Reply To: Short & Sweet

The Necessity of Destruction

Moshe had previously complained to Hashem; למה הרעותה לעם הזה, למה זה שלחתני – why did you send me to Pharoh, he only made things worse for the people?

Hashem answers by saying that now He will reveal His true middos. But why was it necessary for the situation to get worse before it could get better?

Based on the מהר״ל, R’ Lopainsky explains that to make something truly new, a fresh start is required.

If Klal Yisroel had attempted to become the עם ה׳ without first shaking off the dust they had accumulated in Mitzrayim, they couldn’t have succeeded. Any Egyptian identity and outlook that Klal Yisroel had picked up in the past two hundred and ten years needed to be destroyed.

This phase of destruction that Moshe was aghast about was wiping the slate clean, getting the nation ready for a new beginning. As is so often the case, the destruction was setting up an opportunity to create something even better.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום