BS’D
In our day tefillah gives voice to our inner desire, although sometimes hidden, for galut to end and for us to be uplifted to our natural state of geulah. We accept the decree that we must currently remain in exile and although extremely painful we subjugate our will to Hashem’s will that this is where we need to be. Yet with that, we may still contest His will and pursue every path possible to connect to Him through exile. Galut is intended to ‘squeeze’ out of the Jewish people something that would be unattainable by any other means; consciousness of the Jewish soul.
We are meant to feel alienated and yearn to return to our ‘natural’ state of Oneness with Hashem. These coming weeks we will exert great effort to gain a sense of freedom from this current state of exile and strive to personally experience redemption from Egypt. Thus it is essential that we delve into the meaning of where we are coming from and where we are heading!
In exile the Jewish people are denoted as ‘temporary wanderers’ not as dwellers as the children of Esav are referred to. We are defined as living a life deprived of its pride. We are a nation among 70 mighty nations.
The galut affects every Jewish soul and diminishes Hashem’s Oneness as it is taught by Rabbi Akiva ztk’l, ‘in every place where Israel was exiled the Shechinah was exiled with them.’ So what positive benefit is attained when Ahm Yisrael is in exile? Chazal teach that it is precisely while in exile we are given an opportunity to proclaim our Emuna, our loyalty and faithfulness to Hashem, by continuing to adhere to the holy Torah in spite of being persecuted.
