My father in heaven - Vayechi

When I was younger, my father would occasionally put me to sleep at night. Sometimes as he left the room, I would cry. Over the years, I found out that he left the room so I could learn to fall asleep unassisted. When I was that age, I always thought that he was going out of hatred, yet really, he stood outside the door till I fell asleep to make sure I was okay.

In this week's parsha, Yaakov passed away; before his passing, he mentioned to the yidden that even though times will get tough, Hashem will remember the yidden and bring them out of golus.

Upon thinking about this, I believe that everything in this world happens for a reason. Therefore, if we need to face these challenges to become stronger, it is meant to be.

At times, life can get unexplainably tough. There are many occasions over the past few months that I just threw my hands up and looked towards heaven, waiting for some answer. Why is my father in heaven still hiding behind the door? Is this going to be the final step to bring Moshiach?

This golus has gone on too long; I dream that we will soon look up and see the third Bais Hamikdash descending, signifying that we have fulfilled all the necessary tests and that Moshiach is here.