Redeeming the Holy Spark

מ"ש ואכבדה בפרעה כמה פעמים.

“What Scripture says, ‘And I will be glorified through Pharaoh,’ several times.”

The Sefat Emet notes the repeated declaration that God will attain glory through Pharaoh, asking why this emphasis appears multiple times.

הלא בוודאי כל הענין הי' רק לטובת ישראל.

“Surely the entire matter was only for the benefit of Israel.”

He explains that God’s dealings with Pharaoh were not for Pharaoh’s sake, but solely to elevate and redeem Israel.

כי לרשע אמר כו' מה לך לספר חוקי.

“For to the wicked it is said: ‘What right have you to declare My statutes?’”

Pharaoh, being wicked, had no intrinsic share in divine revelation; thus any mention of God’s glory connected to him must serve another purpose.

אך בוודאי כיון שהיו בנ"י משועבדים לפרעה.

“But certainly, since the Children of Israel were enslaved to Pharaoh…”

The Sefat Emet points out that Israel’s subjugation created a spiritual entanglement between them and Pharaoh.

הי' תחת רשות פרעה איזה כח מהקדושה שהי' נצרך לצאת מת"י.

“There was under Pharaoh’s authority a certain power of holiness that needed to emerge from his grasp.”

He teaches that sparks of holiness were trapped within Pharaoh’s dominion and had to be redeemed and elevated.

וכמ"ש לא נשאר כו' עד אחד הוא אותה נקודה האחדות שהי' ת"י.

“And as it is written: ‘Not a single one remained’—that ‘one’ is the point of unity that was in his possession.”

This ‘one’ refers to the essential point of divine unity embedded in Egypt, which had to be extracted completely.

לצאת להתגלות יחוד ה'.

“To emerge for the revelation of God’s unity.”

The release of this point allowed the ultimate manifestation of God’s oneness at the time of the Exodus.

Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches that God’s ‘glory through Pharaoh’ refers not to Pharaoh’s worth but to the extraction of hidden holiness trapped under his rule. Israel’s bondage created a spiritual connection, and the Exodus liberated the final point of divine unity, revealing God’s oneness in the world.