In this week's section, Vaerá (I was shown), the Torah begins with the account of the Exodus from Egypt, including seven of the ten plagues, all conversations between Moses and Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. However, before these accounts, there is a verse that, seemingly, serves no purpose and is merely secondary information. First, a brief introduction:
At the end of the previous section, Moses began diplomatic negotiations to free the Jewish people, but these were unsuccessful because Pharaoh refused to let them leave. Furthermore, the situation worsened: Pharaoh ordered the Jewish people to increase their hard labor. Moses complained to God, saying that not only had He failed to save the Jewish people, but they were now worse off than before. In response to this complaint, in this week's section, God reaffirmed His promise and commanded Moses to perform miracles and bring plagues upon Pharaoh.
Now, in the verse in Exodus 6:9, following the conversation between God and Moses and preceding the negotiations between Moses and Pharaoh, the Torah tells us that Moses delivered God's answer, with the promise of freedom to the Jewish people, and they "did not listen to Moses because of their short breath and heavy labor." Afterward, the Torah mentions no further exchange between Moses and the people until the commandment concerning the new month and Passover. What is the purpose of this verse?
A simple way to explain it is this: seeing the story from the outside, so to speak, since we are not in Egypt (literally), we find on one side the prophet of the Jewish people par excellence, who had already demonstrated that he had spoken with God and brought good news about liberation and, on the other side, an oppressed and tired people who knew that one day they would leave Egypt, since the patriarchs had promised so, but their weariness and exhaustion prevented them from realizing the incredible story that they themselves were starring in.
This verse clearly shows our own situation and attitude toward the imminent Final Redemption: all the signs that our sages give in the Talmud from the days of the Messiah are present in today's society. Our sages speak to us about this and connect current events with the coming of the Messiah. The Rebbe, the leader of our generation, constantly spoke of preparing for the coming of the Messiah, even giving the example of someone dressed for a party who only needs to "button down"—a minor task before the actual celebration. And what about us? We don't listen... "because of short breath and hard work," which can be explained in different ways, according to each person's particular situation. The verse is relevant and constant; it cries out to us, "Do not be like the Jewish people before they left Egypt!" May it be God's will that the Final Redemption come quickly, through our righteous Messiah, now!.