Maharal: Because of the lust of women in Egypt - Jews were redeemed

Maharal (Sotah 11b): This that the gemora says that for the sake of the righteous women of the generation they were redeemed from Egypt. This has very incredible implications. Because when these women had very great desire for their husbands they gave birth to children who were deserving of freedom. And a proof that when a woman has a great desire for her husband she gives birth to children who deserve to be redeem is (Nedarim 20b),” Rabbi Yochanon said that all men whose wife asks them for sexual intercourse will have children that even in the generation of Moshe didn’t exist. For it is said, Take you wise men, and understanding [and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you]; and it is written, So I took the chiefs of your tribes, wise men and known but ‘understanding’ is not mentioned. But it is also written, Yissachar is a large-boned ass; whilst elsewhere it is written, And of the children of Yissachar, which were men that had understanding of the times.” 

The explanation of this is that when a woman asks her husband for intercourse then the woman cleaves to her husband who is characterized as the Form while the woman is Substance. When the Substance attaches itself to the Form the woman is being completed by the Form and therefore she has children who are understanding because everything is drawn after the Form and is distant from the Substance. Similarly regarding redemption, when the women desired their husbands they had children who deserved to be redeemed. As we have explained in many other places that enslavement is to Substance in particular while the Form is inherently free. Thus when a wife desires her husband there is a perfection of the Substance by the Form and therefore they give birth to children who are wise and understanding and fit to be redeemed. 

And this explains the statement that the women recognized their Creator as they said, “This is my G-d and I will praise him. It all follows from what we said, because they did not have the deficiency and foolishness of Substance – they recognized their Creator. And this that it says that they had intercourse in the sheep pens – this shows that they had so much desire for their husbands that they had intercourse with them whenever it was possible. And this that it says that it took place in the sheep pens is something very deep because it means that they had total unity when they had intercourse and that is called “in the sheep pens’’. That is because there the boundaries were joined and unified. And through the complete unity that comes from intercourse the wives cleaved to their husbands and the child that was born was not Substance because of the joining of the Substance and the Form as we have explained. But when there is separation in this joining, then the inherently materialistic woman makes her child Substance because there is not a cleaving of the Substance to the Form.

When you understand further the words of wisdom you will know that when there is unity of intercourse because of the desire of the woman - then in fact it becomes a divine pairing as we have explained many times. That is because division is a materialistic thing while unity is divine. That is because unity is relevant only from that which is separate from material while distinctiveness and separation are always materialistic. Therefore when there is a joining in complete unity it is something divine and not mundane. That is meant by saying that they had intercourse in the sheep pens which is between the boundaries of the field and between the field itself which is unique. This all comes to tell you that when they had intercourse together they had a divine connection because of the complete unity that they had. And thus “in the sheep pens” which was between the two borders which were separate from the field, they had a joining together which was distinct from the body. The comparison is totally comparable to the sheep pens when properly understood because the sheep pens is the border which is separate for itself between the two fields. Understand this.

When you understand these words of wisdom, you will also understand how great are the words of our Sages which is a hidden secret. That in the name man (ish) there is the letter “yud” and in the name woman (isha) the letter “hey”. When these two letters are joined we have the name of G-d. This shows that when there is a joining in unity it has the quality of divine holiness because of the name of G-d that results from their unity.

 From all this we can understand that the reward for intercourse in the sheep pens which is the divine level as we mentioned – caused also that they would have the spoils of Egypt. That is because this achievement that they acquired by means of the sheep pens caused them to have silver and gold. That is why it says, “As the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her pinions with yellow gold (Tehilim 68:14). Because through the unity of intercourse which is a divine quality – it draws silver and gold just as the wings are drawn after the dove. It is called a dove because of the unity of the joining. It mentions in Shir HaShirim Rabbah (4) that if the mate of the dove dies, the remaining bird will not mate with any other dove. That is why the relationship is called dove because the mating of doves is a complete intercourse and afterwards it mentions being covered with gold and silver because the two wings follow after the body which is a one body. Because when there is a joining of male and female in one attachment until they become one body –then there is the attraction to this of the two wings and these two wings are silver and gold as the verse said, To Me is the silver to Me is the Gold. This all follows after this unity. You shall understand this extremely well.[...]