Rashi interprets this pasuk to be a demonstration of Hashem’s kindness towards Bnei Yisrael. He took them out of Egypt during a climatically propitious time of the year, when it is neither too hot nor too cold, and there is no rain. Indeed, Pesach is the festival of spring. Why did Hashem choose this specific season? Was it only so that Bnei Yisrael would have a comfortable exodus from Egypt — or can a deeper lesson be derived?
The Meshech Chochmah suggests that the Exodus took place at the beginning of the season of Aviv, spring, because this season more than any other most strongly depicts the force and vitality of the laws of “nature.” After a long, bleak winter, the quiescent powers of nature spring forth with great vitality demonstrating their ability to rejuvenate in magnificent glory. It was the will of Hashem that specifically at this time, when the full forces of nature are manifest, that He would suspend these laws in order to identify the true source of power.
Let us expand on this idea. For hundreds of years, the Jews had been enslaved by a nation which deified the powers of nature. Through human intellect, the Egyptian people were able to harness natural phenomena and employ them for the betterment of their culture. Their country was literally an oasis in the desert. Their’s was a culture which deified the forces of nature as well as the powers of man who had the ability to harness said forces for his own use. The world was considered an aggregate of natural forces which were somehow sublimated for their personal benefit. Obviously, in such an environment the stronger and more powerful could justify enslaving the weaker and vulnerable for their own objectives.
Spring was the time when this deification reached its apex, for it was the time of the reawakening of the forces of nature. It was at this time that Hashem chose to demonstrate their folly to the Egyptians, and to educate the Jews concerning the real force behind natural phenomena. By suspending the laws of nature, Hashem made clear to all that He is the only true Supreme Master of the world.
