Thus, at the beginning of Parashas Va’eirah, Hashem says אברהם אל וארא וגו', and Rashi explains האבות אל, Hashem is really answering the concerns that Moshe Rabbeinu expressed at the end of the previous parashah. Moshe intoned, ...הזה לעם הרעות למה and Hashem says; “Don’t worry. I will give them the da’as necessary to be redeemed from the galus.” I will inspire within them the will to become close to Me! This is what Rashi meant with his explanation האבות אל, which is an expression of “will.” Hashem will reveal Himself to those in whom He inspires a will and a desire.
Thus explained the holy Sar Shalom of Belz.
And in our generation, we can see how much ruach hakodesh lies in these words. How painful it is to behold how the klipah robs us of our yishuv hada’as! And what do the yirei Hashem—the shepherds of Klal Yisrael—cry about and lament? They cry out to Hashem, הזה?! לעם הרעות למה And the Ribbono shel Olam answers: I am the One Who created the klipah, and I am the One Who will bring serenity and understanding to the Yidden. Indeed, HaKadosh Baruch Hu is so good to us that He shines the light of דעת even in this darkened world. And a person can feel this keenly—especially when he makes the choice to exit the confines of this galus, this klipah.
Leaving Our Personal Galus
And surely, this is relevant to each and every one of us as we seek to leave the confines of our personal galus. A person leaves galus when he has da’as, for it is then that his thoughts are clarified; he can understand his situation, and he is thus able to leave his galus. It is only in this way that one can leave galus.
And so, when a person understands the crucial need for דעת so that he can leave galus—the personal as well as the general one—he will choose to invest in his da’as. That is, when a person finds himself in a quandary, one way to extricate himself from it is to invest in acquiring peace of mind and הנפש מנוחת. He understands that the more he clarifies his thoughts and his mind, the more he will be able to leave galus. Part of this investment is to daven to Hashem to be given da’as.
“I Want to Thank You, But I Can’t”
In this vein, a story is told about the Rebbe Reb Zusha of Anipoli. Once, he was traveling with a horse and buggy, and the buggy became mired in mud. Everything he did to extricate himself didn’t work. The Rebbe lifted his eyes to the Heavens and cried out: Ribbono shel Olam! I want to give thanks to You, but I can’t, because I’m mired in mud. Take me out of the mud, and I will be able to praise You.” That is, in this situation, I don’t have the yishuv hada’as to properly thank You.
A person says to Hashem, “From my end, I will do everything to distract myself from the silliness of the world so that I will be able to reflect and meditate on my situation and upon the important things in life—and at the same time, I am asking You to inspire within me the ratzon and give me da’as, and in this way I will be able to be redeemed from my personal galus.”
Chazal tell us, מנין הבדלה דעת אין אם, if one doesn’t have wisdom, he cannot differentiate. When there is no separation or differentiation, Klal Yisrael is scattered and enmeshed between the nations of the world. The holy is confused with the mundane. But when a person has wisdom, it brings redemption in the most literal sense—for the דעת enables him to separate between the holy and the mundane, and once a person can properly differentiate between the two sides, he is able to properly devote himself to matters of kedushah—without interference.
