Why So Much Hardships

The Netivot Shalom points out that it seems strange that the majority of our history was spent with hardships. It has been 3,332 years since we left Egypt, and yet, we have only had a Mishkan or Beit Hamikdash functioning for 1,310 of those years. The question is why has it been necessary to go through such a long Galut? On the one hand, it is quite miraculous that we survived all of these years despite the horrible conditions we faced. But on the other hand, it has been so very long. The Netivot Shalom says that hardships and difficulties are necessary in order to cleanse us from sin. These difficulties are the very thing that shapes and molds us. Egypt is the perfect example. We would never have become a great nation had we not suffered the slavery. It is a well known idea in Chassidut how the negative experiences are the springboard for the positive. It is never good when things come to easily. This is really a difficult question and even more difficult to answer.