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Vaeira - Building the Redemption

 

Three times every weekday, we recite in the Amidah prayer the berachah of ראה נא בענינו.  We begin by asking Hashem to "see our torment," and to "wage our battles" (וריבה ריבנו).  We then conclude, מהר לגאלנו גאולה שלמה – to quickly bring us our final redemption.

 

At first glance, it seems that this berachah is a prayer for our final redemption.  This is also the implication of the Gemara (Megilah 17b), which explains that this is the seventh berachah of the Amidah prayer because the redemption will arrive with the onset of the seventh millennium after creation. 

 

Interestingly, however, Rashi understood this berachah differently.  Commenting to this Gemara, Rashi writes that this berachah is actually a prayer to Hashem to "redeem" us from our day-to-day problems, from the hardships and challenges that we face in our lives.  Rashi proves this approach by noting that there are other blessings in the Amidah in which we pray for the final redemption, and so this berachah cannot be a prayer for the final redemption. 

 

The question becomes how to reconcile Rashi's comments with the simple reading of the Gemara, which indicates that this berachah prays for the final redemption.  And, the text of this berachah states explicitly מהר לגאלנו גאולה שלמה – praying for the ultimate redemption, and not just for the resolution of our day-to-day problems.

 

To answer this question, let's go back to a well-known piece of trivia about New York City. 

 

The island of Manhattan, as we were all taught, was purchased from the Indians in 1626 for $24.  Today, Manhattan is worth countless trillions of dollars. 

How did that happen?  How did this land go in 400 years from being worth $24 to being worth many trillions?

 

The answer is, very simply, one brick at a time.  One piece of pavement at a time.  One sidewalk at a time.  One window at a time.  One subway car at a time. 

 

Every small act of construction contributed to the city's growth.  Day by day, hour by hour, one little bit of effort after another – this is how a $24 piece of land becomes worth trillions upon trillions of dollars.

 

The same is true of redemption.  We pray and yearn for the final redemption, but each small "redemption" that we experience brings us closer to that day.  There is no contradiction at all between the Gemara's indication that ראה נא בענינו speaks of our final redemption, and Rashi's understanding that it refers to the solving of our everyday problems.  These are one and the same.  Redemption happens on a small scale every single day, with every problem we solve, every obstacle we overcome, every bit of success we achieve.  Eventually, all these will combine to form the ultimate redemption for which we pray and yearn.

 

Which brings us to our parashah, which tells about the unfolding of Yetziat Mitzrayim, the Exodus from Egypt.

 

The Zohar teaches that the redemption from Egypt was not a one-time event.  It was the beginning of a process of redemption – a process that is still continuing, even today.  The process will be completed only at the time of our final redemption.  We might say that Yetziat Mitzrayim was the $24 purchase, and ever since then, we've been building, one "brick" at a time, working towards our final redemption, when the world will reach its state of perfection.

 

This is a very empowering message.  It reminds us that every small accomplishment is significant, and contributes toward the world's ultimate redemption.  We can either sit around and complain about all the problems in the world, or we can go ahead and make things better.  And the way we make things better is by doing good things – one act at a time.  Every tefillah.  Every mitzvah.  Every kind word.  Every compliment and word of encouragement.  Every favor we do for someone.  Everything we do for one of our children or grandchildren.  Everyone we positively influence is some way.

 

A guy who laid a few bricks for a building in Manhattan 200 years ago might not have realized he was doing something significant – but he was part of the process of transforming a $24 piece of land into a multi-trillion-dollar piece of land.  This is how we need to look at our mitzvot.  Every small act is vitally important and extremely valuable. 

 

Let's stay focused and stay determined to use our time and our capabilities to build our redemption – one good deed at a time. - Joey Haber

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https://itorah.com/weekly-inspire/building-the-redemption/15/30842