Precisely Because We’re Vulnerable
We have learned the words of the Maharal (Havineini, Parashas Matos-Masei), who gives two reasons to explain why Hashem is with Klal Yisrael in galus even more so than in times of geulah. These incredible words from the Maharal—aside from giving us tremendous chizuk in the bitter galus—lend so much insight into the sugya of Hashem’s Presence residing with those who need it most. And the truth is that there are many more sources for this.
In Parashas Vayeishev we learn in the pasuk “Hashem was with Yosef when he was in the home of his master.”
The Medrash asks, was Hashem only with Yosef, not with his brothers?!
And the Medrash answers with a mashal: There was a man who was transporting wine on the backs of twelve animals when one of them wandered off into the store of a gentile. He immediately ran after this animal to retrieve him and bring him back to the group. He was asked: “Why would you abandon eleven בהמות in favor of one?” And he explained, “This one is in the store of a gentile, who could deem the wine נסך יין in one instant, while the others are in the public domain, and I am not as concerned about them.”
Similarly, Yosef, in the home of Potifar, needed Hashem to be with him far more than did his brothers, who were in the home of their father Yaakov.
The Measure of Our Preciousness
From all of these holy words of the tzaddikim, we see the accuracy of the words of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai were mentioned above: “Come and see how precious and beloved Klal Yisrael are before HaKadosh Baruch Hu, for everywhere where they were exiled, the Shechinah remained with them.” This is the sign of our preciousness; the fact that when we are in a low state, HaKadosh Baruch Hu is right there with us! If you want to see how precious the Jewish People really are, look at how devoted Hashem is to them in their galus—even more so than when they had the Beis HaMikdash.
See How Beloved You Are
Among the ten miracles that took place constantly in the Beis HaMikdash is the fact that—one week after their placement on the Shulchan— the הפנים לחםwas as warm and fresh as on the day it was baked, and the Kohanim would hold up the bread and show it to Klal Yisrael, saying, המקום לפני חיבתכם ראו, See how beloved you are before Hashem. But the Maharal tells us that Hashem being with us in galus is a greater illustration of His love for us than anything that took place in the Beis HaMikdash!
Even Though He Looks the Way He Does
We can see this very clearly in the above-mentioned mashal of the father who has a number of children, and one of them struggles with his Yiddishkeit. When this father will dance with one of his successful children at his wedding, it’s a true joy. He developed into a true talmid chacham and yerei Shamayim! An eidel and ehrliche boy! What a nachas! We can truly see the love from a father to his son.
But how about when he sits with his struggling son? His hair is overgrown... you didn’t even know that this is his son... now you know... and you see him conversing with his son with a broad smile, giving him respect and love.... In this situation, the love and care are far more evident. If a father can—amid all his suffering and disappointment—call his son and ask him where he will be for Shabbos, and the son says, “I will be in the big city with my friends....” And the father says, “I hope you will enjoy,” and he wishes him a good Shabbos... Is there any love more evident than this?
And the holy חיים מים באר—who had this indescribable nisayon of a wayward child—indeed expressed this very sentiment as he would cry out during חצות תיקון, “Ribbono shel Olam! Look at how much love and devotion I continue to give my child even though he looks the way he does; You, too, continue to show us Your love although we’re in galus and we look the way we do.” And indeed, Hashem’s kindness and love to us in galus is greater than what any father can give to his child.
The Pain Is Great
Let us return to the contrast between the Beis HaMikdash and the galus. In the Beis HaMikdash, there were such incredible madreigos. There was kapparas avonos. The Torah of הגזית לשכת, where the Sanhedrin sat—Torah that we can’t even begin to comprehend. We “saw and we were seen.” It is clear that a thousand worlds separate these two realities of galus and geulah.
And when HaKadosh Baruch Hu poured out His wrath on wood and stone, He said to us, “It is over. The exalted state of ‘Beis HaMikdash’ is no more.” You walk into the makom haMikdash and you see nothing of the holiness that once was...everything is empty and barren... how chilling.
Many parents who sadly lost a child, R”l, are unable to be home for Shabbos—that’s how sad and searing the pain is to see that empty place at the table.... In the Beis HaMikdash, we encountered the holy Shechinah... and now we come to the Beis HaMikdash and we see nothing. “Foxes walk there.” The pain is terrible, and it hurts to confront it. And so, what is a person to do? We can’t escape the reality.
I Remain in the World Just as Before
Says HaKadosh Baruch Hu: “I remain in the world just as before; it is only that previously the Shechinah was concentrated in one place, and now My Shechinah can be found in many places. Until now, it was בתוכם ושכנתי, I will rest among you, in one sense. But since Klal Yisrael didn’t properly appreciate the depth of My love for them—because they became so accustomed to the incredible miracles and revelations that took place in the Beis HaMikdash on a regular basis—now I will fulfill the בתוכם ושכנתי in another way. From now on there will be pain and suffering, there will be trials and tribulations, with children, with health, and so forth, and then, when a person will properly ponder and meditate, he will find an even deeper understanding of My love for My children.”
Galus: Choosing Between Darkness and Light
This understanding and appreciation will rectify the lack of appreciation of Hashem’s Presence in the Beis HaMikdash—and it is this understanding that will ultimately bring about the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash. For there is nothing that can bring a person to recognize and appreciate the “Avinu Malkeinu” than being in a situation where knows that he has no one to rely upon but his Father in Heaven.
When a Yid is in galus, he is forced to choose between such incredible darkness and such incredible light. If he will be “outside the beis medrash,” the darkness will be unbearable. And if he will be inside the beis medrash, he will merit such great light—which will bring him to the recognition and the feeling of the great love that Hashem has for His children, and this השגה will be greater in a certain sense than that which was attained in the Beis HaMikdash.
This is not to say that it is truly on a higher level than the revelations of the Beis HaMikdash, but in the times of the Beis HaMikdash, there were still people who didn’t “get it.” That is, there are greater ways to illustrate Hashem’s love to us than the Menorah and seeing in the warm הפנים לחם. Proof of this is that there are people who saw all these great revelations and yet remained mired in sinas chinam and other aveiros. But when you encounter a “galus Yid, a humble Yid, a suffering Yid who is with the Ribbono shel Olam—his השגה in the love of HaKadosh Baruch Hu transforms him to become a Beis HaMikdash Yid!
It Is Good for a Tzaddik
This is, in essence, the answer to the age-old question of לו ורע צדיק, when bad things befall a tzaddik. The Chovos HaLevavos addresses the question in many ways... whether because according to his lofty level, the tzaddik is held responsible, or because of other Heavenly calculations. However, according to what we’re learning, we can understand this in another way. What seems to a person to be bad is a misconception—a result of being “outside” the beis medrash. “Inside” the beis medrash, a place of connection to Hashem, things appear very differently. For someone standing on the outside, these things seem like yissurim—thus, it seems to him that the tzaddik is in terrible pain. Says HaKadosh Baruch Hu, “Come inside, and you will see that we aren’t talking about bad things, but rather this is a process of revealing to a person the love of Hashem that elevates him above any perceived pain.
