Kings and decrees

In the weekly Torah portion, the beginning of the Book of Exodus, a verse states, "A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph." Our sages in the Talmud explain that there are two ways to understand this verse:

1)The king was truly new, as it is written, "a new king",

2) The king was the same, only his decrees were renewed, since it is not written that the previous king died and a new one appeared, as is common in the language of the Torah.

As we have mentioned many times, the Torah is not merely a history book from which we can learn about the birth of our people and their roots, but rather a book of teachings for life. And not only general teachings, but also specific teachings for the stage of life in which each individual finds themselves and for the Jewish people as a whole.

Possibly, we could say the following (which does not exclude any other explanation, but is just one more idea):

The entire world is experiencing critical moments in history. From the war in Gaza to the economic crisis, including a persistent crisis in education, a lack of values in various aspects, and so on.

Amid all this confusion, the United States, one of the most powerful countries in the world, as is well known, is changing presidents in the coming days. Many people are waiting to see what will happen, what the new president will say about dozens of "important" issues, what his policy will be regarding Israel, and so on.

In connection with this, the Torah tells us in this parashah that, in reality, there is no difference (for the Jewish people) if the "king" is a new one, or if his decrees are simply renewed; what we must know is that the benefit of the Jewish people must be sought by ourselves, through our own means.

This is achieved by constantly keeping in mind the direction in which the Jewish people are progressing. According to what the Torah tells us, we are drawing ever closer to the arrival of the Messiah, which means, among other things, that the world will be filled with the revelation of the Divine Presence, to the point that "eye to eye they will see God," with our own eyes.

However, this is achieved through our efforts in observing Torah and Mitzvot during the time of Exile, by refining the world and ourselves. And this is independent of the current "king" and his "new decrees," whatever they may be.

We must take our leading role in our own destiny and stop caring so much about what the "kings" and their "decrees" say.