What about the infant’s cry indicated his Jewish pedigree? Do Jewish children cry differently than gentiles? All babies cry the same – or do they? Horav Mordechai Chaim, zl, m’Slonim posits that all babies do not cry alike. Something is unique and special about the way a Jew cries. A gentile weeps out of desperation, hopelessness, depression and pain. A Jew’s cry is one of hope. A ben Yisrael understands that, even at the moment when everything appears hopeless, it is all a façade. Hashem can turn things around in the flash of a second. His cry is of a temporary nature. At present, it hurts; at this moment, the situation appears dismal. A Jew knows that even in the worst case scenario, he always has a tomorrow, a future. Some place, somewhere, the Jewish people will continue and endure. Moshe’s cry was a cry of hope. He was clearly mi’yaldei ha’Ivrim, from the Jewish children.
Chazal teach us that today, the many gates to Heaven are closed – all but one. The Shaar Ha’Demaos, Gate of Tears, is still open. When one’s prayer is expressed with tearful emotion, his tears penetrate Heaven. The question that glares at us is obvious: If a gate is always open, then why bother with it to begin with? The Kotzker Rebbe, zl, explains that people form two types of tears. For instance, in an orphanage at night, one will not hear a sound. Despite the many young children living there, no one cries. We cry because we expect someone to listen. In an orphanage, no one is there to listen, no one is there to respond to the cries for help.
A Jew has an address to go to when he weeps: Hashem. He always listens. We may not necessarily agree with His response, but He listens nonetheless. We cry to Him, and we throw ourselves at His mercy. He listens – always.
The other type of tears, however, does not effect a response. This is a crying which does not entreat Hashem’s help. It is a weeping which implies that, Heaven forbid, we do not believe G-d can help us, or worse – that no one is there. These are the tears of yiush, hopelessness. The Gate of Tears exists to prevent the tears of hopelessness from entering. Such tears have no place in Heaven – or on Earth, for that matter.
