Portion Shmot
The greatest difficulty of bondage in Egypt was that the Egyptians embitter the lives of the children of Israel - "The Egyptians embitter their lives." Our sages interpret embittering of life made by employment of the children of Israel work with no benefit, as well as the imposition of employment of women on men, and the work of men over women.
Because the Torah is eternal, and every Jew is required to go every day from Egypt, there is also a matter of "embitter their lives" every Jew's life, sometimes embitter the life is expressed in thin delicate matters....
Every Jew a special mission for which his soul descended to this world. When a Jew fulfills his mission and role; so he lived a real life. But when he does not fulfill his duties, though he does good things and positive, but not this particular mission - is galling his life. Who makes it draws from the soul the power given to her to fulfill her mission, and directs them to other matters, and things that interfere with her role.
Instinct knows that if he tries to seduce the person not to engage in Torah study and mitzvah observance, the person will not hear him. So he tries to gall his life by tempting him to engage in it are good things, but things that are not his role but the role of someone else.
People of Israel divided into two types: business and tent dwellers. The tent dwellers need to engage in the Torah. Although they are required to engage in charity, but the main interest is the study of Torah. In contrast, most business owners concerned observance, especially to give charity. Although they are required to study Torah, but the focus of their business is charity line.
Here might be the phenomenon of 'lost souls' - Jews who do not want to play the special role assigned to, but are constantly looking for other roles. A business owner should give charity, suddenly decides to extend prayers and engage in Torah study. Or sitting in a tent, instead of sit and learn Torah looking for a charity's operations.
Sometimes actually have "lost souls", who deal with the role of others, do it with energy (but it is so only at the beginning), but ultimately there is "galling their lives", that person takes the life of the soul to things that are not its role.
Therefore, the exodus from Egypt was by having the command "take your sheep pulled" - when the children of Israel took Egypt's idol (sheep) and slaughtered him for G-d, out of devotion, it directed all its forces of the soul to their right, and this led to the Real freedom.
