“Wherever the verses and our Sages, of blessed memory, speak of our present exile, they emphasize its overwhelming length and its bitterness.” (Likutey Halakhot, Rabbi Nathan of Breslov)
We may have grown used to exile — to the absence of the Temple, to dispersion, to the suffering of our people. But Rabbi Nathan seeks to awaken a more vivid awareness: exile is not just a historical condition; it is a lingering pain, a deep bitterness.
The verses and the Sages never speak of it lightly. They highlight the prolonged distance, the weight of divine silence. This should not lead us to despair, but rather to renew our longing — the longing for return. For the more we recognize the bitterness, the more we can yearn for the sweetness of redemption. To remain aware of exile is to keep alive within ourselves the bond with Jerusalem, with the hidden Divine Presence — and to continue waiting for it, seeking it, day after day.
