Parashat Va'era
„It is not weakness of strength, this that the salvation of Israel is little by little, but rather the might of mights.”From Iggeret 753
In this week's portion we stand in awe before the plagues of Egypt. The scene of “God will fight for you, and you shall keep silent” begins, and the people of Israel witness miracle upon miracle against nature. But Rav Kook writes that these miracles are not the goal. When the people of Israel is in exile and in its unnatural state it needs miracles, but when it reaches its land, it must grow in the power of nature. The connection to the Holy One must be a natural connection and not a supernatural one. We are part of our redemption, in working the ground, in clod after clod, in felling the enemy, and in the redemption of the people and the land. The natural “little by little” in which we find ourselves is a healthy process of redemption.
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From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.