Geula via Teshuva, At Hatzot and Today

There are 3 verses in a row in Parshat Beshalah, each of whose letter count equals 72: Shemot 14:19-21.  These verses are very important in Kabbalistic meaning (see Rav Amar's article, for example, and a Google search on "ויסע ויבא ויט" will give lots of information), but as R' Ari Goldwag points out in his latest podcast, it is mentioned in Nigleh too (Rashi Sukka 45a ד"ה אני והו).

Interestingly, if you take the gematrias of the first 2 verses (ויסע and ויבא) and add the total number of words, you get 5750, the year before Hatzot of the sixth millennium.

Also interestingly, if you take the gematria of the third verse (ויט), add it to the gematria of the next verse (וַיָּבֹאוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּתוֹךְ הַיָּם, בַּיַּבָּשָׁה; וְהַמַּיִם לָהֶם חוֹמָה, מִימִינָם וּמִשְּׂמֹאלָם.) and again add the total number of words, you get 5772, the year before we are in right now.

The first 2 verses speak of Hashem's angel protecting us, but really Hashem was sitting in judgement, thus using the name Elokim. The Egyptians and the Jews both worshipped idols, says the Midrash. Hashem exonerated the Jewish people because Hashem knew that we really didn't want to worship idols and only did so due to the harsh labor.

The second 2 verses speak of Hashem Himself saving us, but only with the prerequisite אתערותא דלתתא (awakening from below) coming first.  Moshe had to stretch out his hand first before Hashem made the sea split. Also, the Benei Yisrael had to go into the sea first in order for the waters to be as a wall on their right and on their left.

Hatzot of the sixth millennium marked the end of the Iron Curtain. Both the Soviets and the Jews in the former Soviet Union (except for a few notable exceptions) were Communists who didn't believe in G-d.  So, the merits were few, but Hashem sent His messengers, including President Reagan, to start the process of breaking the Iron Curtain, which eventually allowed the Jews to emigrate - since deep down, these were tens of thousands of Neshamot waiting to break free.

Also at Hatzot was the First Gulf War. During the war, Hashem sent His angel to protect Israel and prevented the SCUD missles fired from Iraq from being a deadly force just like the angel and Pillar of Cloud did during Keri'at Yam Suf.  It's unclear whether we deserved such protection, but B"H it came and the known miracles of that war show it.

We are now in 5773, a year and a half past Minha Gedola of the sixth millennium. And this time, it's not just Iraq and Kuwait that's in turmoil - it's the entire Middle East and North Africa. Like the latter 2 verses above, we now need our sea-jumping moment, as we know that Redemption only comes via Teshuva, one way or the other. May we do the Teshuva that is required with love for Hashem and may this cause the Ultimate Redemption to come this year, Amen.