“And I have also heard the outcry of the Children of Israel, that the Egyptians are burdening them with work” [Ex. 6:5]
Rabbi Yehoshua M’Ostrov explained that Hashem was saying the following: In reality, all of the troubles and subjugation that I the Egyptians placed upon the Children of Israel is for their own benefit. This was how Hashem formed the Jews into a unique nation.
The appropriate analogy is to invasive surgery. To a child, or to someone from a country where they don’t have access to modern medicine, a surgical procedure looks like nothing but brutality and pain. They may not understand how it is actually helpful to the patient. Servitude in Egypt was quite similar in that respect: to us years of slavery seem like nothing but misery, but Hashem knows better, and this helped us in ways beyond our comprehension.
But with all of that, Hashem had to listen to the outcry of the Israelites, because “the Egyptians are burdening them.” The Egyptians did not believe in G-d’s rule over the Earth; they said “where then is their G-d” (Psalms 115:2). This made the subjugation of the Jews a desecration of G-d’s Name—as Pharoah said openly, “who is Hashem that I should listen to his voice?” [Ex. 5:2] And that, Rabbi Yehoshua concluded, is why, when the Children of Israel cried out, Hashem was obligated to listen to them.
When there is a desecration of God’s name, in a world where good is called evil and evil is called good, we cannot be silent. It is our obligation to speak up and cry out, to set the record straight. And may Hashem again hear our cry!
Photo Credit: Funeral of Sgt. Moshe Naftali