The Haggadah says, “And we cried out to Hashem…” This is derived from Seifer Shemos:[1]
“The Children of Israel sighed because of the labor and cried out and their moaning rose up to G-d from the labor.”
Approximately 762 years ago, there lived a man who wrote a commentary to the Torah known as Rabbeinu Bachayei. He writes the following:
“Even though the time of the redemption had arrived, they weren’t worthy of being redeemed. However, once they all cried out in unison from the work that they were undergoing, their tefillos were accepted… This is to teach you that the tefillah of a person is only complete when one cries out from the pain and stress that are contained within one’s heart. This type of tefillah is more accepted by Hashem then mere lip service.”
Every morning we say, “He responds to His people at the time they cry out to Him.”
In fact, the Chofeitz Chayim says, “All the many troubles that have fallen upon us, from which we have still not been saved, are because we don’t scream and increase our prayers in response to them. If we had prayed (properly), we would not have returned empty-handed… several times daily he must pour out his requests in solitude, in his house, from the depths of his heart… if each person would contemplate in solitude his own plight... then he would pour out his heart like water to Hashem. Such a prayer would emerge with very deep intent with a broken heart and with great humility. Such a prayer will certainly not go unanswered...!”
For example, the Medrash[2] states:
“When Israel went out of Egypt, they looked back and saw the Egyptians chasing after them… When Israel saw, they were surrounded on all sides – the sea in front of them blocking their path, their enemy chasing after them, and wild animals on both sides in the desert – they lifted their eyes up to their Father in Heaven, and cried out to the Holy One Blessed be He, as it is written: ‘…and Bnei Yisroel cried out to Hashem.’ Why did Hashem do this to them? Because Hashem yearned for their prayers.”
Rav Yitzchak said, “The salvation of Israel depends only on crying... as it is written: ‘...with crying, they will come and with lamentations, I will lead them.’”
The Medrash[3] has the same view as Rav Yitzchak:
“Just like the first redemption from Egypt was caused through crying out to Hashem, so too, our upcoming redemption will happen in the same fashion.”
The Chofeitz Chayim says that one must demand the redemption, just as with the wages of a hired worker. Failure to do so shows that this matter is clearly not that urgent to us!
What was the purpose of our redemption from Egypt and the upcoming one?
The Vilna Gaon says the sanctification of G-d’s Name…
Roy Neuberger states the following:
There is a tendency to believe that the world is going to continue as it has, with enough sense of normalcy to lull one into forgetting that we are in exile and hoping that this state of affairs will continue into the distant future. We need to consult our Torah Sages in order to bring us back to reality.
Around 125 years ago, a man Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler zt”l said the following:[4]
“The destruction of Edom [at the end of our last exile] will only come through the destruction of this world [as we know it]. The Holy One will cause the very foundations of life on earth to collapse. Tranquility will be disrupted, personal lives will be filled with worry, fear and suffering and the entire world will cower in dread of destruction and devastation… Only then will the light of the Messiah be revealed … ‘and the saviors shall go up to Mount Tzion to judge the mountain of Esau…’”
Why do we have chaos in the world? Because we have no Beis HaMikdosh. As the Gemara[5] says, “From the day that the Beis HaMikdosh was destroyed, there has been no day without its curse.”
On a positive note, the Gemara[6] states, “In the month of Nissan, they were redeemed from Egypt. In the month of Nissan, they are destined to be redeemed once more.”
In addition, “The Beis HaMikdash will be rebuilt just before sundown on the fifteen or else on the night of the sixteen.”[7]
“The Children of Israel sighed because of the labor and cried out and their moaning rose up to G-d from the labor.”
Approximately 762 years ago, there lived a man who wrote a commentary to the Torah known as Rabbeinu Bachayei. He writes the following:
“Even though the time of the redemption had arrived, they weren’t worthy of being redeemed. However, once they all cried out in unison from the work that they were undergoing, their tefillos were accepted… This is to teach you that the tefillah of a person is only complete when one cries out from the pain and stress that are contained within one’s heart. This type of tefillah is more accepted by Hashem then mere lip service.”
Every morning we say, “He responds to His people at the time they cry out to Him.”
In fact, the Chofeitz Chayim says, “All the many troubles that have fallen upon us, from which we have still not been saved, are because we don’t scream and increase our prayers in response to them. If we had prayed (properly), we would not have returned empty-handed… several times daily he must pour out his requests in solitude, in his house, from the depths of his heart… if each person would contemplate in solitude his own plight... then he would pour out his heart like water to Hashem. Such a prayer would emerge with very deep intent with a broken heart and with great humility. Such a prayer will certainly not go unanswered...!”
For example, the Medrash[2] states:
“When Israel went out of Egypt, they looked back and saw the Egyptians chasing after them… When Israel saw, they were surrounded on all sides – the sea in front of them blocking their path, their enemy chasing after them, and wild animals on both sides in the desert – they lifted their eyes up to their Father in Heaven, and cried out to the Holy One Blessed be He, as it is written: ‘…and Bnei Yisroel cried out to Hashem.’ Why did Hashem do this to them? Because Hashem yearned for their prayers.”
Rav Yitzchak said, “The salvation of Israel depends only on crying... as it is written: ‘...with crying, they will come and with lamentations, I will lead them.’”
The Medrash[3] has the same view as Rav Yitzchak:
“Just like the first redemption from Egypt was caused through crying out to Hashem, so too, our upcoming redemption will happen in the same fashion.”
The Chofeitz Chayim says that one must demand the redemption, just as with the wages of a hired worker. Failure to do so shows that this matter is clearly not that urgent to us!
What was the purpose of our redemption from Egypt and the upcoming one?
The Vilna Gaon says the sanctification of G-d’s Name…
Roy Neuberger states the following:
There is a tendency to believe that the world is going to continue as it has, with enough sense of normalcy to lull one into forgetting that we are in exile and hoping that this state of affairs will continue into the distant future. We need to consult our Torah Sages in order to bring us back to reality.
Around 125 years ago, a man Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler zt”l said the following:[4]
“The destruction of Edom [at the end of our last exile] will only come through the destruction of this world [as we know it]. The Holy One will cause the very foundations of life on earth to collapse. Tranquility will be disrupted, personal lives will be filled with worry, fear and suffering and the entire world will cower in dread of destruction and devastation… Only then will the light of the Messiah be revealed … ‘and the saviors shall go up to Mount Tzion to judge the mountain of Esau…’”
Why do we have chaos in the world? Because we have no Beis HaMikdosh. As the Gemara[5] says, “From the day that the Beis HaMikdosh was destroyed, there has been no day without its curse.”
On a positive note, the Gemara[6] states, “In the month of Nissan, they were redeemed from Egypt. In the month of Nissan, they are destined to be redeemed once more.”
In addition, “The Beis HaMikdash will be rebuilt just before sundown on the fifteen or else on the night of the sixteen.”[7]