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The pasuk says, “For the Children of Israel are slaves to Me,” indicating
that the Torah is a burden and confining. Conversely, “The truly free man
is the one who engages in the study of Torah,” indicating that the Torah
is liberating. Which is it?
The purpose of Matan Torah was to redeem Bnei Yisrael from slavery in
Egypt and introduce them to Torah and mitzvot, demonstrating that “only
a servant of Hashem is truly free.” Precisely because of the burden of the
Torah, a person experiences liberation, just as one senses tranquility on
Shabbat after exerting much effort on Erev Shabbat.
Likewise, a person who subjugates himself to Torah and mitzvot merits
conquering his Yetzer Hara. When he frees himself from the control of # 26347-EYAL-6

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