How Pesach Moves Us From Tears of Despair to Cries of Joy

(3) And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, the house of bondage, how the Eternal freed you from it with a mighty hand: no leavened bread shall be eaten. (4) You go free on this day, in the month of Aviv ("Spring").

(29) In the middle of the night the Eternal struck down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on the throne to the first-born of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of the cattle.

(21) Moses then summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, pick out lambs for your families, and slaughter the Passover offering. (22) Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and to the two doorposts. None of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. (23) For when the Eternal goes through to smite the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, and the Eternal will pass over the door and not let the Destroyer enter and smite your home ... (28) And the Israelites went and did so; just as the Eternal had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

(23) A long time after that, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites were groaning under the bondage and cried out; and their cry for help from the bondage rose up to God. (24) God heard their moaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.

(1) מן העבודה, on account of the bondage. They did not cry out to God to save them from their situation; they cried out of sorrow (tza'ar) like one who cries in pain. The Torah informs us that although this cry (though not a direct appeal to God for help), it did rise up to God; and this is why the Torah adds that the reason God responded was מן העבודה, implying the pain of their oppression (was unbearable). And God hear their moaning (verse 24) means the voice of their pain rose up.

(5) I have also (now?) heard the moaning of the Israelites because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. (6) Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am the Eternal. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. (7) And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, the Eternal, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians ...

(7) But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, their spirits crushed by cruel bondage.

(1) וגם אני שמעתי את נאקת בני ישראל, "I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, etc." The word וגם, "and also," refers to something over and beyond the prayers of the Israelites to the attribute of Mercy. In addition to the prayers of the Israelites and God's love for the patriarchs, there was a third consideration which was that due to the cries alone of their oppression God heart the voice of their heartsick pain. This third element is referred to by God in our verse by the words: וגם אני, "also I." God reveals the name of אני as an aspect of the attribute of Mercy. Previously, this name had only appeared in conjunction with the Divine Name. God revealed that there are occasions when people's cries even when not accompanied by voiced prayer reach the attribute of Mercy and evoke a response. This is why the Holy One added אשר מצרים מעבידים אותם, "the manner in which the Egyptians have enslaved them." I refer the reader to my comments on Exodus 2:23 in this respect and "those who are wise will understand."

Even though the time of the redemption had arrived, they were not worthy of being redeemed. However, once they all cried out in unison from the work that they were undergoing, their prayers were accepted… This is to teach you that the prayer of a person is not complete until one cries out from the pain (tzara) and stress (dochak) that are contained within one’s heart. This type of prayer is more accepted and [truly] rises up before the Blessed One ...

(13) But Moses said to the people, “Have no fear! Stand by, and witness the deliverance which the Eternal will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. (14) The Eternal will battle for you; you hold your peace!” (15) Then the Eternal said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.

At that time, Moses was prolonging his prayer. The Holy One said to him: My beloved ones are drowning in the sea and you prolong your prayer to me? Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, but what can I do? God said to him: “Speak to the children of Israel that they go forward. And you, lift up your rod and stretch out your hand” (Exodus 14:15–16).

(1) מה תצעק אלי Why do you cry to Me — there is no mention that he prayed to God concerning this, but this teaches us that Moses stood in prayer. Whereupon the Holy One said to him, “It is no time now to pray at length, when Israel is placed in trouble”.

(2) דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו Tell the Israelites to go forward — There is nothing for them to do but to journey on, for the sea will not stand in their way: their ancestors’ merits and their own, and the faith that they placed in Me so that they left Egypt will suffice to divide the sea for them (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 14:15:1; Shemot Rabbah 21:8).

(1) Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Eternal. They said: I will sing to the Eternal ...

(1) A song of ascents. When the Eternal restores the fortunes of Zion —we see it as in a dream— (2) our mouths shall be filled with laughter, our tongues, with songs of joy. Then shall they say among the nations, “The Eternal has done great things for them!” (3) The Eternal will do great things for us and we shall rejoice. (4) Restore our fortunes, O Eternal, like watercourses in the Negev. (5) They who sow in tears shall reap with songs of joy. (6) Though he goes along weeping, carrying the seed-bag, he shall come back with songs of joy, carrying his sheaves.

Rabbi Elazar says: Since the day the Temple was destroyed the gates of prayer were locked, and prayer is not accepted as it once was... Yet, despite the fact that the gates of prayer were locked with the destruction of the Temple, the gates of tears were not locked, and one who cries before God may rest assured that his prayers will be answered...

Rabbi Elazar says: Since the day the Temple was destroyed the gates of prayer were locked, and prayer is not accepted as it once was, as it is stated in lament of the Temple’s destruction: “Though I plead and call out, He shuts out my prayer” (Lamentations 3:8). Yet, despite the fact that the gates of prayer were locked with the destruction of the Temple, the gates of tears were not locked, and one who cries before God may rest assured that his prayers will be answered, as it is stated: “Hear my prayer, Eternal, and give ear to my pleading, keep not silence at my tears” (Psalms 39:13).

And Rabbi Yitzḥak said: A person’s sentence is torn up on account of four types of actions. These are: Giving charity, crying out in prayer, a change of one’s name, and a change of one’s deeds for the better.

(22) If you do mistreat them, I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me,

In every generation a person is obligated to see oneself personally having gone forth from Egypt, because it is said, "And you shall tell your child on that day, saying: ‘It is because of that which the Eternal did for me when I came forth out of Egypt" (Exodus 13:8). Therefore it is our duty to thank, praise, laud, glorify, raise up, beautify, bless, extol, and adore Him who made all these miracles for our fathers and ourselves; He brought us forth from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to festivity, from darkness to great light, and from servitude to redemption. Let us say before (God), "Hallelujah"!

(5) Those who sow in tears shall reap with songs of joy.