לזכות משה יהודה בן פעשא דינה
הַ֥לְלוּיָ֨הּ ׀ הַ֭לְלוּ עַבְדֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה הַֽ֝לְלוּ אֶת־שֵׁ֥ם יְהוָֽה׃
Praise Hashem. O servants of Hashem, give praise; praise the name of Hashem.
The Gemara says that only עבדי השם can praise Hashem and not עבדי פרעה - servants of Paroh. Only AFTER we left Egypt could we properly praise Hashem. Why? It was a process. First, we were ABSOLUTE servants in Egypt. There was no escaping. No slave EVER escaped from Egypt. Then we were redeemed from that type of servitude and became ABSOLUTE servants of Hashem. There is no escaping. But that is AWE-SOME. It means that no human being can ever truly subjugate us. If we find ourselves in servitude it is external only. Our souls, however, remain bound up to Hashem's Goodness and Light, forever. That is why following our servitude in Egypt we went to Eretz Yisrael, which is the Land of Freeedom. ארץ טובה ורחבה - A good and vast land. אַשְׁרֵ֣יךְ אֶ֔רֶץ שֶׁמַּלְכֵּ֖ךְ בֶּן־חוֹרִ֑ים - Happy are you, O land [E.Y.] whose King is free [Koheles 10-17]. Eretz Yisrael is the Land of Freedom. In E.Y. we are bound to Hashem only. In Chutz La-aretz, we have to deal with foreign rulership.
