Chasidut for Exodus 3:9
וְעַתָּ֕ה הִנֵּ֛ה צַעֲקַ֥ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בָּ֣אָה אֵלָ֑י וְגַם־רָאִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־הַלַּ֔חַץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִצְרַ֖יִם לֹחֲצִ֥ים אֹתָֽם׃
And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto Me; moreover I have seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
Kedushat Levi
Exodus 3,7. Hashem said: “I have surely seen the sorry state of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their outcry on account of their oppressors.”
Exodus 3,9.“and now, here the outcry of the Children of Israel has come to Me;”
It is important for anyone petitioning G’d for help to realize that he must not do so from predominantly egotistical motives, but he must make up his own mind and then convey this to G’d, that the principal reason he is asking for G’d’s help is so that he can become a better servant of the Lord. When he does so, He will be far more likely to find G’d responsive to his needs, or what he thinks are his needs.
G’d therefore had to perform 2 separate acts of loving kindness for His people. First of all, He had to improve their lot drastically on a mundane level, by redeeming them physically. Secondly, he had to treat them as if their appeal to Him had been based on their desire to serve Him better. This is hinted at when in verse 7 G’d is reported as saying: ראה ראיתי את עני עמי, i.e. “I have taken note of the fact that My people wish to be truly My people, something that will entitle them to be called ‘My people’.” Secondly (verse 9), הנה צעקת בני ישראל באה אלי, “the outcry of the Children of Israel has come to me, (arrived at My throne), I am aware that it is their desire to be My people by their wishing to serve Me better.” The verse ends by making the physical suffering endured by the people now appear as a secondary consideration in G’d’s response to them. G’d, so to speak, makes excuses for the people’s low spiritual level as being due to the constant physical pressures they are exposed to in their status as slaves of the lowest human level.
Exodus 3,9.“and now, here the outcry of the Children of Israel has come to Me;”
It is important for anyone petitioning G’d for help to realize that he must not do so from predominantly egotistical motives, but he must make up his own mind and then convey this to G’d, that the principal reason he is asking for G’d’s help is so that he can become a better servant of the Lord. When he does so, He will be far more likely to find G’d responsive to his needs, or what he thinks are his needs.
G’d therefore had to perform 2 separate acts of loving kindness for His people. First of all, He had to improve their lot drastically on a mundane level, by redeeming them physically. Secondly, he had to treat them as if their appeal to Him had been based on their desire to serve Him better. This is hinted at when in verse 7 G’d is reported as saying: ראה ראיתי את עני עמי, i.e. “I have taken note of the fact that My people wish to be truly My people, something that will entitle them to be called ‘My people’.” Secondly (verse 9), הנה צעקת בני ישראל באה אלי, “the outcry of the Children of Israel has come to me, (arrived at My throne), I am aware that it is their desire to be My people by their wishing to serve Me better.” The verse ends by making the physical suffering endured by the people now appear as a secondary consideration in G’d’s response to them. G’d, so to speak, makes excuses for the people’s low spiritual level as being due to the constant physical pressures they are exposed to in their status as slaves of the lowest human level.
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