ויאנחו בני ישראל מן העבדה ויזעקו ותעל שועתם אל האלקים (ב-כג)
MASHAL: There were twin boys whose parents loved to dress them in matching outfits all the time. The boys were good friends and would play together for hours in the field and the park, returning home in matching uniforms, just as they left.
One day, as they were heading to the park, a cyclist tripped in front of them and his load, a vat of colored dye, spilled on both outfits. The one closer to the cyclist saw that his clothes were totally ruined and he was quite upset. The other, who had some of the dye speckle his clothes was also upset - not as much at the predicament but rather at his brother’s pain.
Secretly he was happy that whatever happened did not happen to him or his clothes. Lo and behold, when they returned home, the father saw how upset the first brother was and how ruined his clothes were, and went out and got him a set of brand new clothing. As he was leaving with that son to go to the store, he reminded the other son to carefully scrub his clothing to see if the dye would come out.
“The small damage,” the father argued, “was not going to be enough reason to buy you new clothing too.”
NIMSHAL: The Ben Ish Chai notes that it was the distress of the first son that served as the basis of his new clothes. The sense of distress brought the sense of urgency from the father. The same can be said about the Jews in Mitzrayim as well. While the Jews were comfortable and did not seek out a yeshuah, they did not merit it. But when they cried out and remembered Hashem, He then put the Geula process in motion.
We do not need to be in dire straits in order to cry out to Hashem and ask him to fulfill his promise of V’shavu Banim L’Gevulam. We merely have to remember to seek out the opportunities and then remember to ask.