THIRST MAKES THE WATER SWEET
In this week’s Parsha, as Yaakov draws close to parting from this world, he calls his 12 sons to gather around him as he wishes to in-form them of the date when his people will achieve their ultimate mission. Before Yaakov has the chance to reveal when that point in time will come, he loses his ruach haKodesh and never tells them. For some reason HaShem wanted that this date should remain a secret.
If HaShem wanted this date to remain a secret, why did HaShem al-low Yaakov to tell his sons that he was going to reveal the date. Would it not have been better if Yaakov would have abandoned the whole idea of revealing it. Why make it a tease?
It would seem that HaShem wanted the shevatim to know that there was a designated date by when Moshiach would arrive; he would not arrive later than that date. He therefore wanted Yaakov to call his sons to inform them when that date would be. However, HaShem wanted that date to be elusive. The question is if HaShem wants us to be confident in the arrival of Moshiach, why not give us the date?
A dear friend of mine was married 13 years before he and his wife were blessed with a baby. Finally, after 13 years HaShem blessed them with a beautiful baby boy. When I saw him at the sholom zachor, he shared with me his sentiment of his intense gratitude to HaShem. “All these years I would imagine what joy I would have to hold my own child in my arms. Now that HaShem has actu-ally blessed us with this child, the joy of holding him exceeds my greatest imagination. I am confident that if HaShem did not make us wait so long, this joy would not be as great. We would not have appreciated it as much as we do now. I therefore wish to express my gratitude to Him for making us wait 13 years.”
If they were told when they first married that the first baby would arrive after 13 years, it is certain that their joy and exhilaration would not be the same as they experienced now. They would have waited patiently and after 13 years they would welcome their child. The reason for their heightened appreciation was because they waited month after month, hope after hope, prayer after prayer. It was a preoccupation of yearning for this child that gave way to their intense joy with the final arrival of the baby.
HaShem wants us to be filled with intense joy and exhilaration with the arrival of Moshiach. He there-fore assured us that Moshiach will definitely come. Yaakov told us that Moshiach is coming. We also know that he can come at any time. And so, every year and every generation we anticipate his coming. With prayer after prayer and hope after hope we anticipate his arrival. When Moshiach will finally arrive we will be filled with that intense gratitude. Perhaps we will even be grateful to Him for making us wait so long.
Have a wonderful Shabbos.
Paysach Diskind