Returning to the Patriarchs' Roots
במדרש החודש הזה לכם מה כתיב ולקחתם אגודת אזוב כו' הה"ד מראש צורים אראנו כו' ומסיים שהאבות הם יסוד העולם וישת עליהם תבל כו' ע"ש.
“In the Midrash on ‘This month shall be for you,’ what is written? ‘And you shall take a bundle of hyssop,’ etc. This is the meaning of ‘From the tops of the rocks I see him,’ etc., and it concludes that the Patriarchs are the foundation of the world, upon whom the universe is set.”
The Sefat Emet begins by citing a Midrash linking the command of the hyssop at the Exodus to a verse describing Israel’s rootedness in the Patriarchs. The Midrash teaches that the forefathers form the very foundation of creation.
וכבר כתבנו במ"א פי' והגעתם אל המשקוף מזוזות שדורש במד' על האבות שזה עיקר הגאולה לאחוז בדרכי אבות כמ"ש (יפקד אתכם) והשיב אתכם אל ארץ אבותיכם.
“And we have already written elsewhere the explanation of ‘And you shall touch the lintel and the doorposts,’ which the Midrash interprets as referring to the Patriarchs—this being the essence of redemption: to hold fast to the ways of the fathers, as it is written, ‘He will surely remember you and return you to the land of your fathers.’”
He explains that the blood placed on the lintel and doorposts symbolizes the Patriarchs. Redemption flows from cleaving to their path, returning to the spiritual “land” of the forefathers.
וכ"כ בגאולת יובל ושב כו' ואל אחוזת אבותיו ישוב.
“So too with the Jubilee redemption: ‘He shall return… and he shall return to the holding of his fathers.’”
The Torah itself frames redemption as a return to ancestral roots, echoing the same theme.
שהגלות הוא כשנגרש מן השורש.
“For exile occurs when one is expelled from the root.”
Exile is defined spiritually as disconnection from the soul’s source in the forefathers.
וכשחוזרין להתדבק בשורש אבות הוא הגאולה.
“And when one returns to cleave to the root of the fathers—that is redemption.”
Redemption is the restoration of that primal bond.
ואז נתחדשו בנ"י כברי' חדשה.
“Then the Children of Israel were renewed as a new creation.”
Through reconnection with the forefathers, Israel becomes spiritually re‑created.
וזה החודש הזה לכם.
“And this is the meaning of ‘This month shall be for you.’”
The command marks the moment of Israel’s renewal.
ולא עוד אלא שכל העולם נתחדש.
“Not only that, but the entire world was renewed.”
The renewal of Israel radiates outward, affecting all creation.
כשנתעורר הארת האבות בישראל.
“When the light of the Patriarchs was awakened in Israel.”
This awakening is the engine of universal renewal.
שהם מצוקי ארץ.
“For they are the pillars of the earth.”
The forefathers serve as the cosmic foundation stones.
כמ"ש במד'. ולכן נתחדש כל העולם.
“As the Midrash says. Therefore the entire world was renewed.”
The Midrashic teaching justifies the idea that creation itself renews with the renewed light of the forefathers.
וכן בכל ניסן שבו נולדו אבות.
“And so in every Nisan, in which the Patriarchs were born.”
Nisan is inherently a time of renewal because it is the birth‑month of the forefathers.
והלא אפי' ביוסף הצדיק שהוא הי' המכין לישראל בגלות.
“And behold, even in the case of Joseph the righteous, who prepared the way for Israel in exile.”
Even Joseph, though not one of the three patriarchs, embodies their preparatory role.
איתא שנראית לו דמות דיוקנו של אביו ובזה ניצל.
“It is taught that the image of his father appeared to him, and through this he was saved.”
His rescue came through the power of his connection to his father Jacob.
מכ"ש השרוין בגלות שעיקר הגאולה מתנוצץ ע"י הארת האבות כשזוכין להיות אוחזין במעשה אבותיהם.
“How much more so for those dwelling in exile, that the essence of redemption flashes forth through the light of the forefathers when they merit to hold fast to the deeds of their fathers.”
Exiled Israel can access redemption by rekindling the ancestral light within themselves.
וכמ"ש על אותו הדור שתפסו אומנות אבותם.
“As it is said of that generation, that they took up the craft of their fathers.”
The Exodus generation merited redemption because they resumed the spiritual path of the Patriarchs.
Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches that exile is separation from the ancestral root, and redemption is reconnection to the light of the Patriarchs. This reconnection renews not only Israel but the entire world, especially in Nisan, the month of their birth. Even Joseph’s salvation came through the image of his father, illustrating that redemption always emerges from the ancestral bond.