Based on Beyam Darkecha
When Hashem freed the Jewish people from the brutal Egyptian slavery, and chose us as His nation, His name was revealed before the eyes of the entire world who witnessed and heard about the incredible miracles.
The Arizal writes that it is impossible to reveal the name of Hashem without first undergoing a process similar to the model of pregnancy and birth pains. The Egyptian slavery, as painful as it was, was therefore a prerequisite to their redemption. The challenges that will befall the Jewish people before the final redemption are also known as Chevlei Moshiach, the birth-pains of Moshiach.
The question, of course, is why? Why does redemption need to be preceded by suffering? Is there a way we can ‘opt out,’ and find another way to be redeemed?
The answer is that the essence of geula, redemption, is that it is the time that Hashem will “make His name known.” The only way we can fully experience the absolute Oneness of Hashem in this world, is by first erasing from our minds the notion that the world exists as its own entity. For as long as we are engaged in physicality and temptations that conceal Hashem’s presence, it is simply impossible to simultaneously feel His presence everywhere!
We want to be a vessel to receive Hashem’s light, and to reveal it to the world. But to do that we need to nullify our perception of the physical world as its own entity.
One way to achieve such absolute nullification is through slavery. A slave loses all his sense of self. His connection to physicality, to eating and drinking, to honor and temptations, are all completely subdued and the material world around him loses its significance. Such pain can ‘force’ one not to rely on anyone but Hashem, and the Yidden in Mitzrayim cried out to Hashem. This collective experience thereby led to Hashem’s name becoming ‘known’ in a way that it was not known to the Avos – hence Hashem’s response: “I appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yakov but my name as Hashem I did not make known to them.”
This is not the method we want to use to be redeemed from the exile we are in now! Rather than being forced into ‘nullification,’ we can choose to nullify ourselves. Working on the attribute of bittul, humility and nullification before Hashem, is an alternative pathway out of golus. Hashem knows the level we are on, and just asks that we take a step forward, every person based on their own level and circumstances, to disconnect a bit from physicality – and reveal the G-dliness – around us.
Let us show Hashem that we are not enslaved to the temptations of the world, and that we see Him! We can show Him we aren’t enslaved to food by eating a little bit less than we want to, or even by waiting a few moments when our food is in front of us before taking a bite. We can show Him we see His presence by taking an extra minute to express our gratitude for all that He gave us, by making a brocha with mindful intention. Then Hashem can look down and see that His beloved children ‘get it;’ that even in a world full of physicality and temptation, the Jewish people push themselves to disconnect from it all and connect to something Higher.
Take it To Go
These days of Shovavim are a powerful opportunity to show Hashem that we aren’t enslaved to the physical world. Any little bit that we can demonstrate that the material world does not ‘own us,’ brings tremendous pleasure to Hashem. Let’s choose this self-control as our birth-pains of Moshiach. When we show that we aren’t enslaved to physicality, we are showing our bittul, and that we are ready for the ultimate revelation of Hashem’s light, of “His name being known” to the whole world, with the speedy arrival of Moshiach tzidkeinu, amen.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 21.
