1. The Verse and Rashi’s Grammatical Question
This week’s parshah contains a verse and a Rashi that the Rebbe often highlighted. The verse states that when you return to HaShem—God—and listen to His voice as I command you today, with all your heart and all your soul, then something special happens. The verse continues: God will bring you back and have mercy on you, gathering you from all the nations where He scattered you.
Rashi notes a grammatical issue in the wording. The verse says vishav—“He will return”—instead of what we might expect, veheishiv—“He will bring back.” Since it is the Jewish people who are in exile, not God, it would seem more appropriate to say that God will bring them back, not that He Himself will return.
2. Rashi’s First Commentary: HaShem in Exile
Rashi’s first explanation is that our teachers learned from here that the Divine Presence is together with the Jewish people in exile. It is as if HaShem Himself wrote a redemption for Himself, indicating that He returns together with the Jews. When the Jewish people go into exile, so too does HaShem; this is known as golus haShekhinah—the exile of the Divine Presence.
The Shekhinah never abandons the Jewish people. Whenever they are exiled—whether to Edom or Bavel—the Shekhinah is always with them. Thus, when redemption comes and the Jews return, HaShem returns as well.
3. Rashi’s Second Commentary: Gathering Each Individual Jew
The Rebbe also brings Rashi’s second commentary: The greatness of the ingathering of exiles lies in its difficulty and intimacy. HaShem, so to speak, must hold each Jew by the hand to gather them from wherever they are scattered. This means that God personally goes down into exile to take each Jew by the hand and lead them out of golus—exile.
This isn’t just a general redemption for the entire nation as a whole. Rather, every individual Jew is personally collected and redeemed by HaShem. This highlights both God’s tremendous love and compassion for each person and also underscores our responsibility in this relationship.
4. Exile on Multiple Levels and HaShem’s Promise
The concept of exile applies not only in its simple sense—being scattered among other nations—but also on an inner level. There can be an internal exile caused by estrangement from HaShem, from Torah, or from spiritual involvement.
HaShem promises that He will come down into whatever form of exile we find ourselves in and collect every Jew individually, holding each one by the hand. This demonstrates His boundless love and compassion for us all.
5. The Ultimate Redemption: A Personal Connection
This teaching carries a powerful message: Redemption is not only national but deeply personal. Each Jew matters individually to HaShem, who takes responsibility for every single one of us.
This should inspire us with hope and motivation, knowing that no matter how distant we may feel or how far we may have strayed, HaShem’s love reaches each of us personally—taking us by the hand out of exile and bringing us to complete redemption speedily in our days: geulah ha’mitis v’hashleimah b’karov mamash—the true and complete redemption very soon.