I have heard the groans of the Bnei Yisrael whom Mitrayim enslaves.[2]
Did we not already know that it was the Egyptians who enslaved the Jews? Would it not have been more appropriate to simply say, “I have heard the groans of the Bnei Yisrael?” A short distance from here, the Torah states, “Therefore tell the Bnei Yisrael, ‘I am Hashem. I will take you out from under the burdens of Mitzrayim.’” The Torah could have economized on words by stating, “Therefore tell them…” Here, as well, the stress on Bnei Yisrael seems unnecessary, if not jarring.
We know that HKBH somewhat artificially commuted their sentence before its full 400 years had passed. We are used to thinking that He had no choice, as it were. They were on the brink of complete cultural assimilation. It was now-or-never. Had He waited any longer to redeem them, they would have slipped to the 49th level of spiritual degradation.
While this is true, our pasuk clues us in on an entirely different reason for their early release. The galus in Mitzrayim was, in and of itself, an intolerable slight to Hashem’s kavod. That His beloved children were in exile was insulting to Him, even without considering their horrible suffering and pain. This insult could not continue for another 190 years. The Torah accentuates “Bnei Yisrael” to indicate that all of them were the beloved children of the holy Avos.
Just why does the galus of the Jews dishonor Hashem? The navi says,[3] “Have pity, Hashem, upon Your people. Let not your heritage be an object of scorn, for nations to dominate them. Why should they say among the nations, ‘Where is their G-d?’” The shame, then, is in our detractors gleefully pointing to our exile as evidence of G-d’s disappearance. It is kevod Shomayim to be able to point to Hashem’s presence in and control of everything; His absence is the polar opposite.
There is a deeper way to appreciate the stinging insult of galus. The Zohar[4] teaches, “When Yisrael is in the Holy Land, their sustenance comes to them from an elevated place. They give a portion, a remnant to the idolatrous nations. All the nations are not sustained but from that remnant. Now that Yisrael is in galus, the situation is reversed, and it is only a remnant that is left for them. Woe to the prince who waits for the portion of a servant.”
In other words, galus substantially changes the way that Hashem’ berachah is transmitted to us. In Eretz Yisrael, the Divine influence flows directly to us. It continues on to others, but only because we channel it to them. Tragically, in galus the roles are reversed. Parnasah flows through the impure channels of the rest of the world, and we are left with the dregs that are left over.
This is the meaning of Hashem’s message:[5] “Behold, I am sending you the grain and the wine and the oil. You will be sated from it. I will no longer make you a disgrace among the nations.” Is our disgrace lessened by full pantries? Rather, the navi tells of a time when Hashem will say, “I am sending you grain,” meaning directly to you, rather than through the conduit of the nations. The restoration of the direct channel between Hashem and His people eliminates the disgrace among the nations.