It states (2:12) וָכֹה כֹּה וַיִּפֶן, that Moshe looked to both sides to make sure that no one was watching. Yosher Divrei Emes (התורה על) writes that כה means השמים מן כה, it is this way, because this was decreed from Heaven. He explains that every person should implement כה, into their lives as follows: If something good happens to him, he should say, מן כה השמים, this is from heaven. And if it is chas v'shalom not good, he should also say מן כה השמים, it is this way from Heaven.
The החכמה אור quotes this lesson and adds from his mechutan, Reb Mordechai, that this is alluded to in the pasuk (Tehillim 144:15) אַשְׁרֵי לּוֹ שׁ ֶכָּכָה הָעָם, fortunate is the nation who says כה. They know that whatever occurs to them is bashert.
The Mitzrim hated the Jewish nation vehemently, as it states (1:12) יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּנֵי מִפ ְּנֵי וַיָּק ֻצוּ, "They were disgusted from Bnei Yisrael" (as Rashi explains). After they suffered the ten makos from Bnei Yisrael, we would assume that their hatred increased. However, it states (3:21-22) כִּי וְה ָיָה מ ִצְר ָיִם בְּע ֵינֵי ה ַזֶּה הָעָם חֵן אֶת וְנָתַתִּי ... וְנִצַּלְתֶּם מ ִצְר ָיִם אֶת, "I will put this people's favor in the eyes of the Mitzrim, and it will come to pass that when you go, you will not go empty handed... and you shall empty out Mitzrayim."
The meforshim (see also Or Yechezkel vol.3) ask why they would want to lend things to Bnei Yisrael? How did it occur that הָעָם חֵן אֶת וְנָתַתִּי מ ִצְר ָיִם בְּע ֵינֵי ה ַזֶּה, that the Mitzrim found chen in Bnei Yisrael and wanted to help them? What happened to their years-long hatred?
Also, Hashem could have told Bnei Yisrael to take these items from the Mitzrim against their will! Why did it have to occur in a manner that they found favor in the Mitzrim's eyes?
The answer is that Hashem wanted to teach the Jewish nation a lesson in emunah. Hashem showed the nation that hatred is from Hashem's decree, and He can take away the hatred in a moment.
A proof to this lesson is in Tehillim (105:25) עַמּוֹ לִשׂ ְנֹא לִבָּם הָפַ ךְ, "He turned their hearts to hate His people..." The long-time hatred in Mitzraim came from Hashem's decree. Therefore, Hashem can turn it around and מ ִצְר ָיִם בְּע ֵינֵי ה ַזֶּה הָעָם חֵן אֶת וְנָתַתִּי, Hashem can place into the hearts of the Mitzrim to love Bnei Yisrael.
When a person knows that everything is from Hashem, he lives a tranquil life. If someone harms him, he isn't angry at the person because he knows that (Shmuel 2, 16:10) קלל אמר 'ה, that it was from Hashem. Even when a person harms himself because of an unwise decision, he won't eat up his heart with feelings of guilt because he knows that his choices are also destined and planned from heaven.
As it states in this week's parashah (4:11) ׁחֵרֵש אוֹ א ִלֵּם יָשׂוּם מִי אוֹ לָאָדָם פ ֶּה שָׂם מִי 'ה א ָנֹכִי ה ֲלֹא ע ִוֵּר אוֹ ַפִקֵּח אוֹ, "Who gave man a mouth, or who makes one dumb (mute) or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Hashem?" One translation of ַפִקֵּח (seeing) is wise, which is what Hashem told Moshe is from Him. One isn't clever on his own. His intelligence is from Hashem. Therefore, when he makes a clever financial investment, for example, he shouldn't feel proud of himself. He should praise Hashem for giving him the wisdom to make this choice.
Also, if one should have spoken up, but he kept quiet, and due to his silence, he suffered a loss (spiritual or financial), let him remember that 'ה א ָנֹכִי ה ֲלֹא ...א ִלֵּם יָשׂוּם מִי, "Who gave dumb (mute)... it is I, Hashem." It was destined from Hashem that it be this way, that he be silent at this time. With such thoughts in mind, he will always be happy with his life, never angry with himself or with others, never worried about the future or the past. He knows that everything is exactly as Hashem wants it to be.
It states (1:8) ידע לא אשר מצרים על חדש מלך ויקם יוסף את, "A new king arose over Mitzrayim who did not know of Yosef." The Kli Yakar explains that if he had known Yosef and his history, he would have known that it is impossible to go against Hashem's will, and he wouldn't have tried to harm the Jewish people. Yosef dreamt that he would be the king over his brothers, and that they would bow down to him, and his brothers did whatever they could to prevent Yosef's dreams from materializing. This is the reason they chose to sell Yosef as a slave to Mitzrayim. They thought that this would certainly disable the message of the dreams from happening. But all their attempts didn't help. On the contrary, because Yosef was in Mitzrayim, this resulted in them bowing to him. Pharaoh didn't know this story. Had he known about it, he wouldn't have tried to override Hashem's plan and hashgachah pratis. Pharaoh decreed (1:10) ירבה פן. His goal and his ambition were to prevent the Jewish nation from growing and from increasing in number. He didn't know that it is impossible to go against Hashem's plan. Hashem said (1:12) ירבה כן, that they will increase. In fact, the more Pharaoh tried to lessen them, the more they increased in number. As it states (1:12) יִפ ְרֹץ וְכֵן יִרְבֶּה כֵּן אֹתוֹ יְע ַנּוּ ֶׁרוְכַאֲש. The Kli Yakar writes, "Whatever Pharaoh did to go against Bnei Yisrael, that reversed itself to be negative for the Mitzrim." Rashi writes that six children were born at each birth. And this is because it is impossible to go against Hashem's plan.
Pharaoh decreed that all newborn male children should be cast into the Nile. He made this decree to kill the savior of Bnei Yisrael. But this decree resulted in Pharaoh saving the savior of Bnei Yisrael. As the Torah tells us, Pharaoh's daughter Basyah found Moshe's teivah in the Nile, she saved him, and Moshe was raised in Pharaoh's own home! The Steipler Gaon zt'l (Birkas Peretz) gives this as an example to show that it is impossible to go against Hashem's plan. The more you try to go against it, Hashem will take what you did to enable His will to occur.
Hashem tells Moshe to throw his staff to the ground (see beginning of perek 4). Moshe did so, and it became a snake. The משה באר of Ozerov zt'l explains that a staff represents one's support, the matters that one relies on. Sometimes the matters one relies on can turn around and become like a snake. The people he trusts to help him might turn around and become his enemies. The staff turning into a snake reminds us that trusting in others is weak, and how important it is to rely on Hashem.
After this, Hashem told Moshe to grab onto the snake, and it became a staff. This taught Moshe, and all of Bnei Yisrael, that even what we think is against us, these matters can turn around and become our staff, our support. Everything is in Hashem's hands, and He can turn our enemies and opposition around to become our support.
