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Abraham—between Egypt and Israel

Abram was born in Mesopotamia (today’s Iraq), immigrated to
Israel, and then, because of famine, went down to Egypt. This
travel has a spiritual meaning because these places are degrees or
forces. They actually tell the correction story of his desire.
Mesopotamia is a starting point, where Abram’s desires are
egoistic, like yours and mine. The land of Israel, called “desires
to bestow,” is the desire to give. Egypt is called Malchut, the will
to receive, and it consists of egoistic desires, with Pharaoh being 

the epitome of egoism.
When Abram first
achieved correction, he
changed his name to Abraham,
broken down as Av (father)
ha Am (the nation)—the
great desires to receive that
were to emerge from him.
To match those desires, he had a will to give, which guaranteed
that the desires will ultimately be corrected. Every time Abraham
increases his will to give, he moves to Israel, and every time
he increases his will to receive, he moves to Egypt. This is also 

why immigration to Israel is considered ascent and immigration
to Egypt is considered descent.
The will to give by itself is powerless. You can truly give to
the Creator only by receiving from Him. So Abraham asked,
“How will I know that I will reach the same level of giving as the
Creator?” Abraham couldn’t receive because he was in a state
of giving. The Creator put his seed in Egypt and told him he
would receive the full measure of the will to receive. Abraham
was delighted. After the exile, when the people mingle with the
Egyptians and absorb their desires, the people will be corrected
and know how to receive in order to bestow. This is the pattern
of attainment for everyone and leads to the end of correction.
The Bible says that Abraham went down to Egypt because of
famine. The famine was spiritual because he wanted to bestow
but had nothing to bestow with. For Abraham, a situation in
which he can’t bestow is called famine, absence of desires to
receive. As a person gradually acquires a bigger will to receive, it
is considered experiencing the exile in Egypt. When you come
out of the experience with great substance of vessels of reception,
you can begin to correct them so they work in order to bestow.