VaYechi (Genesis 47:28)
I am the HaShem, your G-d, who took you out of the land of Egypt
A punishment is an expression of dissatisfaction in order that the recipients realize how dissatisfied the punisher is with them. Education, on the other hand, is teaching a student how to reach a certain level of understanding.
G-d never punishes, He only educates.
Galos, exile, the Jewish experience of diaspora, is an education.
When we all lived in the land of Israel we lost our sense of togetherness. The Talmud says that the destruction of the second Temple and the ensuing exile was because of baseless hatred.
It is safe to say we are still in a state of exile. Most Jews still live outside of Israel and the land is not yet at peace.
What are we meant to learn through this experience? The lesson we need to learn is that we are one people with one heart. However different we may be one from another, we are in this together! This will correct the mistake we made that led us to here.
In this week’s Parsha Jacob (Israel) gives his final blessings to his children. When they come together he tells them to Hitkabtzu, gather together, from the root kibbutz. They were already standing together in front of him, what was he saying? My children, he was saying, you are all very different from each other and my blessings are going to reflect that, however, never forget that you will always be in this together! That is why ever since we have been known as the Bnei Yisroel, the children of Israel.
