"With These Hands"
"With These Hands"Nefesh B'Nefesh

Promises, Indicators, Gratitude

HaShem told Moshe to say to the people of Israel that He will take them out of Egypt, that they will become HaShem's Nation and He will be our G-d, and that He will bring us to Eretz Yisrael and give it to us - so that we will live a life of Torah and Mitzvot in the Land that He wants us to have.

At first, they did not listen to - or hear - Moshe, because of their exhaustion and hard labor.
Let's not now discuss the failings of others, the complaining in the Midbar, the rejection of Eretz Yisrael by the Wilderness Generation, the continual problems with turning away form G-d.

Let's focus on a different angle. The Torah's account of Moshe at the Burning Bush (last week's sedra) and the prophecies of redemption in this week's sedra are not really meant for that generation. They lived through it all.

The Torah is for us. Jews of every subsequent generation. If it were not meant for us, it would not be included in the Torah.

And let's not look at any other generation than our own. Because the Torah is meant for us.

Its 613 mitzvot are meant for us to keep, preserve, follow. Its stories are meant to teach us valuable lessons. They are meant to show us R'TZON HASHEM, G-d's desires for us.

He said He would take us out of Mitzrayim. And He did. And we are always mentioning it in davening and commemorating and reliving it throughout the year - throughout our lives. Part of the Exodus is meant for us to constantly be thankful to G-d for what He does for us.

When He said that He would take us to Him as a nation and that He would be our G-d... he was talking to us. Not only do we have to be thankful for our mutual relationship with G-d, we have to continually earn it. Be worthy of it.

In essence, G-d has offered each of us the Torah. And we have to say - and mean - NAASEH V'NISHMA. We are not supposed to say, Thanks for taking us out of Egypt, but no thanks for the Torah.
We're not supposed to say that. But many Jews do. But that's not our point here. We need to affirm and strengthen our commitment to G-d's promises.

And, of course, that includes Eretz Yisrael. G-d says Lech L'cha to each of us. He says that He will bring us to the Land and give it to us. He says that to each and every Jew of each and every generation. To you and to me.

We are supposed to be thankful to Him for our being part of Am Yisrael, for having Torat Yisrael, and Eretz Yisrael. Are we keeping our side of the Deal?