Who chose us from among all nations and lifted us up above all languages:One can explain this based on the words of my pious grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Azulai⁷ in his commentary on the Mishnah Nedarim chapter 3: “If one says: “The property of the offspring of Abraham is forbidden to me... he is prohibited from benefiting from a Jew but he is permitted to derive benefit from others.” This is what he wrote: “The reason for this is hidden and I will reveal just a bit of it. Before the generation of the Tower of Babel all souls, both pure and impure came from the same storehouse. But after the generation of the Tower, when Abraham was chosen, God placed the souls of Israel in one storehouse and the souls of the seventy nations in a storehouse of their own. Therefore, Israel is not included among the Noahides and the Noahides are not included among the Israelites.” I have also read this in the first chapter of Avodah Zarah 5a in which Rabbi Elchanan states: “The souls of Jews and the souls of gentiles are not of the same body." I commented on this in Birchei Yosef, Orekh Chaim 47:7 based on what the Bayit Chadash⁸ stated. He says that when one recites, “Who did not make me a non-Jew,” he means that God did not cause a Jewish soul to descend to a gentile through an angel. Yet what is the point of this blessing if Jewish souls come from their own storehouse? I wrote there that it is possible that the blessing was recited about the beginning, “When God set divisions among peoples.” (Deut.32:8) But now it is possible to explain the Bach in this way. Granted, the souls of Jews are pure and come from their own storehouse. But it is known that through sin a person can undergo lower transmigrations. And it is possible that one's soul can transmigrate into a gentile soul. It is for this reason that we recite the blessing shlo asani akum, “Who has not made me a gentile,” meaning, who has not brought me to the level of a non-Jew. I have also found this in the writings of the students of the Ari'zal.⁹, the Lion Cubs. He explains that, “Did not make me a gentile” means, who did not cause me to transmigrate into a gentile (goy) through sin. Certainly the soul of a Jew cannot enter a non-Jew for it is pure and it comes from its own special storehouse but it is possible because of sin that it can become damaged so that it enters a non-Jew.

footnotes: ⁷ Abraham ben Mordecai Azulai Grandfather of Chida (c. 1570–1643) was a Kabbalistic author and commentator born in Fez, Morocco. In 1599 he moved to Palestine and settled in Hebron. ⁸ Joel ben Samuel Sirkis (born 1561 - March 4, 1640) also known as the Bach, was a prominent Ashkenazi posek and halakhist, who lived in central Europe and held rabbinical positions in Belz, Brest-Litovsk and Kraków, and is considered to be one of the greatest Talmudic scholars of Poland. (wikipedia) ⁹ Isaac Luria Ashkenazi (1534 – 1572) commonly known as "Ha'ARI” was a leading rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Syria. He is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah. The Ari’s (the Lion) students are sometimes referred to as Gurei Ari

One may learn from this that when one says, “Who chose us from all nations,” it is speaking about long ago,“When the Most High gave nations their homes and set the divisions of man,” (Deut. 32:8) in the Generation of the Separation, as it states, “And (the) tower that man had built.” (Gen 11:5) Then God chose us and we became God’s portion, as the sages explained. At that time the souls of the Israelites were set aside, “And they were raised up from all languages when they left Egypt.” Afterwards, “God sanctified us with His commandments,” at the revelation at Mount Sinai when God gave us the Torah with love and compassion.

It is also possible that the opening of the Kiddush is based on the fact that Israel worshipped idols while in Egypt. In Berachot (20a) it is explained that miracles occurred because the people dedicated themselves to the sanctification of God’s name. If so, it would seem that miracles were not performed for Israelites since they had not sanctified themselves to God. Despite this, God’s mercy overcame His justice and God performed wonders and miracles (for Israel). This is the meaning of, “Who chose us from among all nations,” alluding to the fact that the Israelites were living among other peoples who worshipped idols. In God’s great mercy, God chose them from all the nations. Not only that but, “God exalted us above all languages,” by performing miracles and wonders and in this way exalted us above other nations. God lifted us up higher than all others and it is another wonder that God did so even though they were not dedicated to His sanctification. This is because we had not yet received the Torah and we were not yet commanded to sanctify God, as it states after this, “He sanctified us with His commandments.”

It is also possible that, “Who chose us from among all nations” alludes to the verse “Israel was God’s portion,” (Deut. 32:8-9) “when Israel dedicated themselves.” (Judges 5:2) All Israel became converts and servants of God, but we find that some converts are more exacting in following the commandments than others, as Rabbi Abraham the Convert states in a Tosafot in Kiddushin, 70b. Despite this, converts do not reach the level of Israel as the kabbalists wrote. That which is written, “He exalted us above all tongues,” means that even converts and servants of God are less and Israel is above them since they were exalted. Ths is because God sanctified "(my addition) native born Jews" with His commandments,” in Egypt through the blood of the Passover offering and circumcision, and afterwards through the giving of the Torah….

The time of our freedom: It means freeing of our souls that were drowning in the depths of the husks and subjugated beneath the Sitra Achra. He brought us out to true freedom.