Chacham Rabbeinu Chayim ibn Attar ZT”L (Ohr HaChayim Hakadosh) would say: “'והיה עקב תשמעון' - Chazal say that the expression 'והיה' implies joy. Bnei Yisroel enjoyed miraculous, divine protection over the course of their forty years in the wilderness; the Clouds of Glory encircled them, the pillar of fire guided their path continuously, Moshe led the way, the mann provided them with food and the well with water. Nevertheless, they were bereft of joy, as one cannot rejoice so long as he has yet to reach his final destination, no matter how glorious the trip may be. This serves as a critical lesson for us, that we must look forward to the complete redemption along whose road we currently find ourselves, as the posuk states, ‘When Hashem restores the restoration of Zion, we will have been like dreamers. Only then will our mouths be filled with laughter, and our tongues with joy!’”
Rabbi Aharon Zakai Shlita (Torat HaParasha) would say: “‘Who led you through the great and terrible desert, with serpents and scorpions and thirst, where there was no water.’ Since ‘thirst’ (צמאון) and ‘no water’ (אין מים) signify the same thing, why are they both said? When a person is thirsty and there is water nearby, he can rest easy, and his thirst will slightly diminish. Yet when he is thirsty and there is no water nearby, his thirst will increase and he will suffer even more. In the desert, Klal Yisroel thirsted for water. However they were also thirsty because they realized ‘there no water.’ Hence the posuk stresses both of these aspects.”
A Wise Man would say:
“If you want your dreams to come true, first you have to wake up.”
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