Thank you Rabbi Ebstein for sharing the following beautiful thoughts:
This week's Parasha, Parashat Vaera, talks about the ten plagues. The question is, why did Hashem need to take us out with ten plagues? Why couldn't we just leave? Furthermore, each plague had to be announced in advance, and Moshe Rabbenu had to go to the Jewish people to see if they would believe in him; he had to tell them they would get out…..etc.
Why did we need all of these announcements and preparations if Hashem could have just let them out?
The Gaon of Vilna says that in order for them to get out of Mitzrayim, they needed the merit of Emuna. As the Yalkut Shemoni says in Parashat Beshalach, "Our forefathers were only redeemed in the merit of their Emuna."
Furthermore, it says that in the future, "We will come out of exile in the merit of our Emunah."
So there was a need for the promise that we would get out, and a need for the promise of the plagues. We needed to have Emuna in those things, in order to get out.
The Gaon of Vilna continues:
In our Amida, we say, Mishan UMivtach Hasadikim- God is a support and a reliance for Sadikim. What does it mean that God is a support? He says that before we get what we are relying on, Hashem supports us so that we should not lose our Bitachon.
Initially, we weren't yet worthy of getting out, so Hashem started the plagues off in order to strengthen our Bitachon, to get us where we needed to go, and ultimately to receive the Torah with its full glory. He says that we find a similar concept with Ahashverosh.
Before Haman was hung, God showed us Mordechai being paraded through the streets.
We had not yet merited the full redemption, so God supported our Bitachon (before we were there ourselves), in order that we would merit to reaccept the Torah with Bitachon Gadol/ Great reliance and Lev Sameach/ a happy heart at the time of Mordechai and Esther.
He says that the same will be true in the future, "Like in the days when you got out of Egypt, In the future, God will show us wonders and give us support, by performing mini miracles for us, in order to help us merit the full Geula."
Then, when Mashiach comes, we will receive a higher level of Torah, with Bitachon Gadol and Lev Sameach.
This is an important fundamental, and, as we have said before, it doesn't only apply to the general redemption, but also to an individual's redemption. As we say every single day, Mishan U'Mivtach L'Sadikim/ God is a support and a reliance for Sadikim.
- it's for all righteous people.
Before they get the full redemption, they see little indicators, like little signs on the road. God makes little miracles that show the person that Hashem is with them, and that gives them hizuk.
Another Bitachon lesson from Yetziat Mitzrayim stems from what Moshe Rabbenu told Paroah and the Jewish people:
Beni, Bechori Yisrael/
The Jewish people are my first born son, my bechor.
Why is that important?
In the future, we will say to Hashem, "Atah Hashem Avinu/You, God, are our Father.
This was something that was at Yitzat Mitzrayim, and it will be there in the future. Rabbi Ebstein quotes the Zohar that says ( vol 1, of 295b)
God is called our Father because God is always watching over us, to bless us and supervise us, like a father takes care of his children and everything that they need. This is a necessary component- in order for the Jewish people to have the Bitachon that they needed to get out of Mitzrayim, they had to learn the important lesson that God is a Father. The Hebrew word for father, Av, comes from the word Ahava/love.
God loves the Jewish people like a father loves his children. And as we say every single day, "God loves the Jewish people." That is a fundamental.
If God loves us, and He is all powerful (as we saw with the ten plagues), and He cares for us, then it follows that we have to rely on Him.
These were all lessons of Yetziat Mitzrayim, which we need forever.
Every day, when we start our Amida, it starts off with Ga'al Yisrael - We need to constantly review the lessons of Yetziat Mitzrayim, in order to strengthen our Emuna, which will eventually bring us to the full Geula Shelemah
Amen!
Have a Shabbat Shalom.