You Will See | Rabbi Haggai Lundin | Beit Midrash

Torah Portion and Tanach
Va'era

קטגוריה משנית

he end of the Torah portion of Exodus resonates deeply: after hundreds of years of enslavement, the people of Israel are so close to the dawn of then redemption – and that is precisely when the darkness appears to take over: Pharaoh increases the slavery, and Moses complains: "why do You mistreat Your people, why did You send me?"; the Lord, for His part, is not moved and answers Moses: "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: with a powerful hand he will expel them from his land".

Resistance to the good intensifies whenever there is a leap forward – be it personal or national. What did you expect? That the defeated forces will not try to rally their remaining strength to fight? We must wait and see the beginning of the next parasha, Parashat Va'era, where the full answer to Moses' concern is given: "God spoke to Moses and He said to him, I am Lord [YHWH, the Tetragrammaton]". The term "God" means that there is a direction ("el") that leads us in the present, but the term "YHWH" means that there is indeed a present; the first letter in this name is a "yud", which indicates the future. From the viewpoint of the media of the present, it seems that the disruptive forces are increasing the bondage and the screams in the media – but those who are connected to the emerging future know that we are in the midst of coming out of Egypt.

The bad will pass.

The good will prevail.

With God's help.

Va'era