Today we will share a bitachon- related thought on this week’s Parasha, Parashat Shemot from Rav Shmuel Berenbaum.
When Moshe Rabbenu asks Hashem, which name of Hashem he should use to appear to the Jewish people, Hashem tells him to use the name of, אהיה Eheyeh /I will be. What does that mean? Hashem says, אהיה אשר אניה Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh which means, ‘I will be with them in this problem,’ says Rashi, ‘and I'll be with them in future problems as well.’ Moshe Rabbenu answered, “What are you talking about future problems for?” And Hashem says, “You're right. Just tell them I will be with them.”
What exactly is this back and forth about, between Moshe Rabbenu and Hashem.
Rav Berenbaum explains that the Jewish people were on lowest level, and they did not believe that Hashem would save them. So Hashem said, “Do you know what My love for you is? I'm with you now, and I'm already worried about all your future problems…whatever situation you're in until the end of time.”
He gives a mashal of a child born in the days of genetic testing. The doctor tells the parents, “Everything is fine, the baby is healthy, but based on an analysis, when he's 80 years old, he's going to have a problem walking.”
The parents aren’t going to lose sleep over that. And if the doctor says, “When his grandchildren are 80 years old, they're going to have problems walking,” that doesn't even register. But Hashem says to Moshe, “Tell the Jewish people how much I love them. I'm not only thinking about them now, I'm thinking about all the things that are going to happen to them in the future. My love for them is so great, there is no way I'm going to forget about them, and there's no way I'm going to let them get lost.”
That is the way to give them Hizuk and Emunah. By realizing how far Hashem's care for us goes; how much He looks into the future. And still, Moshe says, “But why mention a future problem? They're not going to fathom what we're trying to explain.”
So Hashem says, “Okay, you know what? Tell them that I'm with them now, and I'm in Galut as well.
When they're in Galut, I'm in Galut.” As the pasuk in Netzavim says, “ And He will come out.” It doesn’t say ‘He will take you out.’ Hashem is with us in Galut.
Therefore, when Hashem talks about the Geula, He also is being redeemed. And on this, Rav Shmuel Berenbaum gives another beautiful mashal. Imagine two great friends who do a lot of things together. One of them gets into trouble and there is a court case against him. In the end, he's given a prison sentence.
The good friend, whom we’ll call him Avraham, is accompanying ‘Yitzhak’ the whole way. When they get to the jail cell, the guards say, “That’s it. Say goodbye now.” Avraham says, “I'd like to visit him from time to time.” But the guard says, “Sorry, Go home. You can't come in and come out of this place. There’s only one thing we can do. If you want, go into the jail cell with him, but that's it. You're not coming out until your friend gets out.”
And that's what Hashem did. He said, “I am with them now. Let them know.” In the words of Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, “Hashem is constantly here. He is not coming here as a visitor who goes in and out. He is with us in the problem- the Shechina is in Galut. God, so to say, is being held hostage.
That's how we're supposed to look at it when there's a terrible suffering- Hashem is in pain.
And that's the biggest comfort- to know how involved and how concerned Hashem is with our problems. He's with us. He cares for us now, He cares for us in the future, and there's no way that He’s forgetting about us.
Have a wonderful day and a Shabbat Shalom.