« In exile, a person is in a state of spiritual nakedness. » (Likutey Halakhot, Rabbi Nathan of Breslov)
Rabbi Nathan uses a striking image here: exile is a form of spiritual nakedness. He is not only referring to physical or historical exile, but to an inner exile — the state we enter when we become enslaved to material desires.
In such a state, the soul feels exposed. It hungers, it shivers, it searches for a covering — for meaning, for elevation, for connection. But fleeting pleasures offer no true garment. They flatter, they wrap us for a moment, then vanish, leaving a deeper emptiness.
Torah, by contrast, clothes the soul. Each mitzvah, each thought directed toward Hashem, is like a thread woven around our inner being. It protects, it warms, it restores dignity and spiritual modesty.
To come out of exile is to recover that inner covering — to remember that we were not made to chase after matter, but to clothe ourselves in light.
