Chazal view Yosef’s weeping as a portent for his descendants. They say, “Just as Yosef appeased his brothers only through weeping, so, too, Hakadosh Boruch Hu will redeem Klal Yisrael from its exile only through [their] weeping.” As it is written in Yirmiyahu 31:8, “For with weeping they will come; with supplications I will lead them.” Chazal’s words are enigmatic. If Hashem is waiting for tears, then our exile should have ended long ago. Have we not cried bitterly for thousands of years? Why did Hashem not respond to the tears of our ancestors and redeem them? Horav Mordechai HaKohen explains…
