G-d said, "I have surely seen (ra'o ra'iti) the impoverishment (oni) of My people in Egypt.... I have come down to rescue them from Egypt and bring them up... to a good, spacious land, the territory of the Canaanites...'' (Ex. 3:7-8)

Regarding the double expression "ra'o ra'iti" for "I have surely seen'', when ra'iti would suffice, our sages comment: "G-d said to Moses, `You see one thing but I see two.' '' One of the great Chassidic Rebbes, Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heschel of Apt, expanded on G-d's words in his book Ohev Yisrael:

"You, Moses, see Israel worshipping idols and assimilating, spiritually "impoverished'', hence you consider them unworthy of redemption. But I see something more -- the reason for their abject state -- their submersion in Egypt amidst a decadent nation which enslaves them [`the impoverishment of My people in Egypt']. I have therefore decided to rescue them from slavery and restore them to their own land, where they will rise to a high spiritual level [`I will bring them up... to a good, spacious land'].''

Whatever G-d's reasons for our exile, we know clearly the great physical and spiritual dangers it poses for us. We are also aware that when we cease to have any future in the Diaspora, G-d decides to return us to our land.

As part of the redemption process to which we bear witness today, G-d is returning to our land even Jews entirely unaware of their Judaism, and He knows that not they, but the conditions of the exile, are at fault for their ignorance. We are therefore happy, and obligated, to absorb these Jews and bring them close to us for their sake and the sake of their children. This is one of the main missions of Zionism in our day.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Shalom Horowitz

Rabbi Horowitz is a Rav Mechanech at the Ulpana Girls Academy - Kiryat Arba

Please address your questions or comments to the Ulpana Girls Academy - Kiryat Arba