Hashem told Moshe to tell the nation (3:16) פקד פקדתי אתכם, "I have surely remembered you..." Rashi (3:18) writes, "As soon as you say this phrase [פקד פקדתי] to them, they will hearken to your voice, for this code was transmitted to them from Yaakov and Yosef, that with this phrase they will be redeemed..."
The Shlah teaches that פקד are the letters before צרה, to show that "Hakadosh Baruch Hu prepares the refuah before the makah. The cure is ready and in place even before the trouble arrives."
A Story from Reb Shlomo Kluger
The following story happened in the days of Reb Shlomo Kluger zt'l:
A city governor held a meeting with the heads of the Jewish community. He explained to them that an army unit was planning to be in their city for some days, and every homeowner must take in two soldiers, feed them, and give them a place to sleep.
This news was taken to be a great tragedy for the Jewish community. Firstly, there were many poor people in the city. They could hardly support themselves. How could they support two soldiers? Furthermore, the bigger problem was a spiritual one. The soldiers were lowly goyim. It was viewed as a spiritual danger for the young Jewish children to have the soldiers around the home.
Some of the people of this city were chasidim of a certain tzaddik. They sent a delegation to this tzaddik to ask him to daven for them to be spared from this new decree.
The messengers stood before the tzaddik, and amidst tears, they expressed their great tzaar and worry.
The Rebbe replied that he needed a large sum of money for pidyon shvuyim (to save someone from jail). The Rambam (Matanos Aniyim 8:10) writes, אין מצוה כפדיון שבויים, that saving someone from jail is of the greatest mitzvos. If the people of the city raise the money for this mitzvah, the tzaddik said, in this merit, they will have a salvation.
The messengers returned to their city and began knocking on people's doors, asking them for money for pidyon shvuyim. They told the people of the town that the tzaddik said that this mitzvah will save them from the decree of the soldiers.
The chasidim who lived in this city believed in the greatness of this tzaddik and they donated generously. Those who weren't chasidim, however, were skeptical. They weren't convinced that this donation would bring them their salvation.
The people collecting the money told them, "If soldiers come to your home, it will anyway cost you a lot of money because you will have to feed them. Isn't it better to give the money for a mitzvah of pidyon shvuyim rather than to give money to the soldiers? And this that you are worried that the salvation won't occur even after you perform this mitzvah, we promise you that if the tzaddik's salvation doesn't occur, chalilah, we will return the money that you donated."
This convinced them, and they donated generously towards the cause.
When the sum was raised, the messengers went to the tzaddik and gave him the money. The tzaddik redeemed the person from jail, and he blessed the messengers and the people of the city that in the merit of this mitzvah, they should be saved from all their enemies.
The salvation came. A few days later, the governor of the city received a letter from the king's palace stating that the heads of the army changed their plan. The soldiers won't be passing through their city. The governor immediately relayed the news to the Jewish heads of the city. "You won't be bothered by the soldiers. They won't be passing through our city." Everyone in the city rejoiced.
The chasidim were discussing the great miracle their Rebbe performed. But the non-chasidim said, "We studied the letter well. The letter was written before the tzaddik received the money for pidyon shvuyim! The army changed their mind before the Rebbe gave his brachah!" They said that the chasidim must return the money to them. They only gave the money if the tzaddik would annul the gezeirah, but as it turned out, they didn't need the Rebbe's brachos to annul the gezeirah.
The Chasidim responded that the salvation was undoubtedly due to the tzaddik's merit, and they claimed they didn't have to return the money.
The din Torah was brought before Reb Shlomo Kluger. Those who weren't chasidim said they wanted the psak to be according to halachah, without any compromises, and they wanted to know the reason behind Reb Shlomo Kluger's ruling.
Reb Shlomo Kluger said that he would need to think it over and answer them in the morning.
In the morning, he told them that the chassidim were correct. The miracle occurred in the Rebbe's merit, and therefore, they don't have to give back the money. He proved this from the navi Shmuel (ב שמואל, פרק ו'). It states that the aron was in the home of Oved-Edom for three months. It states there (pasuk 12) ויגד למלך דוד לאמר ברך ה' את בית עבד אדום ואת כל אשר לו בעבור ארון האלקים, "And it was told to King Dovid saying, 'Hashem has blessed the house of Oved-Edom, and all that belongs to him, because of the aron of Hashem." Chazal (Brachos 63:) say, "What brachah did he receive? His wife and his eight daughters-in-law each had six children in one birth." This blessing and miracle occurred when the aron Elokim was still in Oved-Edom's home. The aron Elokim was Oved-Edom's home for three months only. A child is born after nine months of pregnancy, or occasionally after seven months, but never after three months. So, it is certain that the miraculous pregnancies of six children in one birth began even before Oved-Edom had the aron in his home. We see that Hashem prepares the reward for the good that one will do in the future.
Reb Shlomo Kluger said that the same occurred with their salvation when the army decided that they wouldn’t pass through their village.
A Story from Lelov
I will tell another story related to this subject, which happened with my father and my grandfather zy'a. My grandfather, Rebbe Moshe Mordechai of Lelov, would spend the Nine Days specifically in Yerushalayim. On the night of Tisha b'Av, his custom was to look, from a distance, at the place where the Beis HaMikdash once stood. One year (תשכ"ה) my father went with his father Rebbe Moshe Mordechai to the Beis Avraham Yeshiva (Slonim), because in those days, one could see the מקום המקדש, the place of the Beis HaMikdash, from the roof of the yeshiva. When they arrived, it was already very late at night. All the bachurim of the yeshiva were sleeping by then. My father met one of the chashuve bachurim of the yeshiva, the Gaon Reb Avraham Rubin Shlita, who is presently the Rav of Rechovos. My father said to Reb Avraham Rubin that his father, the Lelover Rebbe, was with him, and that his father's custom was to gaze at the מקום המקדש on this night, and they needed the key to the roof.
Reb Rubin replied that he doesn’t have the key, and since all the bachurim are sleeping, he has no way of getting the key. For my father, kibud av ve'em was paramount, and he didn't want to take "no" for an answer. But Reb Rubin repeated that there was nothing he could do, since everyone was sleeping.
Just then, a bachur came out of one of the rooms. My father immediately asked him whether he had the key to the roof. He did. He explained that the bachur who generally has the key wasn't in the yeshiva for a few days. Before he left the yeshiva, a few days earlier, this bachur emptied out his pockets. One of the items was a key. He gave the key to the bachur (whom they met now in the middle of the night), together with some other objects, and asked him to hold onto these items until he returned.
The bachur added that he couldn’t fall asleep. He was turning from side to side, and just then, he decided to come out of his room.
The hashgachah of this story is amazing and startling. Hakadosh Baruch Hu prepared the needs for this tzaddik (and the same can occur with every Yid) so he can perform his custom. A few days earlier, before the Rebbe needed the key, the bachur in charge gave it to this bachur, who was still awake late at night. Hashem prepared the refuah before the makah. Salvation is always ready long before it is actually needed.
Hashem wants us to daven from the depths of our hearts, and when we do so, the salvation that was prepared beforehand will be revealed.
