Parashat Va’era

Hashem had promised Moshe that he would redeem the people of Israel: “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh … I have heard the cry of the children of Israel … tell them: I am God; I will free them from the yoke of Egypt. … but they (Bnei Israel) did not listen to Moshe … Why did they not listen to him, perhaps those words of hope should have brought them joy? The Torah describes the reason why the people did not listen to Moshe: “Affliction of spirit and work (bondage). ” But how does this relate to a lack of Faith? Each of us suffers, in a way, from “slavery. ” When we are afflicted or fatigued by daily work, or by torturing thoughts, it is almost impossible for us to connect with our interior, with our true self, and that connection is essential to enter the portal of the spiritual, a world where believing and appreciating daily miracles is not impossible.

In fact , after a while, this practice can become an Comforting experience. It is not necessary to wait for surprising miracles to happen to us, since, in reality, there is no difference between marveling because our neurons communicate through 160,934 kilometers of fibers that would mean going around the world four times, or marveling because the splitting of the sea. However, difficult thing is to be aware that all daily events are truly miraculous, but we need time to be with ourselves, to know ourselves, to reflect on the meaning of life and our purpose as human beings. As I said before, one of the impediments to achieving this connection is “hard work” , that is, lack of time due to our monotonous routine that we often fill with quite unnecessary and unproductive hobbies.

Another impediment is the search for immediate “redemption” , is wanting to feel like good people and spiritual beings through a quick exit and without adequate effort, because just as when a person is sick, the pills will only calm the pain for the moment, but they will not cure your disease unless you do an intense and slow treatment, in the same way it happens with diseases of the soul, the treatment is long and often presents some discomfort, but it’s worth the effort, and will help us to focus on our true purpose to do good and follow God’s ways.