Sefer Shemos starts out with the death of Yosef & his generation and the beginning of the Jewish people’s gradual enslavement. The posuk tells us וימת מלך מצרים ויאנחו בני ישראל מן העבדה ויזעקו , and the king of Egypt died and the Jewish people groaned because of the work & they cried out to Hashem. The Jewish people were in a very harsh exile.
Currently, however, the exile isn't so harsh, for, generally speaking, the Jews are in countries that allow them to live freely & have the same rights as everyone else. Why did Hashem change the way golus works in the later generation?
The מלבים explains with a parable. A king had an only child, a son, who was constantly getting into trouble, heading in a path of destruction. The king felt he had no choice but send the son to a faraway city where he was subjugated to harsh labor.
When his captors would torment him & force him to work hard, he sent his father letters pleading with him to take him back home promising to mend his evil ways saying he would no longer anger the king. After a while, the king was compassionate & brought the son back home. After a few years, the son forgot all about his captors & torments and once again headed down the wrong road, getting into all sorts of trouble. Once again, the king sent him away & once again, when he was being tormented, he would write letters to his father begging him to take him back home. This time, the father thought the only reason he wants to come home is because of the hard labor. Once he's home, he'll go back to his old ways. Therefore, the father decided to test him to see if he was really remorseful or if it was just because of the work. So he came up with a plan. He secretly had the son released from his captives, got him some money so he could live, but didn't let the son know that it was from him. The king wanted to see if, now, the son would be able to live peacefully; will he still want to come home; will the letters begging to come home still come?
This is how Hashem is treating us in this Galus. He is checking to see why we pray for the redemption; why do we beg Hashem to take us home? Is it because we want to stand in the face of the Shechina? Do we want Hashem’s glory revealed to the world or is it just because we are suffering & we want the suffering to end? So, today, when we have it good, will we still cry out to Hashem to bring us home? If so, then Hashem knows that it's for the true good that we want to come back & not just to alleviate our own personal suffering.
The posuk itself proves that the only reason they cried was because of the harsh work. Says Reb - the posuk says that Hashem heard their cry, but it doesn't say that Hashem was going to save them because they cried out; rather, the posuk says Hashem remembered the promise He made to the Avos that He would take them out of slavery.
We all have to ask ourselves why do we want the redemption? Is it just to alleviate our personal suffering or do we care that the world should recognize Hashem? We have to want the redemption for Hashem & not just to ease our suffering. If we could develop this mindset, then, before we know it, we will be welcoming the moshiach very soon!
Currently, however, the exile isn't so harsh, for, generally speaking, the Jews are in countries that allow them to live freely & have the same rights as everyone else. Why did Hashem change the way golus works in the later generation?
The מלבים explains with a parable. A king had an only child, a son, who was constantly getting into trouble, heading in a path of destruction. The king felt he had no choice but send the son to a faraway city where he was subjugated to harsh labor.
When his captors would torment him & force him to work hard, he sent his father letters pleading with him to take him back home promising to mend his evil ways saying he would no longer anger the king. After a while, the king was compassionate & brought the son back home. After a few years, the son forgot all about his captors & torments and once again headed down the wrong road, getting into all sorts of trouble. Once again, the king sent him away & once again, when he was being tormented, he would write letters to his father begging him to take him back home. This time, the father thought the only reason he wants to come home is because of the hard labor. Once he's home, he'll go back to his old ways. Therefore, the father decided to test him to see if he was really remorseful or if it was just because of the work. So he came up with a plan. He secretly had the son released from his captives, got him some money so he could live, but didn't let the son know that it was from him. The king wanted to see if, now, the son would be able to live peacefully; will he still want to come home; will the letters begging to come home still come?
This is how Hashem is treating us in this Galus. He is checking to see why we pray for the redemption; why do we beg Hashem to take us home? Is it because we want to stand in the face of the Shechina? Do we want Hashem’s glory revealed to the world or is it just because we are suffering & we want the suffering to end? So, today, when we have it good, will we still cry out to Hashem to bring us home? If so, then Hashem knows that it's for the true good that we want to come back & not just to alleviate our own personal suffering.
The posuk itself proves that the only reason they cried was because of the harsh work. Says Reb - the posuk says that Hashem heard their cry, but it doesn't say that Hashem was going to save them because they cried out; rather, the posuk says Hashem remembered the promise He made to the Avos that He would take them out of slavery.
We all have to ask ourselves why do we want the redemption? Is it just to alleviate our personal suffering or do we care that the world should recognize Hashem? We have to want the redemption for Hashem & not just to ease our suffering. If we could develop this mindset, then, before we know it, we will be welcoming the moshiach very soon!
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