupling, where the male and the female are never separated. And the Creator is destined to declare throughout the world and to sound His voice, as it is written, “For He said, ‘Surely, they are My people, children that will not deal falsely’; so He was their Savior.”