לקוטי שיחות חלק ב׳ - דברים ג

C.

The inner meaning of exile is the revelation of love.

This can be understood through the analogy of a teacher who is imparting an intellectual concept to his student. In the midst of the teaching, a new and much deeper idea occurs to him. He must temporarily stop teaching in order to absorb this higher insight, so that afterward he will be able to convey it to the student.

It follows that the interruption in the flow of teaching, during the period of withdrawal, is itself motivated by the teacher’s love for the student.

This also explains why, as the exile continues, the darkness increases. Were the exile only the result of sin, the darkness should gradually diminish as the exile continued. Rather, the increasing darkness is because, before the Geulah, there is a withdrawal of the previous light in preparation for the revelation of a far higher light.