Sunday, January 22, 2006

Goel Chazak

Every day in davening we praise Hashem as our "goel chazal", our strong redeemer. In these parshiyos that discuss the redemption from Egypt, we also find emphasized over and over that Hashem redeemed us with strenth, with his yad chazakah. Are there some things that require G-d to exert more strength and other things that require less strength? What could that mean? The Kedushas Levi (Parshas Shmos) explains that there are two paths to redemption. There is a the path by which the Jewish people garner enough merit through their mitzvos and Torah to earn G-d taking them out of galus. Yet, there is also another path, the path of redemption even though we are undeserving, even though we have no merit, but simply based on G-d's mercy and our unbearable need. A gibor, a strong man, is one who can conquer his own inclinations; G-d so to speak (kavyachol) acts with his strength when He withholds the attribute of Justice that calls for the Jewish people getting no more than they deserve and acts through pure Mercy, based not on our present merits but on what we may achieve after given the great opportunity of Geulah. "G'aleina mheira l'ma'an shemecha" - May Hashem redeem us speedely and not wait for us to earn it, "Ki Goel Chazak Atah", because Hashem has the great strength to overlook the Justice our deeds may deserve to redeem us immediatly.

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