G-d descended upon Mount Sinai and uttered the first of the Ten Commandments: "I am the L-rd your G-d Who took you out of Egypt."
Of all the things G-d could have said at this climactic moment of Divine revelation, why did He choose to remind the Jews that He had taken them out of Egypt? Wouldn't it have been more "dramatic" to refer to Himself as the Creator of heaven and earth, or something equally as "big"? Isn't the fact that G-d created the world more significant than the Exodus from Egypt?
As Chasidic philosophy explains, from a certain perspective the answer is no. The world was created (and continues to be sustained) ex nihilo, "something from nothing." To a human being this is indeed miraculous, but to G-d, Who is infinite and without limitation, it is "no big deal."
The Exodus, by contrast, was an even greater miracle. In order to take the Jewish people out of Egypt, G-d had to alter the natural laws He had already set in place, and to perform supernatural wonders. G-d had to expend even more power, as it were, to break through the boundaries and limitations He had already established.
We see this on the personal level as well. It is relatively easy to accustom ourselves to follow the right path from the beginning, but much harder to change negative habits that are already ingrained.
However, when G-d took our forefathers out of Egypt, He gave each and every Jew throughout the generations the ability to transcend personal limitations. This power to overcome negative behaviors and serve G-d to the fullest was rooted within us with the Giving of the Torah, and has been part of our inheritance ever since.
As we celebrate Shavuot, let us accept the Torah anew with an active consciousness of the Giver of the Torah, realizing that the Torah is the purpose of the entire creation. In this manner, we will bring peace and tranquility to each individual Jew and to the world at large.
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