Moshe is commanded in Parshat Shemot, "Lech v'asafta et kol ziknei Yisrael" - Go and gather the elders of Israel. Upon Moshe fulfilling this commandment the Torah then says: "v'yaamen ha'am" - And the nation believed. After Moshe gathered all the elders of Israel that we the nation believed in him and agreed to send him to Pharaoh. Rav Yechezkel Levenstein author of the sefer Ohr Yechezkel asks the question why is it that we believed in Moshe before he went to see Pharaoh? As Chazal teach us, the palace of Pharaoh was surrounded by lions (Yalkut Shimoni) and in order to gain entrance one needed the permission of Pharaoh. Just to merely enter in to Pharoah's confines and meet with him would have been a complete miracle! Surely Moshe's entrance would have been proof that Moshe could get them released from Miztrayim. So then, why didn't the nation wait for this proof to see if he could indeed enter the palace? Surely after seeing Moshe enter through a miracle, they would believe in him? Why did the nation feel that they could believe him before seeing any miracles?

HaRav Levenstein answers with a beautiful yesod for our avodat Hashem and our belief in ge'ula, we first need to awaken in ourselves an inner belief in the outcome and then afterwards we see the divine help from Hashem. We see this from both Moshe and the Nation. Moshe first believes in the outcome by gathering all the elders and beginning the process of redemption. We also see this from the nation, v'yaamen ha'am. First we believed in Moshe and the coming redemption! First we trusted in him to get the job done. Only after this initial start did we then see the beautiful miracles from HaKadosh baruch hu. Furthermore, HaRav Levenstein points out that if we were lacking this inherent belief, we wouldn't be zoche to the geula!

So I know you are thinking 'that's great' but we live in the "selfie" generation where it's all about ME, so what does this mean for me? Sure, the nation can believe that Moshiach is coming but what can I take from all this?

Chazal teach us in their infinite wisdom that "kol hahatchalot kashot" - All beginnings are hard - but if we can only awaken in ourselves the belief to change, the belief to grow, the belief to achieve, then and only then will we see help from Hashem. When was the last time you truly believed that you would reach your goal? When was the last time that you felt that it was not out of reach? During these winter months the end of the year can see so far away, all those goals you had in the beginning of the year can seem like they aren't reachable anymore and may be slipping away. But if we just believed and knew that we are closer than we think, if we just take that first step forward, Hashem will take care of the rest. Trust that when we believe, it really can be achieved, with the love and compassion of Hashem helping us along the way.

Shabbat Shalom