10 Jan SHEMOS: “I AM WITH YOU”

It states (3:14) אהי״ה אשר אהי״ה” , -I
will be… I will be.” Rashi explains
אהיה עמם בצרה- ,זאת, אשר אהיה -עמם
מלכיות -שאר בשעבוד” I will be with
the Jewish nation during this tzarah
in Mitzrayim, and I will be with
them throughout the exiles of the
other kingdoms.”
This means, even when they sin,
chalilah, even when they are going
through hard times, Hashem is
always with the Jewish nation. He
never abandons them.
Similarly, it states (2:4), אחותו ותתצב
מרחוק” ,His sister stood from a
distance.” We can explain: מרחוק , in
Mitzrayim, Hashem seemed distant
from the Jewish nation, because
they suffered there.

Miryam ותתצב אחותו, ,Nevertheless
stood firm with her emunah. She
knew that even during those difficult
times, Hashem was with her.
Similarly, it states (Yirmiyahu 31:2),
,distance the From “מרחוק ה׳ נראה- לי,
Hashem became revealed to me.”
Even when Hashem seems far away
from us, He is always nearby.
During the Apter Rav’s zt’l lifetime,
there were harsh gezeiros on Klal
Yisrael. The Apter Rav said that
after his petirah, when he is brought
to heaven, he will refuse to enter
Gan Eden until the evil decree is
annulled.
The Apter Rav was niftar, but the
decrees continued. They even
worsened. People asked Reb
Yitzchak Meir of Zinikov zt’l, the
Apter Rav’s son, to explain. Reb
Yitzchak Meir placed his head on

the table, and when he raised it, he
said, “My father came to me, and he
explained the pasuk (Tehillim
דימינו אלקים חסדך- בקרב היכלך ,(10:48
. This can be translated, אלקים דימינו ,
we thought it was אלקים , middas
hadin, harsh judgment. However,
היכלך בקרב , in heaven, people see

that it is all חסדך ,Hashem’s kindness.
“My father explained that now that
he is in heaven, he sees that even
the harsh decrees are for our
good. So why should he stop the
decrees? They are all for our
benefit.”
The Ramban had a student who
had many questions on the way
Hashem was leading the world.
In his opinion, life should be
better for Klal Yisrael.
This talmid became ill and was
about to die. Now the student had
another question: Why did he
deserve to die so young?
The Ramban came to the student
and gave him a kameia (amulet)
and said, “Hold on to this kameia,
and when you die, ask the
malachim to bring you to a
chamber in heaven called כסאות
למשפט’ ,Chairs of Judgment.’
When you get there, ask Hashem
why you had to die so young and
ask Hashem your questions on
the way He runs the world.”

The student was
niftar, and the
Ramban waited to
hear what
happened. Once,
the Ramban was
studying Torah
near a window, and the window
suddenly opened,
and the Ramban saw
his student. The
student said, “After
my death, I showed
the kameia to the
malachim, and I
asked them to bring
.כסאות למשפט to me
The malachim took
me up to this very
high chamber.
Nothing could stop
me from getting to
this high place because I had the
Ramban’s kameia in my hand. In
this chamber, I was about to ask my
questions before Hashem, but
suddenly, all my questions
disappeared.
They didn’t bother me anymore.
Because in heaven, one sees that
everything is just” (Mishnas Sachir,
Avos 6). It states (3:14), אשר אהי״ה
אהי״ה . The Chasam Sofer explains,
Hashem says ,אהי״ה” I will be” אשר
אהי״ה” , with the people who I am in
their thoughts.” Because there’s a
rule: When you think about Hashem,
Hashem thinks of you. The more we
think about Hashem, the greater will
be Hashem’s hashgachah pratis
upon us.6 This pasuk applies to
every individual.
As for the community, even when
we aren’t thinking about Hashem,
Hashem thinks of us. As afterward it
words These אהי״ה שלחני עליכם ,states
refer to the community (as it says in
plural- עליכם שלחני .(For the
community, Klal Yisrael, it is always
אהי״ה , Hashem is with the Jewish
nation.