The famous declaration of the Shema is brought in our parsha, and interestingly, the midrash (Devarim Rabbah, 2:31) relates that Bnei Yisrael merited to recite the Shema because of what occurred at the giving of the Torah. What occurred there was that when Hashem began His discourse at Har Sinai, He began by saying to Bnei Yisrael, “Shema Yisrael, I am Hashem, your God,” [Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery], and Bnei Yisrael responded and said, “Hashem is our God, Hashem is One.”
What was the exchange between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael?
Rav Mordechai Druk explains by prefacing that while according to our perception, our difficulties might look bad, in truth, all our afflictions, all the bad, are complete goodness. For, “whatever the Merciful One (Hashem) does, He does for the best.” Bnei Yisrael in Egypt came to this recognition. When Moshe went to Pharaoh to let Bnei Yisrael leave Egypt, Pharoah only intensified their labor. Indeed, externally their situation looked very unfortunate. Yet, because of the increase of strenuous labor, Bnei Yisrael merited to leave Egypt much earlier than they were destined to. Indeed, Bnei Yisrael were only in Egypt for 210 years, and they left 190 years earlier than they were supposed to. Chazal teach us that the reason is because the harshness of the servitude “completed” the destined 400 years. Bnei Yisrael thus came to the realization that those intense afflictions were actually a source of goodness.They realized that everything Hashem does is for the best.
Based on this, Rav Druk explains the exchange: Hashem said to Bnei Yisrael, “Shema Yisrael, I am Hashem (spelled with the name used when Hashem manifests Himself through the attribute of mercy), your God (spelled with the name used when Hashem manifests Himself through the attribute of strict justice), Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery,” i.e., In Egypt you saw that the harshness, the apparent “strict justice,” actually stems from goodness, from My attribute of mercy. Bnei Yisrael hence responded that indeed, “Hashem (spelled using the name of mercy) is our God (spelled using the name of justice), Hashem (spelled using the name of mercy) is One,” i.e., we came to the realization that the attribute of mercy and the attribute of justice is all [inherently] one. For all the difficulties truly stem from mercy.
In the time to come, the whole picture will be revealed; it will be shown how the afflictions endured in this exile were actually a source of goodness. The Haftarah of our parsha begins by stating, “Comfort, oh Comfort my people—says Your God.” Why is the word “comfort” repeated?
Rav Druk seems to explain as follows: One who has experienced difficulties, even after Hashem has helped him and brought him out of those difficult conditions, will still not wish to remember those times, and if he does recall them, it may leave him with a bitter taste in his mouth, so-to-speak. However, in the future, when Bnei Yisrael will be redeemed and comforted, their comfort will not just consist of the ceasing of the [difficult] exile, it will also consist of being shown how all the distress stemmed from Hashem’s mercy; the great goodness that was hidden in every tribulation and affliction will be revealed. This can explain the double expression of “Comfort, oh comfort”—one comfort is for the removal of the bad, and the other comfort is for being shown that all the bad was essentially a hidden form of love expressed by Hashem, and thus, goodness.
Regarding the future to come, Hashem said (Yirmiyahu 31:12), “I will transform their mourning into joy, and I shall comfort them and gladden them from their grief.” Furthermore, it states (Zechariah 8:19), “The fast of the fourth [month], the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the 10th will be to the House of Yehuda for joy and for gladness and for happy festivals.” Says Rav Druk, not only will all the distress, difficulties and mourning cease in the future to come, but also, those days themselves will become days of joy and gladness. Then we will recognize the tremendous goodness and the hidden love of Hashem that was manifested in those days.
Binyamin is a graduate of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, and Wurzweiler School of Social Work.
