Avraham was Hashem’s beloved. According to Chassidus, a Bris is a sign of love between the two parties. Yet at the time that Hashem made the Bris Bein Habesorim with Avraham, Hashem tells him “You shall surely know that Your descendants will be strangers in a Land that is not their own”. How is it that the Bris Bein Habesorim, Hashem tells Avraham a seemingly bad thing?
Furthermore, isn’t it obvious that if they will be strangers, then they will be in a “land that is not their own”. Why does Hashem add the words בארץ לא להם, “in a land that is not their own”?
A third question. The Midrash says that Avraham chose for his descendants to be in Golus, which seemingly isn’t a good thing? Avraham should have asked for only good for his descendants, especially as there was no sin that made them deserve exile?
When Hashem adds the words “that is not theirs”, he is not referring to the land of their exile, but rather telling Avraham that their exile “is not theirs”, meaning that it is not because of any sin, that the exile was not their fault, which would mean that it is something negative.
Rather the exile is for a good reason, to refine and take out the sparks of holiness that were trapped in Egypt. This is what it means “they will enslave and afflict them”, which could also mean that Bnei Yisroel would be “working on” the Egyptians and afflicting them to refine and bring out the sparks inside of them.
These sparks are the great wealth that they would eventually leave with. The 400 years that they would be strangers for correspond to the 400 Shekels that Avraham gave to Efron to purchase Maaras Hamachpelah, which represent the trapped sparks.
~ First night Seder 5697
