פרשת שמות
In this week’s parsha we learn about the beginning of the enslavement of the Jewish people and the beginning of the redemption. Moshe is commanded by G-d to go back to Egypt and is given the momentous task of taking the Jewish people out of slavery and leading them to Eretz Yisrael. After Moshe reunites with his brother, Aharon, the two go back to Egypt to bring about the redemption. However, it is interesting to note where Moshe’s first stop was upon his arrival. Moshe didn’t immediately go to arrange a meeting with Pharaoh and initiate the plagues. Rather, the first audience Moshe desired was with the Jewish people. Moshe met with all the elders of the nation and performed all the wonders that would affirm his authenticity as the true savior. The Torah testifies that upon hearing Moshe’s message and realizing that he was going to deliver them from the chains of bondage, the people then “bowed their heads and prostrated themselves.” Why did Moshe need to go through all this? Surely he didn’t need popular opinion in order to redeem the Jewish people from slavery! Why didn’t Moshe just go straight to Pharaoh, let the ten plagues occur, and then take the people out? Why did Moshe gather the Jewish people first?
The Saba of Kelm teaches that the process of galus and geula that the Jewish people went through in Egypt is the exemplar of all future Jewish struggles and salvations both national and individual. We can see from the fact that Moshe went to arouse the Jewish people to have the faith that the redemption was near, that it is not proper for Hashem to grant us complete salvation without any initiative on our part. In order for us to be worthy of redemption we have to make an active proclamation that we rely only on Hashem to come to our aid. Only when the Jewish people heard Moshe’s words and proceeded to prostrate themselves, expressing their joy and whole-hearted confidence in Hashem’s ability to deliver them from slavery, could Moshe effectively take them out of Egypt. If the Jewish people had acted indifferently, lacking the enthusiasm to properly respond to Moshe’s message, any attempt to carry out the Exodus would have been futile. We see further corroboration for this concept in the very mitzvos that the Jews were given before exiting Egypt. To demonstrate that they were ready to leave, Hashem commanded the Jews to eat the Pesach offering in a hurry, wearing their travel apparel and even clutching their walking sticks in their hands as they ate. All of these mitzvos forced the Jews to articulate their belief in Hashem and those who failed to take advantage of this rare opportunity were denied the privilege of being taken out of Egypt.
There are plenty of issues that we struggle with in our own lives. Given the principle that we learn from the Exodus, we too need to find ways of actively expressing our dependence on Hashem to help us if we want his salvation. Just as an active expression of belief is absolutely critical for national redemption, it is essential for one’s personal redemption as well. One of the most basic ways of showing Hashem we care is not only by being conscious of the words we say when we daven, but really meaning it. The Mabit writes that Tefilla itself is a testimony to Hashem that we are completely reliant on Him. I had a friend who gave tzedaka on a smaller scale to show that he trusted in Hashem to help him in his problems. Every day after Shachris, he would go over and drop a coin in the tzedaka box even though we normally do it during the course of P’sukei D’Zimra anyways. When I asked him about his unique practice, he replied to me “I’m just thanking Hashem for listening to my prayers.” We need to exhibit this kind of emuna in our tefilla if we want our prayers to be answered.
However, tefilla is not the only way that we express our dependence on Hashem. Though it may sound counter-intuitive, hishtadlus itself can even be a means of expressing our faith in Hashem’s salvation. The Midrash in Shir HaShirim 5:3 says “Open for Me and opening like the eye of a needle and I will open for you an area the size of a banquet hall.” When a person appreciates that his hishtadlus is really just a positive intimation to show Hashem that he wants to be freed of shackles and wholeheartedly hopes and longs for Hashem to perform wonders to relieve him of his difficult situation, he is fulfilling Chazal’s formula and will surely come to progress in ways he could never dream of. We see all over Chazal that when a person sets out on a path, Hashem helps him get there. The Gemara in Makkos (10b) says “On the path that a person walks (Heavenly Help) carries him.” Additionally, the Gemara in Yuma (38b) says “One who comes to become purified is assisted.” If a person integrates these words of Chazal into his general outlook he will find himself to have complete confidence that these words will come true.
My wife used to go visit a friend of hers who sadly didn’t have any children, even after being married for several years. During one of these visits, this lady took my wife to show her a special stash of clothes she kept in her closet. They were clothes for little children. My wife’s friend explained that she once went to a tzaddik in order to get a bracha for children. The tzaddik asked her, “So what are you doing to prepare for being a mother?” To this my wife’s friend had no reply. Why should she prepare? She wasn’t even pregnant! In reply, the tzaddik told this woman that she should go buy some clothes for her future children. Showing that she was prepared and ready to be blessed with a child, could be the display of faith that Hashem was waiting for. Baruch Hashem, after 20 years this woman was finally blessed with a child.
May we all be zoche to demonstrate to Hashem that we are only waiting for His salvation!!!