The Jewish people were enslaved by the most powerful nation at that time. They appeared to be sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of an endless exile with seemingly nothing to pull themselves out. They were being submerged in quicksand with no rope to save them. They were in a spiritual and physical pit, one in which they could not dig out of.

How did they merit being taken out? One word. A word that can change the way one looks at everything in his life. A word that makes the noise produced by worry, doubt, and desperation turn to peaceful silence in his mind. This word, the key to redemption, is, was, and always will be, Emunah. (Nesivas Shalom: Va’eira)

In order to redeem the Jewish people, Hashem sent Moshe Rabbeinu with the “key” to redemption in his hand, a stick. This stick represented something much deeper than what meets the eye. It would be used not only by Moshe Rabbeinu but by future generations to lean upon anytime they felt themselves spiritually limping. They would use this anytime they found themselves stumbling and falling deeper into the despair of exile.

David Hamelech alludes to this stick when he writes in Tehillim (23:4) “Shivtecha Umishantecha, Heima Yenachamuni” “Your stick and Your rod, they comfort me”. The difference between the term stick and rod depicts the two aspects of life in which we find ourselves. A stick is an aid used to support, and give assistance in order to make life easier. While a rod is used to show strength, and can possibly create pain at times (Rashi). Why are such opposing forces being used in the same breath to describe Hashem’s ways, and how can both situations create comfort? The answer lies in that one word, that peaceful silence-Emunah. Living with Emunah means knowing that regardless of whether we’re experiencing the soft ease and support that a stick provides, or feeling the pain of a rod, in both circumstances, Hashem’s loving outstretched Hand can be found on the other side. In essence then, both the stick and the rod are one and the same, simply masquerading itself as two different entities. This renders all pain as being both purposeful, as well as having an expiration date. “Heima Yenachamuni” this gives me comfort. This was the stick of Moshe Rabbeinu, a stick of Emunah. Hashem sent Moshe Rabeinu with this in his hand in order to help the Jewish people unlock the gates of their own redemption.

This is possibly why we have the custom of singing this perek of Tehilim at shalosh sheudos as Shabbos is ending, and our soul begins to fear the impending absence of its presence for the next 6 days. In that very moment, we are reminding both ourselves and each other, that regardless of whether the events of this upcoming week will present itself as a stick or a rod, Hashem’s Hand is on the other side. As we sing these words, we are handing each other the stick of Moshe Rabbeinu. We are giving each other the gift of Emunah, the gift of redemption.

Just as Moshe Rabbeinu’s stick witnessed a myriad of miracles that Hashem performed as He saved the Jewish people from Egypt, in the merit of our Emunah, may Mosiach come with very same stick in his hand and take us out of our exile as well.