Embracing Difficulties

Shavua Tov. There is a Pasuk in the Parsha that commands us to be kind to the convert. He is also known as the stranger in our midst. We are to be especially compassionate because we, too, were strangers in a strange land.

Rabbi Soloveitchik writes that it would not have been possible for us to have become a nation of morality and kindness, had we not known the suffering of the Galut.

This helped shape the Patriarchs and continues to be a major experience for us today. The point here is that sometimes knowing hardships and suffering, ultimately shapes us.

This could be an explanation as to why there is a lack of idealism among the younger generation. On the one hand, those under forty have not witnessed any real Jewish discrimination in their lifetimes. Judaism can be practiced freely all over the world and Jews who want to come to live in Israel can do so if they so desire.

The downside of this religious freedom is complacency and lack of motivation. We must learn to embrace the difficulties Hashem sends our way, for that is what shapes us. This is what was learned from our experience in Egypt and allowed us to become a kind and compassionate nation.