MOSHE’S PROTEST: WHY DO YOU MISTREAT YOUR PEOPLE ?!
Moshe said to Hashem: Why do You mistreat Your people? (Shemos 5:22)
This is what Moshe said before Hashem: I took the book of Bereishis and studied it; I saw the deeds of the generation of the Flood and how You judged them. . . I saw the deeds of the generation of "Haflagah" [the Tower of Babel] and how You judged them. What has the Jewish nation done that they were enslaved?! (Midrash Rabbah, Shemos 5:22)
Due to the difficulty and length of this present golus – incomparable to any previous golus – the Jewish people need strong encouragement and moral support.
This encouragement comes in the form of emphasizing the true qualities of every Jew and underlining the positive aspects in him. Notwithstanding how he is conducting himself presently, it is necessary to reveal his real qualities (by encouraging him to do teshuvah and the actual performance of Torah and mitzvos), because emphasizing one’s qualities encourages him and brings him to a life of truth in actuality.
Threatening with punishment and scare- tactics, and accentuating one’s faults and iniquities is not the way to influence anyone in the ways of Yiddishkeit. On the contrary, this serves to further alienate a person from teshuvah, Torah and mitzvos and weakens one’s resolve, as is obvious (especially in our generation) that the only way to bring Jews closer to Yiddishkeit is with pleasant and peaceful ways, with Ahavas Yisroel.
In all the generations throughout Jewish history, gedolei Yisroel made every effort to be melamed zechus on the Jewish people (i.e. extol their merits) – even when they were not on the highest level.
The most important limud zechus of the Jewish people is to hasten the Geulah. Our Sages state (Sanhedrin 97b) that “all the predetermined times (for Moshiach’s coming) have already passed”; This was the case back in the times of the Talmud; how much more so after the long and difficult golus . . . for more than 1900 years . . . and Moshiach has not come yet!
Indeed the Gemara states there that “it depends on teshuvah” – but that condition has been met: teshuvah has already been done. There is no Jew who hasn’t entertained a thought of teshuvah (and not only once, but) many times in his lifetime; and through a thought of teshuvah one is transformed from the status of a rasha (wicked person) to the status of a tzaddik (righteous person), as the psak din (legal ruling) in the Gemara (Kiddushin 49b) and Rambam (Hil. Ishus 8:5) state that when one betroths a woman stipulating that he is a perfect tzaddik – even if he was completely wicked, she is betrothed. The reason is that perhaps he had a thought of teshuvah.
So it is certain that Moshiach has to come immediately, and this limud zechus is sufficient to redeem the Jewish people, especially when there is a psak din from many Rabbonim, authorities in Halachah, and being that “Torah is not in heaven” (Bava Metzia 59b) this psak din of the earthly Beis Din obligates (as it were) and also brings merit to the heavenly court, and on this case the case is closed!
The prerequisite of teshuvah has already been met, and Moshiach must come immediately!
(Sefer HaSichos 5751 p. 228)
