The Bein Hametzarim days - is it possible to see the positive also in the negative?

Rabbi Meir Shor

Magid Shiur

In his letter to Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, the second President of the State of Israel, the Rebbe explains why he refrains from using the title "Nasi" (President). The reason is that the name Nasi is reserved for the Moshiach. One of the innovations that the Moshiach will bring is the ability to understand the deep meaning of the pain of exile and the suffering that the Jewish people have experienced throughout the generations. The Rebbe adds that not only will we be able to understand the suffering, but we will even reach a state where we are thankful for it, as it is said, "אודך ה' כי אנפת בי".

Perhaps we can connect this with the Rebbe's wonderful explanation of the well-known Talmudic story that describes Rabbi Akiva laughing while his colleagues cry at the sight of a fox coming out of the Kodesh Hakodosim.

 The key point of the explanation is that Rabbi Akiva saw in the Galut itself a sign of the Geula. The Rebbe expands on this, saying that Rabbi Akiva not only understood the connection between the Galut and the Geula but saw the pain itself as an integral part of the redemption process - like plowing a field, which is a necessary part of the growth process. To this, the Tannaim said to him twice, "Nichamtanu", "You have comforted us." Once for the future and once for the present, as the present is actually part of the future, the redemption.

Simply put, it seems that the Tannaim did not reach the level of Rabbi Akiva himself. They said "You have comforted us," and not "You have made us rejoice" or a similar expression that would have indicated complete joy like that experienced by Rabbi Akiva. It only comforted them and nothing more.

Perhaps we can learn something special from this for our generation. Although we believe that we are the last generation of Galut and the first generation of Geula, it is still difficult to be comforted by today's situation, the state of Galut. Perhaps we can draw encouragement from the story of Rabbi Akiva that the very fact that we know there is a Nasi who sees the future even in the present time, causes us comfort and to feel a semblance of the future of ""אודך ה כי אנפת בי even in the time of exile, and therefore we are comforted twice, both for the future and even more so for the present.